One Wild Night. Heidi Rice
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Circe have a fling. After which, Circe gives him much-needed information, and he’s gone without a backward glance, leaving her pregnant with triplets. Not so great an ending for Circe.” She shook her head sadly.
“What, no romantic sympathies for his desire to get home to Penelope?” Chris teased.
This was fun. She leaned against the opposite piling and mirrored his crossed arms. “Oh, now Penelope has my sympathy. Odysseus, the original golden boy of ‘all style, no substance,’ goes out adventuring, leaving her at home to weave and take care of the kid. She remains faithful while he starts the tradition of a girl in every port. Odysseus was a player.”
Chris laughed out loud. “You don’t sound like you like Odysseus much.”
“I won’t deny there’s something attractive about him, but smart women don’t fall for that—at least not more than once.”
A blond eyebrow arched upward. “You sound bitter.”
She shrugged. “Let’s just say I know better. If you ask me, Odysseus got much better than he deserved.”
“That’s a different take on a classic.”
In her primmest voice, she said, “Homer was a man. I don’t think he sees it quite the same way a woman would.”
“You have a point, Ally.”
“Maybe.” When he didn’t respond, she was disappointed. Were they done now? Should she move on? She didn’t want to, but Chris did have a major project underway. He hadn’t moved from his lazy pose against the piling, but maybe he was just too polite. She’d wrap it up and let him get back to work. “But you’re doing a good thing, bringing Circe back to her former glory. I’m sure she’ll be lovely.”
“She will be. Right now she’s just a money pit. I can see now why Odysseus left her. Too needy.” He punctuated the statement with a wink.
Feeling better than she had in months, Ally let a giggle escape. “You’re terrible.”
Chris shrugged. “You started it.”
“Well, I stand by my earlier statement, regardless. Your Circe deserves the face-lift. I’m sure she’ll be a beautiful, enchanting ship when you’re done.”
“Yacht.”
“Pardon me?”
“She’s a yacht. Not a ship.”
“Really? There’s a difference?”
“Definitely.” Chris levered himself back to his feet. “Ships are those big ones that move cargo and such. These,” he indicated the boats around them, “are yachts.”
Maybe they weren’t done just yet. He didn’t seem in a hurry to run her off and get back to work. A little spurt of excitement warmed her blood. This trip was getting better by the second…
“Ally! Ally-girl, I thought that was you.”
The voice hit her between the shoulder blades and crawled down her back. I spoke too soon. She knew that creepy, gravelly voice. She turned, and, sure enough, Fred was lumbering down the dock toward her like a duck to a June bug. Why me? Why? I find a hunky guy to talk to and the slimy one has to come and ruin it. It wasn’t fair.
She saw Chris’s eyebrows go up in question as Fred lumbered to a stop beside her. “Ally,” he puffed, “I saw you headed this way. If you’re interested in boats, darlin’, I’d be happy to oblige.”
At least he’s wearing more than he was yesterday. The polo shirt and shorts were an improvement, but that didn’t mitigate the fact he was here ruining her day again.
Fred looked Chris up and down, then glanced dismissively at the Circe. “How about that dinner now? We can let this swabbie get back to work.”
Chris stiffened a bit at the insult, but he didn’t take the bait. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse. Swabbie? How arrogant could one guy be? And how was she going to gracefully extricate herself this time? Short of jumping off the dock and swimming to shore, she was trapped.
She felt, more than saw, Fred reach for her elbow to lead her away. Desperate, she turned to Chris and mouthed, Help.
The corner of Chris’s mouth twitched. Dammit, this wasn’t funny. She didn’t want to be outright rude to Fred, but this needed to be nipped in the bud.
Fine. Rudeness begat rudeness, and this jerk started it. Her conscience could be salved by that, at least, as she took a deep breath and opened her mouth to be intentionally rude for the first time in her life. “Look—”
“Ally,” Chris interrupted smoothly, “I know you’re upset I’ve been spending so much time on the boat, but you don’t need to get even by flirting with another man.”
She let out her breath in a rush at the save, but then gasped as Chris looked at Fred and shrugged. “You know how women are about these things. They get so jealous over the ‘other woman.’”
Her mouth was open to argue with such a sexist statement when she realized Fred was nodding in agreement. She closed it with a snap and accepted the hand Chris held out to her. One quick tug, and she was against his chest with his arms wrapped around her.
And everything else ceased to exist.
The men were talking, but Ally couldn’t hear the exchange. The heat from Chris’s body and the solid wall of muscle surrounding her had her blood pounding in her ears. Closing her eyes, she inhaled, and the summertime smell of him filled her senses. Every nerve ending sprang to life, and she fought against the urge to rub sensually against him but lost. Her breathing turned shallow and her inner thighs clenched. But when Chris dropped a warm kiss on her bare shoulder, lightning raced through her, causing her to arch into him in response.
His arms tightened around her, and she melted into the pressure…
“Ally?”
The whispered question sent chills over her skin as his breath caressed her ear. Her eyelids felt heavy as she attempted to open them.
“He’s gone. You’re safe now.”
The words hit her like cold water. Reality snapped back into focus, and…Oh, no. She felt the hot flush of embarrassment sweep up her chest and neck.
She’d been writhing against him like a stripper against a pole, and her humiliation was now absolute.
This vacation sucked.
ALLY WAS A WONDERFUL ARMFUL, but the situation was about to become embarrassing for them both if he didn’t release her. The colorful sundress she wore had concealed the lush curves he could now feel as she fitted perfectly into him like a puzzle piece. Curly dark tendrils of hair that smelled like sunshine and citrus caught the breeze and tickled over his skin. When she’d sighed and moved against him, he’d been unable to resist tasting her.
Her plea for help might have spurred him to reach for her, but in reality it had only provided an excuse to act on the need to touch her that he’d felt the moment she’d lifted her chin and started her defense of Circe. A need that had intensified when that Euro-trash wannabe had tried to stake a claim on her.
But now that he was gone, Chris no longer had a reasonable excuse to continue holding her—beyond his own enjoyment, of course. But that enjoyment was beginning to press insistently against her, and in another moment he was going to take advantage of the situation.
As he gave the all clear, Chris felt her stiffen. Ally extricated herself awkwardly, clearing her throat as a red flush colored her chest and neck.
Maybe I’m not the