Dark Moon (10 page)

“Um.” She nodded against his shoulder, fighting the need to bombard him with questions. Was he simply reacting to the tension of the situation? Or what?

He brought his mouth to her ear. “We can’t stay here too long. We’ve got to go out and explore—like we’re super excited to be in this wonderful playground.”

“I know,” she answered, although she wanted to stay where she was, safe in his arms.

“Did you say you wanted to go to the beauty salon?” he said in a louder voice. “And some of the clothing boutiques?”

“Ooo. Right.”

 Forcing herself to roll away from him, she stood up and walked to the bathroom where she shrugged into one of the soft terry robes hanging on the wall.

oOo

Cole dragged in a breath and let it out as he watched Emma disappear into the bathroom. He would have liked to follow her. Tempting images of his climbing into the shower and making love to her all over again flashed through his mind.

 Much as he wanted to pull her naked body against himself, he was glad of the chance to be alone for a few minutes. He’d told himself that he wasn’t going to make love to her, which had been total bullshit. Of course he’d been going to. The need for her had been building inside him like an atomic explosion. On the hovercraft, he hadn’t been able to keep his hands off her. And just now, he’d gone over the edge like a rutting stag.

Which was all wrong for their relationship. He should have been tender with her. He should have had the luxury of some private time with her before she found out she had bonded to a werewolf.

Too bad he couldn’t ask for some advice from another one of the Marshall clan. But he couldn’t send an e-mail from here. And they’d probably wonder who the hell he was if he did. He’d stayed away from his family, too. He knew that some of his cousins had gotten together and formed a pack or something like that. The idea had made him cringe. He was the alpha male in his own damn pack. And he wasn’t taking orders from anyone.

On the other hand, he hadn’t heard of any Marshall werewolves killing each other. Which must mean they’d worked out some kind of arrangement.

Could he fit in with them? Did he want to?

Maybe for Emma’s sake. He knew his mom still led an isolated, miserable life as the wife of a dominant lone wolf who made his living as a real estate agent so he could come and go as he pleased. And occasionally rob houses that he knew were vacant.

His parents relationship had been part of his reason for trying to avoid bonding. He hadn’t wanted to fall into the trap of treating another woman the way his father had treated his mother.

But he wasn’t his father. He’d proved that to himself by going to college and getting a degree in criminal justice, before joining Decorah Security.

Still, he was feeling more confused about his personal life than he ever had. And he had the terrible suspicion that Emma was going to find out his big secret under the worst possible conditions.

He cursed under his breath, mindful of the listening devices that were probably registering everything that went on in this room—and everywhere else on the ship.

Thank God they—and Emma—couldn’t listen in on his thoughts.

oOo

By the time Emma returned to the bedroom wearing one of the robes she’d found in the bathroom, Cole had pulled on the clothing he’d been wearing and was sitting at the desk looking through some of the
Windward
materials.

 He kept his eyes on the printed material.

“I’ve been reading about the activities here. While you’re checking out the girly stuff, I’ll do some exploring on my own.”

“Yes. We should find out what we can do on the ship,” Emma murmured, trying to sound enthusiastic. “But I haven’t even checked out this room yet.” She walked to the drapes and pulled them open. Outside was a balcony which was only a little smaller than the one at Karen’s apartment. She pulled open the sliding glass door and stepped out, feeling the wind in her hair. At the sides of the balcony were metal walls that made it impossible to see the rooms on either side. The only view was straight ahead, showing a vista of blue ocean and sky.

Walking to the rail, she felt the wind ruffling her hair. When she looked down, she saw the water far below. What if the only way to get out of here was to jump? Would she survive?

She shuddered, putting the thought out of her mind.

Footsteps alerted her that she wasn’t alone. Cole came up beside her and slipped his arm around her shoulder.

 She cut him a sideways look. She’d always been attracted to him. Always thought of him as a handsome guy. Now he was
her guy
.

Maybe. Neither of them had planned the intimacy that had exploded between them, but it was the two ton elephant in the room. Unfortunately, it wasn’t something they could deal with now. Any real discussion between them would have to wait until they got off the ship.

And then what?

Don’t think about the future, she ordered herself. You’ll have to deal with that when life is back to normal again. Or would it ever be what she’d considered normal? What about Cole’s dysfunctional family? When he shared it with her, would that influence her decision about the two of them?

“Look at that view,” he said aloud.

“Nothing to see but water and sky.”

“Yeah. That’s what I mean. We’ve left the real world, and we’ve got nothing to do but enjoy ourselves.”

“Right,” she agreed, fighting to put enthusiasm into her voice, since they probably had microphones here, too.”

He waited a beat before asking, “You ever made love outside?”

“No.”

“We ought to try it later.” He looked at the walls on either side of them. “I mean, nobody can see us.”

“Um.”

Who was speaking, she wondered. The man who had made love to her or the agent on assignment? Was he thinking he could climb down and get to some other part of the ship. Or was he just trying to project the character he was supposed to be? She had never been more confused about a relationship or more frustrated by the inability to speak openly.

Before she could respond, he turned and went back inside. She stayed at the rail for a few more minutes.

When she came back to the stateroom, he had changed into a fresh shirt and slacks. “Let’s meet back here in a couple of hours,” he said.

“How much can I spend in the boutique?”

“As much as you want on clothing. And costume jewelry’s okay. But don’t buy any gold or diamonds unless you consult me first. The last time I turned you loose, you went a little crazy.”

“Sorry.”

He headed for the door, leaving her alone in the bedroom where she quickly dressed in one of the outfits from the suitcase.

After checking the book with the layout of the ship, she slipped out of the room, feeling her heart pound. She didn’t like this place and didn’t like being alone, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her.

As she walked down the hall to the elevator, she passed a muscular brunette woman carrying a gym bag walking briskly down the hall. Incongruously, she was wearing a short robe and stiletto heels that clicked on the tile floor. She stopped at a stateroom door and knocked. A man came to the door wearing only a towel around his waist. His bare chest and shoulders were crisscrossed with red slash lines, and he had an eager expression on his face.

Emma couldn’t stop herself from staring at him.

He looked her up and down, then grinned. “Want to join us?”

Her mouth was so dry she could hardly speak. “No.”

“Did you come here with your boyfriend?”

She shouldn’t answer. She should just keep walking, but she heard herself say, “Yes.”

“He’s off having his own fun. So you can do what you want, right?”

She took a step back.

“Bonnie will show you a good time.”

“No thanks.”

When she turned and hurried away, she heard his laughter echoing after her.

The sound of the door closing made her grimace. She didn’t want to think about what the couple were going to do in there, much less join them, but she couldn’t stop vivid pictures from running through her mind.

She took the elevator to Deck Three, stepped out, and looked at the sign that gave directions.

The beauty salon was in one direction and the clothing boutiques were in the other.

She hated shopping, and the beauty salon was her main target, so she headed in that direction.

When she stepped inside the mauve and silver waiting room, she was confronted by two women in black uniforms, both wearing name tags. One was a delicate Asian beauty named Anna. The other was a willowy blond named Allison.

“Can I help you?” the blond asked.

Emma paused to get her bearings. She couldn’t be sure why, but there seemed to be an undercurrent of tension between the two
Windward
employees. Because they disliked working together? Or because they didn’t trust each other?

An older woman came out of the bathroom, wearing a smock.

“I’m ready for my pedicure,” she said in a commanding voice.

“Certainly, Ms. Davis,” Allison answered.

She and Anna exchanged glances before she ushered the woman into a private room and closed the door.

Anna turned back to Emma with an inquiring look on her face. “Can I have your name?”

“Emma Ray.”

She scanned a computer screen on the counter. “You don’t have an appointment.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I needed one. I just thought . . .”

“We may be able to work you in.”

“What services do you perform?”

The woman handed her a glossy brochure, and she scanned the list—that included standard haircuts and color applications, complete with stunning examples of women with hair and makeup done to perfection. She also saw that she could ask for some unusual services like body piercing or even tattooing.

Improvising on the spur of the moment, she asked in a tentative voice, “Could I have my pubic hair shaved?”

The beautician didn’t blink. “Of course.”

“You’re experienced with that?” Emma pressed. “I wouldn’t want anything important to get cut.”

Anna gave her a reassuring smile. “I assure you, you’re in good hands.”

Emma looked around the waiting area. “Where do you do it?”

“In here.” Anna led the way into a private room with a table similar to a doctor’s office.

“I’ve never had that done before,” Emma confided. “It’s kind of making me nervous to think about someone using a razor down there.” She cleared her throat, “but my boyfriend said he’d like to see me that way.”

“There’s nothing to be worried about. Many women enjoy the look. It’s youthful. And a lot of men find it sexually stimulating.”

Emma examined the room’s setup, then looked down at the floor. Near the end of the table she saw a few curls of red hair, and her pulse picked up. That could be Karen’s hair. There was no way to tell for sure without a DNA analysis, but how many people had that striking color?

Anna followed her gaze and drew in a quick breath. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” she said. “It looks like this room wasn’t cleaned properly this morning. I’ll speak to the staff.”

“That’s all right,” Emma answered. “You did someone recently?”

“Yes,” the beautician murmured.

Before Emma could ask another question, they were interrupted by a loud knock at the door. They both looked up in surprise as Cole stepped into the room.

“What are you doing here?” Emma asked, genuinely startled by his unexpected appearance in the beauty salon.

He sounded a little breathless, like he’d been hurrying to find her. “I’m glad I knew where you were going. I was just getting into a private consultation with one of the entertainment directors when I got a message that Mr. Del Conte would like us to join him for dinner.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

Emma tried to take that in. Del Conte was going to socialize with them? Because he suspected something? Or because he was making an effort to cultivate new arrivals to his private paradise?

“But I thought we were going to have some fun this evening,” she murmured. As she spoke, she moved her foot, poking at the red hair she’d noticed on the floor in the treatment room and saw Cole follow her gaze.

Although he didn’t outwardly react, she was pretty sure he’d seen what she was pointing out. As though oblivious to anything besides the news he’d come to deliver, he said, “I wanted to find you right away. An invitation from Mr. Del Conte is special.”

“What time is dinner?”

“Seven.”

Emma glanced at her watch. That gave them only an hour and a half before the command performance.

“That’s so exciting,” she answered, making her voice sound like a little girl who had just gotten a pony for birthday. She looked at Anna as though the woman hadn’t just heard Cole’s announcement. “Mr. Del Conte has invited us to have dinner with him. That’s such an honor. I didn’t expect that kind of personal attention when we booked this cruise.”