Chapter 5
5
It was still bugging Ari the next morning. Or rather the first thing he’d thought about when he’d woken this morning had been Kelsey, and that was putting him in the kind of mood where everything bugged him.
He’d known her for two days. How was it even possible that she was the first face he saw when he opened his eyes? That position had always belonged to Talia and Ari had panicked as he’d struggled for a beat or two to instantly recall her face.
She came – of course she came – but those confused seconds had been disorientating. And worrying. And guilt had once again taken hold. What if one day he just simply couldn’t recall his dead wife’s face any more?
Those thoughts had driven him out of the cabin. Out of the place where Kelsey’s face and her laughter and her moans waited for him in every corner.
Where they beckoned .
Pushing those thoughts aside, he stepped into the passageway with his day planned out in his mind. First stop was the breakfast buffet and then he was going to do the rounds of the different restaurants, lounges and bars.
Minus the pool deck bar, of course. And not because of Kelsey but because he’d already checked it out a couple of times now and had made his notes on it already. He’d been pleased with how it was being run – his missing twenty euros notwithstanding.
Ari reached the mid-ship lift foyer and decided to eschew the elevator for the wide staircase connecting all the decks. Taking the steps two at a time to level fourteen, his heart was pumping a little harder by the time he pushed open the heavy door and stepped out onto the top deck.
A light breeze ruffled though his hair and he sucked in the sweet fresh air as he stopped at the railing admiring the endless stretch of sapphire water that was the Med. She was an undeniable beauty, the kind of blue that was hard to explain, and this sea was in his bones as surely as the Acropolis and Ouzo.
He pulled himself away – reluctantly – a few minutes later, following a group of people into the buffet. His mouth watered at the aromas wafting from the massive restaurant to the aft of the ship and his stomach growled in unison. He was absolutely ravenous.
Ari entered the restaurant and found his own seat, which was the way of buffet-style dining. The only problem with that was there was no staff member on the door with a pump container full of hand sanitiser offering it to passengers as was the practice in all the other dining areas of the ship.
Sure, there was a table at the entrance with a pump and a sign urging people to use it, but that wasn’t good enough as far as Ari – and the ship protocols – were concerned. Mandatory offering of hand sanitiser was one of the measures that had been instituted two years ago across all the ships in the fleet to reduce the incidence of gastroenteritis.
Studies had shown people were more likely to use the sanitiser if it was presented to them as a natural part of the seating process.
Another measure they’d actioned to stem outbreaks had been switching to a no self-serve buffet. It was protocol now for staff members to serve the requested food to passengers. This reduced the risk of cross contamination by people whose diligence with hand washing – particularly after toileting – was often subpar.
The buffet restaurant failed miserably in this department, which was concerning considering the weight of evidence pointing to cruise ships’ buffets being the major source for gastro outbreaks. Some staff members were good, politely insisting on serving the passengers, but most turned a blind eye to those helping themselves.
Ari made mental notes as he took everything in. It was going to be a long day, he could tell.
* * *
By three in the afternoon he was sitting at the piano bar on deck four, which was tucked away beside the Adelphi Theatre. There was him and a couple sitting in a booth near the piano, their heads close together as they listened to a middle-aged guy tickle the ivories. The atmosphere was more intimate in this establishment with a lot of wood and dark furniture but, thanks to light spilling in from the three large portholes behind the bar, it was saved from looking too much like a private men’s club.
The bulk of the day trippers hadn’t yet returned from shore and Ari was enjoying the lack of people as well as one of the fine cognacs on the menu. It was the perfect spot to make notes for his report, check in with Theo and deal with any urgent business that required his attention.
Also to think. Not about Kelsey – absolutely not about Kelsey. But to ponder things like the disparity in staff treatment between passengers of differing socio-economic backgrounds, which was still a source of irritation.
They couldn’t afford to have that kind of class system on their ships. They had exclusive cruises catering solely to very wealthy clientele, but this was an everyman kind of cruise and reputation was paramount. It was imperative that all passengers were treated with equal respect.
‘A penny for them, sir.’
Ari pulled his gaze away from the left-hand porthole, startled at the familiar voice. Kelsey . So much for avoiding her. It appeared, whether he wanted to think about her or not, the universe was just going to keep shoving her under his nose. This morning he’d been overwhelmed with how quickly she’d taken up his headspace. This afternoon he was struck by the wave of pleasure he felt at her we-really-should-stop-meeting-like-this smile.
She was in the formal uniform she usually wore in the dining room. The one she’d stripped out of in his room. Ari’s lungs felt too big for his chest as he batted down that particularly errant thought.
Concentrate , Aristotle.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said, his voice low as he glanced over his shoulder at the couple who were paying them absolutely zero attention. ‘I thought you’d be working on the pool deck.’
She shrugged. ‘I’m just covering for the next hour or so.’
He put his phone in his pocket and slid his feet off the footrest of the barstool to the ground. ‘I’ll go.’
‘No. Stay.’ She waved him back into his seat with a sigh. ‘You look comfortable and it’s hardly crowded in here.’
Ari looked around again. ‘Why do you think I’m here?’
She gave him a grudging smile. ‘You’re not much of a people person, are you?’ she said as she picked up his glass. ‘Can I get you another?’
‘Yes. Thank you. Cognac.’
He watched as she got him a new glass and poured from the bottle, liking the way her skirt fit across her ass way more than was good for him. His blood heated.
Desire .
It had been such a long time since he’d felt anything this potent, yet one look at Kelsey had blasted a beam of light right into the black hole of his libido.
Placing his glass in front of him, she said, ‘So, why a cruise? If you’re not a people person?’
Ari was pleased for his drink and took a deep swallow before he answered. ‘I haven’t had a vacation for a while and my boss’ – Theo wasn’t his boss but he’d be laughing his ass off to be described as such – ‘ordered me to take leave. Something about it being unhealthy.’
‘How long is a while?’
‘Three years.’
‘Three years?’ She stared at him with wide eyes. ‘Your boss is a wise man.’
Ari grunted. ‘Please, the man doesn’t need his ego fed any more.’
She laughed. ‘I once worked back-to-back contracts, no break for eighteen months, and that nearly killed me.’
‘I guess it’s different for you. Being in close quarters with everyone all the time, not getting to go home at the end of the day. I get to go home.’
To his empty apartment. His empty bed. His empty life. No wonder he’d slept in his office a bit too much these past two years.
‘Yeah, that part is hard. I miss my mum.’
Somehow the fact she had a mum and missed her made Kelsey that much more three-dimensional, and he suddenly wanted to know more about this woman who’d blown into his life and disrupted everything.
Up until Kelsey, Talia had been the only woman to make an impact on his life and Ari had no idea how to feel about that realisation.
‘So why a cruise?’ she asked, absently polishing the gleaming wood of the bar with a dry cloth.
It was only just starting to dawn on Ari how poorly he was cut out for lying. And how much he didn’t want to be dishonest with Kelsey. But…
‘My brother,’ he said, gathering himself, ‘suggested it was the perfect way to get away from everything , and when I looked online, this ship was sailing soon around the Greek Islands – only the best spot in the whole world even if I do say so myself.’
He smiled and she returned it, which emphasised the bow of her mouth and made him think about kissing it.
Kissing her.
‘And it still had cabins available’ – which it shouldn’t , hence him being here – ‘so I thought I’d check it out.’
‘Most people don’t’ – she paused for a second as if she was trying to find a delicate way to word her statement – ‘cruise alone.’
He shrugged. ‘I don’t mind my own company.’
‘Yeah but it’s a cruise . They’re the very definition of a plus one. Hell, most people travel with multiple family and friends on these things.’
‘Are you implying I’m a sad lonely dude with no friends?’
Ari kept his voice light but it wasn’t that far from the truth. He’d pushed everyone away these past few years. His family had been a constant presence in his life whether he’d wanted it or not – and he had mostly not – but his UK friends had faded away since his return to Greece.
Not that he blamed them. They had tried to reach out but he’d rebuffed them at every turn.
She laughed then and it was like sunshine streaming through the portholes. ‘I’m saying you might have had more fun with company.’
Ari hadn’t come for fun but it’d sure as hell found him – or a version of it anyway. And guilt had kicked his ass ever since.
A telltale pink flush streaked across her cheeks as if she’d just realised what she’d said could be easily misconstrued, and he rushed in to alleviate her embarrassment. ‘I’m having fun,’ he said. ‘This is my fun face.’
One elegant eyebrow kicked up at him. ‘I think you might need to practise that one a little harder.’
Yeah. Ari hadn’t had a lot of practice these past few years.
‘So,’ she said, deftly changing the subject, ‘what were you thinking about? When I first came on?’
Ari thanked God it hadn’t been her and he didn’t have to lie again. He told her what he’d observed at dinner and how much it bothered him. ‘Does that happen often?’ he asked. ‘Preferential treatment?’
‘Sometimes, yes.’ Her voice was low and Ari leaned in a little. ‘It’s not right but when tips can make such a big difference to your income it doesn’t take some staff long to suss out who are the best tippers. I usually make a few extra thousand per contract from tip money so it can be worth it.’
Ari whistled. That was a nice bit of bonus cash – no wonder Sameel had been so obsequious. ‘Still… it doesn’t seem like a practice the cruise line should be encouraging, does it?’
‘I wouldn’t say it was encouraged. It’s more… not consistently dis couraged. It’s definitely frowned upon but the newer members of staff are often just modelling behaviours they see from the more senior members of staff.’
Which confirmed what Ari had thought about staff culture.
‘And you don’t find that disturbing?’ Just how deep did this vein of bad service run?
‘Of course, it’s terrible.’ Her voice was full of warm indignation. ‘I grew up in a working-class suburb with a single mother who always struggled to make ends meet. I’ve seen her treated like a second-class citizen more times than I care to remember. But like in any workplace, there are people who do the right thing and people who do the wrong thing and all I can do is be responsible for my own behaviour.’
Ari nodded. It was true, of course, in every work environment, both good and bad could be found. Which included him at the moment. What he was doing now – using Kelsey for information – wasn’t exactly exemplary behaviour.
Sure, they weren’t in a relationship. They were a one-time thing which had not been motivated by his need for inside information. But still… it didn’t feel right.
Just then a large group of people entered the bar, laughing loudly. They’d obviously been out for the day and had had a very good time. They were also obviously looking for somewhere to continue having a good time. Kelsey glanced at them uneasily for a brief moment, flicking her gaze from them to him and back to them again as they called her by name and she plastered a smile on her face.
Ari took that as his signal to leave, draining his glass and slipping off the stool as the crowd took over the bar.
* * *
Kelsey was tired and her feet were killing her as she plucked the pink cocktail umbrella out of the last empty glass, loaded it into the industrial dishwasher and pushed the on button. The Aphrodite Lounge had shut at midnight and, twenty minutes later, the staff were ready to knock off and grab a few hours’ shut eye before turning up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for the breakfast shift in the dining room.
Such was life on board a cruise ship. Long days, early starts, living where you worked. A day off here and there, shore leave every now and then. The constant awareness of the shifting blue mass underfoot and the steady presence of the far horizon.
She was looking forward to a shower and bed. Or at least her brain was. Her body was buzzing. Ari had walked into the lounge at eleven and sat in one of the chairs that faced the dance floor where a DJ was spinning some tunes to the younger crowd.
Thoughts of Ari had her picking up the umbrella, twisting it slowly in her fingers. He hadn’t sat in her serving area so they hadn’t exchanged any words. But hell if they hadn’t eye-fucked each other for an hour.
She’d been excruciatingly aware of his hot gaze as it had tracked her around the busy lounge. Had felt it on her back and her ass and her tits. He hadn’t openly ogled, it had been discreet, but she’d known .
She’d been aware, too, of the number of women who had approached him, who had smiled and flirted and asked him to dance. Aware of how unsettled it had made her when they did and how damn horny it had made her when he rebuffed every single one.
It shouldn’t be a turn on. Who Ari did or did not dance with meant nothing to her, but she’d felt every polite shake of his head in her goddamn ovaries.
He’d sat on one whisky for the duration and she’d found herself wondering about whisky kisses. She’d stared at his mouth so often she’d committed it to memory. He’d caught her mid-stare more than once and their gazes had fused and melted and her nipples had tingled and her breath had caught and how she hadn’t dropped trays she had no idea.
God… What was it with this guy?
She’d sworn after Eric she wasn’t going to be distracted by a guy ever again. She had plans and commitments on the other side of the world. Very soon her mother’s health was going to command all her attention – in Australia.
She didn’t need this kind of distraction. They were supposed to be one and done, damn it.
But there was a hum in her blood and a buzz low in her belly that was hard to ignore and despite how tired she was, Kelsey didn’t hold out much hope for a restful sleep.
Deciding to go for a turn around the ship to try and blow away some of the sexual frustration, Kelsey stepped out onto the top deck, the cocktail umbrella still in hand. It was deserted out here after midnight, nothing but the light breeze and the moon playing across the Med.
She walked for a bit, following the running track that circled the top deck before pocketing the umbrella and stopping to lean on the railing, staring out over the dark expanse of water disappearing into the inky night.
Kelsey loved working on cruise ships. She loved that every day – as she’d told Ari when they’d first met – she had a view of the ocean, which was as essential to her as breathing. She loved chatting with passengers and she adored the friendships and the sense of community amongst the staff.
But she needed to go home every now and then. Get her land legs. See her mother. And, after seven years in the industry, she was looking forward to the day she could call it quits. She certainly couldn’t go for three years without a break as Ari had confessed to this afternoon.
Who even did that? Surely no one loved spreadsheets that much?
In fact, Ari didn’t look like the kind of guy who was into spreadsheets at all. He looked like he sailed yachts and played polo and was the face of some expensive male cologne.
‘A penny for them.’
Kelsey’s breath cut out just above her vocal cords as the dark, rich voice so achingly familiar reached her in the night. As if she’d conjured him, Ari slid in beside her, leaning on the rail, also looking out to sea. His arm brushed hers, his hip mere inches away, and he smelled like whisky and maple syrup and forbidden freaking fruit.
Her pulse tripped. The nerve endings buried deep between her hips quivered.
‘Santorini’s out there somewhere,’ Kelsey said, her voice husky because no way in hell was she admitting to thinking about him.
‘Sea day tomorrow.’
‘Yep.’ Kelsey didn’t look at him, too aware of his closeness and his heat and the way his voice wrapped around her. ‘All hands on deck tomorrow.’
Even the thought of it made her weary. Sea days were crazy busy for the crew. Passengers loved the idea of relaxing all day but that didn’t mean they didn’t want to be constantly fed and watered and entertained. If she thought she was exhausted now, that would go double this time tomorrow night.
‘You sound tired,’ he said.
Kelsey swore he leaned into her a little more, the sweet intoxication of his scent filling her nostrils and going straight to her head. ‘It’s been a long day.’
‘It has.’
‘My feet are aching, I need a shower and I have to be up in five hours. I should be in my bed.’
She should not be out here with Ari George – with a passenger. Her heart fluttering like crazy, her fingers gripping the railing for fear she might shove them through his hair and yank him into a kiss.
‘I have a shower.’ His voice was a low rumble, just a touch louder than the muffled rumble of the ship’s engines.
Kelsey’s breath hitched and she braved a glance at him. His profile was strongly etched despite the night, the waves of his dark hair ruffling in the breeze. ‘Ari.’
She didn’t know if it was warning or encouragement. She didn’t know jack any more.
‘I’ve also been known to give excellent foot rubs.’ His head turned and their gazes met, his as inky and deep as the Med at night. ‘With or without a happy ending.’
‘Ari…’ Damn it, why must he be so damn irresistible? Why must he even be here at all? ‘Were you waiting for me out here, for this?’
‘No.’ He shook his head. ‘I came out here to cool my heels. Trying to ignore this compulsion I seem to have around you.’
Kelsey’s ovaries jettisoned a surge of oestrogen at the ragged admission. He didn’t seem to be particularly happy about it, his mouth a tight line, but it curled Kelsey’s toes nonetheless.
‘And then… here you were.’
Yeah. Here she was. Here they were. The universe seemed determined to put Ari in her path. Kelsey swallowed. ‘We’re supposed to be a one-time thing, remember?’ Her voice felt high and tight in her throat but sounded like lead as it hit the air.
‘I know.’ He nodded and, for a moment, he looked as lost and bewildered by this thing as she did. ‘But I can’t seem to stop wanting you.’
His words squeezed big handfuls of her gut even though he clearly wasn’t happy about them either, his inner conflict palpable. But his body turned towards her and she mirrored the action before she could stop herself. He was close – so close – his heat everywhere as his hand lifted slowly from the railing.
Kelsey shivered as his fingertips touched down on her jaw, tracing along it, her scalp prickling with sensation. His gaze followed the path of his fingers as they trailed down her throat, stopping at the hollow at the base, his eyes lifting, seeking hers.
Her breath stuttered to a halt; her nipples tightened. He was going to kiss her and she should pull back, she should walk away, but her body, already revelling in his touch, was now clamouring for his taste.
She moaned when his lips touched down, firm and good, hot and seeking. She couldn’t help it or stop it; it came from a place of longing buried so deep she’d forgotten it had even existed. Whisky infused her senses and Kelsey gave into the madness, licked into his mouth, chased the flavour on his tongue and the deep resonance of his groan for long heady seconds.
Her pulse tripped and skipped and jumped all over, her breathing was reduced to wild breathless pants until sanity intruded and she wrenched away. They should not be kissing out here where anyone could stumble across them. They stared at each other for long moments, a charge between them, their breathing ragged.
‘One more night,’ he whispered.
God… it was so tempting. He was so tempting. Did Kelsey follow the rules or the wild beat of her heart? And the threats of mutiny coming from her vagina?
Her vagina won.
‘Go to your room,’ she said, her voice a husky pant. ‘I’ll be there in ten.’
It wasn’t like she hadn’t already committed an indiscretion, right? Might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb…