Show Me The Ropes ~ Lothario Series ~ Book 2 (21 page)

A bellhop helped her with her boxes and she explained her luggage would be delivered later. The downtown hotel would serve as a home base until she could find an apartment and get her furniture out of storage, and if she was going to stay on dry land, she was going to have to go shopping. On the
Lothario,
she’d needed very little in the way of personal wardrobe. She had plenty in storage, but after two years she had no idea what kind of shape it would be in, or if it would suit her life now.

The next few weeks went by in an alternating pattern. For days, she went from sunup to sundown without a break, and then she’d find herself with nothing to do for several days. It was the latter that she hated. If she didn’t stay busy, she thought of Richard. So, she shopped, she looked for an apartment, she contacted the publisher interested in her book, and then she waited. And waited. And waited. Now she fully understood the fish out of water analogy. She didn’t belong on land, or in this case, concrete. The city was slowly killing her, and she missed Richard. Her body was on land, but one small piece of it, the piece that she most needed, her heart, was still on the
Lothario
.

She couldn’t make a decision anymore than she could forget Richard. None of the apartments were the right one, the clothes she tried on didn’t fit, or she couldn’t see herself ever wearing them. She bought shorts, blouses, and touristy T-shirts, reasoning that in South Florida that constituted a year-round wardrobe suitable for just about any social occasion. Not that she had any social occasions.

Two weeks into her self-imposed exile, a tabloid headline caught her attention. She plunked down the change for the rag and read the article while sitting on a bench on the oceanfront walk. Richard had filed a criminal complaint against Crystal for stalking and harassment. In addition, the woman had been charged with multiple counts of arson for fires set onboard the
Lothario
over the last year. Richard had said she was crazy. Had she misjudged the situation? Had Crystal created a fantasy relationship with Richard and then taunted Fallon with it that night in the security office? For the first time, Fallon began to doubt her reasons for leaving the ship, and Richard.

Every day she forced herself to leave the hotel room for a few hours. On the ship, no two days were alike. Passengers came and went. She met new and interesting couples daily. She’d always made friends easily, but it seemed too much of an effort now. Who could you meet living in a hotel? No one if you never came out of your room, so she thought up excuses to leave the small suite.

Sunday morning she put on her running gear and headed out. The downtown area was all but deserted. The lead-gray sky gradually lightened as she ran along the empty sidewalks past coffee shops not yet open, and blinking traffic signals. She ran without a conscious route in mind, turning corners on a whim until she found herself running south on Cruise Boulevard, the main thoroughfare through the Port of Miami. Several cruise ships had docked already and crew members worked to secure one more.

Fallon stopped in her tracks. She bent at the waist and braced her hands on her sweaty thighs. Why had she come here? She needed to breathe. She needed her head examined.

A few passengers stood along the railing, or on their private balconies, watching the crew secure the
Lothario
. If she squinted against the morning sun washing the lead out of the sky, she could see shadowed figures on the bridge. Was Richard one of them? More likely he was still in bed with the floozy of the week. But did she really believe that? She straightened and limped over to one of the metal benches in the median meant for returning passengers awaiting their rides. It would be nearly an hour before passengers began to file off the ship. Fallon sank onto the plastic coated expanded-diamond mesh and stared at the ship.

She’d never seen it dock from this angle. The process fascinated her. Long before the passenger gangway was in place, the crew began unloading from the lower deck access doors. Blocks of compacted trash and recycling were deposited on the dock to be hauled away later by forklifts. The yellow machinery scurried around like ants on a mission, removing the discarded pallets and replacing them with new ones containing everything the ship would need for the next cruise, scheduled to leave in a few short hours.

It was a well-oiled machine. The sun heated her shoulders and she became aware of how long she’d been there, mesmerized by the activity. She stood to leave when the couple spotted her. Thor headed straight for her. Her running shoes felt like anchors. She couldn’t very well turn and run now, not with the Norse giant making a beeline toward her, dragging a woman behind him.

Not just any woman, she realized, as the couple got closer. It was the same woman she’d seen locking lips with Richard a few weeks ago. What was she doing here now? Moreover, why was she with Thor, the big grinning idiot? She’d known Thor for two years and never seen him smile as he was now. He looked like a big, overgrown puppy that had just been sprung from the dog pound by a pixie with a ponytail.

“Fallon, great to see you! What are you doing here?”

“I was out running.” She looked down at her sweat soaked shirt and worn running shoes in explanation. Thor interrupted her before she could come up with a logical excuse for her presence on the dock.

“That’s great. I mean, it’s great that you’re here. I didn’t get a chance to tell you my, I mean, our good news.” He tugged the woman with him closer to his side and looked down at her upturned face. Up until then Fallon hadn’t paid the woman any attention, she’d been blinded by the intensity of Thor’s smile. Now she turned her gaze on the woman and her head swam. The woman was squashed against Thor’s side, looking at him as if he commanded the sun to rise.

Fallon’s jaw worked, but no sound escaped. Thor spoke and her gaze instinctively turned toward the speaker. “We’re married.” He said the words as if trying them out for the first time. His eyes never left the woman in his arms. “We’re going on our honeymoon.”

Fallon had the distinct impression that she’d become invisible. “Congratulations, I think.” Thor and his bride both turned and stared at her as if she had snakes growing out of her head. “I’m a little confused.” She turned her eyes on the new Mrs. Thor, whatever-his-name-was. “I thought you were with Richard.”

She didn’t think Thor could hold the woman any tighter without squashing her, but he did. “What are you talking about? Charlotte hasn’t been out of my sight since the day we met.”

“But I thought. . . ” Could she have been wrong? “I saw her. . . she kissed him.” Her mind reeled as she tried to make sense of what she’d seen that night with what she saw before her today.

“You saw that? Is that why you left the ship?” He brushed a kiss across Charlotte’s temple. “That was a thank you kiss. Richard introduced us, or rather, he sent Charlotte to me. She won’t be kissing anybody but me from now on.”

Charlotte turned her face up to Thor. The woman looked at him as if he provided the oxygen she breathed. “But. . . .”

A taxi turned the corner and slowed as it neared them. Thor waved to the driver.

“Here’s our ride. It was good to see you again. I don’t know what’s up with you and Richard, but he needs you. That stuff with the crazy stalker lady, the one that was setting all the fires, really threw him for a loop. Maybe you should cut him some slack.”

Thor and Charlotte disappeared into the back seat. As the cab drove away Fallon saw the lovers embrace. She blinked and closed her mouth when she realized it was hanging open. Richard wasn’t with Charlotte.
He needs you. Crazy stalker lady.
She glanced up at the bridge and her heart sank like a stone.
What have I done
?

She forced her feet to move, needing to get far away from the
Lothario
. How could she think when Richard was so close? Even from this distance, she felt his presence, felt him drawing her to him like a magnet. The hell of it was, the further she ran, the stronger the pull.
He needs you.
Thor’s words echoed with every footfall on the concrete. She needed him more.

She knew what she had to do. Every step brought her closer to her hotel and another step closer to getting Richard back, that is, if he would have her. She’d been an idiot, walking away from the only man who could make her happy. What if he didn’t want her back? What if Thor and what’s-her-name had been wrong?

Fallon refused to think about it. She had one last chance to get Richard back. She couldn’t screw it up.

* * * * *

Richard watched Miami gradually change from a tiny flickering dot on the horizon to a jagged cardboard cutout against a gray background, to a distinct urban skyline bathed in golden light. Once this weekly visit had held a promise of a new adventure, as one shipload of passengers was replaced with a fresh new batch. Behind him, the Executive Crew went about their business, competently steering the ship into port. He didn’t need to be on the Bridge, he served no purpose, but it was the one place on the ship he could watch where no one would bother him.

Fallon was out there somewhere. She hadn’t sent for the rest of the ensemble, and as far as he knew, she hadn’t contacted anyone on the ship since the day he put her in the taxi. For two years he’d bided his time, waiting for her to drop her damnably admirable professional ethics. She never had. Instead, he’d forced her to be his sex slave. He’d even convinced himself she liked what they did together.
Stupid. God damned, stupid idiot
. She’d run as soon as the ship docked.

He registered the unnatural calm beneath his feet as the ship powered down. Below him, the crew would already be hard at work organizing, dispatching passengers, off-loading the trash and recycling that wasn’t dumped at sea, taking on fresh provisions, and in a few hours, 2,500 new passengers. The dock was beginning to come alive with forklifts and shuttle vans. A solitary figure caught his attention. A woman out for her morning run. Probably one of the rich, pampered, women from one of the luxury downtown high-rises. Something about her drew him. Maybe it was the color of her hair, or the slim length of her long legs. Then he knew.

Fallon. His body responded instantly. He adjusted his turquoise shorts, cursing the confines of the docking uniform. She stopped and looked up. It was absurd, but for a moment, he thought she saw him and his wounded heart skipped a beat. Could he get to her before she left? If he ran now, if the gangway was in place, and if she stayed there, maybe he could catch up to her. A couple crossed the street and stopped in front of her. Had she come to meet someone? Reason took over and he recognized Thor and Charlotte. He’d offered them the company jet for their honeymoon and they were leaving this morning. In a rush, they’d exited through one of the cargo portals. Of course, Thor would stop and talk to Fallon.

Richard broke into a run, praying with each step that Thor would keep Fallon talking until he got there. He’d dismiss any employee who behaved this way, but right now, he didn’t care. What could they do? He owned the damned ship. He pushed and shoved his way through the crowds of passengers waiting to get off and leapt onto the gangway before it was fully secured, earning him a curse from the crew. He didn’t care. He had to get to her before she left.

A tour bus obscured his view as he exited the terminal. He dodged it, scanning the taxi stands for Fallon. In a stuttered heartbeat, he knew he was too late. She was gone. Again. He sank to his haunches and buried his head in his hands. Passengers began to file past him, haling cabs, searching the swelling sea of shuttle vans for the one they wanted. There were things he needed to do, responsibilities he couldn’t ignore, not with Ryan still playing house with Candace.

Richard scanned the now crowded dock as he returned to the ship. How was he supposed to find her in Miami? He didn’t have a clue, but he was going to do it, or die trying.

* * * * *

Fallon slowed as she entered the lobby of her downtown hotel. She knew what she had to do. In her room, she pulled an envelope with the hotel’s logo on it from the desk drawer and a sheet of stationary. Her note was short, but to the point. There was no way Richard would misunderstand. When she was done, she opened the locks on the rope ensemble, and then dropped the key in the envelope, sealing it with a swipe of her tongue and a kiss. She penned Richard’s name on the front and called for a bellhop.

The young man who came to her room was happy to earn the sizable tip for delivering the envelope to the
Lothario
.

 “Deliver this to Richard Wolfe and no one else. If anyone gives you any trouble, tell them your orders are from Ryan Callahan. That should get you to Richard.” She scribbled her cell phone number on a notepad next to the phone and handed it to the bellhop. “Call me if you have any trouble, and call me as soon as you’ve delivered it.”

“Yes ma’am.” He left and Fallon headed for the shower. The way she figured it, she had about an hour before Richard arrived. If he arrived.

Two hours later Fallon sat on the foot of the bed wearing nothing but the rope ensemble. Her body vividly remembered every incredible moment with Richard. The labia ropes spread her open and made her ache for Richard’s touch. Her pussy wept with need as a kernel of doubt crept into her mind. The note had been delivered. Richard would come, wouldn’t he? Had she misjudged the situation? Had Thor’s comment been wishful thinking on his part, or had he known what he was talking about? Did Richard need her?

Every minute felt like an eternity. Minutes stretched to hours. Morning melted into afternoon, and still Richard did not come. Had she paid too high a price for her pride?