The Boss and Her Billionaire (3 page)

The white and navy suited his coloring, too, and after a few weeks onboard the light olive of his face and hands would turn an even warmer tone.

Damn. Hot.

His eyes glittered as he waited for her response. If she’d met him in a bar, she would have sworn he was interested. But as he turned his head to watch a male crew member walk by, Michaela reminded herself

he was a dancer. She’d met dozens of male dancers in her six years on cruise ships, and she could count the number of straight ones on one hand. With fingers left over.

He’s almost certain to be gay.

The shiver of disappointment that ran through her surprised her.

“You getting on okay with all the boys on board?” Felicity asked innocently.

“Sure, they seem like a good bunch,” he said, apparently missing Felicity’s barely veiled innuendo.

Yet there was something in the way he carried himself that defied the stereotype. He had a self-

assuredness and something more, a hunger. The way he looked at her…

No, that’s just your ego looking for a compliment, Ms. Western.

“I was told to come and find you,” he said. “Anything I can do while they sort out my costumes?”

“I know what he could do for me,” Felicity muttered under her breath, and Michaela felt the blush rise in her again.

“Not right now…” She looked at his gold name badge as if he’d never introduced himself. “…Dylan. Just be at the staff meeting seven thirty sharp tomorrow morning.” Michaela turned her back on him and

took a long pull on her tail straw.

After a moment, she heard him turn and leave.

“So that’s Dylan,” Felicity said. Michaela turned to her, confused. “Don’t you remember? You showed

me your personnel list. He’s the one who’s thirty-two, isn’t he? Certainly makes a nice change to have a man on your team rather than just boys and girls. Not that it makes any difference to you, of course,”

she purred. “As you are a woman of virtue and high morals. Oh, and his boss.”

Michaela held the shock down in her stomach. Surely her face wasn’t giving her away? But hearing

Dylan’s name spoken so lasciviously by Felicity made him sound anything but unattainable. And him in

his thirties, the same age as her…

Oh, stop it.

She was his boss. Dylan Johns was out of bounds.

Dylan left the pool deck and made his way toward his stateroom at the bottom of the ship. The cruise

director certainly had a reputation of being chilly for a reason. The lecture she’d given earlier, and then her abrupt dismissal. What was her problem?

And what was his? He hadn’t been able to keep his eyes off her in the theater. When she’d stood, her

authority had been obvious. The firm set of her luscious mouth announced she was used to people

doing her bidding, yet when she’d smiled he’d wanted to sit with her a while and share a joke. Striding forward and speaking into the microphone, she had relaxed her shoulders, thrusting out her small bust, and he’d found himself thinking of how she would feel beneath his hands. Taut and warm.

Calm down. She was the one who gave the “don’t get involved at sea” speech, remember?

This was a woman who knew how to project confidence and lead a team. Moreover, it looked like she

knew what she wanted and was quite capable of getting it. So why had she been so cold to him? All that control seemed at odds with the wall she’d put up when they’d spoken by the pool.

Something similar had happened with the captain in the theater. His arrival had thrown her for a

moment. Interesting.

There was definitely more going on there. Captain Atkinson had seemed to relish rubbing the cruise

director’s nose in it.

Why do you care?

Maybe the captain reminded him of Brian.

Or maybe you’re hoping the cruise director will reward your valiant efforts to defend her.

Good one. Look how well that had turned out with Lily. He’d gotten his sister-in-law all confused and his brother furious.

“Shows what good comes from doing the right thing,” he muttered.

Well, he was here now, giving everyone some space. Including himself. His thoughts flicked back to the hour before. The ship’s auditorium had sparkled under its stage lights, its gold pillars towering above them on each side of the proscenium arch. The new crew standing on stage had seemed tiny in

comparison to their setting, and a number of them talked in whispers, awed and excited by the size and grandeur of the five-hundred-seat auditorium.

Dylan lacked their sense of awe, and his excitement mixed with a hesitation that still scratched at his thoughts. Is this a good idea? For the twentieth time, he wondered if he was doing the right thing taking these three months off and leaving Brian at the helm of the business.

He’s not at the helm. Mom is there. It’s her company.

He stopped walking and leaned against a railing, looking out over the harbor. The sun warmed and

relaxed him. Yes, he was definitely doing the right thing.

“You been dancing for a while, then?” asked a new voice from behind him. Dylan turned and recognized

another dancer he’d met earlier.

“No, first contract,” Dylan said, and then added, “on this boat” when he saw confusion play over the

remarkably pretty face of the other man. Straightening, Dylan put his business face on, making sure he projected an aura of experience. No one would believe this was the first time he’d done this at his age.

Heck, judging by his face, the other dancer couldn’t be much older than eighteen.

“Oh, cool. I’m so excited. Aren’t you? These routines are so sharp, and we’re going to be working around the Pacific Islands!”

Dylan forced a smile that turned into a real one when he thought of what Brian would say if he could see him now. A dancer? What, you’re gay after all?

Dylan chuckled. He hadn’t bothered telling Brian what he was doing with his time off. He’d never

understood his brother’s hostility toward the profession their mother had cherished early on in her life.

Sure, some of the guys involved were a bit over the top, but so what? And anyway, not everyone was

like that.

His cell buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out without thinking.

“I turned mine off when I came on board. Not going to be much use soon,” the young dancer said.

“It works in port. We’re not underway yet…” Dylan read the other dancer’s gold name badge. “…Jake.”

He tapped the screen a few times and scanned the new message from Brian.

Don’t ever get married. Lily’s being a nag.

His good humor evaporated. “Bastard.”

“Nasty breakup?”

“Something like that.” Dylan gritted his teeth and shoved the phone back in his pocket.

“That’s the way. Out of sight, out of mind.”

If only it were that easy.

“I’m so looking forward to getting to know everyone,” Jake said. He gave Dylan a lascivious wink.

Dylan rolled his eyes. It really shouldn’t bother him that everyone was going to ume he was gay. Maybe he was more like Brian than he realized.

No. I’ll never be like him. I’ll just put everyone right quickly, make my sexuality a non-issue, and move on. These next three months are all about doing my own thing.

The cruise director stalked past them, and he admired the way her uniform molded to her body. Her

long golden hair swished as she walked. Dylan wondered what the soft strands would feel like across his chest.

Nope, he was definitely not gay.

He smiled again. Brian might be a bastard, but he’d made this break happen. Perhaps Dylan would find

more than tropical seas and the rigor of dancing to treat himself with. A flash of sunlight reflected through a window, thinning the opacity of the cruise director’s skirt and outlining her long legs.

Oh man, she shouldn’t hide under all that stiff fabric.

Perhaps sensing his gaze, she turned. Her eyes flashed at him, and he smirked. He’d need to pick and

choose who he ociated with carefully while onboard. Starting a flirtation with someone he knew nothing about was probably not a good idea, given that he’d lied his way into the audition. Not to mention the woman was his boss.

He did always like a challenge, though. The smirk turned to a full-blown smile. Nothing like a romance to make a holiday complete. No one would be expecting anything long-term on a cruise ship.

Without the tension of the boardroom to focus on, perhaps he could put his energies into winning in the bedroom. Winning in the cruise director’s bedroom. Maybe her wall of ice just needed a real man to

melt it.

“See you later,” he mumbled to Jake and headed for the stern deck. If the cruise director could enjoy the last shards of sunlight, so could he.

Beside the stern pool, he lay back in a deck chair with a beer bought from the bar and sighed.

The hard lump he sat on reminded him of Brian’s message. He took the phone out and read it again.

Don’t ever get married. Lily’s being a nag.

What an .

On this occasion, though, he had to agree with his brother. Marriage never worked out for anyone.

Not that he needed to deal with that for the next three months at least. Relishing the sun on his face, Dylan closed his eyes and let the gentle sway of the ocean and the hum of the cruise ship’s motors lull him into a pleasant doze.

…

Maybe it was the three tails, or maybe it was today’s confrontation with the captain, but Michaela’s

head churned as she lay in bed. So much for an early night.

“Get a grip, girl.”

Throwing her legs over the side of her small bed, she gave up on sleep and decided a walk on the deck was the thing to calm her.

Night had just closed in over the harbor, and Michaela relished the cool of the evening. A full moon sat fat and replete in the sky. Perhaps that’s what had brought her up here—it was time to break the spell of her own onboard werewolf.

The captain really was a werewolf, charming one minute, then all claws and vicious remarks the next.

Why oh why had she ever let him talk her into bed with him?

“Clearly a moment of weakness,” she told the ocean.

“I wouldn’t have thought you had any of those.”

Michaela jumped. What was with people sneaking up on her today? “Who’s there?”

“I didn’t mean to give you a fright. I’m over here. On the deck chairs.”

Squinting in the dim light, Michaela made out a long, lean form stretched over a chair, but she didn’t need to see his face to recognize the deep voice of Dylan Johns. Just thinking of the way his body would look sprawled out in a deck chair made the palms of her hands tingle. Wasn’t that a sign of madness?

Cocktail reaction. Definitely.

“I don’t bite. Well, not unless I’m asked to. Come on, the moon is magnificent over the water. Sit for a bit.”

“I came up to clear my head. Think I’ll keep walking. Thanks all the same,” she said stiffly.

“Suit yourself.” He paused. “Must be hard work being a woman at the top. The captain sure seems to

like making your life tough.”

Michaela’s eyebrows ratcheted upwards. Sympathy? She felt a little lighter, as if someone had lifted a bag off her back.

Hang on. “I’m not sure the captain would appreciate you talking about him like that.”

“He’s not here, though, is he? Or did I read you wrong? Do you like being trodden all over by your

superiors?”

This didn’t fit. Michaela struggled to make sense of what was happening through the haze of three tails and not enough sleep. “No, of course not.” She changed tack. “What are you doing out here?”

“Dozed off earlier. When I woke up, it seemed a shame to go below decks. I don’t get much opportunity to lie around and look at the moon. Sure you don’t want to join me?” His voice dropped to a growl that set Michaela’s skin humming. “Or do you have some other mystery man to talk to at the other end of

the deck?”

Oh, God, he made her sound like a little girl. A little girl who needed someone big and broad to look after her. “No,” she said coldly and spun to go.

She banged her shin into a deck chair and was instantly angry with herself for being so clumsy. “Ouch!”

Straight away Dylan was on his feet, steadying her. “Careful. Are you okay?”

“Must be a bit wobbly. I don’t usually drink,” she said, rubbing her shin. “Damn chair.” For a moment she allowed him to hold her and leaned in to his warmth. Oh, nice. Safe. Just the right height for her to rest her forehead on his chest. Just the right breadth to protect her from the wind. His hands fit almost all the way around her waist, and they were stupidly hot. Or was that her skin?

He was the one to pull away, and when he did she missed his touch immediately. “You really should sit down, especially if you’ve been drinking,” he said.

“Okay. I guess I’m not used to walking the decks after dark.”

“Maybe you should do it more often. Moonlight suits you.”

“Does that line work on other women?” Michaela asked, then immediately wanted to slap her forehead

at her own stupidity. Most likely, there were no other women.

Dylan only laughed. She accepted his hand and limped to a deck chair, careful to choose one at a bit of distance from his. His energy was potent, and even in the semidarkness the angular planes of his face made her want to stroke his cheek. God, how embarrassing, being attracted to a man who had literally

no interest in her.

Michaela lay back in the deck chair, trying to copy his relaxed posture, and took a deep breath to stop her head spinning. Maybe talking to him was a good idea. She had to do something to get the captain

out of her thoughts, or she’d be even snappier with everyone than she’d been this last week. Dylan was new, and she’d already bitten off his head a couple of times on his first day. “Sorry for being so short with you earlier. You’re right, the captain got to me.”

“I’m not surprised. What an .”

Michaela stifled a giggle. “You really shouldn’t talk like that. It’ll get you fired.”