by Dakota Rebel
Now, I was about to get hers in return.
“So she accepted the cruise offer,” I said, running back through my ingenious plan with Luke. “Which is good. When I started setting this up, I hadn’t realized it would be over Christmas. That could have been a disaster. She’ll be assigned to the suite, which will be decorated for the holiday and have a big Christmas tree in it. Once I’m sure she’s settled, I’ll show up and let her know that the accommodations are actually for two. She’ll find it incredibly endearing that I’ve tracked her down, she’ll fall into my arms, then my bed, and we’ll live happily ever after. And on Christmas morning, she’ll wake up to tons of gifts under the tree, including one small, special velvet box.”
“Boy, you’ve thought this all out, haven’t you?” Luke asked, his tone obviously amused. “You’re like Father Christmas. Or stalker boyfriend.”
“I’m not a stalker,” I scoffed. “I told you. It’s terribly romantic.”
“Okay, fine. It’s romantic. But what are you gonna do if she doesn’t remember you?”
“We’re going to get married,” I said. “How could she forget me?”
“Well, you are the idiot that paid five grand to spend ten minutes in a room with her,” Luke agreed. “That’s probably pretty hard to forget.”
“Shut up. Look, there’s no way she hasn’t spent the last three months thinking about me. I’m telling you, when our eyes met across that dance floor, we both knew we were destined to be. It was fate.”
“Whatever you say,” Luke acquiesced. “Okay, the ship departs tonight at three p.m. The jet’s ready, so you should probably get going.”
I pulled the engagement ring I’d purchased out of my desk and slipped it into my pocket then grabbed my briefcase and stepped around the desk.
“My bags are on the plane?” I asked.
Luke stood and straightened my tie. “Yes, everything is set. You’re a crazy person.”
“I’m in love, man.” My gaze pleaded with him to understand. “You’ll get it someday. When you meet the one, you just know. And I know Emerson is it for me.”
“Well, I hope you can convince her of that,” Luke said.
“Christmas miracles happen, Luke,” I told him. “I’ll call you from the ship.”
“Go get her,” he said, slapping me on the back.
* * * *
I made it to the ship with plenty of time to spare, which was both good and bad. I definitely didn’t want Emerson to see me until we were already out to sea. Not that I was worried she’d be unhappy to see me. But I thought it would be more romantic to have the ocean on all sides as we enjoyed champagne on the balcony and our good fortune to be reunited.
At least, that’s the story I was sticking to. In all honesty, part of me was nervous that she’d be angry I’d foisted this on her. It was the reason I’d insisted on multiple beds in the room. I was not remotely interested in forcing her into bed with me, to sleep or for any other reason.
I had to earn her trust, and I might have been a little hasty in the details of the trip. So the subterfuge might work against me at first. But I was convinced that the ends justified the means in this case, and she would see reason once she realized that she was in love with me, too.
So I killed time in one of the bars, nursing a scotch to calm my nerves. Once the noise level from the on-deck bon voyage party subsided and people started wandering inside again, I figured it was my chance to reveal my presence and my plan to Emerson.
My bags had already been taken to the room, so if Emerson had done any exploring yet, it was possible she was already aware something was amiss. My heart pounded as I made my way to the door. I couldn’t hear anything on the other side, so I steeled myself, pressed the keycard to the reader, and when the lock disengaged, I pushed the door open.
She was standing in front of the flowers I’d sent. The Christmas tree was behind her, positioned right in front of the wall of windows facing the ocean. The sight took my breath away. I couldn’t have arranged a more perfect reunion than the scene before me.
“Emerson,” I said, meeting her stunned gaze.
“Chase?” Her chest heaved as she visibly struggled to catch her breath. “What the hell are you doing in my room?”
Chapter Three
~ Emerson ~
My heart slammed against my chest wall, and I could barely breathe as I stared at the man who’d consumed my thoughts, over and over, during the past three months.
“Our room,” he corrected.
My head tilted, and I’m sure I looked like a confused puppy. “What?”
“Our room.”
“I don’t think so. I won this…” I trailed off as he grinned and things started clicking into place. Like spotting an error hidden deep in a line of code, I realized the situation was not what I had first believed. “What do you have to do with this?”
He shrugged. “I wanted more time with you, so…I arranged more time with you.”
I glanced at the king-sized bed then looked pointedly at him. My hand flung out toward the offending item of furniture that had looked so comfy just moments ago. “I’m not sleeping with you.”
Not that I didn’t really, really want to. I wanted to kiss him and have him follow through on that all too-brief-caress of my cheek. I needed to feel his lips against mine, his weight on me, all those hard—
And I needed to get a grip, that’s what I needed. And not on Chase, even though I really wanted to touch him. He stepped closer to me, and I nearly got weak-kneed from his scent, undiluted by all the other bodies as it had been in the club. Dear God, how had I forgotten how good he smelled? He smelled like…Christmas and fantasies. Not overpowering but just right.
He glanced toward the sleeping area and frowned. “Yeah, that’s a mistake.”
“I’d say. That was quite an assumption to make—”
“I meant that it’s a mistake that there’s only one bed. It was supposed to be two. The ship only has single bedroom suites, but this one was supposed to have two beds in it. Let me call the porter.”
That disappointed me. Look, I never claimed my inner self made sense. I wanted him, and sleeping with him so soon would be wrong. Propriety and all that.
I crossed my arms over my chest, squashing the bit of hopefulness inside me. “What? He’s going to just wheel this one out and wheel in two different beds? I don’t see that happening. We’re adults. We can figure this out, I guess.”
“As tempting as that offer is, I don’t want to push you into anything.”
Again, I looked around. “Um, I’d say you’re a little late on that count. You manipulated me into taking a cruise with you. I mean…serious manipulation involving other people.”
“I was being romantic.”
Swoon. “Or a stalker.”
“That’s what my brother said.”
“Smart man.”
All amusement left his face. “You’re not frightened are you? Grand gestures aside, I just wanted us to have time to get to know each other. I promise you’re completely safe with me. I just used my connections to find out things about you.”
I coughed into my fist, saying, “Stalker.”
Chase shook his head and lifted the phone next to my beautiful flowers that I realized must be from him. “Hello, I’m calling from the Blake-Malloy suite. We have a small problem that needs to be corrected. I specified two beds and there’s only one.” He listened for a moment then glanced at his watch. “Yes, thank you. That will be fine. We have second seating so we’ll be out of your way.”
After he hung up, he turned to me. “Do you want to get ready for dinner? We have second seating today so we’ll need to be down there in about an hour. Marco will correct the bed situation while we’re out, so we should keep our things out of the way in there.”
“Marco’s going to…”
Chase took my hand and guided me into the bedroom. I mean, I should have been nervous, this strange man taking me toward a mattress, but I wasn’t.
Maybe, I wasn’t as smart as purported.
To my surprise, he lifted the edge of the bedding and showed me the base of the bed and the latches holding everything secure. “The rooms come with one or two bed options, and all the beds convert.”
“Well, I apologize for calling you a perv.”
“You didn’t.”
“I thought it.” I shrugged and headed back out for my bag. “Thank you for the awesome cruise and all the excursion options. I’ll decide tonight what I want to do. I intend to make the best of all the money you must have spent on this. Wouldn’t want to waste your grand gesture when you could have just showed up and taken me to coffee.”
“Maybe we can choose some things together?”
“Well, sure, I guess.” If a hot guy who managed to lower my IQ by fifty points wanted to spend time with me, who was I to say no? Seriously, I could barely function while he was in the room. I should have figured out the bed thing without making accusations. I was a little embarrassed by that, but who knew it was a thing—besides Chase and the ship’s crew, that is?
“Wonderful.”
I dragged my suitcase over to the side of the sitting room and opened it to get my toiletries. Then grabbing my garment case I headed toward the bathroom. On the way, I paused and turned to face Chase.
“So…in the spirit of getting to know each other, and since we’ll be planning joint excursions, you should know I’m terrified of big bodies of water. Well, full disclosure, kinda small bodies of water, too.”
“Wait…”
I almost smiled, he looked so horrified. “Yes? You want the bathroom first?”
He shook his head, but I already knew that’s not what he meant.
“So…I gave a cruise to a woman who hates water?”
“Yep.”
“Shit.”
I closed the distance between us then went on tiptoe and bussed his cheek. Dropping to flat feet, I patted the spot I’d kissed. “Gotta bone up on those stalker skills.”
“Yeah,” he growled, and the self-annoyed sound raked across my senses. To my shock, I felt myself get decidedly damp downstairs. That had never happened before.
Well, except for in Vegas when he’d gotten me totally turned on by just standing there all sexy and intense.
“Anything else I need to know? Any other fears?”
“No, not really. I mean after my parents died in a boating accident, I was raised by my aunt, who passed away last year. But you probably know that about me.”
“Boating accident. I’m firing my PI,” he muttered under his breath. “I’m sorry.”
“I was pretty young.” I shrugged. I kinda felt bad for the guy, but he had crossed all kinds of lines to get me here so it wasn’t too sorry. “Don’t worry, Chase. We’ll figure it out.”
And I really wanted to. There was just something about this man. He drew me. Hell, he’d been drawing me for months. How many times had I looked at his pic on my phone? Too many. I couldn’t say with confidence that, if I had his clout, I wouldn’t have snooped into him, too. Though, I probably would have gone with the showing up for coffee option.
Chapter Four
~ Chase ~
I sat down on the bed and gripped my head in my hands. Her parents died in a boating accident, and she’s afraid of water. Well done, Chase. You moron.
How the hell was I supposed to fix this? I stood back up and pulled the engagement ring box from my pocket. I could ask her to marry me right now. Maybe, that would prove I wasn’t a total jerk.
No. No, it wasn’t time yet. I went back to the living area and tucked the box deep into the tree, where it would live until Christmas morning. Much like sleeping together, I didn’t want to jump the gun with her.
I could hear Luke laughing in my head. Sure, six days isn’t that far away, and probably would still be considered jumping the gun, but whatever. When you know you want to spend forever with someone, you want that time to start immediately. And with Emerson, I knew.
Touching my cheek, I thought back to the small kiss she’d given before going to get ready for dinner. Did she sense we were destined, too? She hadn’t seemed scared or angry with me, that was a good sign. And her stalker comments sounded as teasing as they had when coming from my brother. Wait…were either of them teasing?
“Emerson?” I called out. I could hear her moving around the bedroom area but didn’t want to interrupt her privacy if she needed it.
“Yes?”
“Can I come back there?”
“It’s your room,” she said.
“Our room,” I countered as I walked in. When I saw her, I lost all ability to think or speak for several moments. She was absolutely stunning. Her long, dark locks were twisted up into some fancy hairdo and pinned to show off her graceful neck and throat. The black dress hugged every delicious curve of her body, ending with a little flair just below the knee, drawing attention to her milky calves. Her heels were low, sensible, but strappy, and cute little pink-painted toenails peeked through.
“Fine, our room,” she huffed. She slid earrings into her ears then looked back at me. “Did you need something? Are you okay?” Her eyes crinkled in concern as she stared at me.
“You’re gorgeous,” I said, unable to come up with any other words. I stalked quickly across the room and pulled her into my arms. Her gaze widened, but she didn’t pull away. “May I kiss you?”
The fact I resisted claiming her mouth like a caveman showed I had more restraint than I felt. I wanted nothing more than to throw her onto the mattress, rip that dress off her body and never let her go. But in this situation, I needed to be careful with her. She had to know I respected her, I loved her, not just that I wanted her.
“On the forehead like a good brother,” she said, a weird twang in her voice.
“What?” I stared down at her in confusion. The words sounded familiar, but I had no idea what she was talking about.
“I’m sorry. You startled me, and you look so much like Clark Gable. That quote’s from Gone with the Wind. I’m a dork.” She shook her head then stared toward the floor.
I lifted her chin with my finger. When she finally locked her gaze to mine, I searched for hesitation, and when I found none, I leaned forward and softly pressed my lips to hers.
“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” I whispered against her mouth before pulling away. “And I’d best get ready for dinner before I forget myself.”
She nodded and stepped away. I mourned the loss of her in my arms already, but it was the truth. If I didn’t change, we’d be late—or we’d never make it there at all.
I snagged a suit from the closet, glad Marco had gotten most of my things put away before Emerson had arrived.
After putting on a more formal suit, I stepped back into the bedroom and pulled open one of the top dresser drawers. As requested, there were multiple jewelry boxes stowed away there. Pulling out the wide, flat necklace box, I took it with me to find Emerson in the front room.
She sat on the sofa, her legs tucked under her, staring at the bay of windows. Her gaze looked calm, but there was a tightness to her body that was hard to miss.
“Em?” I asked softly, not wanting to startle her.
“Are you ready to head down?” she asked, uncurling herself and getting to her feet.
“Almost,” I said. “I thought you might like to wear this tonight.” I opened the box, and her sharp intake of breath was exactly what I’d hoped for. When I’d seen the necklace in a shop in Vegas, the chocolate diamond pendant had reminded me of her eyes. It was the first of many purchases I’d made over the last three months as I found things that had made me think of her.
“Is that a chocolate diamond?” she asked, running a finger over the stone.
“Yes,” I said. “Do you like it?”
“It’s lovely,” she said, her tone almost grudging. “But you know chocolate diamonds are just imperfect stones marked up as special to unsuspecting customers.” Her eyes opened wide,
and her lips clamped shut for a moment. “Oh my God, I’m sorry. That was incredibly rude.”
I laughed so hard my head actually rocked back.
“Oh my darling,” I said, picking up the necklace and reaching around to clasp it behind her neck. “You’re completely right. But usually, beauty is found because of imperfection, not despite it. Besides, I didn’t purchase it to be passed onto our children for future wealth. I bought it simply because it reminded me of your eyes, and it made me smile. There are times that spending money is a chore, and there are times that spending money on someone you care about is just about the best thing in the world. Don’t ever apologize for your intelligence or your savvy.” I lifted her hand and placed a kiss to her palm. “Let’s go to dinner. We’re at the captain’s table, and I’m afraid we’ll be noticed if we’re late.”
* * * *
“Mr. Malloy, Ms. Blake.” The maître d’ smiled warmly when we entered the dining room. “My name is Devon, and I’ll be your dining host throughout your travel with us. The captain sends his apologies, but he’s running late tonight. He requests that you start without him, and he will join you when he can.”
“No worries,” I assured Devon.
We followed him to the table, and I noticed it was only set for four. Usually, the captain dined at a larger table so multiple VIP guests could be appeased at once. Maybe, he didn’t plan to join us after all.
An ice bucket was stationed by the seat I was directed to, and Devon popped the cork of the champagne before returning the bottle to the ice and heading back to his station.
“I thought cruises served food on buffets,” Emerson whispered, as she looked over the menu. “Isn’t that what everyone always says? They gain a ton of weight on cruises?”
“Would you prefer a buffet?” I asked, concerned I hadn’t taken her wants into account. “I apologize. I should have asked what you wanted to do for dinner. We can leave.”
“Chase,” she said, a small smile playing at the corner of her luscious mouth. “No. It’s fine. I was just making an observation. Besides, apparently, the captain will be coming to eat with us. It would be rude to abandon him.”
