and Matt moved into the room to let the crew members pass.
Mateus, the Portuguese equivalent of Matthew.
So they did go by first names, just like Matt had said. She liked that. Michael would have insisted on formality at all costs. He’d said that to get respect, you had to demand respect. She used to agree, but now she wondered. That kind of respect could be lost in the blink of an eye—or behind the closed doors of an examination room. Besides, she sensed an admiration from these men that wasn’t a result of social standing or titles, but something earned through time and trust.
Would she ever be included in their little circle? Probably not.
‘We’ve put the new doctor’s bags in your room.’
Dull color crept into Matt’s face, and Stevie sensed her scalp heating as well. They’d put her bags in his room? She hovered between saying ‘Thank you’ and squeaking out the protest that scrabbled up her throat, seeking the nearest exit. Before she could do either, Matt wrapped a hand around her upper arm. ‘I’ll show you where your things are.’
As soon as they were through the door, she planted her heels to stop their forward motion, ignoring the way the warmth from his fingers burrowed beneath her skin. Uh-oh. There went that blood-rushing-through-the-veins sensation again.
She tugged free of his hold, furious with herself for having any kind of reaction at all.
‘Why did they put my suitcases in your room? I don’t know what’s going on, but—’
‘Not here. Let’s get out of earshot, okay? They’ve already got enough to gossip about for the next two weeks. We all thought the new doctor was going to be … well, a man. Now you see why it’s so complicated.’
She didn’t. Not at all. ‘Just have them move my bags to another room.’
His brows went up. ‘You’d rather sleep with Nilson and Tiago in the crew’s quarters, then?’
‘What? No, of course not. There must be somewhere else.’
He walked down the narrow aisle, forcing her to follow him. She noted he had to hunch his shoulders to accommodate the low ceiling. ‘There’s not. The space is cramped as it is, there are no extra rooms.’
No wonder he’d flipped out when he’d realized ‘Stefan’ was a woman. Kind of hard to avoid someone when you had to share a bedroom with him. What was she going to do? Lordy, what if he only had one bed in that room?
She’d camp on deck if she had to.
And risk being devoured by mosquitoes?
Maybe.
They came to a doorway, and her heart raced as Matt pushed it open, motioning her through. She squeezed by him, careful not to touch, but all the precautions in the world couldn’t prepare her for the clean masculine scent that followed her into the room. It permeated the space, branding everything in it as his. If she stayed here, would it mark her as well?
She swallowed and forced herself to take shallow breaths as she examined the room. Even with her suitcases piled one on top of the other in the corner, there was barely enough room for two people to stand, much less move about.
She went slack with relief, however, when she spotted two beds, rather than one. Thick woven hammocks, actually, one above the other. A shared mosquito net hung suspended from a hook, tied to the side with a worn bungee cord at the moment. But at night it would be set free, encasing both hammocks in a tight intimate circle. As if they were in their own little world.
Her hard-won composure finally cracked, allowing panic to ooze between the gaps as she stared at the folded blanket and pillow resting on the bottom hammock. A worn paperback—Tom Clancy’s The Sum of All Fears—lay on top of the bedding. How apropos that title was.
Matt had mentioned seeing how tough she really was. They were about to find out.
Her laugh, when it came, was one cackle short of hysterical. ‘Well, I guess this means you want me on top.’
Her on top? Matt pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to eradicate the image that sprang to mind.
‘Don’t worry, I’ll bunk with the crew,’ he said, his voice coming out as a croak.
She swung around, her green eyes shining with relief. ‘But if their room is as small as this one …’
‘We’ll make do. I’ll hang a third set of hooks above theirs for my hammock.’
She eyed the beds. ‘That will put you almost flush against the ceiling. You’ll have no room to move.’
Yeah, almost like being inside a fabric coffin. His fingers massaged his neck muscles, trying to get rid of the ache that just wouldn’t quit. ‘Whatever it takes.’
‘You are aware that hot air rises, right? I’m already dripping with sweat, and I’m on the floor.’ Her eyes went to the ceiling. ‘It’ll be like being in a slow roaster up there.’
Exasperation washed over him, and he dropped his hand, allowing it to slap against his thigh. ‘Thanks for pointing out all the positive aspects of our situation.’
‘No problem.’ She licked her lips and paused. ‘Listen, we’re both adults, and it’s not like you’ll be able to see … anything once I’m in bed. I can wear gym shorts and a T-shirt rather than my PJs. If we leave the door open at night and restrict our dressing and undressing to the bathroom, we should be fine.’
Good suggestion—except that Matt didn’t normally wear anything to bed. And he wasn’t sure how he felt about looking up at night, knowing those sweet curves were lying just over his head, close enough so that all he had to do was reach up and …
‘Give me a couple hours to think it over.’ He backed out of the room and into the hallway.
She shrugged as if he were the one with the problem, not her. ‘Suit yourself. Don’t say I didn’t offer.’
It would almost be better if she’d wiggled her hips and implied that the offer went beyond mere sleeping arrangements. Then he could ship her butt back to Manaus with a clean conscience. The last thing anyone needed was a messy two-week fling. And a long-term relationship was out of the question. Vickie had been it for him. Now that she was gone …
He had no doubt Stefani would be going home at the end of those two weeks, if not before. Even if she didn’t turn tail and run, he’d already asked Tracy to keep looking for a replacement. Surely Stefani could understand his concerns now that she’d seen the conditions. It wasn’t just him, he had the crew to think about—and some of the tribes were bound to have a problem with him bringing in an unattached female. If the vessel were bigger, having team members of the opposite sex might be more feasible. Or if he and Stephani were married …
Who was he kidding? Even the thought of marriage made his stomach tighten with dread.
‘How about showing
