Pleasure Cruise Trilogy (Box Set)

by Michelle M. Pillow

  Kira stepped closer. “Clare, I think you’re overreacting. We’re all adults here.”

  “No I’m not. If anything, you’re under-reacting! That’s always been your problem. Everything to you is a joke. You never take anything outside of work seriously.”

  Kira looked at the floor, but said nothing. Clare instantly felt bad for yelling at her.

  “He… He threw my bags out the window,” Clare said weakly, unable to look at Dominik’s dark eyes. She could feel him watching her, could sense his gaze roaming over her body with something akin to hot desire. “All my clothes are gone. Everything is gone. What am I supposed to do?”

  Kira laughed, only stopping when Clare gave her a pitiful look. “Sorry,” Kira said, covering her smile with her hand. “Let us all take a moment to mourn the loss of your drab wardrobe. The very elegant T-shirt collection from the secondhand store will sorely be missed by all. It is a sad day, one that will no doubt go down in the history books. Quick, somebody start the funeral and we can all shed a few tears.”

  “Kira,” Clare warned, near the end of her patience. Was she the only sane person in the room?

  “I’m just saying.” Kira shook her head. “How you can wear a business suit all day at the office and then be seen in public in nothing but an old T-shirt is beyond me.”

  “They are my after-work clothes. I like being comfortable when I’m not at the office and not all of my T-shirts are old. Oh, this whole thing is a mistake. I knew in my gut that I shouldn’t have come. I don’t know why I let you talk me into this. I should know better than to listen to your harebrained schemes,” Clare shot, frustrated. “This is just like last year when you tried to hire a stripper for my birthday present.”

  Kira’s eyes widened before she burst out laughing. Clare paled and turned to look at Dominik.

  “Oh, God! You’re a stripper, aren’t you? Great, my best friend in the whole world thinks she has to buy me sex. I really am pathetic, aren’t I? That’s why you stood there as though I should know who you are.”

  “Clare, I didn’t hire anyone. I promised to never do that again and I haven’t.” Kira still grinned. In an obvious attempt to lighten the mood, she added, “Besides, it wasn’t my fault that country boy Bobby came complete with a mullet. How many times do I have to say I’m sorry for that? The company said it was a cowboy.”

  “That’s it. I’m going home!” Clare delicately sniffed, as she tried to regain the tattered shreds of her dignity. She lifted her jaw into the air, and her body became rigid and full of purpose. “I’m not staying on this cruise a moment longer. You are all crazy!”

  Kira’s face fell and she rushed forward. “Oh, Clare, I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s gotten into me today. Please, reconsider. You’re already here and, unless you’re planning on swimming back to shore, you’re stuck. You don’t have to go. I’m sure the ship has a clothing store of some sort. We’ll go to the director and get this all straightened out, I promise. This is just a little inconvenience. Look at the bright side. We’ll probably score free margarita pitchers poolside. I saw these coconut monkey cups on special.”

  “I don’t call having my room raided by a…” Again a manly brow rose and Clare paused in frustration. Every time she looked at him her body quaked with hot desire. It made it hard to concentrate. Her stomach leapt with longing.

  Dominik shifted his weight and his gaze darkened. It was almost as if he knew what he did to her. He left her feeling vulnerable and exposed. She didn’t like it. She was used to holding her own, especially with men. The fact that Dominik melted her with just one heated look and a single syllable from his gorgeous mouth, made her very nervous. She didn’t have sexual impulses that made her want to jump just any cute man. That kind of thing she left to Kira. She shook her head in confusion, feeling helpless and very alone.

  Weakly, Clare finished her thought, “I don’t consider having my personal belongings thrown overboard a fun time. My favorite shirt was in there and now I have nothing to wear but this stupid bedspread. I’m going home.”

  “You can borrow something of mine,” Kira offered, “just until we can find that gift shop.”

  “Your stuff won’t fit me. It barely fits you.”

  Kira grinned. Only she would be proud of that fact.

  “There is no need for that,” Dominik stated. His Russian accent slipped leisurely from his lips. He crossed over to a dresser, pulled open a drawer and lifted out a red silk dress. He carefully laid it on the bed, caressing it as if his fingers felt something far beyond just silk. His dark gaze looked directly into hers. “You can wear this.”

  “I don’t like dresses!” Clare snarled, growling at him just to be difficult. She had a few dresses she wore to work but he didn’t need to know that. She tapped her foot like a spoiled child and pouted her lips. “Whose dress is it anyway? Is it yours? Oh, gawd, Kira, you didn’t hire a transvestite to show me a good time did you?”

  Kira shook her head no, and Clare was slightly sorry about kicking her sarcasm into full force.

  “You must wear it.” Dominik actually managed to look apologetic. “And you cannot go home. The ship is already far out to sea. Unless, like your friend has said, you would prefer to swim back to shore.”

  Clare’s mouth opened, ready to lay into the handsome irritation. She lifted her finger on the beginning of a tirade. Dominik smiled, lifted his hand, and again she felt the warm and fuzzy calmness. The man seemed to exude it like a heavy perfume.

  “Come on,” Kira said with a small laugh, before Clare could get a word out. She grabbed the man’s arm and pulled. “Dominik, why don’t you wait in my room with Cabin Boy, where you’ll be a little more welcome?”

  “That is my room.” The sexy man, otherwise known as Kira’s latest male conquest, motioned behind him to Kira’s room. He frowned as Kira shot him an indignant look.

  Kira rolled her eyes. Clare still stared at the red dress and didn’t move. Kira pushed both men through the door. It always amazed Clare how Kira could appear to take control of any situation. “Just go wait in there for now! We’ll just have to get this whole room mix-up taken care of at the ship orientation. It was a welcome mistake, but a mistake all the same. Oh, and you two, don’t do anything unless you take pictures.”

  They looked shocked as Kira shut the door on them. Turning around, she dusted her hands for effect. “Oh my, he’s so incredibly hot. I would have so jumped his bones! Why in the world were you screaming like that, Clare?”

  “You’re starting to babble.” Clare kept her words soft. She shivered. Her body ached, screamed at her in neglect and demanded an answer to the same question. She hated to admit it, but jumping the voyeuristic man hadn’t been far from her mind since first laying eyes on him. There was something about him—a feeling she couldn’t place. “You only babble when you’re nervous. My goodness, Kira, you actually like this guy, don’t you? Do you know him? Please tell me you know him, because that would make me feel a whole lot better.”

  “Oh, Clare, don’t even think about starting with me,” Kira sighed.

  “What?”

  “I so know that look. You’re going to lecture me about Cabin Boy.”

  “Kira, you really should be more careful with yourself,” Clare said. “I worry about you sometimes. You take too many risks. “

  Kira refused to meet Clare’s eyes.

  “So tell me about the new stud,” Clare said.

  “Don’t know,” Kira said. “I didn’t get his name. I know, don’t say it. Apparently, we were assigned the same room by mistake. I just call him Cabin Boy. It’s a shame he’s not actually the cabin boy. I think these rooms should come with a complimentary man.”

  “Kira, you didn’t really have sex with him did you?”

  “Oh, honey, I most certainly did!” Kira groaned for effect, sitting and pulling her legs up to her stomach. “Gawd! Man, I wasn’t lying when I said I wish he was the cabin boy. I’d like to order him around for a long while. I’d insi
st that he be assigned to me for the week. I’d tie him to my bed and make him stay there the entire trip. I mean, you know me. I’m not one to exaggerate. I swear he was like,” Kira spread her hands wide, “like this thick and longer than any I’ve ever seen before and I’ve seen a hell of a lot of—”

  Clare held up her hands, stopping her. “That’s great, Kira, but you’re starting to babble again. This one’s really gotten to you, huh? And you never answered me. Do you know him?”

  “Okay, fine, if you’re not going to drop it, I’ll tell you. I know him. Well, I kind of know him. I… Uh, I can’t explain it. We met one evening outside the travel agency. He must have been buying tickets for the same cruise. Anyway, I dropped my briefcase, the Helderman file fell into a puddle, I panicked and must have looked all freaked out because he insisted on walking me home.”

  “You let a man walk you home?” Clare asked. “A stranger? At night? Are you crazy? What if he’d been—?”

  “Yeah, I know,” Kira rolled her eyes, but Clare could see her apprehension over the whole situation. “Anyway, he was very charming from what I can remember. The night is a little fuzzy. I’d been working eighty-hour weeks and was really tired, not to mention, Mr. Carter asked me to his office and we toasted the completion of the Brembridge deal. You know the man likes whiskey and I might have been a tad on the tipsy side. But even though I can’t remember everything we talked about word for word, I remember instantly connecting with him. I know what you’re thinking, and we didn’t have sex that night. We didn’t even catch each other’s names. It was like names didn’t matter. The conversation just flowed like we’d known each other forever.”

  Clare opened her mouth. Kira clamped her hand over it. The explanation did make her feel a little better about the situation, but still, it seemed a little fast.

  “That’s all I’m saying, got it?” Kira gave her a pointed look. “And if you promise to let me have this one little indiscretion, I promise not to count how many of the free ice cream cones you eat on this trip.”

  “Or buffet trips?” Clare said, her voice muffled by Kira’s hand.

  Kira laughed. “Yes, I promise. I will not count calories for you. You can eat as much as you want.

  Clare nodded. “Fine.”

  “So?” Kira asked, changing the subject as she let go of Clare’s mouth only to playfully nudge her arm into Clare’s side. “That toy really yours?”

  “No,” Clare answered weakly.

  “Liar!” Kira laughed, falling back on the bed. “You know, I didn’t get the creep vibe off of Dominik. He actually seemed… calm. Considering he thought you were in his room by mistake, any misunderstanding can be reasonably explained.”

  Clare was used to her friend’s ways and didn’t pay any attention. Kira was like a piranha when she sensed vulnerability and Clare didn’t want to give her any bait. The dildo was most certainly hers, but saying that aloud was so against her nature that she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

  “I am so proud of you, Clare. Though I wish you would’ve told me you were in the market for a vibrator. I know where all the best ones are sold. I’ve got a few sources who call me when new toys come in and I’m always getting them at bargain prices. I got a great deal on a Super-Stimulator 9000 just the other day. In fact… hold on!”

  Clare frowned as Kira ran to her room. She contemplated locking the door before her friend came back. If Kira brought that voyeur back into the room with her, she’d kill her.

  When Kira came back, she handed Clare a birthday present and tossed a pair of dress shoes on the bed. Luckily, they wore the same size. The wrapping paper had naked men dancing on it. Clare chuckled. Only Kira!

  “Dare I ask?” Clare mused. The present was too small to be a male, unless he came deflated. The thought was funny, to a point. Kira had tried to convince her to get a blow up doll to help her gain access to the car pool lane once before, so it wouldn’t surprise her if she actually carried through on her threat.

  “It doesn’t need a pump to work, does it?”

  Kira laughed. “Well, pumping could very well be involved. Just open it!”

  “I’m almost too afraid.” Clare sighed and tore back the paper to reveal the bold packaging of a Super-Stimulator 9000. She didn’t need to look in a mirror to know her cheeks were bright pink. How could they not be? She was sure she’d never seen a real man quite the size of the new toy she held. If they did come that big, then she was in serious trouble, because there was no way that would fit in her.

  “Hey, it was going to be a birthday gag gift of sorts, but now that I know you’ll use it, I’m glad I picked the extra one up.” Kira winked, looking very pleased. “Don’t worry. It’s great.”

  “Uh, thanks?” Clare hastily interrupted to stop Kira’s graphic details. She was sure she didn’t want to know what Kira had done the night before. From past experience, she knew Kira would tell her everything.

  Clare desperately needed to change the subject from her lack of a sex life. It was getting to be beyond pathetic. The best action she had in a year was from a showerhead, and now her best friend was giving her self-pleasuring toys. If the ship didn’t sink soon, she didn’t know how she’d possibly live with the humiliation. It’d just be her luck that the ship really would sink and, when they recovered her dead body, they’d find that damn dildo with her, forever immortalizing her pathetic sexless existence.

  “What happened with Dominik?” Kira asked.

  “I don’t know. Room mix-up. I think he thought I was his cabin girl. I…” Clare hesitated. “You’re going to laugh, but I really think I do know Dominik from somewhere. I know, I know, it sounds insane. I haven’t met him before today, but I know him. Haven’t you just looked at someone and felt as if you knew everything about them? Maybe we’re just overworked. We both seem to have the same problem.”

  “You know.” Kira sat up and pulled her robe closed, cinching the belt tighter at her waist. “Maybe hooking up isn’t such a bad idea. That cutie you found looked to be packing—”

  “Ah!” Clare waved her hands. There Kira went again, changing the subject when things got too uncomfortable emotionally. Clare swore half the things Kira said were to shock people into thinking she didn’t feel at all. “No.”

  “What?” Kira demanded.

  “Now you’re just trying to shock me.” Clare stood, stretching her hands over her head. She looked at the red dress and frowned. “You didn’t have time to see how well-endowed he was. Besides, he was dressed.”

  “Are you telling me that you didn’t notice those skin-tight leather pants he had on? Mm… Or that deliciously tight black shirt? I know you’re into guys who wear black and look good in it.”

  Kira picked up the red dress that held Clare’s attention and absently thrust it at her. Clare swallowed nervously, feeling dangerously out of her league. She had no idea who the dress belonged to. There had to be a rational explanation for him having a woman’s dress with him. For all she knew, it belonged to Dominik’s lover. Could they even take lovers on a singles cruise? The jealous woman would probably attack her the moment she stepped out of the cabin. Clare knew that’s how she would react if she were Dominik’s wife and she found him watching another woman masturbate.

  The instant jealousy she felt over a man she barely knew and had no claim to surprised her. She didn’t want to think any harder about it. The last thing she needed was to get attached to a man she knew nothing about.

  “He had a really nice butt. Ugh, look, did you notice your room has a mirror on the ceiling?” Kira pointed up.

  “Ah no,” Clare broke in softly, holding up her hands for mercy. “How the hell do you do it? You go from normal businesswoman to party girl in like two-point-two seconds.”

  “Two-point-two? Are you trying to insult me or does the bitchiness just come natural to you? Please, try point-two flat.” Kira chuckled. “Hum, well, I take it wonder boy didn’t leave you with any underwear. I’ll get you some of mine to borrow. I just
bought all new lingerie for the trip, so don’t worry, they’re not used or anything. Oh, darn it…”

  Clare looked at Kira’s worried face. “What?”

  “I don’t own granny panties.” Kira affected a pout. “So you’re going to have to make do with either crotchless, string, or edible.”

  Clare’s eyes widened and she choked on air.

  “Kidding. Just kidding.” Kira winked, grinning audaciously. “Okay, I’m just kidding to a point. I don’t have edible with me. They tend to melt and can adhere to all the wrong places if you’re not careful.”

  Clare feigned annoyance and looked for something to throw. There wasn’t anything handy. “You’re impossible. I don’t know why I bother keeping you around.”

  “It’s because you love me.” Kira wiggled her eyebrows. “Hey, what do you think those two are doing in there anyways? You don’t think they’re getting to know each other in the biblical sense do you? Should we take a quick peek and see?”

  “They didn’t seem the type to be into that sort of thing. They were too manly.”

  “And you didn’t seem the type to bring a purple vibrator on vacation. Could be they’d surprise you. I tell you what, that’s one party I’d want to be a part of. I’d sign up in a heartbeat to watch two hot men go at it like jackrabbits. Hopefully, I could be sandwiched in the center of it, but I’m willing to give a little here for the sake of the fantasy. Besides, you’re the type that would never be able to look me in the eye the next morning. Don’t try to deny it. I’m worldly about these types of things.”

  “Stop talking, Kira,” Clare said. “You sound like an uneducated twit when you say things like that.”

  Clare turned her back and lifted the red dress over her head. With much practiced grace, she dressed without exposing herself. As the silk slid over her skin, the coverlet slid to the floor. The gown was truly beautiful. She couldn’t have worn a bra with it if she wanted to. The low-cut back swooped all the way to the curve of her hips. Her arms were left bare and the neckline scooped low enough to expose her collarbone. The slinky material clung close to her body, swishing tantalizingly against each and every curve as she moved, molding like a second skin.