After Scott returned with my drink he told me he had other duties to attend to and left me staring out at the still sinking sun. Sam joined me at the railing.
“Beautiful, isn’t it.”
“Yes it is.” I was thinking how I would have liked to share my first sunset on the yacht with White, even if I was mad at him for not telling me we’d have to share the suite.
“White asked me to be discrete about the two of you staying in the same cabin. He doesn’t want to damage your reputation.”
“If I had known we were to be in the same room I might not have come,” I admitted.
“He worried that you might be upset because you didn’t know and asked me to speak with you.”
“Isn’t he so sweet.” I gave Sam a direct look. “And you too.” I pinched his cheek. The champagne was beginning to work its magic. “Don’t worry. Neither of you will have to keep me from making a scene.”
He grinned. “It’s that black eye you gave Brown back at the Nevada compound. It has me a little worried.”
“Don’t worry, Sam. I only pass out black eyes when Brown unexpectedly grabs my ass.”
“Is that what he did?” His eyes widened. “I always wondered. He told us so many different stories I didn’t know which one to believe. Figures it would be a story that was never told.”
“He planned the entire thing to make the guys think I was unpredictable and mean.”
“Oh no, not Brown.” His voice was thick with sarcasm and his look was gleeful. “How is he, anyway?”
“He’s got a new girlfriend. Says she’s famous.”
“Really? She probably is.”
“You think?”
“Fairly certain. He never lies about women, even if it gets him razzed.”
I’d heard the men talking about their past conquests and knew Brown was a hopeless romantic. It was easy to forget because he didn’t go out of his way to treat me like the women in his stories. We’d become close because of his teasing, but if he’d had any interest in me, he would never treat me that way. I was just one of the guys who happened to be a woman. He’d treat the rest of our partners the same way if they had the parts. I used to think he was a pig. However, his personality and almost perpetual happy mood had grown on me, and I wouldn’t trade the harassment for more respect. That was his way to show me that he thought of me as an equal who could handle my position.
“I wonder who it is?”
“I’m sure we’ll all find out soon enough. If he doesn’t bring her into the office he’ll get pictures to prove it and I’ll get an email one of these days. But, I won’t get that email until they are no longer an item.”
We remained at the railing for several more minutes. The deck had cleared out. Even the bartender had left her post.
“Can I escort you down to dinner, ma’am?” Sam held out his arm.
We were the last of the passengers to walk into the dining room. White stood and met us.
“Everything okay?” He asked.
“For now,” I answered.
Sam left us and White escorted me to the one long table in the room. He pulled out my chair next to his and waited until I sat before taking his own.
“You look nice,” he said.
The table was abuzz with private conversations. The cute bartender from upstairs actually had clothes on and was pouring wine for the guests.
We’d been seated at the right arm of the captain and White finally introduced me to Captain Waterstone.
“Gary, this is Ms. Grey. Alex, this is Gary,” he nodded across the table to a beautiful brunette, “and Carmen.”
I assumed she was the woman the boat was named for. She looked to be in her fifties but still carried a youthful smile that was very welcoming. She had a kind face. The captain was close to Carmen’s age and his face exhibited a strong confidence.
“Nice to meet you Captain and Mrs. Waterstone.” I nodded to them.
“Please, call me Gary.”
“And me Carmen.” The captain’s wife added.
“Gary and Carmen.” I smiled.
“I better do the introductions,” Gary stood from his seat. The table quieted as soon as everyone noticed the captain standing.
“Good evening. I would normally let you all make your own introductions but since they boarded a little late into the cruise I’ll introduce our newest passengers.” He swept his arm in our direction. “This is Mr. White and Ms. Grey, good friends of mine.”
I expected a little more flourish and explanation but that was all he had. He returned to his seat and the crew took that as their cue to serve dinner. The conversation resumed and Mrs. Stoddard, seated to right, asked, “Friends of the captain?”
“Yes. Nice to meet you Mrs. Stoddard,” I smiled at her. Her look of shock was unmistakable and satisfying.
“You know my name?”
“Of course, ma’am.”
“Sully said Billy called you Commander. Commander of what?” Her snooty face firmly back in place, she said this as if in a challenge.
Sully must be the crewmember who retrieved our bags.
“I command many things, ma’am.” I accepted her challenge. “But, I’m on vacation right now. You’re an amazing surgeon, I hear.”
I didn’t know what White wanted to tell these people and since the Captain hadn’t divulged much I thought it might be best to remain tight lipped. Besides, mystery always adds to the respect level.
“I’ve earned the respect I’m owed.” She sipped at her soup and I followed her lead. Thankfully, she’d had enough of me.
I stuck my tongue out at her in my mind and then mentally punched her in the nose while I sipped my own soup. The thoughts lightened my mood significantly and I felt a satisfied smile on my face.
The conversation around the table continued in intimate exchanges as we ate. Napkins dabbed at the corners of mouths as White leaned in close.
“How is everything?” He indicated the soup.
“Very good. What is it?”
“A chowder of some kind. This is only the first course.”
I put my spoon down and turned to face him. “So, who gets the bed?” I asked quietly.
“I thought we’d share. I know how to keep my hands to myself. I’ve been doing it for a long time now.”
“True, but the men will talk. You know they will.”
“No they won’t. Not Sam and definitely not Billy. Not after the conversation we had this afternoon.”
“What was that conversation?”
“I told them to not read anything into us sharing a room. We are on a job and that’s it.”
I assumed he’d told them something like this, but I hoped he was lying to them.
“You missed a beautiful sunset.”
I changed the subject because I didn’t want to think about sharing a bed with White for anything other than sleep, or the more probable scenario of this being nothing but a job.
“You had good company and I didn’t want to interrupt.”
“Sam is good company,” I agreed.
We made small talk through the rest of the meal and took our leave as soon as the captain retired from the table.
Once inside our room I flopped onto the bed and White rummaged through his things. He pulled out a clean shirt and took off the one he was wearing.
“Whoa.” I shielded my eyes from the view but peeked through my fingers.
He laughed and tossed the unwashed shirt at me. “I’m going for a walk around the ship and possibly take a swim. Would you care to join me?” He reached into his bag and pulled out swim trunks.
“You will put those on in there.” I stabbed my finger toward the bathroom.
Again he laughed. “I planned on it. So, are you coming?”
“Yeah, I’ll come.”
“Do you have your trunks on?”
“I don’t wear trunks.”
I was already digging through my pack. There were dressers available but I hadn’t transferred my things t
o them yet and probably wouldn’t transfer anything but items I’d be willing to never see again.
“Can you stay in the bathroom until I’m dressed, please?”
He bowed and went to the bathroom and shut the door. I quickly changed into my bikini and pulled my dress back on over the top.
“Ready,” I called out.
He exited the bathroom and held out his arm. “Shall we?”
The two of us made our way to the upper deck and directly to the bar. The bartender was in position and Scott stood off to the side, watching and waiting. Sam and Billy were inconspicuously placed in opposite corners but there were no passengers on deck.
“What would you like?” White asked when we took our seats.
“I don’t care.”
The stars were bright in the sky. It reminded me of being out at the cabin. White ordered me a shot of whiskey with a cola back and I shuddered inwardly. I wasn’t in the mood for whiskey.
The bartender placed our drinks in front of us, pulling my attention away from the sky. I grimaced and White said, “I thought you said you didn’t care.”
“I didn’t plan on getting drunk, just having a drink.”
“Just do your shot and then I’ll get you something else.”
I did as I was told and sipped my cola. The whiskey burned as it went down. Scott moved to the bar and spoke briefly with the bartender and soon I had a glass of champagne in front of me. The burning sensation remained so I didn’t immediately switch from my cola to the glass of champagne but I smiled at Scott as he moved away.
White made small talk with the bartender and found out her name was Sydney. I suspected she landed this job as much on her looks as her skill as a bartender. Her figure mimicked a top-heavy hourglass. Her boobs couldn’t be real. They hardly moved and she was doing a lot of giggling. I relaxed back in my chair and pretended to not pay any attention. Why did men like women with obvious issues? I liked my own figure and didn’t feel the need to enhance anything. But, the attention these women got for being fake made me question myself. I blamed Mrs. Stoddard for this inequity and pushed her right off of my people I want to know list.
“Are you okay to swim,” White asked as he removed his shirt. My eyes went directly to his scar but I shook the memory off.
“Yeah, I’m good.” I stood and pulled off my dress.
I watched White closely as I did this to see if I had any effect on him and I wasn’t disappointed. My boobs didn’t compare to the cute bartender’s but at least he was looking at mine now.
He allowed me to lead the way to the pool and I stepped in gingerly. I expected the water to be cold but the pool was heated and the water was warmer than the air around us.
I dove in and swam to the other side. When I came up for air I turned around and White was directly behind me, grinning.
I splashed him, “You scared me.”
He splashed me back. “That was the point,” he swam off toward the opposite end of the pool.
I relaxed against the side of the pool and watched his muscles working through the water. I realized I wore a broad grin when he came up out of the water in front of me.
“This is nice, isn’t it?” He slicked his hair back from his face.
“It is.” I jumped up and tried to dunk him but he was too quick and strong. I had my hands on his shoulders pushing for everything I was worth and he didn’t budge. Finally, he went under but grabbed me at the knees when he came back up. Within seconds, he dumping me face first into the water.
I came up sputtering and splashed him again. We grinned openly and I took off for the opposite side of the pool. I could hear him behind me but he wasn’t gaining. I reached the wall and jumped out before he made it to me. As soon as he reached the wall I dove in past him and swam another lap with him right behind me.
“Wanna race?” I asked when he took his place on the wall next to me.
“Two laps?”
“Two? Big wimp. How about ten?”
“You’re on.” He pushed off from the wall and I was right behind him and stayed behind him until the last lap when he fell back. I wondered what he was up to because he’d just stopped in the middle of the pool until I passed him and then he picked up his swimming right behind me. When I was about to grab the wall and win the race I knew his plan. He yanked my leg and pulled me behind him. I surfaced and splashed him again.
“Jerk.” Then I noticed more voices all around us. The deck had filled. I looked around and most of them had their suits on but must have held back from entering the pool because of our race.
White had already exited the pool and held his hand down to help me out. I took it and he lifted me out of the pool as if I weighed nothing. Scott, already poolside, handed us towels. I immediately started to dry my face. The conversations around the pool stopped for a moment. I had a horrible vision of me standing there, just me, and my bikini floating in the water. I quickly made sure I was still dressed and felt better when I heard splashes.
I made my way back to the bar and my waiting glass of champagne. One of the Dante boys was already comfortable in the seat next to mine.
“You’re a good swimmer,” he said.
“Joel, right?” I asked.
“Yes, and that’s my brother, Pete.” He pointed to his brother about to dive into the pool.
“Alex.” I held out my hand.
He took it and instead of the shake I expected he turned my hand over and kissed it.
White’s hand stretched across my shoulder toward Joel. “Nice to meet you, Joel. You can call me White.”
Joel took White’s hand and I could tell White squeezed a little harder than he needed to.
“So.” Joel’s voice had gone up an octave but he cleared his throat and continued. “What is it you do?” He now directed all his attention toward White.
“Ms. Grey and I are partners in a private military corporation. We provide the security here on the ship,” he answered.
“Really? So Sam and Billy really work for you?”
“Yep.”
“That’s why they called you commander. But, you?” He gave me a shocked look.
I raised my eyebrows and took in a deep breath. I heard White snickering behind me and I shot him a dirty look.
“Ms. Grey can hold her own, Joel. Trust me.”
I downed my champagne and asked Sydney for a refill.
“Private Military?” Mr. Klingman’s voice joined the conversation.
“Yes, George, a PMC. White and Associates to be exact.” White had gotten better info than I did because he knew everyone’s first name.
“What exactly do you do?” Mrs. Klingman asked.
“We do a lot of different things.”
I piped up and gave the explanation that Gabriella had given me when I first asked.
“We do things like recovery of people and property, surveillance, and we even break into banks, sometimes.” I got a grin from White with that one.
“That’s not our complete resume, though,” he added. “Sometimes we merely provide security for high profile people, such as yourselves.”
“Break into banks?” Joel had the same reaction I did.
“Only to test the security,” I answered much in the same way Gabriella had.
“So, do you all have military experience?” George asked.
“Most of our employees have a military background but not all of them.”
“Special forces?” He pressed.
“Some, yes.”
“You?”
“Navy SEAL.”
“Can you tell us some stories?”
“Nope.” White hiked his head to the side. “Shall we take a tour?” He asked me.
“I’ve already—”
The look on his face told me he was done talking to this crowd and so was I. He pointed to my champagne glass and Sydney brought one over for him and filled them both. He gave a little wave with his hand and she left the bottle next to the glasses. White handed me my glass,
scooped up his own and the bottle, then led me away from all of the questions.
“I thought you didn’t want them to know who we were,” I said as we strolled across the deck.
“It couldn’t be helped. Billy called you commander and they were all talking. I heard the plastic surgeon ask you what you commanded.”
“She’s quite—” I stopped and held out my glass for White to refill it. “Snobby.”
“Where did you come up with that line back there?”
“What line?”
“The one about breaking into banks?”
“Oh.” I laughed. “That’s what Gabriella told me when I first applied for the job.”
“Sounds like her.” He nodded.
I found myself outside our room and started to feel a bit ill again.
“I thought you wanted a tour.” I stated as he held the door open for me.
He shook his head. “Nah. We let them know that it’s probably best to leave us be. And not showing our faces again tonight will add to the enigma.”
I ducked under his arm and entered the room. My bag was just inside the door, so I went right to it for something other than my bikini. When I turned around I found White lounging on the bed in his wet swim trunks.
“I’m going to shower. Get off the bed and change your clothes. I don’t want you getting the bed all wet. I have to sleep there, too.”
“That’s right.” His devious grin returned.
The champagne and shot had made me tired and the hot shower did more to relax me. Actually, the alcohol had probably been a good idea because my mind performed gymnastics, thinking about White and sharing a bed with him. I reminded myself I’d slept next to White several times since we’d first met and we were on a job. Nothing would probably happen until after the job was finished, if at all.
When I stepped from the bathroom, White was still on the bed flipping through channels on the television. He’d changed from his swim trunks into a pair of flannel pajama pants.
“Your turn,” I said and spread my swimsuit out to dry. “Dang it, I left my dress up on deck.”
“Scott brought it down a little while ago.” White pointed to the wardrobe where I found it hung nicely on a hanger next to White’s shirt. They looked good together and I smiled.
Traces of Grey: Book Four of The Alexis Stanton Chronicles Page 3