Aboard the Wishing Star

by Debra Parmley

  Nate swam near the Rhino Rider. His hand reached up and patted the inflatable side of the boat. "Sit here and swing your legs over the side."

  She did as he instructed. The boat bobbed in the water. This wasn't so bad sitting here, but she still had to jump in.

  Nate watched her. "How well do you know how to swim?"

  "I was in the timid non-swimmers class every week for six months taking lessons but that feels like a long time ago. I haven't swum since and I've never been in the ocean before."

  "It will come back to you."

  "I'm phobic," she whispered, blinking away tears.

  His hand closed over her ankle. "Kara," he commanded in a firm but gentle voice, "trust me. Give me your hand. I won't let any harm come to you."

  She wanted to, she really did. Her breathing came faster, her phobia threatened to overtake her the more she sat there. Sitting on this tiny machine in the ocean was the worst place for her to have a panic attack. The edges of it raced in on her.

  She wanted to snorkel with Nate. She just didn't know if she could.

  "Stop thinking. Take a deep breath and take my hand."

  Chapter Ten

  Kara reached her hand out. His warm hand grasped hers. He'd scuba dived all over the world. He wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. She made the leap, her gaze locked on his.

  He held her in the water and didn't let her sink under.

  She couldn't keep her legs still from nervousness. She licked her lips and tasted salt from the splash she made.

  He still held her hand. "Try to relax. Hold still and float."

  She couldn't. Her legs wouldn't stop moving. All her nervous energy drove them. Nate moved behind her, releasing her hand and slipped one arm around her waist.

  She gasped. Oh God.

  "Hold still now. Breathe." He spoke near her ear and his mouth grazed her earlobe, sending tingles down her spine. "I've got you. Relax, let yourself get used to the water."

  Her legs moved with a will of their own, so he pulled her backward until she rested in his lap. Her legs finally stopped moving. If she'd thought they were close on the Rhino Rider, it was nothing compared to this. With his hard body behind her and his strong arms around her, she felt safe enough to float.

  "Just float," he added in a low tone. "Relax. Breathe."

  His breath in her ear sent ripples of tingles down her spine and another kind of tension began. But he held her like this was the most natural thing in the world.

  "Shh, I've got you, sweetheart."

  They floated and she relaxed. She watched the others already snorkeling, their heads bobbing up and down in the water, having fun. Nate was so patient with her.

  He gave her a slight squeeze. "Better now?"

  "Yes," she breathed.

  "Good." He spoke the word and she closed her eyes, the sun warming her face, soaking in the moment. If only they could stay this way.

  "Ready?" He asked.

  If only he knew how ready. He could hold her like this any time.

  Kara opened her eyes. "Yes, I'm ready."

  "Pull down your goggles."

  She pulled them over her eyes and nose and panicked for a moment, unable to draw breath, then remembered she was supposed to breathe through her mouth.

  "How's the seal?" He looked close. "Here, let me adjust those for you.

  She looked through the goggles, breathing through mouth and feeling like an alien bug.

  He reached around her and tightened the strap, his mouth inches from hers, and grinned. "That's better."

  She smiled and blushed.

  "Now the mouthpiece. Breathe through like this, not through your nose."

  She put it in her mouth just as he had; his steady gaze bore into her in silent expectation.

  I don't want to let him down. I want to do this.

  It was time to put her face in the water, something she hadn't learned how to do even in the swim class. Opening her eyes under water brought on severe panic. It went better for her if she kept them closed.

  As a scuba diver, Nate probably thought it no big deal and he'd think she was a big baby. She couldn't help it. She didn't know why she panicked in the water or how to make it go away.

  That panic threatened to return even now.

  Nate grasped her hand.

  "Try it. I've got you." His fingers squeezed to reassure. "I won't let you go. Just try."

  She tried not to hyperventilate, breathing slowly and deep through the mouthpiece as she put her face under.

  Her heart raced as she put her face in with eyes wide open.

  She forgot every worry in her mind.

  A turquoise world greeted her below. Waving ocean plants and coral. A royal blue fish with a yellow stripe swam lazily by them; hundreds of tiny black fish sped beneath her flippers startling her. She popped her head out of the water and gasped.

  Nate had been watching her and they removed their mouthpieces simultaneously.

  "So, was it as good as I promised?"

  "Better." She laughed. "I did it! Did you see them? I never dreamed it would be so wonderful."

  "That's only a taste. I'll show you more if you'll let me."

  She nodded, her eyes shining.

  Nate held her hand, never letting go as they swam past multicolored coral and hundreds of fish of all sizes.

  Kara had never seen anything like this underwater world. The fish were so brightly colored, so unusual. Several times she tried to speak, to tell Nate something before forgetting he couldn't hear her with the mouthpiece. They pointed and communicated with their eyes. His hand never left hers. She drank in the comfort and felt safe and alive.

  He motioned to her, asking her if she wanted to go down further but she shook her head no. It was one thing to float on top of the water with her head in and quite another to swim down below. What she'd accomplished probably didn't seem like much to him, but to her, it was a huge step.

  When it was time to go, they swam back to the Rhino Rider. He helped remove her mask, now caught in her long hair. He pulled the golden strands loose and traced his fingertip across her lips, which tingled beneath his touch.

  A wave crashed over them, surprising them both. She swallowed salt water. Choking and coughing, she reached out for him, touching his chest.

  "Hey, Kara." His voice soothed as he pulled her close. "It's all right. I've got you."

  She started to speak, but he kissed the top of her nose.

  "It's time to go." Huskiness lingered in his tone.

  If only they didn't have to.

  "I know." She sighed.

  Moments of joy could bloom. But they didn't last. Any more than red roses did. Then you had only the memories of what was to hold.

  "Kara." The timber of his voice called her mind back from where it hovered. "If I get out first, I can pull you out of the water. But you'll have to float for a minute by yourself."

  She nodded, and he let go. As soon as he did, she began kicking. Without him to hold onto, she couldn't hold her legs still.

  He pulled himself out and removed his gear quickly. "See if you can take off your flippers first."

  She struggled with her flippers in the water while the others climbed out of the sea, but she got them off. He took them, stuck them in the side of the Rhino Rider, and then held his hands out to her. "Grab hold."

  She reached up.

  He grasped her hands, lifted her out, and plopped her on the side of the boat.

  She had no idea he was so strong.

  He smoothed wet strands of hair off her forehead with a gentle hand. "Are you ready to head back?"

  "As ready as I'll ever be. I wish we could stay."

  "Me too." He smiled. "But I'm looking forward to taking you dancing tonight."

  "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

  Than in your arms.

  She didn't finish the statement out loud but the wish went up.

  "I'm glad, Kara. You're very special to me." His finger stroked under he
r chin and he bent to kiss her, his lips brushing hers slowly and tenderly.

  When he pulled away, giving her a deep smile, she realized what a gift he'd given her today. More than just teaching her to snorkel, he reminded her what it was to be alive. Alive under this blue Caribbean sky, the aqua water below them full of life.

  She looked around, soaking everything in. Her job at the bank seemed far away and lifeless. A dead end. She'd been at that dead calm ever since Neil died, when nothing had moved forward again.

  Until Nate.

  The drivers started the engines. Kara slipped her hands around Nate's waist again, and they sped toward the pier. Her hair flew in the wind, and this time she chanced fully facing the sights they passed. It made her laugh. She'd missed so much hiding away behind him on the way there.

  They reached the pier too soon and turned in the machines and gear. A photographer stood by the entrance to the Rhino Rider hut selling photos of all the couples on the boats. He'd taken pictures before they raced away, but she'd been preoccupied.

  "Do you want one?" Nate lifted theirs to look at it.

  "No, that's okay." She didn't want to seem sappy. The photo showed her head burrowing against his back, as she pressed close against him. He wore a big grin.

  "I'll take it," Nate told the photographer. He turned to Kara. "I'd like one and they come in pairs. Here." He handed her one of the photos. "Something to remember the day."

  "Thank you."

  What a nice gift. He looked strong and sexy in that photo. I'll always treasure this photo and the memory of today.

  She wondered if she'd spend hours looking at the photo and missing him when she was home again.

  Nate paid the man for the photo then they boarded the van.

  Kara stretched her towel across the seat. Salty seawater and sticky suntan lotion covered her. Everyone wore swimsuits back, trying to dry off.

  Nate stretched his arm across the back of her seat. She studied his profile as he chatted with the others about the black coral reef none of them would have seen had he not taken the initiative. Confidence rolled off of him with everything he did. His black hair looked silky and gleamed from the seawater. She longed to touch it.

  They rode back to the ship and the van stopped to let them off. Daryl approached, tossing the newspaper he'd either been reading or hiding behind into the trash, and Kara quickly rewrapped her towel around her waist as he drew near.

  Nate placed his hand on the small of Kara's back and they moved forward together.

  Daryl stopped in front of her, his feet spread in a strong stance, "Kara, I want a word with you." The straw hat he now wore partially hid his expression, making her nervous as to what he wanted and what his mood was.

  "If you want me to get rid of him for you just say the word," Nate said under his breath.

  "No," she whispered, "He's my boss."

  Nate didn't say another word, but she sensed tension coiled within his body.

  "Daryl, I have to get ready for dinner."

  "I've been here waiting for you for some time. You can give me ten minutes." His gaze dropped to her red bikini top then up to her face again.

  Kara frowned in confusion as they moved toward the ship and he continued to walk on the other side of her from Nate. "But I told you I didn't know when we'd be back."

  Daryl acted like she'd done something wrong, but she hadn't agreed to meet him again. It wasn't her fault he'd waited. Why was he acting like she was to blame?

  Kara didn't like the way his eyes had lit as he looked at her breasts in the brief moment before the shadow of the hat hid his eyes again or the fact he'd seen her in a bikini top.

  It gave her a squirmish feeling, even with Nate right beside her.

  "We have things to discuss. You can spare me ten minutes before you go."

  As Nate guided her toward the ship, forcing Daryl to walk alongside, Nate's words to her during snorkeling came back to her, I've got you.

  "Daryl, I have to go. I'll see you at work when I get home. Enjoy your visit to the island."

  They reached the gangplank.

  Daryl stepped forward and Kara froze.

  "I can't believe you're being so cold. And rude."

  Pressure from Nate's hand and his presence next to her made her feel bold. She wasn't going to stay here and talk to him. This was her vacation and he did not belong in it.

  "I'm not the one being rude. I didn't show up unannounced on someone else's vacation and expect them to drop everything for me."

  She hurried up the gangplank with Nate right beside her and she didn't look back.

  "I wish you had let me take care of him for you." Nate's voice was quiet and calm but there lay anger beneath it. "I'd make sure he never bothered you again."

  Kara's hands shook as she placed her beach bag on the conveyer for the security guards to scan before they entered the ship again. "The problem is I have to work with him."

  "Sweetheart, are you all right?"

  She walked through the metal detector, turning to wait for him to walk through and join her. "Yes, Nate. But I'm a little worried about my job. This whole day has been so..."

  He pulled her close, listening and watching the conflicting expressions cross her face.

  "It's been one of the best days and also one of the worst days of my life. I wish we could have stayed out there in the water and never came back. I'm dreading going home now."

  "I can understand that."

  They stepped into the elevator. The press of people pushed them back into the corner.

  "I don't want him ruining my cruise."

  He slid his arm around her waist pulling her close and kissed her temple. " Forget about him. Tonight is the Captain's dinner."

  "Yes." She smiled.

  "There's my happy woman." He smiled back at her.

  "Are you wearing a tux tonight?"

  "Of course, sweetheart."

  Oh, she could imagine him in a tux, dark hair and tanned, those deep brown eyes and that wonderful smile. He would be so handsome.

  All thoughts of Daryl fled as her mind filled with images. Thanks to Viv, some of those images were of him taking that tux off while she watched.

  Once out of the elevator, he walked her to her cabin and kissed her softly on the lips.

  Nate raised his head and looked down at her. "Call my room when you're ready and I'll escort you to dinner."

  She smiled. "All right."

  He winked as she opened her door and he took off down the hall.

  Viv was in the shower already, but she'd pulled clothes and jewelry out and strewn them all over the bed and dresser. It was as if she didn't have to share the room. She'd taken over all available spaces except Kara's bed.

  How terribly selfish.

  Viv stepped out of the bathroom. "Nate has got a bonnie bum, that he does."

  What is it with her and my boyfriend? Doesn't she have enough boyfriends of her own? Including that nice British man who taught her all those expressions.

  "Will you stop with the British expressions? You're driving me mad."

  "That's a British expression, driving me mad, and I like them. I wouldn't say them if I didn't like them."

  Kara rolled her eyes in exasperation. At least Viv was in a better mood now. It would be nice if she would keep it till the end of the cruise.

  She noticed a red box with a gold bow out of the corner of her eye that had been placed on her bed. "Where did that come from?"

  "Where do you think?" Viv laughed. "Good show, Nate."

  Kara sat on the bed to open the box, which was addressed to her. She pulled off the gold ribbon and lifted the lid. Peeling back red tissue paper, she gasped.

  Viv laughed as she looked over Kara's shoulder. "Girl, you're going to love those."

  Kara's jaw dropped and her eyes widened. She reached into the box and lifted out a pair of red, strawberry flavored, edible panties. "Oh wow."

  She sat on the bed, stunned.

  "Don't get yourse
lf in a muddle. Look, there's a card."

  Kara opened it and read "Nothing could be sweeter than sharing the evening with you."

  "Go Nate." Viv smirked.

  "I wonder why he didn't sign it?"

  "Who cares? Tell him to eat through the middle first."

  Kara turned beat red but didn't laugh. "Nate doesn't strike me as the type of guy to leave his name off of a card." She frowned.

  "Yeah, he's more a name it and claim it kind of guy."

  Kara sat holding them, intrigued. She'd heard of edible panties but never held a pair. "I wonder if they taste good?"

  "Take a nibble."

  They both laughed and Kara relaxed. "No, I don't think so."

  "Well, you're not the one who'll be eating them." Viv laughed again.

  Edible panties. Did he get them on the island? The stores on the ship didn't sell things like that. Did they?

  Did he want her to wear them tonight? She wasn't ready. This was moving too fast. She needed to talk to him. And this was the Captain's Dinner, a formal evening. She'd wear silk stockings, not edible underwear.

  Goodness, what could he be thinking? Surely he doesn't expect me to wear them to dinner tonight? This is total surprise. We need to talk about this.

  She pulled on lace panties and then silk stockings. After stepping into a black satin evening dress, she stood in front of the mirror. The dress fit close and the open back dipped all the way down to her lower back. She'd never worn anything so revealing and tonight she felt like the most desirable woman in the world. In fact she felt delicious. All the talk and teasing he'd been doing about food and eating had sent her thoughts in this direction. Even more so since receiving the gift. He'd made it clear there was at least one thing he'd like to do with her. She felt delicious and naughty.

  Viv dressed in a purple sequined gown. She turned to look at Kara. "Girl, I can't believe you're wearing that. So daring and sexy."

  Kara glanced into the mirror. She paused and wished for the first time in her life that someone could paint her. Just like this.

  She'd never really seen herself before. Vital. Alive. Beautiful.

  Viv sniffed. "If that's new perfume, I don't care for it."

  "It's not new. Neil's mother gave it to me."