Yup, this had been an interesting diversion, but it was time to get back to the real world. He had chosen a path years ago that meant avoiding all contact with cruise lines and upscale entertainments. A simple lifestyle, ordinary people—that was his destiny.
Mingling with the rich and famous was for other wolves, not him.
Keri splashed cold water on her face, but the shock wasn’t enough. Screw it. She twisted the taps in her sink on full then shoved her entire head under the faucet, icy water soaking her hair and spraying over her neck.
Lips sealed shut, she held her breath and stayed under as long as she could, hoping the frigid blast would wash away some of her frustration. But by the time she’d dragged herself out and wrapped a towel around her head, she was no better off than before. If anything, the wild itch under her skin had increased.
Maybe she could avoid him for the ten-day duration of the cruise. Then she’d jump him. That would work.
Mark Weaver. She wrinkled her nose. Not much to go on from a name. Curiosity struck. There had been a whole sheet of information compiled on each of the staff. Chad had the files. That was the first way to discover what she could about Mark—strictly so she could stay away from him, of course.
Not that she wasn’t interested in getting to know her mate eventually, but until this cruise was over, she didn’t have time to be rolling in the hallways with him.
A flash of heat roared up one side of her and down the other at the thought, and she wrapped both arms around her chest tightly to stop from getting naked and dealing with the ache herself.
She stood forlornly in the middle of her bathroom, a slow
drip, drip, drip
hitting the floor from her hair, wetness oozing through her clothing, making the fabric stick to her skin. In spite of the frigid water, her libido was still set to maximum. Her breasts ached, her sex felt empty and her heart pounded out a rumba-tango-fandango. Yeah, this wasn’t good. If she didn’t figure out a solution quick, she’d be tracking Mark down and humping him no matter where she found him.
She stripped off her wet things, ignoring the desire to linger over her extremely sensitive skin. A fresh pair of jeans, a clean T-shirt—it wasn’t fancy but she was neither crew nor passenger. She could wear whatever the hell she wanted. A pair of runners on her feet and she was off.
The carpet underfoot on the exclusive cabin level was thick enough to sink into on every step. Getting spoiled by being the friend of the organizer? She’d take it. Her cabin was way bigger than the crew hovels. She and Mark could totally use the king-sized bed in her cabin to—
No, not going there. She needed to turn off the GPS that seemed to have focused very firmly on
sex
and
Mark
and
mate
.
“If it isn’t the most beautiful wolf on the boat.”
Keri pulled to a stop and glanced behind her.
A dark chuckle stroked her ears.
Oh damn.
Chad.
“You, darling. I’m talking about you. What made you disappear earlier? I had hoped to talk you into checking out my cabin with me.” He stepped into her personal space, his solid chest mere inches away from her.
Damn. Damn, damn,
poop
.
This wasn’t unexpected at all. They’d been eyeing each other for years. Chad had been best friends with Tessa’s big brother all through high school, which meant Keri had seen him plenty. Now that they were in the same place at the same time, both supposedly free agents, becoming lovers would have been a pretty natural progression.
The big wolf smelt good. All those bulging muscles hovering within stroking reach were firm and tasty and…nothing. Her libido didn’t register anything anymore. Not since she’d gotten a whiff of Mark.
“Hi, Chad.”
She pressed harder against the wall, attempting to open up room between them.
He planted a palm beside her head and leaned in closer, breathing deeply. “Hi, Chad? That’s all I get? This morning during the general staff meeting I could have sworn you said something to the effect of ‘please rip off my panties with your teeth and lick me until I scream’.”
Her cheeks heated. “I didn’t say that.”
“Not in words,” he acknowledged, “but I know a
hey, you wanna fuck?
look when I see one.”
Oh, brother. Yes, this morning she might have been guilty of sending out that vibe, but now she was pretty sure her signals were screaming a different message. “Do you also know the key components of a
warning, you’re about to lose your nuts
look?”
He frowned then glanced upward. Wiggled his nose for a second, then shrugged. “Nope, I’m pretty damn sure I’ve never seen that one in my life.”
“Chad, may I speak with you?” a bright feminine voice interrupted.
Keri breathed a sigh of relief as he turned toward the head of the housekeeping department. Good, he’d be distracted enough she could just…slip…
His other hand landed on the wall to her right, effectively blocking her escape route. “Is it an emergency, Eden?”
The dark-haired woman shook her head. “No, but—”
“Send me an email. We can discuss it during first meeting this afternoon.”
“But—”
“Later, Eden.” He dismissed her without a second glance.
Eden left, her expression unreadable. Keri felt strangely trapped. Well, more trapped than having Chad loom over her and basically pin her to the wall with his proximity. She didn’t want to come between the man and his job.
Come to think of it, she didn’t want to come between him and anything.
Keri planted both palms on his chest, preparing to shove him away when he caught her off guard and covered her mouth with his.
She was having an out-of-body experience. Watching from a foot or two over the hall as their lips meshed. He ground against her, their hips damn close to merging through osmosis.
He was buff and tan and surfer-dude gorgeous. Until an hour ago she’d been completely on board with having him in her bed every night, all cruise long.
Now? The loudest thing running through her brain was
gag
. The only sections of her mental synapses fully engaged were curiously pondering what Mark was doing. And then there was the question of whether the first time they did it, would they even make it to a bed?
Hmmm
. If this was Mark right now across from her, she’d grab his hips and—
“Ahem.”
Light appeared as they were interrupted for a second time. Chad retreated a couple inches to stare to their left at—
oh damn
—it was Mark.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt, but if you don’t mind?” He brushed a hand through his dark hair, leaving it in unruly perfection.
Time stood still.
…because that was all he did.
Keri choked out a protest. “But…you…I’m…we’re…”
Both men stared at her in confusion.
Great job, idiot. Way to prove English is your mother tongue.
Chad glared at Mark. “You’re not supposed to be on this deck. It’s off limits to maintenance crew.”
Mark paused, then lifted a finger and shook it once. “Yes. Right. Except I got lost. I was trying for the outside deck. Just wanted a breath of fresh air before getting down to work.”
He eyed Keri, his predatory, mesmerizing, hungry gaze returning. It was all she needed in the way of visual foreplay. She sighed lustily, squeezing her legs together to fight the flood of desire about to float her away. One hand rose involuntarily in his direction.
He took her fingers and squeezed them.
She waited for him to haul them together. To drag her from Chad’s side. To toss her to the floor and mark her right then and there. She felt it so strongly—the urge to mate. The
need
to mate.
It was as if she’d been holding her breath, swimming underwater for years, and only now moving toward the surface. Urgency drove her. About to break the surface, about to pull in life-giving air…
She lifted her chin. Tilted her head and offered her lips.
“Nice to meet you again. Later.” He dropped her hand and passed on by.
He might as well have planted a hand on her head and dunked her. She gasped, breathed wrong and inhaled spit. Hard coughing racked her.
“Hey, it’s okay.” Chad patted her back lightly, confusion blurring his features as she fought her way upright, watching Mark disappear down the hall.
He’d walked away.
He’d…walked away?
What the heck?
“I don’t understand.” Her body ached, and her brain had gone numb.
“Ah, he’s just one of the hired help. You won’t have to see him again.”
Chad cupped her face and pressed in again. Keri’s skin crawled, goose bumps the side of Greenland rising. Not a good reaction.
He brushed his cheek against hers and purred. “Mmm, I can smell you.”
What? Her mind was so muddled she had no idea what that meant for a moment. Inspiration hit, and she tilted her nose toward her armpit and sniffed. Nope.
A faint flicker of comprehension banged on the door blocking her thought processes. Her mate had walked past her down the hallway, ignoring the fact she was in another man’s arms—again she squirmed inside with an
ick, ick, ick—
and left her?
Was Mark stark raving mad?
Chad groped her again, and her temper flew up faster than she could control. She shoved him violently enough that he bounced off the far wall.
“Whoa, okay. So, in spite of your body saying you’re interested, you’re going to play hard to get?” Chad nodded and stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Is this like a game?”
“That’s not it. I’m not…” Keri paused.
Wait. Wait.
No instant reactions to Chad.
She needed a coping strategy. She had to think this through. Her mate had some obvious issues. Maybe he was worried about his position. Maybe her…
It was as if a light bulb went off overhead. Inspiration rocked her. Actually, she was grabbing at straws to explain his non-reaction to her, but this was at least possible.
Maybe Mark didn’t want her to get in trouble with the boss. Probably figured her job was on the line and breaking up with the chief supervisor wouldn’t make him very happy.
What a sweetie.
She blinked hard, her heart thumping as she sent all kinds of loving thoughts Mark’s direction. A little wave of happiness bubbled inside. Her mate was a wonderful and insightful man.
Maybe. Hopefully.
She turned to Chad. “It’s just that we’re about to get under way. We’ll talk about this later, okay? Bye then.”
Sprinting down the hall would be undignified, so she maintained control and only walked fast. Really fast. She wasn’t chasing Mark. Only wanted one more glimpse, that’s all. Maybe shoot a few more good vibes his direction. The door to the deck swung open smoothly and she blasted out.
He stood not ten feet in front of her, head cocked to the right as he stared down at the dock from their upper-deck level. She froze, caught completely in the open. One tiny step at a time she inched toward the safety of the overhang where she could…
Not good. The broad measure of his back turned toward her. In a second they’d be face to face.
All confidence fled and her feet turned on high. She felt like the roadrunner cartoon, legs rotating in blurred circles. Skipping over the metal decking as she scurried to get out of sight.
She scrambled around the corner and ducked through an open door into an equipment room. Piles of shuffleboard and other deck games lay arranged on shelves and organized in neat totes. She eyed the open door with trepidation, holding her breath. When he walked past without spotting her, Keri gasped in relief.
One quick lunge was enough to grab the door and swing it shut, locking herself in the semi-darkness of the pristine chamber, the only light sneaking in from two small windows on the far wall. She hopped up on the largest storage container in the corner and collapsed. Okay, this was not going the way she’d planned.
“Brilliant, Smith. Simply brilliant. Get yourself out of this one.”
She might have managed to avoid bumping into him, but the whole matter of how to cope with having her mate on board was still open.
Think. Think.
The only response was a heavy throb between her legs, and Keri cursed. Fine. It seemed there would be no thinking until she dealt with this outlandish need burning through her veins. She tugged at her T-shirt before giving in. The fabric came off one direction, her bra the other. Folding her palms over her breasts and squeezing let her deal with a bit of the urgency.
It wasn’t enough. There was no way she could go back out there and do any kind of positive work without first letting off a little steam. She unzipped and slid her fingers into her pants.
The brunette he’d just passed in the hall? Man, sometimes life sucked. She appeared to be just his type—feminine yet slightly on the naughty side. When they’d caught a glimpse of each other in the crew quarters earlier, he’d thought she’d checked him over with interest as well.