Seduction of Steel: The Complete Series (5 page)

Not that it mattered, anyway, since employees of the
Ocean Enchantment
were strictly forbidden from having any sort of nonprofessional interaction with passengers.  That was company policy, and it was rigidly enforced.  If you're caught getting involved with a passenger, you'll be off the ship at the next port.

I guess I'll have to find some interesting things to write about, rather than some interesting guys.

Still, the job was fun, and the ship did have a lot of great amenities.  The ship was in various Caribbean ports several days a week, and Jessica loved shopping and catching some sun on the beach when she had occasional time off while the ship was in port.

She also managed to keep entertained during her off-hours while on board the ship.  While using the passenger facilities was more or less off-limits, the cruise line did provide quite a lot of things to do for their off-duty employees.

The crew dining room was nice enough, offering a large variety of food that was reasonably tasty.  The offerings weren't quite as fancy as what the passengers ate, but it was certainly good enough.  There was also a crew-only swimming pool as well as a fitness center.  The fitness center was small, but had a number of different exercise machines as well as free weights and a small aerobics area.  Jessica spent some time in the gym every day, doing her best to keep fit.  It's easy to eat too much and exercise too little on a cruise ship, even for employees.  The food is always there, and it's both fattening and plentiful. 

The best of the employee facilities was probably the employee bar.  Located near the front of the ship, the bar was probably the most popular off-duty hangout for crew members.  Besides offering a place to get a drink the bar also included a pool table, a Foosball table, a jukebox and several windows, which gave the room something that most crew areas didn't have - real light.

Jessica frequently visited the crew bar after the end of her shift just to unwind with a cocktail after a long day.  It gave her an opportunity to meet some of the people who worked in other parts of the ship that she rarely had a chance to see.  Some of the people came from some pretty exotic places, and that gave her an opportunity to learn more about how people live around the world.  It was certainly better than spending time in her tiny little cabin, alone with her Kindle and her vibrator.

Still, after three months on the ship, she'd yet to meet any interesting guys or come up with a can't-miss story idea.  She took a sip of her Cosmopolitan and wondered if the remaining five months on the ship would offer her a chance for either one.  Five more months of long days and living in a room the size of a phone booth suddenly didn't look all that appealing, especially if she was likely to wind up empty handed for all of her efforts.

Well, not entirely empty handed.  The job did offer a salary, if not a great one.  The paychecks weren't that great, but since she wasn't paying rent or buying food, she could save it all.  She was certainly enjoying visiting all of the tropical ports.

Jessica was too busy pondering all of this to notice the handsome man who approached her table.

“Excuse me, is this seat taken?”, a voice asked.

She didn't answer.  She was lost in her thoughts about months of wasted time.

“Is this seat taken?”, he asked again.  Jessica looked up, and there, standing in front of her, was perhaps the most handsome man she had ever seen.  He was certainly the most handsome man she'd seen since she came aboard three months ago.

“Uh, no”, she answered nervously.  “Please.  Sit down.  I'm Jessica Steel.”

“Nice to meet you, Jessica.  My name's Ryan Stevens.  I'm fairly new here and haven't had the chance to meet many people yet.”  Ryan sat down with his beer.  From the dark amber color of it, it wasn't an American brew.

Jessica took a sip of her Cosmo and gave Ryan a quick once-over.  He looked about six feet tall, with broad shoulders and piercing, intense hazel eyes.  His thick lips looked like they were made for kissing.  He had thick, dark brown hair.  He was dressed in the standard uniform for below-deck personnel - navy blue slacks and a light blue short sleeved shirt with the name “Ryan” embroidered on it.  She could tell from his huge biceps that Ryan worked out. 
A lot.

Wow! This guy is ripped,
she thought.  Jessica suddenly became a bit embarrassed, as she realized she was staring at him.  Worse, she probably didn't look all that appealing herself.  She was still wearing the knee-length khaki skirt and fashionably dull white blouse that constituted her official cruise line uniform.  She'd pulled her hair up into a ponytail when she got off of work, and she hadn't touched up her makeup in hours. 
Here I am meeting this gorgeous man and I look like a mess,
she thought to herself.

“How long have you been on board?”, Ryan asked. 

“I've been here three months”, Jessica replied.  “You?”

“I boarded last week in St. Maarten.  I'm still learning my way around.  It's a big ship.”

“American?”

“Yes, born and raised in Pittsburgh.  You?”

“I'm from St. Louis originally.”  Jessica played with her ponytail and thought about letting her hair down, but she didn't want to do anything that obvious.

“Where do you work?”

“I work in the engine room, on Deck 1.  I'm a mechanic.  How about you?”

“I work at the Passenger Services desk.  Not very exciting, but I do get to meet a lot of people and I do occasionally see some sunlight.”   She chuckled at her joke, well aware that anyone who worked on Deck 1, which was well below the waterline, rarely saw the light of day, at least during working hours.

“Passenger Services?  Then you obviously see more of the ship than I do.  Perhaps you can show me around the ship sometime. I have no idea where to find anything on the upper part of the ship.”

He's asking for a tour? 
Jessica couldn't believe her good fortune.  She also couldn't believe how good looking Ryan was.  His lips certainly looked inviting enough, and she simply couldn't get enough of those piercing hazel eyes.  She'd only known him for a few minutes, but Jessica ached to have those lips meet hers.

“I'd love to give you a tour.  How about now?  There are lots of interesting things to see on the upper decks.”

“Fine.  I should probably change clothes first.  Why don't we meet in the atrium in about fifteen minutes?”

“That will be great.  See you there.”  Jessica nearly skipped back to her room.  She hadn't had a date in months and here she was about to give a tour of the ship to this amazing guy she'd just met.

She went back to her room and put on some jeans and a cute red short sleeved top.  She brushed her teeth, touched up her makeup and attempted to do something useful with her hair.  She also put on some cute earrings she'd picked up a couple of weeks ago in St. Thomas.

She looked at herself in the mirror and while she wasn't entirely pleased, she figured she'd done the best she could in the few minutes allotted to her.

She met Ryan in the atrium.  He'd cleaned up a bit; it looked like he'd even taken a quick shower.  He had on a pair of jeans and a long sleeved button-down shirt.  He looked amazing.

“Where shall we start?” he asked.

“Why not start here?  This is where I work.”  She showed him around the atrium area and the Passenger Services desk where she worked.  There were a couple of bars and some shops there in the center of the ship and she showed him those as well. Then they went up a couple of decks so she could show him the swimming pools and fitness center.

“Wow.  I had no idea all of this was up here”, he said. “I guess I should have made an effort to find all of this earlier.  Then again, I've never had such an attractive guide offer me a tour before.”

They continued walking around the ship for another half an hour, looking at buffets, the theater, the nightclubs, and the computer center.  Eventually, they ended up near the front of the ship.

One of the upper decks had an observation point at the front of the ship, hanging over the bridge.  A lot of people visited this deck during the daytime, but at night, it was usually deserted.  Jessica took Ryan by the hand and escorted him to the railing at the front of the observation deck.

“I have no idea why no one ever comes here at night”, she said.  “It's beautiful up here. Look - there's a full moon, and a nice breeze and you can just see a couple of other ships on the horizon.  I come up here often at night.”

“I can see why.  It is nice up here.  If I'd have known about this, I'd have come up here sooner.”

“The only problem with coming up here at night”, she said, “is that it does get a bit cool up here.  I should have worn something with longer sleeves.”

With that, Ryan stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her as they looked at the stars and the ocean.   They stood there for a few minutes and then she turned around to face him.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, and then Ryan leaned in and their lips met.  His lips were soft and warm, and Jessica tingled all over at their very touch.

This guy is a great kisser
, she thought.

They continued to kiss with increasing intensity, and as they did so, Jessica felt the tingles increase along with the kisses.  Her nipples began to harden, partly because of her excitement and partly because of the cool evening breeze.

His tongue entered her mouth and met hers.  She returned his efforts greedily as he held her closer. 

His lips are made for kissing,
she thought. 
He could take me right now and I'd be in heaven.

Ryan gently ran his fingers across her cheek, down her neck and slowly moved them towards her breast.

He was just starting to run his index finger in circles around her left nipple over her shirt when the silence was interrupted by the squawk of a radio.

“Oh, no”, he said.  “My radio.  Looks like there's some sort of problem downstairs.  I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to go.”

Jessica couldn't believe how quickly her fortunes had changed.  A minute ago she was in ecstasy, and now...what, exactly?

“Let me walk you to your room”, he said.  “Thanks for the tour.  You make a great tour guide.”

“Perhaps you can return the favor.  I'd love a tour of the engine room.”, she said.

“Perhaps we can do that tomorrow.  I'll see how my schedule looks”, he replied.

They took an elevator down to her floor and they walked to her room.  He apologized once more for the interruption and promised to contact her soon.

Before leaving, he kissed her forehead, her cheeks, and then her lips.  Jessica quivered as his tongue met hers one final time.  Ryan was making her
wet. 

I'll have to deal with that on my own, I guess.

They exchanged email addresses and shipboard phone numbers and Ryan was gone.

Chapter 4

The alarm went off abruptly at six o'clock.  Jessica hadn't slept long, but she had slept well.  It had been a long time since she'd had any sort of romantic involvement with anyone, and after last night's incredible evening with Ryan, she'd slept like a baby.  She lingered in bed for a while, reminiscing fondly about Ryan's full lips, his amazing eyes, and his incredible ability to make her wet just by caressing her. 

As Jessica thought about Ryan's kisses, his masculine smell, and his amazing physique, her right hand slowly worked its way between her legs.  The more she thought about last night, the more aroused she became.  She removed her panties and used two fingers to trace around the edges of her rapidly moistening pussy.

I'm not going to need the vibrator today,
she thought.

Jessica rubbed her nub increasingly quickly as she shook with excitement, remembering how it felt to be held in Ryan's strong arms.  Not surprisingly, she came quickly and violently, clenching the sheets tightly with her free hand as she moaned quietly, imagining that her fingers were actually Ryan's skilled tongue, licking her clit and bringing on waves of ecstasy.