"The captain wants you to sit by him."
Lowering the water bottle she'd been drinking from, Carolyn blinked at the big man in front of her. She then glanced to the helm to see the captain smile and nod, his shoulder length brown hair blowing in the breeze.
Putting the cap back on her water, Carolyn slipped it in her bag and stood to move shakily toward the bow, wishing even as she did that she could just get off the boat and go back to the resort. She'd felt fine when she'd first woken up, but wasn't feeling so hot now. She was shaky, going hot and cold, and oddly off balance. But she'd been like that all night and suspected she was coming down with whatever Bethany had. If so, this trip was going to be one long torturous affair.
Thoughts of Bethany made Carolyn grimace. After their dinner, Beth had left her alone and gone to bed early. Carolyn had paced the villa for a bit, but then had gone to bed as well. However, she hadn't slept well. Her night had been one erotic dream after another, all featuring Christian Notte. And every dream had seemed to be interrupted before completion by a serious case of the sweats that had sent her to the kitchen in search of juice or food. She must have been up and down five times, she thought with a sigh. And every time she'd dropped off to sleep, she'd found herself starring in another porno with Christian.
Still, other than being a little tired, she'd been fine on first waking that morning and so had Bethany. Although, Carolyn had been in such a tizzy about waking up late that she hadn't really noticed other than to ask how Bethany was as she'd scrambled to get ready and rushed down to the boat with her. However, by the time they'd reached the main building and run into Genie, Carolyn had begun to feel bad again: a little queasy with hot flashes and an odd disorientation. She hadn't wanted to ruin Bethany's first outing, however, so had kept her increasingly alarming state to herself as Genie had rushed them to the dock and the waiting boat.
Genie had followed them onboard to have a word with the captain. The way she'd gestured repeatedly to them hadn't made it hard to figure out that she was giving him special instructions to make sure they had fun. Genie had left as the last of the guests got onboard and the captain started the engine. The crew had been untying the boat when Bethany had suddenly stood, muttering, "Oh God, I'm going to puke," and rushed off the boat.
Carolyn had stared blankly after her, her thoughts too muddled to grasp what was happening at first. By the time she'd figured it out and moved to follow Bethany, the boat was slipping away from the dock.
"No! Go! Have fun! I left the cooler with the water and suntan lotion there. Make sure you use both," Bethany had called, waving her back as Carolyn had stared at the growing distance between the boat and the dock, trying to sort out if she could manage the jump. She might even have tried it despite the swiftly yawning distance had not one of the crew caught her arm and pulled her away with a shake of the head. Frowning, and a little befuddled as to how she'd suddenly ended up all alone on a cruise full of honeymooners, Carolyn had returned to her seat.
It seemed, however, that the captain was taking a special interest thanks to Genie, Carolyn thought as she made her way to the helm where the captain stood watching her unsteady approach with narrowed eyes. She was going to get to sit at his side like the teacher's pet in class, she thought as she reached him. Great.
"Caro or Beth?" the captain asked, urging her to the seat next to the helm.
"Caro." Carolyn climbed onto the stool with resignation.
"I'm Jack," he announced.
"Captain Jack." She nodded, and smiled wryly. "Like the pirate."
He grinned, but simply dropped a necklace of flowers over her head, announcing, "This makes you the ship mascot. We have one every trip."
Translation: charity case, Carolyn thought as he signaled to the big, brawny guy who had fetched her. He was obviously a crew member, though he could have passed for a guest. There were no uniforms, everyone onboard wore shorts and T-shirts, including her. The signal was apparently to bring a drink she realized when the man appeared before her with a plastic cup of what looked like orange juice.
"Your morning vitamin C to ensure you have a good day," Captain Jack said as she accepted the drink. "Best toss it back quickly, we're about to hit choppy water."
Carolyn glanced out at the water, noting that it was indeed choppy ahead. She supposed they were about to pass the coral reefs. She wasn't sure, but thought those kept the waves down some. Whatever the case, drinking the juice quickly seemed smart if she didn't want to wear it, and she drank half of it in one gulp, only to come up gasping.
"Sorry, should have warned you that we put a little firewater in to keep your blood up," Captain Jack said on a laugh, slapping her back as she began to cough.
"It's seven thirty in the morning," she got out, her voice raspy and shocked.
"Yeah, but you looked like you could use it to help you get in the mood," he said with a shrug.
Carolyn grimaced. "The mood for what?"
"Fun. Genie said to show you a good time and that's what we're going to do. Right boys?"
Carolyn glanced toward the men who were all grinning and nodding. They were an eclectic crew. While Captain Jack was a tan and buff white man who looked to be in his late thirties, his crew ranged in age from young to late twenties with one large, brawny fellow who could be mid-thirties.
They also ranged in color from a freckled redhead to a couple of men who were obviously native islanders.
"Drink up," Captain Jack said, gesturing to her still half-full glass. "It will loosen you up. You can't have fun when you're as tense as a virgin on her way to be sacrificed.
Besides, I don't want everyone else to get wind of the fact that there's alcohol onboard. They'll want some and it's not supposed to come out until the trip home."
Carolyn grimaced, but the orange juice had actually eased some of her queasiness. And she was pretty sure one drink wouldn't hurt, so she shrugged and tossed back the rest of the drink.
"Good girl." Captain Jack took her empty glass to discard, and turned back to the helm, but then glanced over.
"So your friend left. Sick?"
Carolyn nodded. "Since the night we arrived. We thought it was food poisoning, but I don't think it should last this long."
"Probably flu," he said. "It's been going around the island."
"Hmm." Carolyn grimaced. If it was the flu, she'd probably get it next.
"Any other friends here?" Captain Jack asked, adjusting course a bit.
"Genie," Carolyn answered.
He nodded, his gaze drifting to her hand. "And you're not married but were?"
Carolyn rubbed the telltale indent on her ring finger.
"On the tale end of a very long, two-year divorce."
"Two years... so not still at the screwed up stage.
Ready to date?"
Carolyn chuckled at the exaggerated leer he produced.
"I don't think Genie meant you had to go that far to make sure I have a good time."
"I'm sure she didn't," he agreed with a grin. "But you're a pretty single lady and I'm a handsome single guy and everyone knows captains make the best lovers. We know how to harden up."
"Oh," she groaned. "That's a horrible play on words."
He raised an eyebrow. "You know what 'harden up'
means?"
"Sailing close to the wind." She'd read it in a book just a couple of weeks ago.
"Damn," he breathed. "I'm impressed. I usually have to explain that joke. Sometimes after I'm slapped."
His words made her laugh as she suspected he'd intended.
"You have a nice laugh. You should do it more often. It makes your eyes twinkle," he said with a smile. "So how long are you here?"
"Another week and a half."
"Nice. Gives us lots of time to get to know each other," he announced. "I came here for a week ten years ago. It's been a long week."
"I'd say so," Carolyn agreed with a laugh, wondering why she wasn't uncomfortable with his compliments and flirting. She suspected it was because she knew he was only doing it under Genie's orders. The man wasn't really interested in her. He'd do his job, show her a good time, then set her ashore at the end of the cruise and not give her another thought.
Captain Jack glanced aft again and straightened.
"Looks like we're about to hit those waves I mentioned.
Don't mind me if I'm a bit distracted until we get around the point. You just sit there and look pretty while I impress you with my naval mastery."
Carolyn smiled. "If you say so."
"That's 'Aye-aye, Captain' to you, wench," he said lightly, turning to place both hands on the wheel.
Carolyn shook her head with amusement and wondered what the hell was in the punch as Captain Jack concentrated on riding the waves toward the point. She wasn't generally this comfortable with someone this quickly, and she normally didn't know how to handle attention from men. Not that she received it often, but on the rare occasion when she did, she tended to get flustered and uncomfortable and do her best to escape the situation.
"Right-o," Jack said moments later as the boat began to pitch a bit. "This shouldn't last long. It'll calm once we get around the point."
Carolyn nodded and retrieved her water from her bag to take a drink. She then put it away and turned in her seat to peer toward the bow as they moved through the choppier water.
"Like I say, it'll be less rough once we get around the point," Captain Jack repeated, glancing her way as he pushed up on the throttle to send them moving faster. She didn't understand the reason for his repeatedly saying that until he asked, "You don't get seasick, do you?"
"Not that I know of. This is my first time on a boat," she said.
His eyes widened at the admission. "You're kidding?"
"No."
"Well, hell, woman, where do you live? The desert?"
Carolyn chuckled and shook her head at the suggestion.
"Toronto, Canada."
"Yeah?" He grinned. "I have family there."
"You're Canadian?" she asked with surprise, and when he nodded, she muttered, "I keep running into them here."
"I'm not surprised. St. Lucia was a British colony like Canada and our two countries have a good relationship. A good number of the tourists who come here are Canadian and British."
She nodded and held on to her seat as the ride got a little bumpier. When she noticed Captain Jack eyeing her with concern, she raised her eyebrows in question.
"You look pale. How's your stomach?"
Carolyn hesitated. She was queasy again, but she was also feeling flushed and shaky as well, just as she had before she'd had the drink earlier. Her heart was also racing in her chest as if she'd run a marathon. She'd been experiencing those symptoms since yesterday, though, they just seemed a little worse now. She didn't think it could be seasickness, and was wondering if it was even flu now. It didn't feel like any flu she'd ever had. Recalling that the drink had helped if only temporarily and suspecting it was the orange juice, she shook her head. "I'm okay.
I think I just need some juice or something."
"Diabetic?" he asked with a frown.
"No, I skipped breakfast and-"
She paused as he turned to gesture to one of the crew again. A heartbeat later the big, bulky guy was in front of her with another full glass and a big grin. She eyed it suspiciously. "It's just juice this time, right?"
"Sorry, all the juice is already mixed into the punch," Jack said apologetically. "Just sip it and see if it helps again."
Carolyn grimaced, but took the drink. Noting that Jack's concern appeared to have deepened suddenly, she raised her eyebrows. "What?"
"Your hand's shaking," he said grimly and then turned and began searching through a small open shelf by his hip. Straightening a moment later, he turned and handed her a chocolate bar. "Try this."
Carolyn set her glass between her knees to free both hands to open the chocolate bar, frowning when she found the task taxing. Aside from disoriented, she was suddenly extremely clumsy. It was a bit scary actually, and she was relieved when she got the bar wrapper open.
Sighing, she took a bite.
"If it's low blood sugar it will take a couple of minutes for you to start feeling better," Jack said as she finished the bar moments later.
Carolyn nodded and balled up the wrapper, placing it in Jack's hand when it appeared before her.
"Thank you," she said as he discarded it in a small bag on the open shelf.
"My pleasure."
They were silent for several minutes, and Carolyn retrieved her drink and continued to sip it, thinking the added sugar should help. But she was aware as she did that Jack's gaze kept shifting repeatedly from the water ahead to her and could feel his concern. However, after a bit she started to feel better.
"Your color's better," he said suddenly, holding his hand out for her now empty glass.
"I'm feeling better," she admitted, handing it over for him to discard as she stood up. She then leaned against the stool and peered out over the water as she said, "Thank you."
"Like I said, my pleasure," he assured her, and then his gaze on the water ahead, he added, "You know what this means, right?"
"What?" she asked uncertainly.
"Well, I've showered you with flowers, bought you drinks and given you chocolate... we're practically going steady now."
Carolyn blinked and then burst out laughing. "You're a terrible flirt, Captain."
"Actually, I'm a wonderful flirt," he assured her. "I'm charming as hell."
"Yes, you are," she agreed with amusement.
"But you seem to be immune," he said conversationally.
"Is it the boy?"
"The boy?" Carolyn asked uncertainly.
"I came into the bar a couple nights ago after the midnight cruise and you were with some young buck. Ambrose behind the bar said he was from the band."
"Oh, you mean Christian," Carolyn laughed suddenly and shook her head. Funny she hadn't thought of him right away. While she'd seen him as a boy herself when they'd first met, the longer she spent with him, the less young Christian seemed to her. "We're just friends."
"Good friends?" he asked meaningfully.
"No, he's ga-"
Carolyn cut herself off abruptly and slammed her hand over her mouth as she realized what she was saying.
"Gay?" Captain Jack asked with surprise.
"No," she said at once, but then scowled and added, "Don't tell anyone. I promised not to tell." Shaking her head, Carolyn muttered, "And I said Bethany was the blabbermouth. What the hell was in those drinks?"
Jack grinned. "Sugar and spice and everything likely to loosen a girl's lips."
"Hmm," Carolyn said, glowering out at the water.
"So the young buck's a buckette," Jack marveled.
"Who woulda thunk it?"
Carolyn groaned and he patted her shoulder soothingly.
"His secret's safe with me... Certainly safer than it is with you," he teased.
"Did I say you were charming?" she asked with a grimace.
"No, I said it, you just agreed," he assured her.
"I must have been drunk."
Captain Jack chuckled, but then his laughter faded and he asked seriously, "So what's with all the hand-holding and his having his arm around you business?"
"He wasn't holding my hand or anything when we were in the bar alone," she said with a frown.
"So maybe I've noticed you more than once the last couple of days," he said with a shrug.
Carolyn's eyebrows rose.
"So?" he prompted, when she remained silent.
"His family doesn't know, so his cousin asked me to play his date while he's here," she admitted quietly.
"Ah." He nodded. "Good to know."
"Why?" she asked at once.
"It means you're still on the market," he said lightly and grinned at her.
Carolyn shook her head and settled back in her seat, her gaze sliding over the two dozen passengers. Every single person was part of a couple, of course, except for herself and the crew. How depressing was that?
"So is it always honeymoon central here?" she asked abruptly.
Captain Jack shrugged. "It's that time of year. From Valentine's till June we usually have a lot of honeymooners."
He took in her expression, and then stepped back from the helm and held out his hand. "Come here. The mascot gets to steer the boat for a while on these cruises.
It's in the rules."
Carolyn hesitated, but then decided, why not? It was better than sitting there staring at the couples billing and cooing around her.
"Here come the shuttles for the tour."
Christian followed the driver's gaze to three minibuses trundling toward them. After a night filled with incredibly erotic, but frustratingly interrupted dreams, Christian had gotten up and stood watching at the windows until he'd seen Carolyn and Bethany leave their villa to board one of the resort vans. He'd turned away then and gone into the bathroom to splash water on his face and brush his teeth, and had been coming back out ten minutes later when he saw the van pull up in front of the villa down the hill again. Frowning, he'd paused, watching with surprise as Bethany had gotten out and rushed inside.
Christian had wondered briefly why the woman wasn't on the cruise, and where Carolyn was, and then had found himself throwing on clothes and hurrying down to the main building.
He'd found Genie almost at once and learned that Bethany had returned on her own, leaving Carolyn alone on the boat. When she'd then offered to transfer Bethany's ticket to him, and arrange for a car to take him to Soufriere to meet up with the tour, he'd immediately agreed.
"And there is the boat," the driver said now, drawing Christian's attention to a large boat with a crowd of people on it. It was still a distance away, but he thanked his driver, tipped him, and slid out to walk to where the boat would dock. It took him a moment to spot Carolyn, mostly because he'd started out looking for her among the passengers. Not finding her there, he turned his attention to the helm. His eyes widened and then narrowed as he spotted her at the wheel, laughing at something a shaggy-haired mortal was saying.
Christian scowled when the shaggy-haired guy stepped up behind Carolyn, his arms enclosing her as he clasped the wheel around her body. Christian's mood and expression didn't improve much when Carolyn laughed and ducked out from under the man's arm to escape the intimate hold. She didn't move far away, just to a seat next to him and she seemed to be having far too good a time.
Christian didn't like the appreciative way shaggy was eyeing her either.
A growl caught his ear, and Christian actually glanced around before he realized there was no one nearby and that the sound had come from his own throat. Forcing himself to relax, he tried for a casual smile as he waited for the boat to dock.
"Isn't that band boy?"
Carolyn lowered her water bottle to glance around to where Captain Jack was peering, her eyes widening when she spotted Christian onshore.
"He doesn't look happy."
"He plays in a band, I doubt he's a morning person," Carolyn murmured as she noted that while Christian was smiling, it was more a baring of teeth, and tension was in every line of his body. "I wonder what he's doing here."
"Joining the tour would be my guess," Jack said. "He must have missed the boat. That's one of the resort cars leaving."
Carolyn glanced toward the car now trundling away from the dock, noting the resort logo.
"Well, at least I know you'll have a girlfriend to keep you company on the land side of the tour," Jack commented.
Carolyn turned to scowl at him. "That's just mean."
"No." He grinned. "That's relief because I don't have to worry about competition from a younger man who's built like a fricking male model."
Carolyn just shook her head, not taking him seriously.
The man really was a flirt, and he was just doing as Genie had asked and making sure she enjoyed herself, she thought as her gaze slid back to Christian.
He really was well built, tall, with wide shoulders that narrowed down to slim hips. His T-shirt was tight enough that you could see the curve of his pecs and his six-pack stomach.
"You should have fun on the tour," Jack commented.
"But we'll be waiting when you come back and the return ride is tons of fun. By then it's sunny and hot, and we break out the punch to loosen everyone up for the contests."
"Contests?" she asked, forcing her gaze away from Christian and to him again.
"Wait and see. I don't want to spoil the surprise." The wicked tilt to his grin was a bit worrying, especially when he added, "As ship's mascot you are expected to join in by the way so save some energy."
"Uh huh," Carolyn said, her eyes narrowing on the twinkle in his eyes. She suspected she wasn't going to like these contests. "Speaking of ship's mascot, you'd better have this back. I don't want to ruin it while land side."
Carolyn removed the necklace of flowers and raised her eyebrows in question. "Where do I put it?"
Captain Jack grinned and removed one hand from the wheel to turn toward her. When he bent his head, she slipped off her seat and leaned up to lift it over him, her eyes widening when she felt his hand at her waist.
"You're pale again," he said quietly, his hand sliding around her back and steadying her when she stumbled against him. "Do you need another chocolate bar?"
Carolyn dropped the necklace around his neck and moved back with a sigh, but he didn't release her and she was partially flustered by that fact and partially grateful.
She was shaky and off-kilter again and his hold kept her from stumbling around like a drunken idiot. The queasiness had returned as well, but despite that she shook her head, not wanting to be a bother. "I'll be fine. We eat at the cocoa plantation."
"Hmm." He eyed her silently, and then said, "Hang on to the wheel for a minute." When she reached out to place a hand on it, he immediately turned to dig through his shelf again, coming up with another chocolate bar. "Take this anyway, just in case. It's a long way to Fond Doux."
"Thank you," Carolyn murmured. She slipped the chocolate bar into her bag and settled on her seat once more as he took the wheel. "Fond Doux is the cocoa plantation, right?"
Jack nodded, but he was looking ahead again and his eyes narrowed. "Yeah, band boy definitely isn't a morning person."
Carolyn glanced back to the dock. Christian was now pacing, arms crossed and a scowl on his face as he watched them approach. She didn't comment, but simply watched Christian curiously as Jack eased back on the throttle. The moment he steered the boat up to the landing, the crew burst into action, grabbing lines of rope and leaping off to fasten the boat in place.
"Stay put," Jack ordered when Carolyn started to slip off her seat to join the other passengers lining up to disembark.
"Shaky as you are you're likely to take a dip in the drink if someone bumps you as you're getting off."
Carolyn grimaced, but settled back in her seat. Mostly because she knew he was right. She wasn't happy doing it though. Now that they'd docked, she wanted off... and it had absolutely nothing to do with a sudden eagerness to talk to Christian, she assured herself. After all, he was gay. Right?
"Okay," Jack said finally, and then immediately caught her arm when she leaped off her stool and nearly overbalanced and fell on her face. Frowning, he said firmly, "You should have eaten that chocolate bar. And I think you should be tested for hypoglycemia when you get back to Canada."
"Hypoglycemia?" she asked with surprise.
He nodded. "I have an aunt with it and you're acting like she does when her blood sugar's low." He led her across the boat. "It's not something to be messed with."
They'd reached the side of the boat, and Carolyn gasped in surprise when Jack suddenly caught her by the waist to lift her over the foot wide gap between boat and landing. Christian was immediately there, clasping her waist above Jack's hands, his thumbs just below her breasts as he tried to take her, but Jack didn't let go and she dangled briefly over the water between the two men as he said, "She keeps going pale, gets the shakes and gets a bit disoriented. I think her blood sugar's low. Keep an eye on her and make sure she eats the chocolate bar in her bag."
The scowl on Christian's face eased somewhat, replaced by concern as he peered sharply at Carolyn.
"I skipped breakfast," she muttered with embarrassment, wishing they'd put her down. She didn't particularly want to take a dip in the drink and was very aware that it was right beneath her.
Christian eyed her for a moment, his gaze sliding over her face, and then he glanced to Jack, his voice grudging as he said, "Thanks for looking out for her."
"Don't thank me," Jack laughed, finally releasing her.
"I enjoyed it. I'm just glad she has a friend to look out for her on land. I'd be disappointed if she fell ill and wasn't on the return journey."
Carolyn felt her face heat up and wasn't sure if it was Jack's teasing or the fact that the sides of Christian's thumbs were rubbing against the bottom of her breasts as he eased her to the dock. She stepped away from him as soon as her feet hit the wood, and then sighed as she swayed and Christian immediately took her arm.
"Hang on." Jack moved back to the helm. She wasn't surprised when he returned with another chocolate bar.
Holding it out, he said, "A spare. Make sure you have one as soon as you're in the bus. And eat a big meal at the plantation."
"You're going to run out of chocolate at this rate," Carolyn said as she leaned forward to take the offering.
Christian's hands were immediately at her hips to keep her from overbalancing and plunging into the water and Carolyn felt herself flush again.
Jack grinned at her embarrassed expression, and shook his head. "Nah. I'll buy another box of them while you're gone. Then I'll give you flowers, chocolate and drinks on the way back and we'll really be going steady."
Carolyn flushed again and muttered, "Thank you," then straightened and glanced around with surprise when something like a growl came from Christian.
"The buses are waiting for us," he said grimly, urging her away, his hands still at her hips.
"Have fun, wench," Jack said cheerfully and Carolyn managed a smile and wave over her shoulder before Christian dropped his hold on her waist to take her arm instead and began to move so fast she had to watch where she was going or risk falling on her face. Not that she probably would have, he was holding her arm too tightly for that.
Painfully tightly, actually, she noted with a frown. Before she could ask him to ease up, she did stumble. Christian didn't even miss a beat, but scooped her up in his arms and continued quickly to the buses.