Callie could not believe this was happening. She’d been on this ship less than twenty-four hours and already she was so intrigued by a man that she’d left her phone in her bag and hadn’t checked it one time since arriving at the pool.
She didn’t think she’d ever dated a single man in her life who doted on her as much as Grant. He made sure she had two glasses of water and a glass of iced tea. Then he went to the buffet and fixed her a salad, which he brought to her on the lounge chair and sat next to her scarfing down a burger.
The guy snagged her sunscreen out of her hand and rubbed it all over her body front and back, mumbling something about not trusting her to get full coverage and not wanting her to have any burnt tidbits.
She smirked while she let him rub the lotion into her skin. It was certainly no hardship. His hands were fucking amazing. It was like a mini massage. Except that her bikini bottom was soaked when he finished, and she nearly came in the lounge chair when he bent down to whisper in her ear, “Your nipples are so hard right now, they’re going to rip a hole in your bikini.” He bit playfully into her earlobe before abruptly leaning back in his own chair next to her and pretending to relax.
She knew he was anything but relaxed because he kept discreetly adjusting himself. Good thing he was wearing loose swim trunks or everyone on the ship would be seeing his erection.
It was the most fun she ever remembered having. Seriously. Ever.
Melanie was getting the same treatment on her left with Holden on her other side, and she kept alternately giggling and moaning. She rolled her head toward Callie in the middle of the afternoon, sipping her piña colada, and grinned. “How’s your vacation so far?”
“Great. Yours?”
“Excellent.”
When Grant wasn’t doting on her, he spent a good deal of time reading a thick book about the civil war, which she found intriguing. It said a lot about him. He was a reader for one. A history buff for two. And, most importantly, not just a buff body. He had a head on his shoulders.
She hadn’t mentioned the fact that he was clearly a former SEAL—based on a few discreet tattoos she was familiar with and the subtle exchanges he had with Holden. She’d loved to know the story behind that and find out why he’d gotten out of the Navy and what he did now, but she couldn’t question his job or career choices without discussing hers, and that was off the table. So, she kept her mouth shut.
Without taking his eyes off his book, he reached out a hand, threaded his fingers with hers, and brought them to his lips to kiss her knuckles. “You gonna stare at my chest all afternoon, baby?” he asked.
“Maybe?” she giggled. “It’s not hard on the eyes.”
He chuckled. “Neither are you.”
He’d made that perfectly clear several times. She continued to stare though, blatantly. Not caring that he was aware. She did wonder if he was actually absorbing the words in his book though while he absently stroked the back of her hand with his thumb.
It was downright mindboggling how they’d gotten to this intimate stage of their short relationship so fast. Anyone walking by would assume they’d come on this ship together.
Her headache had finally abated, and she couldn’t stop grinning. She even took dozens of deep cleansing breaths while she leaned on one palm and stared at the fucking hot man next to her. Maybe she was dreaming.
And then she was dreaming because she let her heavy lids close and fell asleep. When she awoke and glanced around, the men were nowhere to be seen and Mel was sipping another frozen drink.
“How many of those have you had?” she asked as she stretched out on the lounge chair.
Melanie lifted a brow. “Please tell me you aren’t judging.”
Callie chuckled. “No. Just curious. I might be ready for one.”
“This is my second. It’s a frozen margarita.”
“Where did the guys go?” Callie flinched and twisted to more fully face Mel before pushing to sitting, facing her. “Wait. There were guys, right? Two of them? Waiting on us all afternoon as if we were royalty? Please tell me I didn’t imagine them.”
Mel laughed. “Nope. They’re real. They’re at the bar getting more water and a few beers. Hey…” She glanced around before looking at Callie again. “Would you be pissed if I switched rooms with Grant tonight? I didn’t want to say anything in front of the guys. I won’t do it if you don’t want to spend the night with him.”
Callie gave a slow smile. “You and Holden, huh?”
Mel rolled her eyes. “I’m not looking a gift horse in the mouth. That’s for sure. The guy is hot and kind and hot and nice and hot. Did I mention hot? I figure why not let him fuck me seven ways to Sunday? I never do something like this.”
Callie giggled. “I certainly don’t. Let’s do it.”
“You sure?”
“Absolutely. I need to get laid badly. Why tiptoe around the elephant and pretend we’re not going to have sex? Might as well enjoy all ten days. Yeah?”
“That’s my thinking.” Mel took another sip of margarita. “You should get one of these. They’re delicious.”
“I think I will.”
“You can order one right from your phone without moving a muscle and sit here like a princess. Someone will bring it to you.”
Callie was grinning as she leaned over to snag her phone from her bag. “I think I will.” She lifted it out and winced when she noticed several email notifications.
“Do not open those messages,” Mel ordered when she saw her face. “Whatever problem someone in the U.S. is having, you can’t do anything about it from here. We’re in the middle of the ocean.”
Callie glanced up at her and made sure no one else was listening before she spoke. “First of all, you know good and well I could easily get called into a conference call from anywhere in the world and find myself averting a world crisis from this ship. Second, you also know my boss won’t hesitate to airlift me right off this cruise ship if he thinks it’s necessary.”
“Hey. What’s all this serious conversation?” Holden asked as he resumed his seat on the other side of Melanie.
Grant leaned over Callie and set a bottle of water against her chest. It was freezing cold and made her jump as she flipped her phone upside down. She tipped her head back and smiled at him. “Thank you.”
“Callie was about to order a drink. I think she’s finally revived enough to move on to the hard stuff,” Melanie stated.
Grant sat next to Callie on her chair, making sure his thigh was against hers. “Let me guess, you picked up your phone to order a drink and checked your work messages.”
Callie winced. “Guilty. And, I hate to say it, but I need to check in with my boss. I think I’ll go back to the room, deal with him for a few minutes, and then shower and get dressed for dinner.”
Grant cupped her face. “Sounds like a plan. I’ll come by and pick you up about six. We can go have drinks in one of the bars before dinner, yeah?”
“I like this idea. I’ll skip the margarita until then. And perhaps stick to just two tonight.”
He chuckled before bringing his lips to hers for a kiss that made her body take notice in all the girly places. When he released her, he said, “Have as many drinks as you like, but I’m not laying a hand on you if you’re not sober enough to choose.” He lifted a brow, one corner of his lips lifting at the same time.
“Maybe I’ll stick to water tonight,” she suggested to let him know she fully intended to have him naked and on top of her before the night was over. Or under her. Or beside her.
He gave her a slow grin.
Her belly was fluttering as she grabbed her things and stuffed them in her bag. She really did need to check in with her boss and see what the emails were all about. She’d only been able to read the subject line of the three he’d sent. He wouldn’t bother her on her vacation if it weren’t important.
For the love of God, please don’t let some world event ruin my trip.
She walked fast, waiting until she was in her room to open the emails. She paced while she read them. “Shit. Just shit,” she muttered as she absorbed the details.
Apparently there was something fishy going on with the Chinese. They seemed to be shuffling their army around. Satellite images indicated they were increasing their presence at several bases and testing missiles. Lining up aircraft. Fuck. What were they up to?
Callie shot off a response to her boss, letting him know she’d gotten the messages and could he please keep whatever plans the Chinese had at bay for ten more days. The man understood her well enough to know she was kidding. Sort of.
Tossing her phone on her bed, she headed for the shower. By six o’clock both she and Melanie were completely transformed. Shaved. Makeup. Perfect hair. Slinky dresses.
Callie was grateful Melanie had not only insisted Callie pack ten sexy dresses, but she’d also had several delivered for her to choose from so she wouldn’t end up claiming she hadn’t had time and shown up with five old sundresses instead of appropriate evening attire.
Mel whistled. “Girl, you look hot.”
Callie spun around a few times in front of the floor-length mirror. She had to admit the dress accented her best assets. It even managed to make her boobs look bigger and gave her cleavage.
“I love black on you,” Melanie commented.
“Okay, but is my ass fully covered?” Callie chuckled as she tugged the back of the dress down, hoping she didn’t cause her tits to pop out.
“Stop fooling with it. It’s perfect.” Mel leaned toward the mirror and applied another coat of lip gloss.
“We’re really going to do this?” Callie asked as she fluffed her hair and grabbed her small black purse.
“Do what? Have amazing sex with two hot guys God obviously put on this cruise with us so we would have the best eleven days of our lives? Yes. We’re doing it.”
“What do you have in that purse?” Callie asked, indicating the slightly larger one her roommate was carrying.
Mel wiggled her eyebrows. “Contact case. Eye makeup remover. Toothbrush. The essentials.”
“Clothes?” Callie suggested, though obviously nothing like that would fit.
Mel shrugged. “Nah. I’ll hold my head high and do the walk of shame, or you can bring me something in the morning. We’ll see.”
“Okay. Do the guys know about this swapping plan?” Callie hadn’t mentioned it to Grant. Maybe he didn’t want to spend the night in her bed.
“It was Holden’s idea. I’m sure he filled Grant in.”
A knock sounded at the door, and Mel opened it to reveal the two men standing in the hallway looking like they stepped off the cover of a GQ magazine.
Callie let her gaze roam up and down Grant’s frame as she stepped into the hall. “Damn,” she whispered. “You clean up nice.”
He grabbed her around the waist and kissed her. “You look good enough to eat,” he whispered in her ear. “And I fully intend to do just that later tonight.”
She squirmed, her thong getting wet at his words. The teasing and anticipation were half the fun. “Can’t wait.”
Grant growled and sank his teeth playfully into her earlobe like he had earlier. “Be good.”
“Me?” She leaned back in his embrace and lifted her brows, batting her eyelids innocently. “I’m always good.”
He chuckled. “Why don’t I doubt that.” With a hand on the small of her back, he led her down the hallway and out into the stairwell.
Five minutes later, they were seated around a cocktail table in one of the lounges. A blues singer was entertaining them from the corner, and Callie had opted to go with red wine this evening. The first sip made her grateful she hadn’t had anything to drink yet today.
She promised herself two glasses. This one and one at dinner. If she was going to have the best sex of her life tonight, she wanted to be aware of every second of it so she could relive it in her mind in the future.
Dinner was delicious. The steak was perfection. The company was even better. The four of them easily slid into a camaraderie that fit them, laughing and teasing and tasting each other’s food. They had four courses and leaned back stuffed after a decadent chocolate dessert they’d each had a bite of.
“Who’s ready for a magic show?” Grant asked as they pushed back from the table.
“I hope the magician is good. I hate it when they’re cheesy,” Mel pointed out.
Holden helped her stand, gripping her hand. “I googled him. He’s done a lot of different shows. I think we’ll enjoy him.”
When they arrived at the theater, three men who were obviously with security stood by the door. She glanced to the other entrance and noticed two more security men.
Before she knew it, Grant had pulled her to the side as one of the men joined them. “Callie, this is Andrew, a friend of mine and the ship’s security officer.”
Callie glanced back and forth between them. Grant had a friend on the ship who worked in security?
Grant turned toward Andrew. “Is everything okay?”
Andrew tilted his head and said just above a whisper, “We had some problems at the pool a few hours ago. Kendra had to come down from the bridge and threaten to throw them off the ship at the next port if they didn’t return to their cabins and sleep it off. My men followed them. Video showed them leaving their cabins and going to dinner. Fortunately, they weren’t seated near each other. We don’t want any trouble here.”
“Anything we can do?” Holden asked.
“Nah. Shit like this happens almost every cruise but not usually until about day five.” Andrew shrugged. “I guess it’s just going to be one of those cruises. Figures. My last cruise and there’s already trouble on day two.”
“You’ll let us know there’s anything we can do to help?” Grant ran his hand up and down Callie’s spine.
Andrew smiled at the four of them. “Go enjoy the show. This magician’s pretty good. Bones and Gramps are in there waiting for you.” He then corrected himself. “Tavis and Keene saved you seats.”
As they started to step away, a woman in uniform approached with a huge smile. Callie recognized her as one of the ship’s captains. She smiled at Andrew before holding out her hand to Callie. “I’m Captain Kendra Benson.”
“Cal—”
“There they are.” Andrew stepped forward toward two couples, Kendra on his heels.
Their discussion was quiet with a lot of mean looks from their wives.
“Sir, I can promise you this one won’t give you any more problems,” the brunette in the designer dress vowed.
“Or this big idiot.” The blonde turned her attention toward her large husband. “Leave it to you to fuck up our one-year anniversary cruise.”
“I’ll bet this was over some damn football game.” Dark hair flew as the first woman looked from one man then to the other.
“Hockey,” the contrite men muttered in unison.
“Captain, I’m sorry, you’d think brothers would know how to get along together after thirty years.” The blonde grabbed her husband’s hand. “Come on. We’ll go to the bar and talk about this.”
“I think they’ve had more than enough to drink for today. Perhaps this should be a private conversation,” the captain suggested.
“She’s right.” The blonde followed suit. “What I have to say to you isn’t fit for polite company.”
The men followed along, the blonde’s husband mouthing makeup sex with a huge smile. His brother nodded, mirroring his smile.
“Well, if we have problems with them again, I guess we’ll just find their wives.” Andrew obviously fought a smile.
“I hope I’m not master of their ship when they celebrate their second anniversary.” Kendra shook her head.
“I doubt they’ll make it that long.” Grant winced.
“I’d take that bet.” Holden held out his hand. “Their wives are going to end the night very satisfied…and so are they.”
Callie sucked in a breath. Hopefully she too was going to be very satisfied by the end of the night.
“You’d better go grab your seats.” Andrew looked down at the captain. “Are you staying for the show?”
“Yeah. I’ll watch from back here.”
“Let’s go grab a piece of wall.” Andrew and Captain Benson followed them into the darkening theater.
The men spotted the rest of their group of friends and the four of them joined the group in a long row near the front of the balcony.
They were early, but as soon as they were seated, both Holden’s and Grant’s phones vibrated at the same time.
Holden groaned as he shot Grant a look. “That can’t be good.”
Grant gritted his teeth before leaning over to kiss Callie. “Give us five minutes. Be right back.”
As both men rose and headed out of the theater, Callie watched the way Grant’s shoulders stiffened. She had a fleeting thought that was so ludicrous she refused to state it out loud.
What were the chances the two men were receiving the same messages she was receiving from her boss? Perhaps not exactly the same, but warnings about the Chinese. After all, though she didn’t know what either man actually did for a living, and she was confident they were no longer with the Navy, there was always the chance they still had important positions that gave them enough clearance to be informed about world events.
Silly. Absurd. No way they were being entertained with the same information.
Callie brushed the thought from her mind and smiled at Mel. “So…”
Mel was staring at her. “You know something.”
Callie’s eyes widened. “Nope. Not a thing.”
Mel narrowed her gaze. “Liar. I know you. You got information earlier that disturbed you. I’d bet it’s fucking important, and now you’re wondering if the guys are getting the same information.”
Callie sighed. “Mind reader.”
“You going to share the details with me?”
“No. Couldn’t even if I wanted. Besides, it’s not important right now.”
“It is if we’re about to enter WWIII or some shit. You’d tell me that, right?”
Callie shook her head. “You know I wouldn’t. I can’t. But no. We’re not. My boss just likes to make sure I’m informed of every damn thing happening on the planet.”
“Except you don’t work in the Middle Eastern department, Callie,” she hissed, leaning in closer. “You work in the Chinese department.”
Callie chuckled. “They aren’t called departments, but whatever.” She patted her friend’s hand. “Don’t worry. If anything escalates, you’ll know, because like you said, you know me well.”