the time. She was pretty sure the revelation would have ended not only their evening but also their relationship.
His eyes narrowed. “Aren’t you the one who claimed the discounted rates made cruising affordable?”
“I’ve never had anyone to go with.” Except him. “My mother was afraid of the water and Nadia wasn’t interested.” She dug in to her carry-on and pulled out the cruise materials. “We need to sign up for our shore excursions.”
His frown deepened. “I’m here to work, not play. You’re here as camouflage. You’re on your own except for the lifeboat drill and dinners where we’ll need to present ourselves as a couple. Do whatever you want. Go ashore. Use the spa. KCL will cover your expenses. Reasonable expenses. No jewelry. No designer clothing.”
Taken aback by the rapid unraveling of her plans, she struggled to regroup. If she didn’t change his mind, their romantic getaway would be a solitary vacation. She’d been alone enough since her mother died. “But … how will you find out the reasons bookings are down if you don’t do the full cruise experience?”
“I know what to look for.”
“I could help.”
“If this is your first cruise, then you won’t recognize substandard issues.”
He had a point. “You could teach me.”
“Tara—”
“What about the welcoming party?”
“I need to check the ship and the chaos of castoff is the best time.”
His hard gaze pinned her in place. She scrambled for a valid reason to be with him.
“Do you really want to tip your hand and let them know you’re here on our first day? I mean, I realize the check-in associate saw your name, but you had on your hat and your passport still lists a California address. I don’t think she recognized you or made the connection to KCL. We should stick together. You said yourself we’ll draw less attention as a couple.”
His lips thinned in irritation. “Fine. But don’t expect to play inseparable newlyweds throughout the cruise.”
Newlyweds. The word sent her temperature skyrocketing. Her gaze bounced to the bed, then back to Rand’s face. The banked heat in his eyes made her shiver, and the obvious fact that he wanted her kept her going.
She licked her dry lips. She would soon have him exactly where she wanted him, but could she make him happy to be there? Could she make him yearn to share her bed the way he used to?
That was the mission she intended to accomplish over the next three nights.
Rand slid his key card into the lock. He’d deliberately stayed out well past midnight to avoid sharing the domesticated get-ready-for-bed routine.
As soon as he crossed the threshold a sense of confinement doubled his pulse rate, constricted his lungs and pushed sweat from his pores. He’d spent months at sea working all over KCL ships and in almost every capacity and slept in cabins barely large enough to turn around in. Three nights of sharing a balcony cabin wouldn’t be a problem.
If his roommate were anyone else.
His claustrophobic reaction had nothing to do with the dimensions of the room, and everything to do with the woman he’d left in the bar hours earlier. But even though the comedian onstage had been entertaining, Rand had needed to get away from Tara’s laugh. It brought back too many memories—memories of a time when he’d let his guard down.
He eased the door closed and entered the unlit room as silently as possible. Would she be waiting up for him? Or had she gone to bed?
Bed. The heavy throb of his heart echoed a yard lower.
He searched the mattress in the darkness. The white terry-cloth elephant sitting in the center of the spread was the bed’s only occupant. Rand had spent nine months between his junior and senior years of college working as a cabin steward. Back then he’d known how to form a dozen different animals from rolled and folded bath towels.
As his eyes adjusted to the lack of light he noted the empty lavatory and his suitcase sitting on the love seat. He stopped in his tracks. Empty bed. Empty chair. No Tara. Another possibility snagged him like a briar ripping along his skin.
The Rendezvous brand primarily targeted couples, but there were always singles on board. Had Tara given up on landing him and lingered in the bar to hook a more willing victim?
An uncomfortable burn settled in his stomach. He scanned the deserted cabin once more. The fluttering bottom corner of the curtain caught his eye and pulled him forward. He pushed back the panel and found Tara sitting on the balcony. She hadn’t bothered to turn on the light.
That wasn’t relief filling his lungs. The sea air simply made it easier to breathe. He shoved the sliding glass door open the rest of the way. “Seasick?”
She lifted her face. Moonlight washed her cheeks. She’d removed her makeup, but not her dress. From his vantage point above her, the strapless bodice revealed a tempting shadow of cleavage, and then the ocean breeze caught her zigzag hem, drawing his gaze from her sexy sandals to an arousing length of sleek thighs. “No.”
“Then why aren’t you in bed?”
“I forgot my nightgown.”
Her reply hit him like a kick in the crotch, propelling the air from his lungs. Did she think he was stupid enough to fall for that? “How convenient.”
She winced at his sarcasm. “Our luggage wasn’t delivered until almost nine. By the time I unpacked and realized I’d left my nightie in the dryer, the gift shop had closed. Can I borrow a T-shirt tonight? Unless you don’t mind if I sleep naked.”
The lower half of his anatomy responded with resounding approval. Luckily, his brain kicked in. Tara had always been good at making her lies sound believable. Too bad he hadn’t known that then. But he made a mental note that the luggage had been delivered late. “I’ll get a shirt.”
She rose. “Thank you.”
He backed inside and headed for his luggage. Two flicks later it opened. He withdrew a white T-shirt and handed it over.
“Thanks. I’ll only be a minute.” Tara crossed the shadowy cabin quickly and disappeared into the bathroom. The door closed.
Something about watching her pad across a bedroom hit him like a double shot of espresso. Sleep would be a long time coming.
Rand eyed the bed and debated stripping to his boxers and getting under the covers before she returned. Stripping … the way Tara was currently on the other side of that wall. He gritted his teeth against another below-the-belt pulse of arousal.
Moments later the door opened. Tara returned, leaving the lavatory light on. Despite the extra-tall size, his shirt only covered her to the tops of her thighs, leaving a mouthwatering amount of leg bare. Even in the moonlight
