All Hands Below (22 page)

“I have to go.”

Just like that.

And just like that, Evangeline nodded, even as her heart shrank in her chest. Disappointment battered at her insides.

“I’ll come back as soon as I can.”

She nodded again. Her fingers clutched the blankets, while her heart fought against waves of surprise. “I understand. Please, don’t worry about me.”

“This is not what I had planned, sweetheart. I swear, I’ll be back.”

“When?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Evie, I hate this. You have to know…something came up with the captain scheduled for this cruise. It might only be for a week. It might be longer,” he added, grim-faced.

She pressed a finger to his lips, stopping him from saying anymore. “It’s okay, Liam. Do what you need to do.”

“Will you wait for me?”

Yes. Say
yes…

“Liam,” she shook her head. “I’ve spent the last five years waiting. Married to a military man who was away in Afghanistan the first year of our marriage, then mourning his death the second year. Being his dad’s caregiver through the last year of his life. And then two more years before boarding the Sea Sapphire and finding you. I-I just
hate
waiting,” she admitted on a broken sigh.

“Evie, the guy you started seeing before I came back into the picture…”

“Oh Liam! There is no guy. There’s been no guy, not since you. And even then, you were never in the picture, remember? Not really. You hadn’t written. You never even called.”

She swallowed past the heartache that thickened her throat. Once again, he had to go back to his reality, and she to hers. “I had a life before you, and I’ll have a life after you. The truth is, maybe I will wait for you. And maybe I won’t. I just can’t wait forever.”

She was getting good at this, letting men go.

“Fair enough. But damn it…I don’t want to leave you! And don’t think for one second that these months without you were easy on me. You occupied my thoughts every waking minute, and invaded my dreams at night. That’s why I had to come.” He reached for her. “Evangeline, I—”

“Go, Liam.”

She couldn’t bear to hear it. She didn’t care if he was about to say
I’m sorry
or even
I love you
. He was still going to leave, and she would still choose to wait.

Chapter Twenty-One

“Beyond these doors lies a feast fit for a king. Foods from all over the world—Greek
gyros
to aged Texas Prime Rib—is yours to indulge.” Liam waved the blonde reporter and cameraman past the sliding glass doors.

He strolled with them toward the buffet of the International Bistro—and ignored the interest in the reporter’s eyes as her gaze met his.

“Thanks so much for taking the time to give Cruiser News this special tour, Captain Rossi. I must say, I’ve worked up quite the…umm, appetite.” Her look invited him to be the main course.

Liam smiled as his mind filled with thoughts of a meal uneaten. Of the morning he’d had to leave Evangeline three weeks ago.

He hoped she received the cards he’d sent. One for every week he’d been gone. Plus the postcards he’d mailed from every port the ship visited in the Caribbean to keep him fresh in her mind, hoping that she’d wait for him.

“The blood-orange sponge cake torte with Cointreau custard will satisfy any craving you have,” he assured the reporter with a smile, anxious to end this tour.

He needed to talk to Evangeline. God knows he’d practiced “the speech” a dozen times. He was going to lay his heart at her high-heeled feet and let her know how much he missed her. That he was willing to change his life. Not just to meet her halfway, but
all
the way.

“Captain Rossi?”

Liam blinked when the reporter’s face drifted into focus. Her smile cooling, she said, “Thank you for your time, captain. I take it you have no interest in joining me—us—for this fabulous meal?”

“My apologies. I’m otherwise…committed.”

Over the ship’s PA system, he was being summoned to the bridge. It couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. He excused himself, shook the cameraman’s hand, shook the reporter’s hand, and then left.

Up in the bridge, Liam answered the call on hold for him. “This is Captain Rossi.”

“Is that you, slacker-man?”

“Gwenn?” Only one person called him that. His heart nose-dived into his stomach. “What’s wrong?”

“Evangeline doesn’t know I’m calling you, but I thought you should know. She’s been in an accident.”

The world shifted on its axis. Or maybe the ship was simply rocking next to the dock. But for a few seconds, Liam’s life as he knew it went for a spin. “What happened?”

He could hear the line crackle. Her voice faded with words he couldn’t make out.

“She fell and fractured her…”
crackle-crackle
, “…and then she has a…”
crackle-crackle
, “…but she’s on her way to…”
crackle-crackle
, “…but the good news is she’s gonna be all right. Take good care of her, ya hear?”

The line went dead.

“Gwenn!” He began dialing the number he’d memorized after practicing “the speech” multiple times.

Wait—
what
? Take good care of her?
What did she mean by that?

“Everything all right, sir?”

He didn’t know which officer spoke to him. The roar in his ears clashed with the hammering of his heart.

“Uh…Captain Rossi?”

Liam finished dialing.

“Sir—”

Liam threw a hand up and speared his XO with a glare. “I,” he gritted, “am attempting to call the love of my life! What is it?”

The first officer grinned as an amused silence stole across the bridge. The officers were all looking in the direction of the exterior doors leading to and from the bridge.

He turned his head and the phone fell out of his hand.

****

Evangeline stood in the open doorway, gazing at him.

Port breezes fluttered her hair and skimmed around her bare legs. Her toes curled inside her electric blue deck shoes. Anxiety clenched at her stomach.

Her right arm, bound and held up in a sling, ached. The stabbing pain caused by the bone spur in her shoulder added to her misery. Of course Liam’s rejection would finish her off, but even in pain and with her heart uncertain, she had to come.

She couldn’t gauge much from his features, other than her showing up on his ship had come as a surprise. As had been her last minute decision to fly to Miami.

Maybe she needed to clean out her ears, too, but she could have sworn she heard him snap at his crew that he was trying to call the love of his life.

In his white uniform, his gold-barred shoulder-boards framed his aura of command. He looked every inch the ship’s commander—professional and unapproachable. At least to her, since she wasn’t here on ship’s business.

This was personal.

She cleared her throat. “Hi Liam. Is this a good time?”

A dark brow angled up. “I could guarantee you a good time,” Liam greeted softly, “but I don’t think that’s what you’re asking. What happened, Evangeline?”

She bit her lip as a full-throttle body blush warmed her from her cheeks to her toes. His gaze glinted with virile interest, and his irresistible words floated along her pulse points.

“I tripped on the sidewalk outside Morning Glory. It was raining, and I slipped in my heels. Fractured my arm. Dislocated my elbow. As I lay there in pain while being rained on at the bottom of the stairwell, I figured the icing on this cake would be to go on a cruise.”

Liam grinned. “I can see the logic in that since you’re not going to be much help to Gwenn. So you’ll be joining us for Kerri and Eli’s wedding on Pirate Island?”

“As will Maisy and her family,” she happily informed him.

“If so much as a fucking toothpick goes missing…so help me God, Evie, I’ll put her ashore at the first port of call. Let’s go somewhere we can talk, shall we?”

His gaze skimmed her features and the glow in his eyes promised more than talk. If he could read her mind, he’d have laughed at her only thought.
Can that somewhere include a bed?

Minutes later, they were nowhere near a bed.

They were in an interior passageway, next to a door that said “No Unauthorized Entry,” just outside the ship’s engine room, where they first met. He stood away from her, one hand hitched on his lean hip and the other rested along a handrail. His fingers tapped thoughtfully along the curve of the metal.

“Is it just Kerri and Eli’s wedding that brings you cross country, Evangeline?”

She gave him a searching look. “Liam, I know this is late in coming…I love you. You asked me three weeks ago if I’d wait. I came to tell you in person, I will.”

“You’re sure, Evie? Because I tried this once and it didn’t work out.”

“I’m not Kerri!”

“Thank God,” he retorted, which made her smile.

“At least we both want to try, Liam. I lost out with my first husband. I don’t want to miss out on you.”

“And what about your someday baby-daddy out there?”

She shrugged. “He’s just going to have to wait on me ‘cause I’ve got a life to live. With
you
. Your side of the bed will be there, waiting for you.” She eased out a small, nervous breath. “I should go—”

“It’s too late, Evangeline.”

She felt herself sway. “I-I understand. I waited too long.”

“You don’t understand. It’s too late for your somewhere-out-there baby-daddy. That position will be mine.”

Her heart turned into a turbo-charged instrument of disbelief.

“Will you be my baby-mama?”

She opened then closed her mouth, lost for words. Yet wanting to laugh at the hip proposal coming from this hot, high-ranking maritime professional, gazing at her with adoration. And love.

“I’ll do whatever you want, Evangeline. I’ll take a land-based position; a regular nine-to-five office job. I’ll—”

“Liam?” Evangeline shook her head, in awe of the delicious hunk laying his heart at her feet. “What’s changed? Because I’ll be there, you know, for you. For as long as you love me.”

Her breath caught at the force of his passion when he reached out and curved both hands around her shoulders.

“What changed for me?” He brushed her skin with silken thumbs, his voice husky as his gaze cherished her face. “I didn’t sign up to fall in love with a blue-eyed wench the minute I’d made captain. I was a man on the move and,” he hesitated, but admitted, “a long-term relationship wasn’t in the cards for me. I’d already had one go south.”

Evangeline touched his jaw with her fingertips to let him know she understood his dreams. His conflicts.

“My own ship, my own command—I won’t deny it has its perks. But not having you in my life to share the rewards? Not being able to share in
your
life?” He shook his head. “Not going to happen. How many seas do I need to sail, beautiful? I’ve been all over the world. Traveled many oceans—”

“Bedded many beautiful women.”

He chuckled. “You got me there, sunshine. But like you, I want more. I’m so ready for more. I just didn’t know what I needed until I met you.”

His heartfelt words freed her mind to accept his love. The vision he had for his future held a special place for her after all, right by his side.

“Liam Rossi, if you think we’re going to be stuck at home every night like a worn out pair of shoes, you’ve got another think coming. I also don’t plan to let you out of my sight much! If I can travel with you, then I will.”

“Oh, you will.” His eyes twinkled with promises. “And we won’t always be traveling. I’ll be off several months out of the year. I’ll be there to help you with Morning Glory—and in every other way. But I don’t want you unhappy, to have to travel.”

“Oh trust me. I’m pretty miserable when you’re
not
around,” she whispered, and stepped closer to him. She reached out with her good arm and cupped his balls and cock in her hand. “Hmm. Already hard, I see.”

He stifled a groan. “We sail for the Eastern Caribbean at seventeen-hundred hours. You do realize that you’re mine, right? No more of this find-a-husband-in-twenty-four-hours bullshit.”

“That depends. Are you offering me a holiday, captain?”

“Roses and romance, too.” Liam’s gaze seared into her eyes. The fire in them kindled with pleasure as he raised his hand and grazed her cheek with his knuckles. Then he bent his head, kissed her lips, and murmured, “An all-inclusive package, baby.”

About the Author

Just for fun, Lelani Black used to write motocross articles for a motocross website. One day a sports editor for a national magazine read one of her articles and invited her to submit her articles to them—for money! That one kindness shown to her by an editor gave her the confidence to keep nurturing her passion for writing. Her debut erotic romance,
Boss With Benefits
, was her first foray into her journey as an author of erotic, romantic fiction. It’s been full-throttle fun ever since!

Visit Lelani at

http://www.lelaniblack.com

To chat with Lelani Black and other Wild Rose Press authors of erotic romance, join us at www.groups.yahoo.com/group/thewilderroses.

Also Available

Private Dancer

by

Lelani Black

Harrison Allandt aches for his sexy-sweet fiancée to crank up the heat in the bedroom. But as he discovers the startling depths of her sensuality, he can't help but wonder what other secrets this picture-perfect beauty is hiding.

Desperate to keep her bikini boutique from going belly-up and struggling to pay for her grandmother's medical care, Jacinta Carr will risk anything. Even taking the stage as one of Honolulu's hottest pole dancers.

But when Harry finds out, will he walk away or will he name his own price—a private dance?

Chapter One

Harrison Keanu Allandt strode purposefully past the noisy crowd that milled around a brightly lit boutique window near downtown Honolulu’s Fort Street Mall. Due back in his office for a client meeting, he hadn’t anticipated the business luncheon he was returning from to last an hour longer than he’d expected.