Seduction of Steel: The Complete Series (10 page)

Ryan let go, but wouldn't stop trying to talk to her.  “Jessica.  I can explain everything.  Please give me two minutes of your time.”

“Kristin is going to be back any minute.  If I don't call the cops, she will.”

Just then, Kristin came around the corner.  Ryan quickly turned to leave.

“Who was that?”, Kristin asked.

“No one.  Just a guy trying to pick me up.  I told him that I wasn't interested.  Let's go.”

They paid their bill and took a taxi back towards the ship. 

Kristin noticed that Jessica seemed a bit uncomfortable.  “Are you OK?”, she asked.

“Yes, I'm fine.  Something about that guy just creeped me out.  That's all.”

“Did he try to hurt you?  Maybe you should call the police.”

“No,
I'm fine.
Really.  Let's do a bit more shopping before we go back to the ship.  I'm still not ready to leave dry land.”  They both laughed.

They visited a couple of other stores, tried on some more clothes, and looked at some more jewelry.  Kristin was putting together quite a stack of bargain clothing, but Jessica couldn't keep her mind off of Ryan.

What did he want?  What is he doing here?  Has he been here for the past three months?

Of course, she'd know the answer to these questions if she'd taken the time to talk to him back at the restaurant, but she was too angry with him to sit down and talk.  Besides, Kristin was with her, and she didn't her to see Ryan.

I'm not sure why I'd protect this guy.  He's a criminal.

After they finished their coffee, they decided to head back to the ship.  The walked the short distance to the pier and got in line to board the tender.

Jessica was certain that she could see Ryan out of the corner of her eye, but when she turned to take a better look, there was no one there.

A minute later, she thought she saw him again.  She turned quickly and saw him duck behind a sign.

She told Kristin, “You go ahead.  I'm going to go back and buy a pair of earrings that I tried on earlier.  I think they're too cute to leave behind.”

Kristin went ahead and got on the tender.  Jessica went looking for Ryan.  She found him a few yards away, standing behind a sign for a glass bottomed boat business.

“OK.  You win.  What is this all about?”, she asked impatiently.

“Let's go get a cup of coffee.”  He took her by the hand and they walked to a small coffee shop a couple of blocks off of the main road.  At Ryan's urging, Jessica found a table in the corner while Ryan got a couple of lattes.  He sat down and joined her.

“You look beautiful”, he said.  “It's been a long time.”

“Not long enough”, she said, angrily.  “Do you have any idea what you've put me through?”

“I'm sorry about that.  I had planned to tell you everything.”
“Tell me everything?  When?  When were you going to do that?”

“Remember that night I got left on shore? I was going to tell you later that evening when we met for a drink.  What have they told you about me?”

“They've told me that you're an industrial spy, and that you were only on the ship to steal some software or something having to do with the engines.  They also said that you're a criminal and that you're going to go to jail if they catch you.”

Ryan just smiled.

“Some of that is true...in a way.  I am a spy.  But a criminal? I'm not so sure about that.”

Jessica added some sugar to her coffee.  “You
are
a spy?  I could get arrested just by being seen with you.”  She stood up to leave.

“Hold on”, he said, again grabbing her arm.  “Sit down.  You're not going to get arrested.  Please hear me out.”

Jessica was reluctant, but she sat down to give him a listen.

“It's true that I am a spy.  I'm involved in industrial espionage.  But I wasn't on the ship to steal the software.  Not exactly.”

“What do you mean, 'not exactly'?”  She took a sip of her latte.

“I work freelance.  I steal things for hire, but I don't steal from just anyone.  I steal from people who need to have things stolen from them.”

“I don't understand.”

“I was hired by a shipbuilding company - Eastern Shipworks.  They're one of the biggest shipbuilders in the world.  They also believe that MHI has infringed on their patents for their drive systems.”

“That sounds like something for lawyers to work out.”  She took another sip of coffee.

“Yes, the lawyers would work that out,
if they had proof.
  These ships consume unbelievable amounts of fuel.  Anything that improves efficiency by even one percent could save thousands of dollars per day in fuel costs.  That's
per ship
, by the way.  Eastern thinks that MHI is building ships now that use their designs and software, but they haven't been able to prove it.  So they hired me.”

“And what makes you so special?”  Jessica gave a look that suggested that she didn't believe a word that Ryan was saying.

“I do have some talents.  I'm good with a wrench, sure, but I'm also really good with computer software.  That's my specialty.  I'm also pretty good at infiltrating just about any place of business, such as a cruise line, without getting caught.  That's kind of useful.”

“So you were on the ship to look at the engines?”

“Partly.  I was there to photograph the engines, and if possible, to get a copy of the software that they were using to run them.  Eastern is sure that the software that MHI is using is a copy of theirs, and if they can prove it, it's worth hundreds of millions of dollars in court.”
“And why should I believe you?  That's a pretty farfetched story.”

“I can prove it.  Give me time and I'll prove that I'm telling the truth.”

“I'll think about it.  Can I go now?  I don't want to be late getting back to the ship.”

“You really don't trust me, do you?”

“Not so much.  Really, Ryan. I have to go.”

They got up to leave, and started to walk back towards the ship.  As they walked past a narrow alley, Ryan grabbed Jessica's arm and pulled her aside.  She tried to resist, but he did it so quickly that she didn't have time to respond.

He pulled her to him and pressed his lips against hers.  She wanted to resist, but she couldn't.

Or did she?  Jessica was still feeling quite conflicted about Ryan.

I shouldn't be doing this.  He's a criminal.
 

He was kissing her, and kissing her in a way that turned her to jelly.  Even though Jessica was reluctant to admit it, she wanted Ryan to kiss her all along.  She missed his lips, his smell, and his firm grasp.

His tongue danced on her lips for a second and then found its way into her mouth, exploring.  She met his tongue with hers and was astonished at the intensity of his desire.  Jessica's skin tingled all over as if she were on fire.  Her nipples slowly became erect as Ryan's tongue continued probing.  His kissing became even more passionate, and Jessica quickly became aware of the intensity of her own arousal.  She was not only getting wet, but she was soaking down there.  She wanted more, but at the same time, she felt that she should get away.

She slowly pulled away.  “No.  We can't do this.  Not now.  I have to go.”

Ryan pulled her back towards him and kissed her again, pressing his lips so firmly against hers that she didn't think that anything could pull them apart.  He took his hand and rubbed her most intimate place through her dress.  Jessica moaned softly.

As they continued to kiss, Ryan rubbed her more aggressively, slipping two fingers into her panties.

I must stop this.  I need to get away,
she thought.

He broke their kiss and said, “I want you to come.  Come for me.”  Ryan was insistent.  It didn't really matter what Ryan wanted, as Jessica knew she was seconds away from a torrent of pleasure regardless.  She could feel her juices running down her thighs as Ryan's probing fingers massaged the wet folds of her private parts.

Jessica couldn't hold back any longer.  She exploded with an orgasm that shook her from head to toe.  As he continued to stimulate her, she came a second and then a third time.  She stood there in the alley, shaking from the explosive wave of pleasure.

Jessica didn't know if Ryan was a good guy or a criminal, but right now, she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

As she regained her senses, she said, “I really
must
get back to the ship
.”

“I know.  I'll walk you back...at least most of the way.”

Not wanting to be seen by the authorities, Ryan stopped about a block from the pier.

“I can prove that everything I've told you is true.  Be patient, and in time you will see.”

He gave her one more slow, lingering, penetrating kiss, and then he was gone.

Jessica just stood there quivering, still shaken by the magnitude of the orgasm he'd given her in the alley.

She took a minute or two to compose herself, and then she took the tender back to the ship.

Chapter 10

Two weeks later, Jessica still hadn't gotten over her chance encounter with Ryan.  She kept replaying their meeting over and over in her mind, though most of the replays centered on their quick but passionate encounter in the alley.

She didn't know what it was about Ryan that excited her so, but just thinking about his touch made her tingle.

She didn't, however, find the thought of being romantically involved with a criminal to be all that appealing.   Would she visit him in prison?  Would she wait for him for years while he served out his sentence?  Or should she simply forget about him and move on?

These thoughts began to consume her.

The
Ocean Enchantment
made its weekly stop in Miami two days later.  This was the weekly stop where one set of passengers disembarked, only to be replaced by another set just a few hours later.  The ship was typically empty of passengers for about three hours in between cruises.

As the last of the passengers left the ship, an announcement was made to the crew over the ship's public address system:

All crew members of the Ocean Enchantment are to gather their personal belongings and disembark immediately.  Repeat: All crew members of the Ocean Enchantment are to gather their personal belongings and disembark immediately.  Everyone is to be off of the ship within two hours.  Please meet in large room outside of the customs area.

Jessica thought that this was rather odd; she'd never encountered anything like this during their weekly stops in Miami.  Nevertheless, she did what she was told and she went to her room and began to pack her things.  Kristin was already there.

“Hi, Kris. Any idea what this is about?”, Jessica asked as she pulled a suitcase from the closet.

“No. I've been on cruise ships for years and I've never seen anything like this.”

They gathered their belongings and hauled them down the gangway.  The line was rather long, and everyone was overly bogged down with suitcases, duffel bags and backpacks.

They passed through the customs area, and after being cleared by customs, they met in the adjacent room.  With all of the crew members present, the room was quite crowded and rather loud, as everyone was talking at once.