Chapter 3
Asha tried to form a coherent thought so he could say something— anything.
Except nothing but the words she's naked—on repeat—came to mind and he didn't think they were appropriate for their current situation.
His body was doing that tightening and relaxing thing again and while his breathing was short and shallow, he felt as though he took his first full breath in days just looking at her.
"Asha!"
His name snapped like a whip from her lips, and it was all he could do to keep himself from vaulting over the bed and kissing her.
"Ah, yeah, roommates."
She eyed him with a mixture of confusion and longing and that urge to leap the bed and plant his mouth on hers doubled.
"I'm, ah, not sure what they told you, when you checked in I mean, but they told me my roommate hadn't checked in yet." He scratched at his chin and the whiskers three days of not shaving gave him. "I assumed it would be another crew member."
That wasn't a lie. At first, he had assumed it would be a crew member until he'd worked out the cabin wasn't on the crew accommodation deck. He'd tried to think of any other person he could be rooming with but that had been pointless because the answer had been obvious.
They'd both agreed to be the ship's Santa and elf for two days prior to Christmas. The pay was zero, but the benefit was a free fourteen day—minus two—cruise to the Caribbean.
It had been a no brained when Jared Groves, Winter Lake's doctor and one of his closest friends, asked him to do it.
Of course, he hadn't known Sarah would be the elf to his Santa at the time. And if he were honest, he wasn't all that sure he'd have said no if he had.
For a man who knew he should stay away from Sarah Adair he seemed to put himself in her orbit a hell of a lot.
He'd never thought he was a masochist. Except he kept torturing himself by getting as close to her as he could. But after more than two years he was beginning to think he'd reached his breaking point.
Maybe that's why he was equal parts dreading and anticipating the next two weeks.
"So..." Her gaze darted to the bed and back to him. "We're sharing this cabin?"
Asha swallowed. Hard. The one and only bed in the room was in his peripheral vision but he'd be damned if he looked directly at it.
"Yeah," he croaked through a throat so constricted it was a wonder he could breathe.
"Um..." Hitching her towel up with a fist between her mouthwatering breasts, her gaze moved away from him then back. She took a deep breath and straightened her spine, pulled her shoulders back, tipped her chin up. "Okay."
His lips twitched with the urge to smile. He knew she wasn't sure about the arrangement and yet she stood tall, head high and faced the situation head on.
It was one of the many traits he admired about her. Her ability to do what had to be done regardless of whether she wanted to or not.
"I can see if I can get another cabin," he offered even though every part of him rejected the idea.
"No. No. It's fine." Her eyes moved to the left of him. "I can sleep on the couch."
Glancing at the coach he cringed at the thought of anyone having to sleep there but if anyone did it would be him. "No. I'll take the coach. You can have the bed."
"Don't be stupid. You won't fit on that thing."
A bark of laughter burst from his throat. "You might be almost a foot shorter than me, but you won't fit either."
One corner of her mouth tipped up in a smirk. "Yeah, but I've got more hope than you."
"True." He finally let his gaze land on the bed. "Look. It's a big bed. We're both adults. I'm sure we can share the bed without..." He let the sentence hang because he had no clue what to say.
Without what? Without him rolling over on top of her and fucking her until neither of them knew their own name?
She cleared her throat. "Yes. I'm sure we can share the bed without..."
He wanted to laugh at the way she dropped the sentence the same as he had. He also wanted to believe it was for the same reason as him. Although he wasn't sure her mind would have gone to the place his did.
Asha wasn't stupid, he knew she was attracted to him. He'd seen the looks, the stutter in her breath when he stepped a bit too close, the dilated pupils and flushed skin, all signs she was aroused by him.
So many times he'd wanted to push the invisible line they stood either side of out of the way.
So many times he'd moved in closer just to get a whiff of her scent, feel the brush of her heat.
And so many more times when he'd reminded himself of the reasons why he shouldn't go there with her.
"All right. I'll just..." He waved a hand toward the door. "I'll wander around, get the lay of the land, and let you get back to..."
Fuck. Why did he bring attention back to the fact her clothes were piled on the floor and the only thing keeping her and her wet skin from him was a towel?
He'd almost forgotten about seeing her without the towel, or convinced himself he had anyway.
That sweet torturous glimpse he'd gotten of all of her, front and back, after she'd stripped and before she'd disappeared into the bathroom.
That vision would be on repeat in his head for the rest of his life.
He could only hope she thought he'd just come in and that he hadn't been standing out on the balcony enjoying his own private peep show.
"I'll be back in an hour." With those words he moved. Put his eyes on the cabin door and strode around the bed, passed Sarah, stepped over her bag, and out of the room, barely taking the time to scoop up his room key as he went.
He needed a drink. Except if he needed one, he needed ten, and if he had ten he'd be in no condition to resist the woman who tempted him above all others.
The one who was all wet and warm from a shower and smell sweeter than a cherry pie, his favorite dessert.
He'd give up eating cherry pies if he could have just one taste of Sarah Adair.