by Marilyn Lee
Rick grinned up at him. "Okay, so what color hair did your bimbos have?"
"I haven't been with any," he said shortly.
Rick lowered his sunglasses and stared at him. "You're kidding me, right? Are you telling me with all these women just begging to give it up, you haven't had any action?"
He and Rick had been friends since college and generally could talk about anything, their love lives included. But there was no way he was going to tell Rick about Angie and have him think she was cheap.
"I haven't slept with any bimbos, though I've had a few offers."
Rick laughed. "I'll bet you have. I spent last night with these two gorgeous blondes.”
He arched a brow at Rick. "Two women? You spent the night with two women?"
"Hey, they both wanted me and I couldn't decide between them so I had them both. What a night."
He nodded. "I'll bet."
He grinned. "Suffice it to say that I am bushed."
"Hmm."
"Where are you heading?" He glanced at his watch. "I'm scheduled to meet my two blonde honeys from last night soon. Want to meet them?"
"No thanks. I'm looking for the woman I spent the last two nights with."
"I thought you said you hadn't seen any action."
"I said I hadn't been with any bimbos. She's not a bimbo."
Rick nodded to the lounger next to him. "Really? You met a woman on this ship who isn't a bimbo? Is there such a mythical creature aboard?"
"Yes."
Their eyes met. "Tell me about her."
Troy shook his head. He wanted to find her, not talk about her. "Right now I need to find her. I'll see you later."
After an hour of searching, he was at the point of having her paged. He decided to wait until he'd eaten. He rounded the corner of one of the upper decks that offered outside dining and came to an abrupt halt.
Angie sat at a table near the railing, sipping an orange juice. She wasn't alone. The man who'd tried to get her into bed the day before sat across from her. They both had dirty dishes with remnants of food in front of them. They'd clearly had breakfast together.
His stomach twisted into knots and a blast of anger filled him. He stormed across the deck to the table. He clenched his hands into fists. Otherwise, he'd have hauled the man to his feet and decked him.
"How many times do I have to tell you that she's with me?" Troy seethed.
The man rose to his feet. "Are the two of you married or engaged? If not, she's free to be with whomever she likes. And at the moment, that would be me."
"Well, it won't be you when you're picking your teeth up off the deck!"
"Troy!" Angie got up and grabbed his hand. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Stay out of this!"
She yanked at his hand. "Excuse me? Stay out of this? I could tell you the same thing."
He kept his gaze on the man's face. "Can we talk about this later, Angie?"
The man looked at Angie. "You want to talk to this jerk?"
Her silence lasted long enough to make Troy uncomfortable. Finally, she shrugged. "Yes. Troy and I need to talk. Thanks for keeping me company, Frank."
The man hesitated for a moment, before shrugging and walking away.
Furious, Troy turned his gaze to Angie. "What was that all about?"
"For your information, Troy, he was apologizing for his behavior yesterday."
He ignored the unmistakable censure in her voice. What did she expect him to apologize for? "And you accepted and then went on to have breakfast with him?" He paused. He wasn't sure when she'd left his stateroom. "It was just breakfast. Wasn't it?"
She wasn’t sure what to make of his behavior. "Feeling a little territorial today, aren't we?"
He stared down at her through narrowed eyes. "What were you doing with him? And why didn't you wake me before you left? You think I mean for you to spend any of your time with other men?"
He stopped abruptly. Damn, but he was losing it. He and Carolyn had broken up for two major reasons: she wanted to get married, like yesterday, and she'd become too damned possessive. But at least it had taken her a year and a half to think she owned him. He was behaving that way with Angie after only two days. And, worse, this with a woman he would never see after tomorrow.
Her dark eyes practically danced with laughter. Her obvious amusement annoyed the hell out of him. "You said you wanted to spend the night with me. We did. I didn’t figure you’d still want me around—like the last time,” she said gently. “Because this is another day."
His nostrils flared. "A day I expected you to spend with me."
She blinked up at him. "You never asked, Troy. Was I supposed to be able to read your mind?"
"I didn't think I had to ask. Not after last night."
"Last night was…Troy, are you married?"
"No! If I was, I sure as hell wouldn't be on this damned boat."
"Are you involved with anyone special?"
"No. I don't cheat. If I was involved with anyone, I wouldn't be here."
"Have you ever been married?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"I'm not ready."
"My father was married and had two kids by the time he was thirty."
He could guess what was coming and he wasn't in the mood to defend his present lack of desire for marriage. "I'm not your father, Angie," he said coolly.
Her body stilled. She had developed feelings for him, possibly the stupidest move in her entire life. She had to get away from him before it got worse. Like now. "No, Troy, you're not,” she said quietly. “So don't try to tell me what to do or who to see." She tossed her napkin aside, stood up, and walked away.
He stared after her, clenching his hands into fists. He knew she expected him to follow her, but hell would freeze over before he did. He'd never had a problem getting sex from any woman he wanted it from. If she was no longer interested in him, he'd find another woman who was.
She was several hundred yards along the deck when hell froze over.
"Angie!" Tossing his pride aside, his teeth gritting, Troy went after her. He easily caught up with her. Catching her hand in his, he stopped her.
She looked weary. And a touch angry. "Yes?"
He stared down into her dark eyes. Eyes that usually looked glazed over with passion whenever she gazed up at him now glittered with angry highlights. "I don't want to fight. We have one day and one night of this cruise left. I want to spend every moment of that time with you."
"And what if I don't want to spend anymore time with you?"
He felt as if he'd been sucker punched. He released her hand and stepped back. "What?"
She knew her next words were unintentionally cruel, but she also realized they needed to be said. She had to get away from him. Troy wouldn’t want her for a partner in real life and she couldn’t bear to spend another moment with him knowing that. "You heard me, Troy. I came on this cruise for one thing: sex. And thanks to you, I've had plenty."
He ran a hand through his hair. "You’ve had…what the hell is that supposed to mean?"
She held firm on the outside, felt like hell on the inside. "It means I've had enough. I'm going to spend the rest of the day right here reading my book."
"And tonight?"
"Tonight, I'm sleeping alone, Troy."
"You don't want to make love anymore? Okay." He shrugged. "We can spend the night together without making love."
She bit her lip. “No, we can’t.”
His nostrils flared. “You think I’m some boy who can’t control himself?” he growled.
“I don’t think anything except that I'll be spending the night in my own cabin. Alone." Her face softened suddenly and she stretched up and kissed his cheek. Troy might not want her in real life, but he’d still given her a gift she’d always be grateful to him for. "Thanks for helping me get my self-confidence back,” she whispered meaningfully. “Now that I know I can still attract men, I'm going to wait for another Dan to come alo
ng.” She smiled, a bit nostalgically. “I may have a long wait and it might get lonely, but it'll be worth it when I meet him."
His muscles clenched. So he was supposed to compete with a dead man? He silently reminded himself he’d only wanted her for one more night. But still… "Angie…"
She sighed, the heaving of her breasts snagging his attention. "Troy, we weren't going to see each other after tomorrow anyway. I'd just as well say goodbye now."
True, but it didn’t sit well with him. "Well damn that's nice, Angie. But what about what I want?" he asked angrily.
"And what would that be?"
He didn’t know. He felt like an animal trapped into a corner. "To spend the night with you," he growled.
"You're a handsome man on a ship full of beautiful women. You won't have any trouble finding one who'll be delighted to spend the night with you."
His eyes narrowed. “You think this is just about sex?"
She looked away. "Yes, actually, I do."
It wasn’t. Troy didn’t know what it was, but he had to keep her near him. "Well, it's not. I'm not going to deny that I adore making love to you. I know you already know that. But I promise you I can control myself. If you don't want to make love tonight, we don't have to. But I do want to spend the night with you, Angie."
She took a deep breath, steeling herself. The longer she stood here, the more miserable she became. "Well, it's not going to happen,” she said quietly but firmly. “I should never have come here. I want to meet a man like Dan, a man who'll want me for myself, not just because I let him…screw me every fifteen minutes."
Heat flashed up the back of his neck. "It's not just sex, Angie. We've talked, you know we have a lot of common interests."
"Maybe so, Troy, but all we've done is have sex. I want and need more."
"You want and need more?” He groaned. “For God's sake, Angie, we're talking about one lousy night and part of the day tomorrow."
She blushed, knowing precisely what he’d meant. And that was precisely why she felt the way that she did. She had developed feelings for a man she had no business wishing for. "It's one lousy day and night I want to spend getting back my self-respect," she said quietly.
"Angie, nothing happened between us that you need to be ashamed of! Neither of us are married and—”
She held up a palm. "But I want to be married. I liked being married, Troy."
He stared at her. "What? Angie, we've known each other a few days. You can hardly expect me to be ready for anything ser—”
"I don't expect anything from you, Troy. I'm just telling you what I need. When I meet the right man, I'll be ready to get married again like a shot. But that's not going to happen if I keep hopping into the sack with you. Talking about Dan last night made me realize again how much I lost when he died. I lost something that's not easily replaced, but I want it back."
"Angie—”
"Oh, don't worry, Troy,” she said a bit sadly. “I don't expect you to give it to me."
His muscles clenched hotter. "What the hell's that supposed to mean? You think I'm incapable of making and keeping a commitment?"
"The point is you don’t want one. Not that I came on this cruise looking for one."
"Good, because you're not getting one from me."
She bit her lip and looked away. "Well, I guess that's plain enough, Troy."
He sighed and shook his head. "Wait a minute. That came out all wrong. What I meant—”
She took a deep breath. "I don't care what you meant. Please. It's hard enough walking away from you without your making it harder. Please. Just leave me alone."
He stared at her, feeling helpless. He didn't know what to say or do to make her change her mind. Then it hit him—she wasn't going to change her mind—especially not after that crack about her not getting a commitment from him. He'd really dug a deep hole with that remark. "I'm sorry you regret meeting me."
She closed her eyes for a moment, and he couldn’t help but to wonder what she’d been thinking. When her eyes opened, she had an iron clamp on her emotions again. "I don't regret meeting you, Troy. I just can't afford to start liking you anymore than I already do."
His jaw clenched. "It's not all on your side, you know. I like you too."
She looked away. "I don't know if I believe that. Even if I did, it wouldn't make any difference,” she whispered. She glanced back and met his gaze, deciding to lay it all on the line. Why not? At this point there was nothing left to lose. “Every time we sleep together, you capture a piece of my heart. You look surprised. Believe me…so am I. I never expected to feel this way again after Dan. But I do. Every time I see you, I fall a little harder for you. You already own half of my heart. I'm half a breath away from falling completely in love with you. Is that what you want?" she finished softly.
Part of him liked the idea that this sweet, passionate woman was halfway in love with him. But women in love had a way of wanting to tie a man down. And he knew he wasn't ready for that yet.
"When you think about your future, do you see yourself being married to some fat chick with a big butt who drops her drawers every time you wink at her?"
How was he supposed to answer that? If he said yes, she'd expect a commitment he had no intentions of giving. If he said no…she’d walk out of his life. Forever.
He remained silent and watched Angie walk away. When she disappeared around a curve in the ship, he turned and headed in the opposite direction. Damn her! Damn all women! Why the hell did they always want more than a man was willing to give? Why couldn't they just go with the flow and enjoy the moment? Why did everything have to come down to love and commitment when all he wanted was to spend just one more day and night with her in paradise?
He went back to his stateroom, changed into swimming briefs, and swam until he could barely lift his arms and legs. Then, warding off the advances of several women, he returned to his cabin and fell across the bed. Although tired, he was too agitated to sleep. He couldn't stop thinking of Angie. Why the hell couldn't she spend just one more night with him?
Why the hell was he lying here feeling sorry for himself because she'd had enough of him? As she said, there was a ship full of beautiful woman ready and willing to hop into bed with him. So why didn't he get up and get one of them?
He thought of the blonde who'd approached him at the pool and shook his head. She wasn't likely to ever want to see him again. But there was always Rick's two blondes. No. He wasn't into threesomes. He didn't believe in sharing his woman either. Either she was his alone, or he didn't need or want her. That still left a ship full of willing women, though.
The solution to forgetting Angie was simple; spend the night with another woman. It was a simple solution, but for the moment it was beyond him. With a growl, he rolled over onto his stomach and buried his face in the pillow.
Chapter Seven
"Are you sure you don't want to come?"
Angie looked up from her computer. Corrie, dressed in a skin tight, sheer black dress stood in the doorway of their basement office. All her slim curves were clearly outlined under the dress. The term “dressed to kill” came to mind.
This was the first time Corrie had gone out since they had both returned from the cruise with battered hearts. Angie smiled. "I'm not in the partying mood, but I'm glad to see you are."
Corrie nodded. "Yeah, I am. Okay, so he said he'd call and didn't."
"It's his lost, Corrie."
She bit her lip. "I know, but I was so sure he'd call. I mean, he didn't let me out of his sight after the first time we made love. He said we were prefect together. So why the hell didn't he call?"
Probably for the same reason Troy hadn't called her: he didn't want a real relationship. Both men had wanted sex and she and Corrie had been only too willing to give it. As her mother was fond of saying, why buy the orchard if you can get the peaches for free?
"Why would they call? I mean look how we behaved, Corrie! We had sex with them in public areas."
>
"We didn't have it by ourselves!"
"No, but you know the double standard. It's okay for them, but not for us. Corrie, you're going to have to get over your Jermane."
Corrie came into the room. "You're a fine one to talk. It's been over three months since our little March Madness cruise and you've barely stepped outside this house. Even though that Frank guy tracked you down like a bloodhound. Don't try and tell me you're not carrying a torch for your tall, dark, and well-hung stud."
She would try to tell her no such thing. The fact that Frank had managed to find her only made Troy's failure to do the same hurt that much more. Clearly, she hadn’t moved him with her near declaration of love. She blushed at the memory. Maybe that had scared him off. "I've accepted that I'm never going to see him again." She paused, swallowing slowly. God, how she regretted not having spent the last night on the ship with him.
"Then why haven't you gone out with this Frank who thought enough of you to track you down?"
"He's not my type." She liked her men tall, dark, and well hung—like Troy. Troy? She didn't even know his last name.
"Hey, Ange, life goes on."
She nodded. "I know. It's going on for me. It's just that I'm smarting a little bit. But I'm fine."
"You fell in love with him," Corrie said gently.
"Can you fall in love in the space of a few days with a man you never really knew?"
"Why not if it can happen at first sight? Why don't you get dress and come to the party with me? We'll meet some men and get laid."
The thought of welcoming another man into her arms so soon after falling for Troy held little appeal. She knew that, eventually, she'd want and need another lover. But not for a while yet. She glanced back at one of the three computer monitors behind her. "I'd just as soon finish writing the code for this web site, then I'm going to hit the sack."
"Ange, you have to get the guy out of your system."
She sighed, rubbing her temples. "I know and I will. It's just going to take a little while. That's all. Don't worry about me. I'm fine. Really."
"Ange!"
"No. Really. I'm fine.” She smiled. “Oh, before you go, I do have something to show you." She picked up a business directory from her desk and opened it to the page where a bookmarker rested. "Take a look and tell me what you think."