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They were in Myron’s stateroom, and he picked up the booklet for the ship. “Okay. We have about thirty pages of options here.”
The other men laughed.
“Is there a singles luncheon venue today?” Rudy asked.
“Oh, joy,” Alistair said with a note of sarcasm.
Myron picked up the singles brochure. “In fact, there are three.”
“Pick one,” Jeremy said.
Myron shrugged. “The Onyx sounds good.”
“The Onyx it is. One o’clock.”
Jeremy, Myron and Rudy did a round of the singles events listed for that morning. Myron had started talking to a woman at the Pool and Cabana mixer, so they left him behind and headed to the Café mixer. She wasn’t there, and they didn’t want to go to the Date for the Day event, so Rudy left him to join Alistair, and Jeremy continued on alone.
Before heading to the Onyx, he stopped at the concierge to see if he could get Safire Lewis’s cabin number or telephone, which turned out to be the same thing. He tried calling the number they gave him but got no answer. At least he knew that if it was her—if the woman he saw was Safire Lewis—he could hope to reach her by phone. That much discovered, he joined his boys for lunch, still keeping an eye out for her.
He called her again before dinner—no luck. He called again after dinner—eureka.
“Hello.”
He had no idea what her voice sounded like.
“Hi, I’m trying to reach Safire Lewis.”
There was a pause on the other end. “Yes, this is she.”
“My name is Jeremy Bell, and I think I saw you when I was boarding the ship. I was wondering if you might want to get together for coffee or dancing or—”
“Who is this?” she asked.
Jeremy laughed out loud.
“I’m sorry. That’s a fair question. I’m on the singles cruise, and I think I saw you when we boarded. You had on a yellow dress. I wanted to meet you.”
“And you were wearing?”
“What was I wearing? I had on a white shirt and blue pants, I think. Let me check my closet. Yes, that was it. I thought you might have noticed me, too.”
“I remember you. But how did you get my name, my number?”
“After looking for you all day, I checked the singles listing. Luckily, there aren’t that many Black women on this cruise, so I took a chance that you were the one I saw.”
“Oh.” There was a pause.
“Look, you probably already have plans for tonight because it’s New Year’s Eve, but if you don’t, maybe we can meet at one of the mixers.”
“I hadn’t actually planned on going out tonight. I brought some work with me and was in for the night. But maybe...”
He could hear her hesitation, but at least she was thinking about it.
“I had planned on going to the Peacock Lounge for their New Year’s Eve party. Maybe we could meet there.”
He didn’t get a response right away.
“I’m not sure. Let me see how much I get done, and I’ll consider.”
“Well, no pressure. I’ll be there, and if you don’t recognize me, I’m sure I’ll recognize you. I hope you can come.”
“I’ll see,” she said.
It was clear that she didn’t want to commit, so he decided not to push it.
“It would be great to meet you, so I’ll keep a lookout.”
“Okay, then.”
“Goodbye.”
Clearly, he hadn’t made the impression he thought he’d made. When she looked back at him and smiled, he thought that they’d connected. Now she seemed unsure if she wanted to meet him.
To be fair, she didn’t know him from Adam; he could be a serial murderer. She seemed more cautious than her bio had led him to believe. That, or she was swamped with something for work. Or she simply wasn’t that interested in him from what she saw. He had no way of knowing.
At least she remembered him. And she might come tonight. He wasn’t sure what he would be doing until he spoke to her. In fact, he probably would have rung in the New Year at one of the sports bars with his boys if he hadn’t spoken to her. Now, he had time to change and catch up with the guys to let them know his new plans.
He met up with Alistair and Rudy at a sports bar around ten o’clock. Myron had a date with the woman that he’d met at the Pool and Cabana mixer, and Jeremy would be meeting them in the Peacock Lounge at eleven.
“I’ll be back before twelve-thirty if she doesn’t show.”
“She’ll show,” said Alistair. “Hottie that you are.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
When he got to the Peacock Lounge, he was given a mask made of peacock feathers. He didn’t know that everyone would have them on, and he hoped he could still tell who she was. At least there wouldn’t be that many choices.
The champagne was already flowing from towers of crystal glasses arranged on silver platters. An elaborate ball was rigged to drop, and the countdown was already ticking down on a monitor. Whistles and party favors were piled up on tables skirting the room.
He found Myron and his date on the dance floor and nodded to his friend. Myron had a thick frame and wore a loose yellow panama shirt with a pair of brown slacks. He had tracked Jeremy’s entrance with one lazy eye and nodded at Jeremy over his date’s shoulder.
After a couple of songs, they came over, and Myron introduced him to Verniece. She had a pleasant smile and seemed completely unassuming. Her tall, full figure matched Myron’s thickness, and even her yellow skirt set with French dots blended with Myron’s attire. The two seemed evenly paired.
The three chatted for a while, and then he left the couple to enjoy their evening together, wandering over to the array of cheeses and breads. Nearing midnight he began to get a little disappointed, but he still held out. Safire had been noncommittal, but she at least seemed to consider his invitation. He would give her until half past midnight, maybe even longer, because she seemed well worth the wait.
He recognized her the moment she hit the doorway, and what he saw made his body pulse. She had on a strapless red cocktail dress that hit her midthigh and hugged every delicious curve of her body. Over that she wore a sheer red wrap with a floral burnout pattern. It was almost as long as the dress, but so translucent that it hid nothing of her shapely curves.
When she stepped down into the lounge, he saw that she had on black pumps that showed off her taut calves and supple rear. As she rounded the banister, he walked toward her.
Her face was partially hidden by the peacock mask, but the pretense of anonymity only made her look sexier than ever. Her lips were red and smiling, and she’d piled her hair on top of her head in cascading black curls.
She seemed a little hesitant in a way that made her seem vulnerable, but then she hadn’t seen him as yet, and she didn’t know him.
“Safire?”
“Jeremy?”
He lifted his mask so that she could see his face. “Yes, it’s me. I’m glad that you could make it. When it got close to midnight, I began to worry.”
“I’m glad I made it, too, and with two minutes to spare.” She was looking at the countdown on the monitor.
He took her hand and led her toward the dance floor. He couldn’t help smiling. When they got near the center of the floor, he didn’t let her hand go. Knowing that she wasn’t afraid to get what she wanted, he held her hand within his, playing his fingers over hers. It was sensual and erotic touching the fingers of a masked stranger.
They just looked at each other for several moments, and then the crowd around them started counting down the seconds. That was when he knew he would kiss her.
When the count got to ten everyone joined in, and the chant rose around them. They simply stared at each other through peacock-feathered masks, waiting. Suddenly, the Happy New Year call went up and the ball dropped, accompanied by an explosion of silver confetti and streams of colored balloons.
Jeremy stepped to Safire, put his arms around her and brought his lips to hers. For a moment, they lingered that way, lips poised, close to each other. Then he touched his lips to hers, possessing her and drawing her body against his.
At first she was still, not willing to give in to the moment. But as he continued to move his lips over hers, they softened underneath his, and her hands came up to his shoulders, pressing lightly against him.
He gripped her hips harder and pulled her flush against him, parting her lips. Her mouth opened for him, and he slid his tongue into the sweet wetness of her. Her grip on his shoulders tightened, and her mouth widened, letting him in. She stirred in his embrace, and her arms came up to surround his shoulders and then his neck. Her fingers at his nape sent a quiver through his body and heat into his loins.
Their tongues began to explore, and he was seared by the heat of her body. Her chest heaved against his with each breath, and he wrapped his arms more fully around her.
He had no idea how long they remained locked together, but when he opened his eyes, they were calf-deep in balloons, and the silver confetti in her hair made her look like an angel.
As he looked at her, her cheeks flushed. She took a breath and stepped back from him, straightening her body and dusting the confetti from her shoulders. She looked around them nervously.
“I don’t know what got into me,” she said.
He could see the embarrassment written over her as she continued to pick the confetti from her clothing. It made him smile.
“Happy New Year,” he said.
She smiled and stopped fussing over the confetti.
“Happy New Year to you, too.”
“It’s time for champagne.”
“Oh, none for me. I hadn’t planned to stay, really. I just wanted to come welcome in the New Year and say hello.”
“You can’t leave so soon. You just got here. Give me the first dance of the New Year.”
“I’m sorry. I really should go. I have some work I’d planned to get done tonight.”
Jeremy couldn’t help the disappointment he was starting to feel.
“How about tomorrow? Can we meet for lunch?”
“That would be—” She stopped. “I’m on a tour tomorrow when we stop at Nassau.”
“Have you ever been to the Bahamas?”
“No, but I’ve heard it’s beautiful.”
“Then you have to go see Nassau,” he said. “My friends and I planned to disembark as well, but just to do some shopping and hit the beach. You enjoy the tour.”
She smiled and turned to go, but he wasn’t giving up that quickly.
“Wait. What about dinner?”
She turned back to him. “That sounds good. Will other singles be there?”
Jeremy hadn’t planned on a group for dinner, but he sensed it would make her more comfortable.
“Yes, we can meet at one of the singles buffets and go from there. I still have your number. I’ll call and leave a message when we figure out which one.”
“That’ll be fine. I’m sorry I have to run.”
Jeremy wanted to take hold of her and kiss her again, even if it was a kiss good-night. But something told him not to go that quickly. He simply smiled at her, and she smiled back before turning toward the door.
After the fire of the kiss, Jeremy had hoped that they would end up in each other’s arms tonight. Instead, he nodded toward Myron on the dance floor and decided to make his way back to the sports bar to find Alistair and Rudy.
He couldn’t wait to see Safire again, to feel her in his arms again. If she wasn’t afraid to get what she wanted, he had to find a way to let her know that he was it. But that would have to wait until tomorrow night.
Chapter 3
Angelina was getting dressed in one of her sister’s cocktail gowns, just as she had the night before. She hadn’t planned to go to a New Year’s Eve party, but when the owner of those warm brown eyes called her, as surprised as she was, she couldn’t resist the possibility of seeing him again, this time up close.
She’d spent most of yesterday on her balcony, reading, leaving only for meals and to wander briefly around one of the decks. That had made it even more exciting to have an invitation to get out that night.
Still, what was she getting herself into? Did she want to get herself into anything, or did she want to stick with the plan to lay low? Plus, after she had given him her best Safire-like smile, she didn’t know what he might expect. She had put her foot in her mouth, so to speak.
Last night, she had gotten all dressed up, putting one of her cover-ups over one of her sister’s short dresses. It had made her feel sexy, but maybe it’d looked too sexy. She couldn’t decide. She hadn’t even been sure she should go; in fact, she’d dawdled until it was almost too late. Finally, she had decided that it couldn’t hurt to go for a little while—just to meet him.
She couldn’t have known she would end up in the most sensual kiss of her life. And with a stranger, no less. It seemed that some of her sister was getting into her after all, and she’d decided to leave before something else happened, something she wasn’t prepared for.
Today, she’d spent the sunlight hours in Nassau and would forever be enchanted with the Bahamas. The tour had started with a driving visit to the forts and a stop at the Pirate Museum. Then they’d gone to Predator Lagoon to see sharks and barracuda. They’d also had a walking visit of the Ardastra Gardens with its “marching” flamingoes. Lunch had been in the shopping district, and those who didn’t want to get wet stayed to shop. Angelina went for the water. She’d brought a change of clothes and had just worn her shorts over Safire’s bikini.
At the next stop, she’d petted and fed the dolphins, and at the stop after that, followed the snorkeling trail to the Rainbow Reef, where the sand was white and warm, and the water was so crystal clear she could see down to the bottom of the ocean floor. After the snorkeling, she’d swum and then relaxed on the beach in the sun. If she got nothing else from the whole trip, that day had made it worthwhile.
But the tour hadn’t been over. After she’d changed into her extra set of clothes, they were dropped off for an hour-long glass-bottom boat tour before the safari took them back to the ship.
She’d been kept busy all day, but she hadn’t forgotten about that night. The phone was blinking when she got in, and when she checked the message, she found out that Jeremy Bell’s group would be meeting at seven o’clock to have dinner at the Starlight, an open-air restaurant. She barely had time to wash and dry her hair and get dressed.
She was wearing Safire’s turquoise dress this time. It was a thin, knit material of some kind and was as revealing as the other one—as they all were—but she had a short, silver eyelet bolero jacket to put over it. The jacket was made of a satiny material that could go with most evening pieces, which was why she’d brought it. It might be too warm, but it was worth it to have a little coverage on top.
She didn’t have a lot of time to blow-dry her hair, so she pulled it back in a ponytail and added a silver bow. Her skin was still warm from the sun, but she added a little makeup and finished off with her strappy silver two-inch sandals.
She was going to a fair amount of trouble just for dinner, but she couldn’t deny her excitement. Of course, she hadn’t gotten any work done that day, which was a problem. She would make up for it tonight and tomorrow.
At six-forty, her phone rang. It could only be Jeremy Bell.
“I was just about to head out the door,” she said.
“I thought I might walk you to the restaurant.”
“Making sure I don’t ditch out, huh?”
They both chuckled.
“No,” he answered, “but definitely wanting to see you again.”
“I wasn’t sure I’d make it on time, but I’m actually ready. Hey, since I was heading out anyway, why don’t I just meet you at an elevator or in front of the restaurant? Where is it?”
Jeremy laughed for a moment. “See, I’ve actually figured that out. That’s why I thought I would meet you, so you wouldn’t have to. And I’m about five doors down from you at this point.”
Angelina poked her head out of the door and found Jeremy’s tall, broad-shouldered figure striding toward her down the hall. He had a cell phone to his ear.
They both laughed.
Angelina smiled and waved. Something had gotten into her mood tonight. She was smiling and being a bit silly, but she liked it.
When he got to her door, she took the phone from her ear and greeted him.
“Hello. Let me just put the phone down and get my pocketbook.”
He stood just inside the doorway and waited, a crooked smile on his face and a glint in his eye, watching her all the while.
When she came back to the door, ready, he held his arm out for her.
She gave him a skeptical look. “So chivalry isn’t dead, after all.” She chuckled and took his arm, unable to conquer her giddiness. They headed past the nearby elevators to the far ones.
“These are closer to the Starlight,” Jeremy said.
“Where is your stateroom? Are you on this floor?”
“No, I’m two floors up. I’ll show you sometime.”
He smiled at her. She couldn’t tell whether or not he was being saucy, but just in case, she said, “Don’t they all look the same, anyway?”
“More or less.”
“I actually did think I would be late. I should have gotten your number, just in case.”
With his free hand, he fished in this pocket. “Here, take one of my cards. This one has my cell phone number on it, and that’s the phone I carry.”
“Thank you.”
By the time they got to the eleventh floor, only one other couple was on the elevator. Jeremy took her chin and brought her lips to his, kissing her lightly.
“Hello again.”
His gesture was so sweet and so gentle that it stopped Angelina in her tracks. She couldn’t help smiling back.
“Hi.”
She waited for him to do something else, but he just smiled at her.
“You’re in a strange mood tonight, aren’t you?” she asked.
“Only because I’m with you again.”
“I’m in a strange mood, too. I don’t know if it was kissing a dolphin—”
“You kissed a dolphin?”
“Yes, the tour let us play with them, feed them. I got my picture taken kissing one. I snorkeled. I swam. It was all wonderful.”
“You look like you’re glowing. You look beautiful, Safire.”
“Thank you, Jeremy.”
He slipped his hand into hers as they exited the elevator on the fourteenth floor. The familiarity between them made it seem as though they had been seeing each other for a while, but the actual newness of his hand in hers sent a thrill through Angelina’s body.
In the atrium of the Starlight, she was introduced to Jeremy’s friend Myron and Verniece, Myron’s date. The four of them would be dining together at a table of eight, so they would be meeting four new people. These turned out to be a newlywed couple from Idaho and an older couple from Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Over drinks, they met one another and talked about the New Year’s Eve events they’d attended. Angelina blushed when she remembered her kiss with Jeremy and was even more embarrassed when he noticed this. He put a consoling arm over the back of her chair and rubbed her shoulder with his thumb. It sent a shiver through her body that she tried to hide.
They also talked about what they had seen of the Bahamas that day.
“We went out with the dolphins, did the powerboat ride and spent the afternoon on the beach,” Drake, the newlywed, said.
“Did you kiss a dolphin?” Jeremy asked Drake’s wife. Angelina saw the humor in his eyes and swatted him playfully.
“I sure did,” Rosalie answered. “It was better than kissing a frog.”
“Or a man,” Angelina added, and the two women laughed.
Jeremy looked at her with surprise and with a challenge in his eyes that said he would be proving her wrong very soon.
“I went on the daylong tour, and it was glorious,” Angelina said. “I think we did everything there was to do in Nassau. I was gone all day. I loved it.”
Angelina stopped when she realized she was gushing. She really did need to get out more. She laughed at herself, and Jeremy turned to her.
She waved away the inquiry and went on chatting.
“What did you guys do, Verniece?”
The woman was hanging on Myron’s shoulder and looked at him. Angelina could tell that she shouldn’t have asked.
“No, no. You don’t have to tell us if it’s too scandalous,” Angelina said.
The table laughed.
“We did get to the pool for a while,” Verniece offered. “And we had lunch in the Coco Lounge. But other than that, we stayed in.”
Angelina turned to Myron and Jeremy. “Weren’t you two with other gentlemen?”
“Alistair and Rudy,” Myron said. “They decided to go to one of the singles lounges for dinner and let the couples be by themselves.”
Once dinner arrived, the conversation quieted down a little. It turned out that the older couple was used to cruising, so they gave some advice about when to arrive and how to get discounts.
After dinner, Jeremy, Angelina, Myron and Verniece lingered in the atrium of the Starlight, trying to decide on the next thing they would do.
“I really should be getting back,” said Angelina. “I was gone all day and didn’t do anything I brought with me to get done.”
Jeremy put his palm against her back. It sent another shiver through her body that she tried once again to hide.
“Come dancing with us, Safire. You don’t have to stay long.”
“Dancing sounds great,” Verniece said.
“There’s a place called the Silhouette Lounge,” Jeremy said. “They have desserts, drinks, dancing. Please.”
“For a little while,” Angelina said.
When they got to the Silhouette Lounge, Angelina picked up immediately on the romantic theme; it was a hangout for couples, replete with low lighting, soft seating and slow music.
Myron and Verniece stopped at the bar for drinks, but Jeremy drew her onto the dance floor, slid his hands around her waist and began to sway.
Angelina’s palms came up to his chest. She thought it would keep a polite distance between them; instead, she could feel how hard his body was through his panama shirt, and that made the gesture seem even more intimate.
Angelina let herself rock to the music—something slow and Italian. As he held her closer, she moved her arms to his shoulders, bringing her chest against his. The sensation sent a tingle through her body, and she it hoped wasn’t noticeable.
Angelina was five-eleven, and in her two-inch heels, she was almost Jeremy’s height. When he lowered his head just a bit, it brought their cheeks together. She rested her head against his, closed her eyes and finally just let herself enjoy their dance.
The next song was in Spanish and just as intoxicating. When she opened her eyes briefly, she found that she had slipped her arms around his neck, not remembering when she had done so. When she turned to him, he was smiling at her.
“I love dancing with you this way,” he said.
“It’s been a while since I’ve danced like this.”
“You’re not rusty at all. I love the way your body feels against mine.”
“Thank you.” She didn’t know what else to say. His low bass voice in her ear sent goose bumps down her back and made her body twitch. She couldn’t tell whether this was apparent or not.
The next song was in Portuguese, she thought, something of a tango. She snuggled closer to his shoulder and swayed with his movement. His hands tightened around her back, bringing her body closer to his.
The thin knit of her sister’s gown did almost nothing to shield Angelina from the intimate contact of Jeremy’s body. She could feel his manhood pressing against her hip, and she sucked in a breath. He only held her closer and moved himself along her until he was nestled at the center of her body. Her sex started to throb, and her breath became heavier.
As he swayed against her, his body rubbed against her center and sent delicious prickles through her sex and into her breasts. Of their own volition, her hips tilted forward, bringing her into greater contact with the onslaught of his manhood. She caught herself and stopped the vulgar thrust, but she could feel herself growing damp, growing needy. Her arms gripped his neck tighter, and she bent her face toward his shoulder, not wanting to be seen.