Secret Attractions at the Office: A Dirty Office Romance (Working Desires Book 2)

by Hazel Keys

  Chapter 8:Tara

  While Suzy and Michelle served the evening meal up on the sundeck, I ate chicken and rice in the crew lounge. Captain Samson gave me the night off to recover from my trauma, but I insisted I’d be fine to pull the evening shift and sit up late with the guests, serving drinks and nibbles as required, until the last one went to bed. Tristan was busy, and the deckhands had already eaten, so I sat and chewed by myself. It was bound to be a long night, but it could be an ideal opportunity to make sure I’d successfully hooked my target now.

  I knew I wanted him to leap in and save me. I needed him to. Needed him to become invested in my life and wellbeing but, despite everything, I couldn’t help but feel comforted by what looked like genuine concern. I was flattered that he would risk his life to save mine but I wasn’t, repeat wasn’t, strangely drawn to the sexy way his wet shirt clung to his thick, muscled torso. Nope. Not one bit.

  After dinner, Michelle left Suzy and I to serve the guests and retired. She had to be up early to prepare for breakfast and the next day. Suzy mixed drinks and flirted about, looking totally amazing in her evening uniform, an Asian-style black number that pulled tight across her slim waist to really make her heavenly butt and bust pop. And she was getting plenty of attention, not only from Mick, George, and Jay Money, obviously, but one or two of the girls present allowed their gaze to linger on her sexy body for a little longer than was necessary.

  Seth, though, sat all night at the bar that I was working behind. Mia kept coming and sitting with him, whispering in his ear, then stalking off to go talk with one of the others, but Seth remained stoically across from me, occasionally letting me refill his glass with18-year-old Glenmorangie, and largely ignoring his girlfriend.

  “Really, Seth?” I heard Mia breathe softly into his ear. “Isn’t it time we went to bed? After your heroics today, don’t you think you deserve some sort of reward? Or at least a little pampering??”

  Mia’s eyes flicked quickly over me but I pretended to be not paying attention. I wanted Seth to stay at my bar, though. I wanted us to connect. And I felt sure we would, if only I could get him away from that Asian goddess.

  “I’m sorry, darling,” Seth said to Mia, “I’m a little… I don’t know… something about this afternoon. I think I need to have another drink.” He tried to take her aside, “I’m sorry, baby, it just doesn’t feel right. Can we make it up tomorrow night?”

  For a second, Mia looked livid, ready to curse him out. She cast such a hateful glance at me that I almost dropped the glass I was drying. How did I end up in the firing line? Then, just as quickly, she returned to calm.

  “I can’t promise anything,” she said, loudly enough for everyone to hear, and walked off downstairs. Jay, Coco, and Jessica slid away swiftly after, only minutes before a loud argument broke out between Valentina and George. As far as I could tell, Valentina was berating George in Spanish, George was apologizing in English, while Mick, who knew both languages, was trying to sort it all out. Mercifully, they decided to go below, so Suzy escorted them. She fired me a saucy wink as she left Seth and me alone on deck. Like she was giving me the go-ahead now there was no one else around.

  Aside from a few interruptions, Seth and I had been having a light, fun, and engaging conversation through the night. So much so that, once or twice, I’d almost forgotten my mission for revenge and nearly divulged a couple of things about my past and my family that might have upset the applecart.

  This is weird, I thought as we talked, he’s not arrogant or greedy. His friends seem to really like him. I thought he would be an asshole, bragging and talking my ear off about how amazing he is, but he just isn’t.

  “Why are you being so secretive?” he asked, after the third time I dodged a question. “I’ve droned on about my life and my past all night, but I still know so little about you.”

  “It’s the dynamic,” I answered with a smile. “The psychiatrist doesn’t divulge anything about herself to the schizoid on her couch, does she?”

  Seth thought for a second, then burst out laughing. I half expected him to attack me for implying he was anything less than perfect, but it was such a joyous, infectious laugh, I couldn’t help but start to laugh with him.

  “I do know one thing about you, though,” he said, as his breathing returned to normal. I froze, my heart suddenly thumping in my chest and a horrible cold feeling running through me. Shit! Has he been playing me all along? Is that why he’s being so nice? I felt very scared, and couldn’t have been more surprised if Seth whipped out a Luger pistol and shot me in the stomach. “I’ve seen you move about this boat all day, and I don’t think there’s any way you could have accidentally fallen overboard this afternoon. You’re too much of a pro.”

  I smiled and looked him deep in the eye. This was going to be a gamble. “You’ve got me.” I put my hands up. “The truth is you were ignoring me and I didn’t like it. I wanted your attention. I wanted to see if you’d save me — that’s all.”

  “And what if I hadn’t?”

  “I grew up around boats; I can swim like a fish.”

  “And now that I have?”

  I looked quickly around the deck. We were alone. Before I knew what I was doing, I leaned in and kissed him, full on the lips. I held it for as long as I dared, then stood back up straight again. Seth sat there, still and stunned.

  “Okay, closing time,” I sang, not able to look him in the eye. “You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here. Please, leave everything, I’ll clean up in the morning.” And, with that, I trotted hastily away. I didn’t look up until I got to my cabin.

  *****

  Did I really do that? Did we really do that? These were the only thoughts running through my mind as I lay in my bunk. Even the quiet rocking of the ocean, guaranteed to send me off to sleep, seemed like it was mocking me. A creak and the boat rolled to port, did I really do that? A gentle push to starboard, did we really do that? It was like the sea itself was questioning my decision-making skills.

  I had kissed Seth Radisson, a man I’d chased halfway across the world to confront and exact revenge on. A man whose family was responsible for the ruin of my life and the death of my father. And I had kissed him.

  True, I had been doing my best to get him to fall for me since he came aboard. Catching his eye with shy smiles; listening to his troubles over drinks late at night; pretending to fall overboard so he would save me. Okay, so that last one was a bit extreme, but the way he didn’t hesitate to dive in after me... it felt good to have someone risk their life for me.

  He was supposed to be a carefree billionaire playboy, a corporate monster that made needlessly huge amounts of money acquiring ailing companies and breaking them up, with no regard for the people who rely on those jobs, as his father had done to my father. Yet he leaped straight into the ocean to drag me out. This didn’t add up with the way I’d imagined he’d be.

  It's not fair, either, I found myself thinking, that he’s so damned good looking. Despite my confusion and surging emotions, the image of him after he’d pulled me out of the water, his thick, wet hair slicked back off his face, his thin, white cotton shirt gone see-through and clinging to his sculptured chest and hard, defined abs. I even felt a tingle in my most intimate parts. Thankfully, a snore from Suzy in the bunk above broke me from my reverie.

  You still know what you have to do, I reminded herself. Maybe the kiss was a good thing. If no one saw, which I was almost sure about, and if Seth didn’t report me, I wouldn’t be fired and, almost certainly, I’d have him where I wanted him. I just needed to string him along for the day and then I could drop my bomb on him in the evening. It may end up being a private revenge, but if I could see just one glimmer of remorse, regret, or pain in his eyes over the way he’s lived his life and the people he’s hurt, it would all be worthwhile.

  Chapter 9:Seth

  I lifted the tantalizingly sheer, gossamer fabric up over her head. Her honey-blonde hair cascaded in curls over her delicate
shoulders and down her smooth, slender back. She giggled coyly as I spun her around to face me, her arms crossed playfully over her bare chest and a shining smile of pure delight dancing over her enticing lips. She shyly dropped her slim arms and I marveled at the perfection before me. The glittering sunlight played across her naked form as I reached out and gently caressed her soft, rounded breasts. Her eyes closed, that bright smile still enchanting me. My cock felt fully engorged. She reached down and delicately placed her small hand on it.

  “God, you’re so beautiful, Tara,” I heard myself whisper. “I’m dying to be inside you…”

  “What did you say, baby?” Mia breathed by my ear. She caressed my cheek with one hand, lying on her side against me. Her other hand was gripping my rock-hard shaft.

  “Uh… what was what?” I answered, still groggy.

  “You’re dying to be inside who?” she teased me, squeezing the base of my upstanding dick enough to cause a slight pain.

  “Uhm, all you, baby, you know that,” I managed to smile at her, gasping lightly as she dug her nails in.

  “Well, maybe,” she purred, “it’s time for fantasies to become reality.” I felt her hot nipples brush against my skin, gliding down the side of my body as she slid under the covers. I felt her warm tongue touch the tip of me, then her soft lips envelop the swollen head of my cock. Still half asleep, I closed my eyes as the blissful sensation of her mouth on me flowed up through my body, only my vision of Tara, smiling, naked, and still glowing golden, drifted back into my mind. I suddenly sat bolt upright, throwing the covers off us both.

  “What is it?” she demanded.

  “Sorry, darling,” I stammered, “gotta pee. You know how it is.” I jumped up and rushed to the bathroom, leaving her naked and kneeling in the middle of the huge, round bed. What is wrong with you? I asked myself, Have you not heard of Blue Balls? They can be fatal, you know?

  My heart was racing and I was finding it hard to breathe. Mia was the heir to an enormous Japanese corporation, young, intelligent, and constantly voted by Harper’s, GQ, and Vogue as one of the ten most beautiful women on the planet. Yet I was hiding from her in the bathroom because she was sucking me off. How fucked up was that?

  Why couldn’t I get Tara out of my head? Why did it feel wrong to be with Mia, when she was almost begging me to fuck her? It was crazy, I hardly knew the girl, yet I’d dived straight into the sea to save her, spent the whole night talking to her, and felt like the luckiest man in the world when she kissed me. She kissed me. I was too taken aback to do much about it at the time. All I remembered was her, suddenly pressing those soft lips against my own, her intoxicating scent filling my senses, the warmth of her skin brushing mine, and me, sitting there like a jerk, thinking all my Christmas wishes had come at once.

  Whatever it was, no matter how physically turned on Mia got me, I just didn’t want to be with her. I guess that meant I wanted to be with Tara? Like I felt that letting Mia get me off would be like cheating? Whatever. I needed to think. I was just beginning to wonder how Tara was feeling, she seemed just as thrown off by the kiss as I was, when there was a knock on the bathroom door.

  “Darling? Are you okay?” came Mia’s voice.

  “Yeah,” I called back, turning on the shower. “I’ll be right out.”

  “Well, hurry up. Breakfast is being served.”

  I sat on the toilet until I heard her using her hairdryer. I figured there would be less chance of her trying to jump me if she was started on her beauty regimen. With any luck, she’d have quickly got herself off while she thought I was in the shower, so I should be able to get dressed and slip out without too much hassle.

  I needed to talk with her. It wasn’t fair to keep Mia hanging on. I’m sure sex with her would be amazing and, for fuck’s sake, I was horny enough. But, whether there was ever going to be anything between Tara and I or not, I couldn’t sleep with Mia and be wishing I was with someone else. The truth was I didn’t want to be with Mia. I wanted to be with Tara. And, regardless of if she felt the same way, I had to be honest about that, no matter what.

  Only, it was a bad idea to break up with someone as strong-willed and as used to getting what she wants as Mia, while we were both trapped on a boat in the middle of the Caribbean Sea. I’d have to fend her off until we were put into port.

  Chapter 10:Tara

  Having been the final steward on duty last night, I was excused the usual early morning rush to get breakfast prepared. Not that there was ever that much urgency on charter mornings. Often guests wouldn’t appear before ten, usually with a hangover, which left the cabin crew plenty of time to clean up from the night before, re-stock the bars, take care of any produce orders that Chef Tristan needed, while he was on standby with eggs, bacon, pancakes, fruit, and so on, which he would prepare to order.

  Although I wasn’t strictly on duty, I was in the galley anyway. I couldn’t relax. I felt like I’d been awake all night, trying to decide if I’d kissed Seth to drag him further into my web, or because I'd wanted to. I guess I must have drifted off eventually, because I awoke and got up to run with Suzy and Troy as usual. But I knew that lying in my bunk right now was just going to give me more time to think, which was something I was really trying to avoid at the moment. So I washed, ironed, and folded all the laundry, as Suzy and Michelle got ready for the guests to appear, and I sat, keeping out of the way, sipping on a delicious fruit smoothie Tristan had made for me. The clock just ticked past nine-fifteen when Michelle descended the galley steps.

  “Mick and Antonia are up!” she announced, “Apparently, Mick was awake to see you guys running at dawn.”

  “Typical sporty-type,” groaned Tristan. “Horribly disciplined and annoyingly fit. It’s enough to make one physically ill.”

  I giggled. Tristan’s posh London accent only served to highlight his overtly homosexual mannerisms, but he was one of the main reasons all the girls felt so happy and cared for when they spent time in the galley. He was our confidant, our critic, and our gay best friend whenever we needed him to be. Even Sofia, the small, quiet second deckhand, spent more time in the galley than the crew lounge. That place was much more of a haven for testosterone and was almost always either populated by deckhands Troy and Mike, Alex the engineer, bosun Sam, or all four of them, shouting, high-fiving, and playing Xbox in their downtime.

  “They want egg-white omelets with steamed mushrooms and spinach, plus fruit smoothies. Chef’s choice of ingredients.”

  “I get to choose what goes in their smoothies? Oh, joy!” Tristan clapped his hands together in mock delight. “Hmm, is spaghetti a fruit, I wonder…?”

  He made me laugh again. “I think we could have guessed they would have ordered that,” I smiled.

  “Wow, check out Miss Third Stew over here,” teased Tristan as he dropped some fresh blueberries into his blender. “What makes you think you know so much?”

  “Mick is a professional motorcycle racer, Antonia’s a catwalk model,” I pointed out. “They’re both going to avoid fat and refined sugar as much as possible. Plus, they would be up earlier because they are both used to partying all night and still making early starts. It’s the nature of their businesses.”

  “Never knew you had such a deductive and analytical mind,” said Michelle, without a hint of cattiness. “Go on, then, who will we see next?”

  I thought for a moment. This was an odd skill I’d picked up over the years. It was pretty useless but I liked it when I was right. “Seth, I reckon,” I predicted, “and soon.”

  “Your hero boyfriend, you mean,” Tristan tried to torment me, adding some mangos to his mix.

  “Oh, will you shut up?” I squealed at him. He wouldn’t let Seth’s courageous actions go so, in Tristan’s mind, we were now some sort of prince charming and damsel in distress.

  “Oh, you know you love it! Anyway, go on.”

  “Seth will be out soon, by himself. Mia will make an entrance later and it’ll be a proper entrance. She loves to command
a room’s attention. Seth will order coffee but nothing to eat until George joins him, which won’t be long after. Guaranteed those two have breakfast at least six days a week together.” I was sounding confident and the other two were more than impressed with my predictions. “George’s girlfriend…”

  “Valentina,” reminded Michelle over the noise of Tristan blending up the smoothies.

  “Right. We won’t see her after the fight they had last night. She’s too young and spoilt. George will order her banana pancakes but she won’t show up to eat them. He’ll send them to her room but she’ll send them back.”

  “So, I still have to make them?” asked Tristan.

  “Afraid so,” I nodded.

  “Bollocks.”

  “At the same time, Seth will have ham, sausage and scrambled eggs, George will have waffles. Both will have orange juice,” I continued.

  Tristan shook his head at Suzy, pouring the blended fruit cocktail into two tall glasses. “And what of our hip-hop loving guests? Jay Money Monarch and his two porn-star playmates?”

  “Coco and Jessica? We won’t see any of them until lunch is ready.”

  Alex strolled into the galley just as Tristan handed Michelle the tray with the glasses on it. “Here you are, darling, tell them their omelets will be up in a trice.”

  As Michelle headed back up, Alex leaned in closer to me. I hadn’t had a chance to speak to him since our light flirtation the night before the charter. “And how have you been?” he whispered to me with a winning smile.