I had nowhere to move, let alone look.’
‘Feisty. I like that.’ His eyes gleamed, and the corners of his too-tempting-for-comfort mouth twitched in amusement.
Heat suffused her cheeks as she struggled to come up with a comeback. She hated how she always thought of a great retort ten minutes too late.
How was it she could answer any student’s query in a second, but right now her brain—a whiz at cataloguing priceless artefacts, leading tour groups and calculating storage data—was totally befuddled?
‘Thanks for breaking my fall.’
As replies went, it was pretty lame. Pathetic, in fact; it looked as if her comeback skills had sunk to the same level as her flirting expertise: below average bordering on non-existent.
More embarrassed than she cared to admit, she managed a tight smile, picked up her luggage and turned away, striding towards the ship though her knees wobbled like just-set jelly.
‘Watch your step!’ he called after her, his voice shaking with laughter.
She stiffened, but didn’t break stride, determined not to look back, refusing to give him the satisfaction. Besides, she could feel his stare boring holes into her back.
Her skin prickled at the recollection of those incredibly blue eyes twinkling at her, laughing at her, and she shook her head in disgust. She was such a novice at this.
‘Live a little, cuz. Let your hair down. Go crazy,’ Beth had encouraged her. ‘You’ve got two weeks to cut loose, to be someone you wouldn’t dream of being on land. Make the most of it.’
Great advice, and it had sounded easy coming from her bubbly, confident cousin, who bounced through life with a perpetual smile on her face. And Beth sure knew what she was talking about, considering her positive attitude had landed her Aidan Voss, the dreamiest husband on the planet.
As for Beth’s other advice—‘dust off the cobwebs, get laid’—Lana blushed just thinking about it.
It was precisely three years, two months and five days since she’d last had sex. Not that she was counting or anything. Besides, she’d have to date to have sex—would have to get emotionally involved with the guy to contemplate it—and she didn’t trust her emotions any more; not after what Jax the Jackass had done.
She tucked her old holdall under her arm tighter and headed for the gangway. Beth was right. While her professional life shone, her social life sucked. She had no confidence, no social skills, and no hope of being chosen for the museum’s next overseas jaunt unless she learned to be more assertive, more outgoing, more everything.
Maybe this cruise would be just what a conservative curator needed?
Zac watched the petite brunette cut a path through the crowd, confused and intrigued.
Most of the holidaymakers he met were dressed to kill, and wearing enough make-up to sink a ship—no pun intended—yet she wore a simple navy suit bordering on severe, and barely a slick of lipgloss. And yet she had managed to capture his attention anyway.
He’d reached out to her in an instinctive reaction, but once she was in his arms his synapses had short-circuited and he’d found himself wanting to hold on way longer than necessary.
What was with that?
He’d lost any tender regard towards the fairer sex around the time Magda had done her chameleon act, and he hadn’t let a woman get close enough to sink her talons in since.
Unwittingly, his gaze was drawn to the diminutive figure striding towards the ship, head up, shoulders squared, as if ready for battle. No simple walking for her. No, sirree. She had to sway her hips in a natural, tantalising rhythm in sync with her legs.
Running a hand across his eyes didn’t help his quest to wipe her imprint from his retinas. Her sexy gait was replaced by an instant image of feline hazel eyes and a full, pouting mouth. Lord, that mouth. He could fantasise about it for ever. As for that innocent schoolgirl-channelling-schoolmarm expression she had down pat—he’d never seen anything like it.
When she’d stared at him with those striking burnt caramel eyes she’d appeared wide-eyed and ingenuous one second, and ready to give him a severe scolding the next.
Interesting. Very interesting. But he didn’t have the time or the inclination to follow up on the first woman to pique his interest in a long time.
He had more important things on his mind—like doing a damn good job the next two weeks before he moved on to the next stage of his life. His uncle wanted him here. They’d noticed a pattern to the series of accidents that had plagued their cruise fleet, and the pattern suggested that the Ocean Queen was the next target. He planned for it to be the last.
After unpacking, Lana made her way to the promenade deck and wandered away from the crowds along the railings, finding a deserted spot with a clear view of the hustle and bustle below.
Circular Quay buzzed with activity, and people were waving as the ship pulled away from its berth, snapping the colourful streamers that bound it to shore. She had a great view from her vantage point: the Sydney Harbour Bridge on her left and the Opera House on her right as the ship sailed up the harbour. Both landmarks were imposing in the fading light.
The sound of low voices from somewhere on the deck above had her craning her head. If she had a great view from here, theirs must be amazing.
‘Looks like loads of single women down there. Half are here for flings; the other half hope to find a husband. It’s the same every cruise.’
‘Your job is to pamper those women, not judge them.’
‘Easy for you to say, buddy. If they see an unattached guy they’re like piranhas circling their next meal.’
Despite her intentions to ignore the conversation, this harsh judgment captured Lana’s attention, and realisation dawned as she looked up. Standing above her, silhouetted against the bridge, stood the stranger who’d saved her from falling earlier.
He wore a crisp white uniform that accentuated his tan—a larger than life Richard Gere in An Officer and a Gentleman—and she swallowed, disconcerted by how she’d compared him to two of her favourite movie stars in under an hour.
Deep furrows marred his brow as his gaze swept the crowd, and she shrank back, hoping she was hidden. She didn’t want to be scrutinised by that disconcerting stare—not when she’d been eavesdropping, albeit unintentionally.
Mr Nautical’s generalisations about women had her bristling enough to barge up there and give him a verbal spray, but if she had the guts to do that she’d be winging her way to Egypt right now, as the museum’s spokesperson, not cowering under a deck hoping she wouldn’t be spotted.
He was entitled to his opinion, and she to hers. And right now, as she darted a quick glance overhead, taking in those broad shoulders, deep blue eyes and the mop of unruly dark curls, her opinion screamed Neanderthal.
The band starting up drowned out the rest of his conversation, and she stood still for several minutes, waiting for the men above to move so she could make her escape without being seen. After a few extra minutes of shuffling her feet to kill time, she sidled along the deck, taking a few steps back towards an open
