CRUISE TO ROMANCE (13 page)

Jennifer looked down at her own
outfit and decided she didn’t look half bad.  She now sported a white
sailor-styled top and navy boy-leg short shorts.  She was even tanning slowly
and evenly from short periods in the sun.  Careful to avoid the afternoon sun
as Helga advised, Jennifer used a sun screen and only allowed herself to be
exposed during the morning hours.  It must be the fresh air and exercise,
because Jennifer felt healthier than she could remember ever feeling before.

Much too soon the class was over
and Helga made her way over to Jennifer.  She smiled her beauty queen smile at
Jennifer, but this time Jennifer didn’t feel intimidated by her statuesque
beauty.

“Good morning, Jenny.  How was
your day in St. Kitts?”

“Glorious!” she answered.  “It
was a beautiful place to visit and I discovered some new recipes that I can
experiment with and probably add to my new cookbook.”

“That’s wonderful.  I hope you
will autograph one of your books for me when it comes out.”

Jennifer laughed.  “Of course.”

Helga walked to the deck railing
and rested her arms on the teak grip.  “How is the romance coming?”

“Not good.  But the clothes we
bought and the advice you gave me are wonderful.”  Jennifer gazed out over the
ocean.  She could see nothing but water against blue sky for miles.  “A
short-term love affair is really all he wants.”

“So, he is fighting the
attraction?”  Helga smiled.  “Sometimes that is a good sign.”

Jennifer studied her for a moment
before answering.  Who knew what went on in a man’s mind?  She was tired of
analyzing his actions and reactions.  Every time she tried to second-guess
where a man was coming from, she was wrong.  “It doesn’t matter.  I don’t want
a reluctant lover.”

“Good.  It is very good for you
to know what you want and stick with it.”  Helga straightened and faced
Jennifer.  “Perhaps next time will be better.  Don’t doubt it, Jenny.  There
will be a next time.  You are a beautiful caring woman.  Any man would be lucky
to have you.”

“Thank you.  There will
definitely be a next time,” she said with confidence, “I just don’t know when.”

Jennifer looked at her friend and
smiled.  It would be a long time before she met another man who made her feel
alive the way Ryan did, but she must believe that he was out there somewhere. 
She knew she was in love with Ryan, and that would never do.  He may be
attracted to her, and wanted her passionately, but he didn’t want to love her. 
What had started out as a fun way to garner a little experience had taken a
serious turn.  She should have known that she couldn’t handle a casual affair. 
Experienced or not, she wanted love.  Love and marriage and babies.  Nothing
else would do.

Helga returned Jennifer’s smile
and spoke softly.  “Something is wrong.  I know only a little bit about Ryan
Treymont and a lot about men.  Ryan is definitely taken with you.  He exhibits
all the signs of a man falling in love.”

“I thought so too, but I guess
that I’m wrong.”  Jennifer replied sadly.

“The trouble with experienced men
is that they fight falling in love.  It represents an end to their fun and
games.  Usually, they don’t want to give up casual sex at any cost.  It is hard
to read Ryan and that arrogant brother of his, but I did credit Ryan with a
certain amount of maturity.”

“Sheila told me that Ryan’s
ex-fiancée is pursuing him.  Do you think he could still be in love with her?”
Jennifer asked.

“There is that possibility,”
Helga replied gently.

Jennifer shook her head and
fought back tears.  It was so obvious, yet she had missed it.  How could she be
so naive?  She had been so proud of herself for not chasing him and yet, that’s
exactly what she had done.

“It might explain a lot,” Helga
said.  “Why else would Ryan hold himself apart?  How did Sheila find out about
this?”

“Mike, of course.”

“Perhaps I could make some
discreet inquiries to find out,” Helga said hesitantly.  “Asking Mike anything
would be particularly troublesome, of course.”

“Why?”  Jennifer asked.  “Mike,
of all people should know.”

“True.  It’s just that I don’t
particularly like him.  He is such an irresponsible playboy. Ordinarily, I
refuse to carry on a conversation in excess of two minutes with him, but for
your sake, I will try.”

“You don’t have to do this,”
Jennifer said.  “It’s not necessary.”

“It may take me a few days, but I
will find out.  Mike comes in every morning to exercise and he always seeks me
out.  I suspect that he does it just to aggravate me.  Either that or to hone
his charming seduction skills on me, an older woman.  I haven’t been able to
dissuade him, so it’s time to turn his actions into our advantage.  Don’t
worry, Jenny.  If I can help, I will.”

Jennifer smiled before turning
away.  “Thanks Helga, but I don’t think it’s going to matter now.”

*    
*     *

“Good morning, beautiful.”  A
familiar masculine voice captured Helga’s attention.  She turned from her
client and smiled at Mike, then motioned to the woman that it was time to enter
the mineral pool.  As soon as the woman entered the pool and relaxed on the marble
bench, Helga made her way over to Mike.

“A little far away from the
spinning machines, are you not?” she asked.

“Well, now—there’s the problem. 
I can’t spin and talk to you too.  That is, unless you want to join me.”  Mike
stood in an arrogant stance, braced for her rejection.

Helga smiled.  “Actually, I was
going to do that.  I didn’t get my workout finished this morning.”  Helga
watched an incredulous look flash over his face before he controlled his
surprised response.

“Would you be able to join me
now?”  For a moment, Mike looked uncertain.

Certainly not the response she
would have expected from a playboy, Helga thought.  “Yes, for a while.”  She
walked over to the door where she picked up a towel off an end table, then
headed for the gym.  Confident that Mike was following behind her, she
continued on to the spinning machines, stopping at her favorite.  From this
vantage point she could see the vast and beautiful sea spread out in front of
her.

“Are you enjoying the cruise?”
she asked and mounted the bike.

“I’m trying.” he answered as he
mounted the one next to her.  “But I’d be enjoying it a lot more if I was
spending time with you.”

“You do flatter me.”  Helga set
the speed and began spinning.

“It’s sincere, just in case you
think otherwise.”

Helga pushed loose tendrils away
from her face and studied Mike.  For the first time, she realized that he
really was sincere.  “No.  Of course not.  But you torment yourself
needlessly.  I am on duty twelve hours a day.  There really is no time to spend
on a personal life.”

“Maybe you need a new job,” he
suggested casually.

“Maybe.”  For a moment she
tensed, deep in thought.  Then she flashed a vibrant smile at Mike.  “But for
now, I have no choice.”

“Mike leaned over and kissed her
on the lips, stealing her breath and her thoughts, ending the kiss on a
promise.  “I’m going to spend time with you, Helga—one way or another.”

Rays from the setting sun
reflected off the mountainous terrain of Little Britain as the majestic cruise
ship left Bridgetown’s deep water harbour.  Ryan stood on his balcony and
watched as the twenty-one-mile island of Barbados disappeared from view.  It
had been a beautiful morning filled with diving at Carlisle Bay.  With over two
hundred shipwrecks in the bay alone, he could have spent weeks there.  In the
afternoon, he and Mike met up with Sheila and Jennifer to take a submarine tour
and do a little shopping at Pelican Village.

After being cool toward him for
two days at sea, he was surprised that Jennifer had come along.  But she had
been there, fifty-five feet beneath the surface of the ocean, viewing the coral
reefs, watching the fish feed, and slowly driving him out of his mind.  Gone
was the camaraderie they had shared during the cruise.  She was self-confident,
sophisticated, and polite to a fault, but she wasn’t friendly.  She only seemed
to warm up when she was discussing recipes with the Barjans who loved visitors
to their island.  Yes, he would miss Barbados with its friendly people and even
the green monkeys that roamed free.  But all his memories would not be happy
ones.

Ryan wanted his sweet innocent
Jennifer back.  Instead of being with him, she opted for the library in the
evenings so that she could work on her cookbook.  During the day, she did an
excellent job of either avoiding or ignoring him.  He, Ryan Treymont, owner and
CEO of Exercisetech and accomplished and irresistible lover, was not used to
being avoided or ignored by a woman.  It was a new experience for him, one that
he didn’t like.  Nor did he like the turn his emotions had taken; that
out-of-control feeling kept him off balance.

Falling hard for a woman
shouldn’t have happened.  It wasn’t part of his overall plan.  Maybe all of
this moodiness and uncertainty was caused by too much pressure and not the “L”
word.  He’d been pushing himself to the max for months and this cruise, while
enjoyable, was still high pressure.  Getting the account with the cruise line
could mean the difference between staying privately owned and being forced to
go public.  There were literally millions of dollars at stake.  Focusing on
business was his most important objective, but he couldn’t get his mind off of
Jennifer.

There was less than a week left
on the cruise.  Less than a week to coax Jennifer back into being his friend. 
Less than a week to enjoy her company.  Less than a week to sort out his
tumultuous emotions.  If he could just hold her and kiss her one more time,
maybe he could smooth things out between them and erase the insidious tension
that permeated their friendship.

For a while, Ryan watched as the
ship pierced the ocean’s gentle swells leaving wakes and foam spanning out from
its sides.  A cool ocean breeze ruffled his hair and cooled his skin.  Evening
was giving way to the encroaching night, filling his cabin with darkness.  Ryan
sighed heavily.  He didn’t want to be alone tonight.  He wanted to be with
Jennifer, to see her laugh again, to see her gaze at him with that cute
expression of adoration that was uniquely hers.  He wanted to kiss her and make
love to her again.  Would she see him?  Well, the only way to find out was to
try.  Surely she still felt something for him.  One night of incredible love
making couldn’t be that easily dismissed.  Not by her and certainly not by
him.  It was up to him to create another incredible night for her.  Maybe then,
he both hoped and feared, she would never want to let him go.

*    
*    *

Jennifer heard the knock on her
cabin door and assumed that it was room service with her dinner of wine and
hors d’oeuvres.  Dressed only in a short teddy, she grabbed her robe against
her and opened the door.  To her dismay, the terribly handsome and charming, Ryan
Treymont walked in, uninvited, and stood there smiling down at her.  Why he
actually had the nerve to lock the security lock.  Just what did he think that
would accomplish?

 “Hello, beautiful.”

Well, since he said it
that
way, Jennifer guessed he could come in, but just for a few minutes.  In just a
few minutes she could take in that handsome face with his dark piercing eyes,
those broad straight shoulders, and that muscular chest that she loved to run
her hands over.  She might even catch a glimpse of that cute butt of his as he
left.  In just a few minutes she could study the man she loved and commit him
to memory.

Ryan reached out with his finger
and gently pushed her chin up.  “You can close your mouth now.”  He chuckled
but didn’t move his finger away.  Instead he traced the outline of her lips
while she stood silently in awe.

The past few days she had missed
him so much.  It had hurt to turn away from him and now he was here wanting
her.  Did she have the strength to send him away?  She didn’t think so.  Of its
own volition, her robe fell to the floor, but his eyes never left hers.  Then
he lowered his mouth and gently kissed her.  Just a touch and she went up in
flames, forgetting all of her good intentions.  She slipped her arms around his
waist and pulled him to her while he deepened the kiss.  Desperately she tore
at the front of his shirt—she had to feel him against her without the offending
cloth between them.  He obliged her by stripping off his shirt.

“Steady, baby,” he whispered. 
His hands held her shoulders before he slipped his finger under the straps of
the teddy.  Gently he pulled down the straps and kissed her shoulders, then
dropped the teddy to the floor.  Leaning down, he kissed her mouth while he
stripped himself of his slacks and underwear.

Jennifer pressed her body against
his and gloried in the feel of the hard planes and angles of his healthy body. 
She wanted to see him, to remember him, to know his body in bright light as
well as moonlight.  Her memories would have to last a lifetime.  The cruise was
almost over and she knew she would never see him again.  “Please . . . let me
look at you,” she breathed.

Ryan stepped back, allowing
Jennifer the pleasure of seeing him stand before her hard and wanting and
desperate for her.  It aroused Jennifer to scrutinize him, but study him she
did, from the top of his dark hair to the tip of his toes.  Whorls of hair
covering his broad chest trailed off into a “V” at his flat abdomen.  Each
muscle of his finely honed body was defined from diligent exercise.  He was
truly beautiful, even to the tip of his blatant erection.  In that moment,
Jennifer knew she would never see another man as truly gorgeous as he.

“Please, Honey,” he rasped, “I
can’t stand much more of this.  I need to be inside you.”

Oh, gosh!  When he said it like
that, how could she refuse him anything?  “I want you inside me too.”

Instantly, he crossed the
distance between them and pulled her to him, kissing her, trying to tell her
without words how much she meant to him.   Jennifer reveled in the feel of him,
the sweetness of his kisses, and the gentleness of his hands.  Once again he
stepped back, this time to protect them.  She turned and climbed onto the foot
of the bed only to have him catch her hips and still her.  Close behind her,
she could feel him bending over her, his hands softly exploring  her body, his
lips trailing kisses down her back.  She luxuriated in the sensual feel of the
cocoon he created around her when his arms enveloped her and his body pressed
against her.  One hand gently claimed her, stroking her clitoris, the other
captured her breast, teasing her nipple.  The sensations were so piercing, so
overwhelming, she couldn’t move.

“Let me come in you this way,” he
whispered.  “It will be good for you, I promise.”

Even before she moaned her
assent, he entered her, sending a flood of sensations through her body.  She
braced herself as he thrust hard, penetrating deep, moving within her in a
masculine dance of passion.  Jennifer gasped for breath as his relentless
onslaught on her senses built her to a fever pitch.  She could feel her body
spasm around him, grabbing him, trapping him, forcing him deeper.  Tears
streamed down her face when the intensity peaked and she found her release.  Lost
in a haze of sensation, his helpless shout of completion barely registered in
her consciousness.

Ryan couldn’t move.  He braced
his arms on the bed on either side of Jennifer and waited for the paralyzing
sensations to subside.  That was wonderful, he thought.  The best.  What a
feeling!  It just hadn’t lasted long enough.  How could he convince Jenn what
an excellent lover he was when he couldn’t even wait to be inside her?  He
needed to give her more time to enjoy the seduction.  Truly, he wanted to give
her more than a quickie.

Ryan picked Jennifer up and
settled on the bed, cradling her in his arms.  He brushed the hair back from
her face and kissed her cheek before murmuring, “Mmm.  Sweet Jennifer.  You
felt so good.”

Jennifer closed her eyes as feeling
of sheer bliss flooded her body.  A smile crossed her face and she drifted off
into peaceful sleep.

But not for long
.

Within what seemed to be only
minutes to her, Ryan was lying over her, positioned between her legs, propped
up on his arms, kissing her breasts.  He licked one nipple until she was ready
to cry out, then he took it in his mouth and sucked.  A moan of protest caught
in her throat.  He looked up from his ministrations and grinned, flashing that
adorable dimple of his.  Jennifer smiled back at him and felt the nudge of his
penis against her.

“Ryan, I’m not ready,” she
moaned.

“Sure you are,” he said
confidently.

With that comment, he tilted her
hips and pushed inside.  Oh, yes, Jennifer decided immediately—she was ready!  Ryan
moved slowly then pulled out in a teasing gesture.  “Nooo,” Jennifer protested
with another moan, but Ryan only laughed and repeated the action.  Jennifer
tried to lock her legs around his to stop this torture he was inflicting upon
her, but to no avail.

She could feel the climax coming
deep within her.  Powerless to stop it, she squirmed and twisted, forcing
herself as close to him as she could.  Sensing her body’s needs, he thrust deep
and sought his own release while she whimpered in ecstasy.

“Unbelievable,” he groaned
against her neck.  “We are so unbelievable together!”

Jennifer couldn’t help but agree
with him, but of course, he was her only lover, her first, and she had no one
to compare him to.  Not that she wanted to.  He was incredible.  No wonder the
women chased him, spoiled him, begged him.  What woman wouldn’t want a man like
him showing her attention, teasing her, pleasing her?  She certainly did.  She
hadn’t even known her body could respond the way it did.  So quickly.  So
completely.  But then, he knew exactly how to touch her, to push her, to
withhold from her to excite her.  What she would give to learn how to do the
same to him.  She caressed his face and smiled to herself.  Her first lover was
the man she loved.  How wonderful.

Somehow he found the strength to
lift himself to look down at her.  “Are you okay with this?”

“You mean the fact that it’s just
an affair?” she asked.

Ryan nodded solemnly.

“Yes, Ryan.  I’m okay with it.”

He leaned over and kissed her
lightly.  “Tomorrow night, Jenn.  Tomorrow night I am going to show you how
it’s really done.”

“Just how would that be?” she
teased.

“Slowly.  Very slowly.”  He
smiled down at her, a look of pure tenderness shining through his dark eyes. 
“I’m going to show you that making love is more than a series of quickies.”

“I can’t wait.”

“Then be ready for dinner by
six.”  He kissed the tip of her nose.  “We’re starting early.”

*    
*     *

Jennifer stood in the main galley
of the Naples dining room waiting for the big cheese to appear.  This was the
part she dreaded the most—having to deal with the arrogant chef.  But when he
walked up humming, she thought that maybe he’d had a change of heart.

“Ah,
una donna bella nella mia
cucina
, a beautiful woman in my kitchen.  How may I be of service to you?”
Chef Ruscelli smiled and bowed, looking extraordinarily pleased.

Good grief, Jennifer thought,
with years of dealing with passengers, crews, and captains, he really had the
routine down.  He could hide what he was really thinking with the best of
them.  “Beautiful, Chef Ruscelli?  I’m surprised.  I thought you didn’t like
me.”

“I, Chef
Commendatore
Mario Ruscelli, appreciate beautiful women, even those who have the temerity to
think they can match skills with a great chef, such as me.  Of course, when I
find a lovely American upstart in my galley, at such an early hour in the
morning, I can do nothing but respond with my innate Italian charm rather than
surprise.”

Jennifer stared at him, unaware
her mouth opened slightly.  How did one react to such ego?  She thought he
might have just complimented her, but she wasn’t sure.  Regardless, she was
more than a little surprised at his attitude.  Maybe she had misread the chef
when she visited him last week.  Sometimes being from different cultures
created innocent  misunderstandings in communication, she thought.  Maybe she
wasn’t an unwanted nuisance to him.  Choosing her words carefully, she answered
him.  “I wanted to verify that we would still be having a Caribbean dinner for
the Captain on Friday night.”