Nodding, Isla paced across the reception and into her space, closing the door as Nikhil followed her.
‘How many of them were taking it?’ he demanded without preamble.
‘I don’t know.’
‘No other medical incidents?’
‘Only that one crewman,’ Isla confirmed. ‘Though I assumed you’d be running a random drugs test.’
‘The security team are doing it as we speak, though I’d be grateful for any further information you can provide.’
‘I can’t,’ she apologised. ‘I don’t know who the other crewmen were; I’ve never seen them before. In any case, I was too focused on trying to keep my patient alive.’
‘I appreciate that.’
‘Do you?’ she challenged quietly. ‘Only it sounds to me as though you’re hacked off that I can’t give you names.’
For a moment he watched her.
‘Where drugs are concerned, we operate a zero-tolerance policy on board our ships. I just don’t like people flouting the rules.’
‘I’m a doctor, Nikhil, I’ve seen what this stuff can do to a person. Trust me, I’m the last person you need to lecture on zero tolerance.’
He eyed her a moment longer and she resisted the urge to lift her hand to smooth her hair. Or her shirt. Or anything.
‘You’re right,’ he acknowledged at last. ‘You’re a good doctor, Isla. You should find it easy to get a transfer.’
‘Sorry, what did you say?’ Taking an inadvertent step back, Isla stared at him in shock.
‘You must see that we can’t both be on this ship.’
‘Why?’ Her laugh was too high, too harsh. ‘Because I can’t tell you who else was involved in whatever happened down on deck five today?’
‘Of course not.’ He blew out a deep breath and raked his hand through his hair. It was a gesture Isla had never seen from him before, and it threw her for a moment.
‘Then what?’
‘We got caught, Isla. Right now, that crew member is in shock about her friend. But soon enough she’ll put two and two together.’
‘I don’t agree.’ Isla fought back the wave of fear that was beginning to flood her. ‘You handled it well, Nikhil. You made it look like it was a genuine work meeting.’
‘This time,’ he emphasised. ‘But what happens next time? Or the time after? When do too many coincidences add up?’
And it would only be later—much later—that Isla would consider the hidden relevance to Nikhil’s words. The truth that he no doubt hadn’t intended for her to see, that he craved more of her, just as she did of him.
But in that moment she wasn’t thinking straight.
‘So what do you expect me to do?’ Isla let out a sharp laugh. ‘Put in for a transfer?’
The silence swirled around them, as shocking as it was unbelievable. In the end it was Nikhil who spoke first.
‘You must see that we can’t stay on this ship together without risking both our reputations?’
‘You expect me to transfer,’ she breathed quietly.
‘You were never meant to be on this ship in the first place,’ bit out Nikhil. ‘You were supposed to be on the Jewel of Hestia. That night would never have happened if I’d known you would end up here.’
Isla didn’t know what made her stand up taller and pull her shoulders back. Some belated sense of self-preservation, perhaps.
‘It wouldn’t have happened if I had known we would end up being on the same ship,’ she declared. ‘But here I am. And I’m not going anywhere.’
‘I came here to offer a solution, not to argue.’
He actually looked as though he believed it, and Isla almost laughed. Instead, she fought to bite back her frustration.
‘Then don’t say stupid things.’
He cast her a disapproving look, and she hated the way it made her feel inferior. Wanting.
‘I would rather do this with civility, Isla.’
A lesser person might have trembled at the lethal quality to his tone, despite the silkiness, or the actual words used. But Isla refused to be that lesser person. Not any more.
‘Or what?’ she asked, cocking her head to one side. ‘Are you going to threaten me?’
‘No threat.’ How did he manage to smile in such a way that she could practically feel his teeth, sharp against her skin? ‘Just forewarning you.’
‘Forewarning me?’
‘If you don’t put in for a transfer, then I shall have to request one for you. As your senior officer.’
‘On what grounds?’ Isla demanded incredulously. ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’
He couldn’t do that, surely? He wouldn’t.
‘I wouldn’t suggest that you had.’
‘But the very fact that you ask for me to be transferred will raise suspicion.’ Isla threw her hands into the air, her composure beginning to fray.
‘Which is why I suggest that you put in for the transfer. Tell them you want to go back to a smaller ship. Tell them you aren’t ready for a ship like the Cassiopiea.’
‘You wouldn’t dare,’ she replied, fury slamming through her. ‘That will sit on my record. It would affect my chances of promotion in the future.’
‘I’ll write you a glowing reference.’
‘Dr Turner would write me a glowing reference. He is, after all, my direct boss. But it’s irrelevant, because I’m not doing it.’ She folded her arms over her chest.
Fury was beginning to override everything else right now, and for that she was grateful.
‘There’s nothing you can say, Nikhil. Sleeping with the First Officer might be frowned upon, but it happened off-ship, before we even knew that we would be colleagues.’
‘What happened this afternoon wasn’t off-ship.’
‘No, but it was also after you came to my cabin,’ Isla bit out. ‘And if you insist on trying to get me transferred and interfering in my career then I’ll have no choice than to tell people.’
‘You’re threatening me?’ He glared at her in disbelief, something black and deadly crossing his features. Enough to make her skin prickle with awareness. ‘To tell people I... What? Coerced you?’
‘Of course not.’ Isla was horrified. ‘But the fact is, it wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t come to my cabin. So, I’m not torpedoing my career just because this...attraction between us is so strong that you gave into temptation once and let your ridiculous high standards for yourself slip.’
‘Twice.’
‘What?’
‘I let my personal boundaries slip twice,’ he grated out. And suddenly Isla realised that Nikhil’s battle was more with himself than with her. ‘The first time was the other day when I kissed you in the damned corridor.’
‘No one even saw.’
‘But they could have,’ he growled.
‘But they didn’t,’ she repeated. But it was too late.
She could feel the rage and the hurt swirling inside her, and they made for a lethal combination.
‘I’ll tell you what, Nikhil Dara,’ she threw at him, ‘you stay away from me, and I’ll stay the hell away from you.’
Then, before either of them could say anything further, she yanked open the door and stalked outside on legs she was sure would buckle under her at any moment. If only staying away from Nikhil was that easy.
If only her need for him didn’t pump through her veins like a drug. Turning her into something all too close to that idiot patient in the crew rooms earlier.
Only Nikhil wanted her too. Just as badly. And if what had just happened was his attempt at intimidation then it had done exactly the opposite of everything he’d intended, because it didn’t tell her that he regretted what had happened between them that first night in Chile.
It told her that he couldn’t trust himself not to be tempted to do the same again. And being t
hat desired by Nikhil Dara was a heady experience indeed.
CHAPTER NINE
THE KNOCK ON her door several hours later made Isla’s heart lurch violently in her chest. Enough to leave a mark.
Nikhil.
It was all she could do not to race across the room and yank it open. She would not be the infatuated girl who fell all over him just because he’d changed his mind and chosen to bestow his time and attention on her.
With deliberate care, she walked to the door, placed her fingers over the handle and drew in a deep breath. She’d barely unlocked it when it was pushed open and a figure was sweeping past her, inside.
‘Good grief, this hovel can’t possibly be your cabin!’
Isla stared for a moment, horrified. ‘What are you doing here, Mother?’
Marianna spun around dramatically, her arms outstretched. ‘I came to see you, my darling. To make sure you were all right. I missed you that last night in Chile. We were going to have such a good evening together, but you had to go and get yourself transferred onto an earlier ship.’
Hardly how it had been, but Isla knew better than to argue with her mother over trivial things. She’d long since learned to save her energy for the bigger issues. Like how her mother was here.
‘So you booked yourself a last-minute cabin on my ship?’
No need to ask her mother how much that had cost. It wasn’t as though money was an issue to Marianna. No doubt she’d flown in from Chile by helicopter, with the top concierge standing out there on the landing pad to greet her. Her mother was a master at making an entrance.
Especially when Marianna was grinning at her like that. That was to say that a lesser woman might have grinned. Her mother dazzled.
‘It occurred to me that it might be fun, my flower. Don’t tell me you aren’t pleased to see me?’
Isla opened her mouth, then closed it again as a smile tugged at the corners of her lips. No matter how frustrating her mother was, it was impossible not to be drawn to such a wild, charismatic personality. If nothing else, her mother was never predictable.
‘Besides, you know I always enjoy a good cruise. Now, come and give me a hug.’
Dutifully, Isla stepped over to her mother and allowed herself to be enveloped in a tight embrace. Familiar, and somehow oddly comforting.
‘Of course it’s good to see you.’ She pulled her head back and shot Marianna a warning look. ‘Just don’t interfere in my job.’
‘Of course not!’ Her mother had long since perfected the butter-wouldn’t-melt look, not that Isla bought it for a moment.
‘I mean it, Mother,’ Isla reiterated. For all the good that would do.
Marianna had always been headstrong, wanting the best for herself, and for Isla.
‘It’s like talking to a metal bulkhead.’ Isla rolled her eyes. ‘Where’s Leo, anyway?’
‘Forgive a mother for wanting a moment to catch up with her other beautiful girl.’ Marianna rolled her eyes, but they twinkled all the same. ‘If only you’d been quite so delighted to see me.’
‘I am,’ Isla argued. ‘You know I am.’
Her mother waved her hand dismissively.
‘Anyway, Leo isn’t here. She met someone.’
‘Leo met someone? Wait—you seem remarkably smug about it. You set her up, didn’t you? Oh, Mother.’
‘It was purely fortuitous, I can assure you.’
Realisation walloped Isla. Clear and unequivocal.
‘You’ve come to set me up with someone, haven’t you?’
‘Of course not.’ For the second time in as many moments, Marianna flashed her an innocent look.
And for the second time in as many moments, Isla refused to be fooled; she’d seen her mother wield it as both a shield and a weapon for years.
‘Mother, I am here to find myself as a doctor, the way I always wanted to do. Not to find myself a husband, the way you always wanted me to do.’
‘You’re here to lick your wounds after Bradley,’ her mother corrected. ‘But he simply isn’t worth the upset.’
‘I can assure you, Mother, I don’t care in the least about Brad-the-Cad.’
‘Well, of course, darling. Glad to hear it.’
But at least Marianna had the grace to look sheepish.
‘Right.’ Isla eyed her mother cautiously. ‘Just as long as you understand that.’
‘Oh, I do.’
It was all too suspiciously easy. Warily, Isla closed the door behind them. She might have known it was too good to be true.
‘Although, if the opportunity with some eligible male should present itself, grab it by the...horns, I always say.’
‘Mother...’ Isla chastised.
‘It’s come to my attention that you have a very nice First Officer on board, by the name of Nikhil Dara,’ Marianna noted, her expression too casual.
‘What do you know about Nikhil?’ Isla breathed, realising her mistake too late.
Her mother eyed her shrewdly. ‘How very interesting.’
Isla kicked herself. She knew her mother well enough to have known not to react. Marianna was too sharp by half.
‘Mother...’
‘I know that Leo is off with Daksh Dara. Not that she thinks I know it.’
‘Daksh Dara?’
‘He calls himself Dax, and he is Nikhil’s older brother.’
‘Nikhil’s brother is still alive??’ Isla exclaimed.
‘Very much so?’,’ Marianna noted, and it took a moment for Isla to realise that her mother was watching her a little too closely. ‘Why? Did he tell you otherwise?’
‘Yes,’ Isla managed. Then she stopped, and shook her head. ‘Actually, no. He told me that he lost his brother a long time ago. I just...assumed.’
‘I see.’ Her mother arched her perfect eyebrows. ‘Well, Nikhil’s brother was certainly alive and well the last time we met. But they “are” estranged, from what I’ve been able to work out.’
‘From what you can work out?’
‘She met him when you two were in Chile together. In fact, he was the one I was trying to set you up with, that last night.’
Isla shook her head, utterly confused. In Chile? When she had met Nikhil?
‘He never said. He never... I didn’t even know his brother was alive.’ She glanced up at her mother. ‘So that’s why you’re really here? To find out about Nikhil and...this Daksh?’
Her mother hesitated a beat, then shrugged. ‘You and Leo are precious to me.’ She offered a soft smile. ‘You know how I think of her as much my daughter as you are.’
‘I know.’ Isla returned the smile instantly. ‘It just... She met this Daksh in Chile, when Nikhil was there?’
‘I understood that the two men were meant to be meeting. Something about a birthday?’
‘Nikhil said it was his birthday...’ Isla snapped her head up sharply. ‘He took me for a meal at Te Tinca, but he never mentioned anything about meeting anyone.’
Clamping her mouth shut, Isla hoped her mother didn’t probe her further on that point. Which meant she was surprised when Marianna closed the gap between them and, placing her hands gently on either side of Isla’s face, upturned it so that she could look into her daughter’s eyes.
‘My eyes don’t deceive me, Isla. You’re blushing, and you never blush.’
Isla opened her mouth to object, but abruptly shut it again. There was little point in pretending to her mother. Not where men were concerned.
‘It isn’t what you think,’ Isla offered at length. ‘Can we just leave it at that?’
‘If that’s what you want.’
Isla chewed on her lip for a moment.
‘It’s...complicated.’
‘Then let me just say three things. One, tonight I’m invited to the Captain’s invitation-only gala ball, and you are my
guest. Two, this man Nikhil makes you blush and I never, not once, saw you blush with that idiot Bradley. And three, never forget that beneath the Sinclair you’re also a Raleigh, which gives you an impressive armoury of practically perfect genes at your fingertips. And the ability to use them.’
Then she dropped her hands and swept towards the door without a backward glance.
* * *
Nikhil wasn’t entirely certain that he’d manage to stay standing when he looked up from his conversation with the Captain to see Isla standing at the gala entrance, a vision in the deepest, most glorious red. Her golden-brown hair tumbled down over her shoulders like a glossy curtain, caressing her skin in a way that made his body ache to do the same.
And that was without taking into account the way the gown hung from one shoulder, making love to her curves as it dropped, until it fell in a cascade of reds to another pair of killer heels.
Judging by the expressions on a fair few of his colleagues’ faces, they were thinking the same, and yet when she looked into the room, her eyes colliding with his—and holding—he felt the most forceful punch of triumph.
It was impossible to tear his glance away. A point which was made clear when he heard the Captain coughing pointedly in his ear.
‘I take it the rumours are true, Nikhil.’
It took Nikhil every bit of willpower he had to drag his gaze from Isla.
‘Say again, sir?’
‘I didn’t believe them. Not until now. But there really is something going on between you and the doctor, isn’t there?’
‘You know me, sir.’ Nikhil gritted his teeth. ‘All work, no play.’
‘It’s served you well,’ the Captain agreed. ‘But a word of advice. The last time I saw someone wear that expression was when I looked in the mirror the first time I realised I was in love with my wife.’
‘I am certainly not in love with Dr Sinclair.’
‘That was thirty years ago,’ the older man continued, as if Nikhil hadn’t even spoken. ‘And she is still the only woman I have ever looked at that way. Even since she died there has been no one else. So if you care about that woman over there, Nikhil, I suggest you do something about it. Before one of these other blokes around here decides she’s fair game.’
The Doctor's One Night to Remember Page 11