Chapter 5
He was a coward. Except as he eased open the cabin door and tiptoed inside, Asha didn't regret waiting until now to return to the room.
The long day of travel had exhausted him, and he probably should have been in bed hours ago, but he didn't want to face Sarah again until they'd both had time to get used to their current situation.
And if he were totally honest with himself, he'd needed time to make a decision.
His attraction to Sarah wasn't going away and they couldn't keep ignoring it. Well, he couldn't. He didn't think she could either but until they actually discussed it, he couldn't be certain she was struggling as hard as he was.
Closing the door as quietly as he could, Asha paused to see if the small sound had woken Sarah.
When he heard nothing, he turned, slipped off his shoes—not that they made any noise on the carpet—and moved deeper into the cabin.
The curtains were closed but the nightlight coming from the bathroom gave off enough illumination for him to see she'd moved his bag to the couch. Stepping closer to the bed he saw she'd chosen the far side near the balcony.
She slept on her side, her back to the room and the covers closest to him had been turned down, waiting for him to slip beneath them.
Had she done that to remind him they'd agreed to share the bed?
He had to admit it had crossed his mind once or twice to ignore their earlier decision and take the couch tonight.
In the end he'd decided to honor their agreement. Even if it would be difficult not to pull her into his arms. And it wasn't even about sex.
Sure, he wanted to fuck her, but what man wouldn't? She was gorgeous and that was before you got to know the woman beneath the sexy packaging.
He'd never been a guy to want a woman just because she looked a certain way. Attraction for him had always been more than surface deep. And Sarah had a depth he hadn't expected in someone so young.
Although twenty-six wasn't that young. Not really. It only seemed young when compared to his forty-two and the fact some days he felt far more ancient than four decades.
He needed to get over her age—his—if he was going to see where their attraction could take them.
He'd also have to get over the fact they worked together.
As far as he could remember there was no policy that said they couldn't date. And that's what he wanted.
He wanted to date Sarah Adair.
A grin tugged at his mouth, and he wondered what she'd say if he asked her out.
Hours of sitting in the bar nursing a beer had given him plenty of time to think. About what he wanted and how he could go about getting it.
Before he did anything they had to get through the next three days.
Asha wanted their commitment to the cruise line finished before they started anything.
If they started anything.
For all he knew she might not want to date him. Maybe she was one of those women who preferred hooking up, sex with no strings.
Hell, he'd been that kind of guy for the last decade. After his divorce he'd pulled away from anything more than the occasional one-night stand.
He couldn't even remember the last time he'd had sex.
He'd thought about the possibility of finding a willing partner while on this cruise. Of course, he hadn't known he'd be sharing a room with the one woman who had starred in all his fantasies the last few years.
Now that he thought about it, the last time he'd hooked up was about six months before Sarah moved to Winter Lake to take the dispatcher job. He'd been in New York City for a two-day conference and met a woman in the bar the night before it began.
They'd gone back to her room, and he'd left soon after the deed. Fuck. He wasn't even sure if he'd seen her at the conference after that.
Not that either of them had wanted more than one night.
The sex had been good but nothing to write home about. It had satisfied a physical need but nothing more, it wasn't meant to.
Asha knew without doubt that sex with Sarah would be nothing like his previous hookups, it would be life changing.
"Are you going to get into bed or stand there brooding for the rest of the night."
Sarah's sleep roughened voice jolted him out of his thoughts. "Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you."
"You didn't. I don't sleep well in strange beds," she murmured.
Now that he'd disturbed her, and he couldn't change his mind about sleep beside her he panicked. He hadn't thought about what he'd wear to bed.
Normally he slept in his briefs or nothing at all. Shit. He couldn't pack pjs because he didn't own any.
He could sleep in the shorts and shirt he wore. He probably wouldn't sleep anyway, so being uncomfortable wouldn't be a problem.
"Asha?"
"Hmm..." He glanced at his suitcase and mentally ran through everything in it.
"Stop standing over the bed like a serial killer and get in it. I promise your virtue is safe with me."
A bark of laughter left his throat. He wanted to say she could have his virtue. She could have him. Except he'd planned on waiting until after their two-day stint as Santa and elf before making any kind of move or suggest they see where the sparks between them could go.
Chuckling, he stripped out of his shorts but left his briefs and t-shirt on. Sitting on the edge of the bed he pulled off his socks and tossed them on top of his shorts. He'd pick everything up tomorrow when it wasn't the middle of the night, and he wasn't keeping his roommate awake.
He slid his legs under the covers and laid down on his side, his back to Sarah.
"That wasn't so hard, was it?" she asked.
Smiling, he ignored her question and murmured, "Night Sarah."
He wished he could roll over, pull her into his arms and kiss her goodnight and maybe, if he were lucky, they would move their relationship passed being friendly coworkers and he'd get to do that before the boat docked back in Miami two weeks from now.