Hearts Afire

by Deborah Fletcher Mello

  Chapter 3

  Something in the glass she was holding was guiding Maitlyn’s hips in a sexy shimmy that had the full attention of every man in the room. The reggae band performing on the stage had her mesmerized as she commanded the dance floor, her sensual moves in sync with the beat.

  Zak had taken notice of her the moment he’d walked into the ship’s nightclub. He had sat alone, and the ice in his drink was beginning to melt. A few days had passed since he’d last seen her and as he watched her from a table in the far corner of the room he thought back to earlier in the week when they’d first arrived together.

  She was still strikingly beautiful. Her distinctive traits acknowledged an African-Asian ancestry. Her features were soft and delicate against her warm complexion. Her eyes were slight and angular and her nose whisper thin. Her cheeks were full and high with deep dimples, and she had the most perfect, most kissable lips of any woman in the room.

  Her attire was conservative, a stark contradiction to the sultry gyrations that had the men in the room hovering around her like flies. Her loose, black cotton, button-up blouse and wide-legged slacks did nothing to flatter her figure. But with each shake of her hips a man could just imagine the lush curves and warm skin her clothes covered. As Zak found himself imagining, he couldn’t stop himself from smiling.

  Across the room Maitlyn had finally taken a seat at one of the front tables. Three men sat down beside her, each of them vying for her attention. Zak knew two of the men by name. Frank Barber was an attorney from New York City, and Gerard Bruner was a doctor from Zimbabwe. Both were opponents he’d be going up against in the poker tournament. The third man seemed most intent on diverting Maitlyn’s full attention away from her other admirers. For a brief moment she seemed quite enamored with the blond-haired man, with his striking good looks and deep blue eyes. And then suddenly she didn’t; something in her glass no longer fueled her fun.

  Zak’s radar suddenly engaged as he leaned forward in his seat. Although most of the room wasn’t paying an ounce of attention, he sensed that something wasn’t quite right as he closely observed the man who was pulling Maitlyn to her feet. Without giving it a second thought, Zak crossed the room in quick strides to where they’d been sitting.

  “Ms. Boudreaux, can I be of some assistance?” he asked, cutting an eye at the man who had one arm around her waist and the other clutching her elbow.

  Maitlyn shook her head from side to side. “I don’t feel well,” she murmured softly. Her eyes rolled skyward, her lashes fluttering.

  “I’ve got this, thank you,” her companion snapped as he moved to leave.

  Zak took a step to block his path. “And you are?” he questioned, meeting the man’s annoyed gaze.

  “None of your business. My wife said she wasn’t feeling well.”

  “Your wife?”

  “Do you have a problem with that?”

  The two men still seated at the table came to their feet. Frank Barber spoke first. “Mr. Sayed, it’s good to see you.”

  Zak’s gaze remained focused on Maitlyn’s new friend. He didn’t bother to respond.

  “Mr. Lloyd, this is Zakaria Sayed. Mr. Sayed, this is Alexander Lloyd and the young woman is a friend of ours. She’s not feeling well, and he was just helping her to her cabin.”

  Zak nodded ever so slightly. “Well, the young woman came on board with me, not Mr. Lloyd. And since she isn’t married, I know that Mr. Lloyd can’t possibly be her husband. And the fact that he lied makes me question his intent.”

  The blond-haired man bristled. “She’s a very close friend.”

  “I don’t feel so good,” Maitlyn repeated again in a brief moment of lucidness.

  “We appreciate your help, Mr. Lloyd, but I’ll take her from here,” Zak stated matter-of-factly.

  “I can take her—” the man started.

  Gerard Bruner interjected, cutting a stern eye at his friend. “Not a problem, Mr. Sayed. We were all just trying to be of some assistance.”

  Zak cast a brusque eye at the man, then gestured for one of the cruise ship’s employees. The man was at his elbow before he could even lower his arm.

  “Yes, sir, Mr. Sayed. Is there a problem, sir?”

  “Have the ship’s doctor meet me in my suite, please. Ms. Boudreaux isn’t feeling well,” he said as he moved forward, gently pulling Maitlyn from the other man’s grasp and sweeping her up into his arms. Instinctively she wrapped both of her arms around his neck and laid her head onto his broad chest.

  “Yes, sir. Right away, sir,” the man gushed as he hurried off.

  The man introduced as Mr. Lloyd scowled. Zak looked from Bruner to Lloyd again, who looked down, nervously adjusting his collar. Without another word, Zak turned an about-face and carried Maitlyn out of the club.

  The ship’s doctor, his nurse and the cruise director were waiting at his door. Stacy’s eyes widened with concern.

  “Mr. Sayed, we can take Ms. Boudreaux down to the infirmary. You don’t need to be bothered, sir.”

  “Did I say I was bothered?”

  “I just— We—” she stuttered as Zak gestured for one of them to open the room’s door.

  After moving inside, he laid Maitlyn down gently onto the oversize sofa. She moaned softly. He couldn’t resist brushing his fingers across her forehead, sweeping the length of her hair from her eyes. Her gaze briefly met his, and she struggled to smile.

  “Has she taken anything?” the doctor asked as he moved in to examine her.

  Zak shrugged. “I believe she’s been drinking. I’m not aware of anything else,” he answered.

  The doctor nodded. “Do you mind if we move her upstairs to the bed?” he asked.

  Zak shook his head and bent to lift her a second time. Without an ounce of effort he carried her up the short flight of stairs to the second level and laid her across the bed.

  Maitlyn suddenly lurched forward, her torso rising as she reached her arms out to him. Dropping down against the bedside, Zak gently returned the embrace.

  “The doctor’s here. He’ll make you feel better.”

  Nodding her head against his chest, Maitlyn purred softly and then heaved, vomiting down the front of Zak’s gray silk suit.

  * * *

  Maitlyn’s eyes snapped open. Her eyes skated around the room as she took in her surroundings. For a brief moment she didn’t know where she was and then she remembered she was on a massive ship cruising across the Atlantic. The easy side-to-side sway of the bed she rested in was soothing. She noted that the space was luxurious, much nicer than her own cabin. And suddenly her anxiety returned—Maitlyn had no clue whose cabin, or bed, she was in.

  She sat upright. The last thing she remembered was the nightclub and the intoxicating beat that had vibrated from the tips of her toes to the top of her head. She remembered the room full of revelers and dancing as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Because for the first time since her trip had started, she hadn’t. Not one. For the first time, in quite some time, she had been completely and totally content.

  And then she remembered the table of men who had spent the first two days of her trip flattering her vanity with compliment after compliment as they’d lavished her with attention. Most especially Alexander Lloyd, the silver-tongued Englishman with the devilish blue eyes. Lloyd had been particularly attentive, and Maitlyn remembered thinking that she might not go to bed alone that night. After that, everything else was a complete and total blank.

  As Maitlyn tried to remember the past few hours of her life, pondering how she’d come to be in someone else’s bed, Zak Sayed stepped into the room, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. Maitlyn’s mouth dropped open as shock washed over her expression. She grabbed at the covers and pulled them beneath her chin. She suddenly felt quite naked in whatever it was she was we
aring because she didn’t have a clue if she had on clothes or not. She tossed a quick look beneath the blankets and spied the oversize T-shirt that she was clothed in. She didn’t have on panties.

  Zak stopped short. He tossed her a slight smile. “Good evening. You are finally awake.”

  She nodded as her eyes bulged wide. “How...how long have I been out?” she asked, suddenly having a ton of questions. “How did I get here? Where are my clothes? Did we—?”

  Zak smiled easily, but the gesture did nothing to calm Maitlyn’s nerves. The uneasy wave in the pit of her abdomen spun like a roller coaster out of control. She was suddenly focused on his magnanimous smile and his half-naked body. His broad chest was well-defined, showcasing picture-perfect six-pack abs. His skin was the color of rich, warm nutmeg and smooth like fine silk stretched over hardened steel. The muscular lines narrowed at his waistline, and she couldn’t miss the hint of black hair that peeked over the front edge of the bright white towel that sat low around his hips. She could only imagine where that slight wisp of tight curl led beneath that towel. Her gaze shifted down to his legs; the limbs were long and unyielding like the trunk of a mighty tree. And his feet, like his hands, were large, a solid foundation holding him upright. She struggled not to stare so blatantly.

  Still smiling, Zakaria responded, “Two days. You’ve been asleep since Tuesday. You had me worried for a moment but the doctor assured me you were fine.”

  “Tuesday? What happened to me?” she queried, finally lifting her eyes back to his.

  “Your body needed rest and then you drank too much.” His tone held a hint of judgment and his gaze was critical. Zak was not fond of women who could not hold their alcohol.

  Maitlyn felt her body tense. She hesitated, shifting her eyes from side to side. “I didn’t...I...” she stammered, finally finding the words. “I don’t drink,” she finally said.

  Zak stared at her. “You were drinking rum punch.”

  She shook her head. “No. I was drinking punch but without the rum. I don’t drink. I don’t like how it makes me feel, and I would never risk losing control because I drank too much. I don’t drink,” she professed a second time. “Ever!”

  Zak studied her momentarily. The look on her face was telling, and he appeared suddenly angry. He swallowed hard, bottling the emotion. He bit down against his bottom lip, then pursed his lips together, his jaw locked tight.

  Maitlyn closely observed Zak, still trying to make sense of the moment.

  “You were exhausted and dehydrated. I’m sure you hadn’t eaten properly and when you did something obviously didn’t agree with you,” Zak finally replied. “Before you passed out, you vomited on your clothes and the nurse changed you. The doctor gave you two bags of IV fluids to flush and hydrate your system and then said to let you rest.”

  Maitlyn took a deep breath. “But how did I get here...in your room?”

  “I promised your brother I would look out for you. I keep my promises.”

  For the first time Maitlyn returned his smile with one of her own. “Thank you.”

  Zak dipped his head. “Are you hungry? Do you think you can eat something?”

  “I am hungry,” she answered; the rumble in her stomach finally felt like a hunger pang. “And I feel fine...well rested actually.”

  “I can call for room service or you are welcome to join me in the dining room. Whichever you prefer?”

  Maitlyn hesitated as she pondered her options. She finally nodded. “The dining room would be nice, I think.”

  “I’ll get dressed downstairs. When you’re ready, we can go to the dining room.” Zak took a quick glance at the wristwatch he’d rested atop the dresser. “You’ll need to hurry, though. The tournament starts later this evening, so I am limited on time.”

  “I don’t have my clothes!” Maitlyn exclaimed, tightening the grip she had on the sheet clutched in her hands.

  “Not to worry. Just take your shower,” Zak stated as he moved out of the room.

  When she heard the sound of a door opening and closing from the space below, she rose from the bed. She tossed back the covers and threw her legs off the side of the mattress. For a brief moment as she came to her feet, she felt as if she might fall; the room threatened to spin around her. Maitlyn took a deep breath and then a second, allowing the sensation to pass before she stood completely upright and headed into the bathroom.

  “Wow!” Maitlyn exclaimed, taking in the expanse of space with its polished marble and gold-appointed treatments. Zak’s accommodations had come with some serious perks, she thought. She crossed the heated floor to the tiled shower and turned on the faucet.

  Minutes later Maitlyn stepped out of the spray of hot water and wrapped her own white towel around her body. Barely opening the bathroom door she peeked out into the bedroom space. Zakaria was nowhere to be found, but her luggage and personal belongings rested atop the bed. Maitlyn was still confused but determined to unravel the mystery of the past forty-eight hours. Almost a week of her trip had passed and she couldn’t remember a large part of it. None of it made any sense to her.

  Zak suddenly called her name from the bottom of the stairwell. “I need to step out for a quick minute, but I’ll be right back. They are holding our table so as soon as you are ready we can head to the dining room.” His tone was warm and easy like thick, rich honey being spread on dark toast. His seductive cadence caused a shiver of heat to ripple through her feminine spirit. Taking a deep breath, Maitlyn clenched her pelvic muscles, contracting and relaxing the tissue until the feeling passed.

  In no time at all she was dressed in a formfitting black knit dress and fire-engine-red pumps. She brushed a faint layer of mineral powdered foundation across her face, lined her eyes with black eyeliner and patted a tissue over the lipstick that brightened her lips. She pulled her fingers through the length of her hair, pulling the strands into a loose ponytail atop her head. When she was satisfied with the reflection staring back at her from the mirror, she headed down the stairs to the living space below, where Zak, back from his errand, stood patiently waiting for her.

  As Maitlyn eased down the stairs, Zak’s eyes widened with appreciation.

  As they headed in the direction of the elevators, they crossed paths with Gerard and Frank. Both men voiced their concern for her health, seemingly interested in her well-being. Maitlyn was polite as she expressed her gratitude for their kind words. She stepped into Zak’s side, leaning her body toward his. As the elevator stopped before them, Zak rested a possessive hand against her lower back and guided her into the conveyor. Taking the hint, Gerard and Frank gave them both a casual wave, opting to walk the stairs instead.

  When the doors closed Maitlyn stepped away from Zak’s touch and turned to face him. She stared up into his eyes. “I think someone drugged me,” she stated, her voice a loud whisper. “One of them or that other man, their friend Alexander Lloyd.”

  Zak returned her intense look. “I thought he was your friend, too. That Lloyd guy?”

  She shrugged, her brow creasing in thought. “I thought he was nice. When we first met, he tried to buy me a drink, but I turned him down. I told him I don’t drink, and he was very nice about it. He seemed...well...I...” She trailed off, not wanting Zak to think that there had ever been anything between her and the cute blond man. “I just don’t know him like that,” she finally sputtered.

  Zak studied her for a brief moment, his gaze soothing.

  Then a stray strand of hair fell over her eye, and he brushed it from her face with the tips of his fingers. As he did, she leaned her forehead into his palm and closed her eyes. The gesture felt intimate and both felt the air between them catch deep in their chests; oxygen suddenly felt like a precious commodity.

  “I’ll take care of it,” Zak finally said, his head bobbing gently against his broad shoulders. As the doors opened, he steppe
d out ahead of her and hesitated. After turning an about-face, Zak extended his hand in her direction. In that moment Maitlyn instinctively trusted that if any man could right all the wrongs in the world, Zak Sayed would. After reaching her hand toward him, she entwined her fingers between his. And when he smiled, Maitlyn melted beneath the sheer beauty of it.

  Chapter 4

  Maitlyn laughed as Zak hit the punch line of the story he’d been telling her. Her joyous expression moved Zak to laugh along with her. He lifted his wineglass and took a sip of the Riesling he’d paired with his salmon entrée. Before he could drop the crystal goblet back to the table, their waiter was at his elbow refilling his glass.

  “Thank you, Henry,” Zak said.

  The young man nodded. “And you, madam? Would you like more water?”

  “No, thank you,” Maitlyn answered. “I am full.”

  “Are you sure?” Zak pressed. “Coffee, tea, more dessert?”

  Maitlyn giggled, pressing her palm against her abdomen. “Really, I couldn’t eat another bite without getting sick again.”

  “Well, we definitely don’t want you sick again,” Zak said in agreement. “I like this suit!”

  Maitlyn’s eyes widened. “Please don’t tell me I got sick on your suit.”

  Zak leaned back in his seat and crossed his hands together in his lap. He smiled brightly, his eyes gleaming.

  Maitlyn persisted. “Did I? I didn’t, did I?”

  “You asked me not to tell you.”

  “Damn,” Maitlyn exclaimed, heat rising to her cheeks. “I am so sorry!” Mortified, she pressed her hands over her face.

  “Nothing to be embarrassed about. Those things happen.”

  “Not to me! Nothing like that has ever happened to me,” Maitlyn said. “I will pay for your suit. And again, I am so sorry.”

  He shook his head. “Not to worry. My suit and your pretty blouse have been cleaned, pressed and returned to us. All’s well again.”