He cleared his throat, breaking our eye contact long enough to excuse himself and slither out from the pile of women. They tittered on in his absence, touching each other’s hair and smiling tipsily as Theo crossed the deck to where I stood.
For a long moment, he just stood there in front of me, sliding his hands into his pockets. Then, his eyes scanned the shoreline behind me, and the corners of his mouth tilted up just a notch.
“Thank you,” he said to the night air and to me and to no one in particular. “I know this is far from the kind of photography you wish to capture in your time abroad.”
His eyes found me then, pinning me to where I stood.
I managed a shrug, tucking my hair behind my ear. “Hey, this is part of the deal, right?” I offered what little smile I had energy left to give.
“We’ll get you off this boat soon,” he promised, nodding toward the shore. “There are far more beautiful things waiting for you on shore.”
“I captured some pretty beautiful things tonight.”
The words came from me in a rushed whisper, and as soon as I’d said them, I couldn’t believe I had. Theo’s eyes snapped to mine, and I clamped my mouth shut for fear of saying something else equally as stupid.
Theo tilted his head, frowning, his eyes glazed a bit from the alcohol. He smirked as he took a step toward me, and then another, until he was so close the lapels of his jacket touched my chest. His eyes cast down on me like I was there for no other purpose than for him to stare at, and he took his time, gaze roaming over every inch of me until I heated like a boiling pot of water.
His body jolted suddenly, crashing into mine as Audrey threw her arms around him from behind. I was pinned between the railing and his warm body for no longer than a split second, but it was enough to scar me, to brand me like a hot iron against fresh, bare skin. He stepped away just as quickly, holding out his hands as if to steady me.
“Theo,” Audrey said, dragging out the vowels of his name as she hung on his arm. “Nicolette and I want to see the owner’s suite.”
Nicolette giggled as she slid up on his other side, wrapping her arms around his middle. “Yes, show us the view from your bed, Theo.”
They cackled in unison, hands groping, longing moans slipping from between their lips. Theo’s eyes were still on me, and I let him hold my gaze until Nicolette dragged her tongue up his neck and sucked the lobe of his ear between her teeth.
I tore my eyes away then, swallowing and looking down at my camera as I waited for them to leave. And they did, by way of the women dragging Theo backward, and him watching me the entire way, until they stumbled into one of the deck chairs. That seemed to shock him back to reality, and he shook his head, turning and throwing his arms around each of the women with a comment that made them both laugh and lean into his sides. He guided them inside and up the stairs, and I stood in the same spot against the railing until the lights flicked on in the owner’s suite above.
That silhouette of a man that I’d seen the night before was different tonight — his arms being stretched over head, shirt peeled off, his lips colliding with one woman and then the other. I watched the scene unfold like a voyeur until Theo stumbled backward and hit what I assumed was a button, because in the next second, the curtains suddenly began to draw, hiding the suite from prying eyes.
I hadn’t even caught my breath, hadn’t had time to question what the hell was wrong with me or what the hell had just happened before Joel stumbled out onto the deck, rushing to me and pinning me against the railing much like Theo had just moments before.
“Babyyy,” he said, his breath sour and beer-drenched on my neck. His hands were groping me in the next instant and I pushed them away, squirming out from his touch.
“You’re drunk.”
For a moment, Joel seemed upset at the comment, but then he smiled lazily, pulling me into his arms and pressing a long kiss to my tightly closed lips. “I am. We went below deck once we were relieved for the night. Eric had some goooood stuff,” he said, drawing out the word. He frowned then, framing my face with his hands. “I missed you.”
His dark eyes searched mine, and I blew out a long breath, relieving the tension that had my muscles tied in knots. I had no reason to snap at him. I didn’t mind that he’d had some drinks after working for so long. If I were the drinking kind, I was sure I’d want to do the same.
“It’s been a long day,” I finally said.
Joel nodded in understanding. Only he knew the way a full evening of being around strangers drained me, and with another kiss — one I accepted more willingly this time — he tucked me under his arm. “Nothing a good cuddle sesh can’t fix.”
I smiled, letting him guide me inside, my breath finally evening out the farther we got from Theo and his guests. When we were safely inside our own cabin, we both undressed, took a quick shower together, and climbed into bed. I was relieved yet again when Joel didn’t try to have sex with me. I just wasn’t in the mood — not after all that had happened. And he must have sensed it, because he just pulled my back to his chest, curling his legs with mine and wrapping his arms tightly around me.
He was snoring
