Chapter Seven

The next day was another shore day, and Michaela sat in her office, catching up on some paperwork while the rest of her team was away.

Dylan had imprinted himself on her skin. That must be what this scratchy sensation was.

With a pang of regret, she’d waved off the ship’s tender Dylan sat in. As it plowed its way through the ocean, she’d wished with every fiber of her being that she was going with him to walk hand in hand along the beach.

It was just lust, she reminded herself for the hundredth time since she’d left his stateroom, thoroughly satiated and almost drunk on the adrenaline of their secret. Breathe in, breathe in, breathe in.

There was no need for her to remind herself to breathe out. The air whooshed out of her lungs every time she replayed their time in the shower together.

Lust with a little bit of something extra?

Get back to work, Ms. Western.

When she’d first started in the business, she’d taken every opportunity she could to explore the tropical locations the ship stopped in, but as she’d risen up the ranks the responsibilities of her office had piled on, and she’d found more reasons to stay onboard. It was blessedly quiet today, though, and being able to walk the decks without bumping into people at every step was a blissful indulgence in itself.

As she strolled around the top deck, she admired the picturesque island in front of her. The golden talcum powder sand reflected the afternoon sun, and beneath arching palm trees those who sought more relaxation rested in the shade. Seeing so many people at play made Michaela think once again about her own life. For so long, she had thought herself happy in this existence, traveling among some of the world’s most beautiful places, meeting interesting people, earning their respect. But was she looking for something more?

Her promise to herself of five years at sea had already expired, and now here was a man. A man who had offered her more advice and support than she’d had in a long time. A man who made her every nerve buzz with anticipation whenever he touched her.

“He’s a dancer, Michaela,” she scolded. “He’s hardly going to be the settle-down type.” Yet despite her protest, she couldn’t keep her heart from soaring at the thought of him. But…

But what?

But he was incredibly talented, his looks were more than okay, he liked children in the same way she did, and he made her very core melt.

Tonight, she thought. Perhaps tonight we’ll see whether this is just an irresponsible fling or something that could be more.

As the day came to a close, passengers began reappearing by the pool, happy and relaxed from their day in the tropical sun. Michaela walked among them. She noticed that a number of women looked away from her, and some even turned and whispered among themselves. Odd, they seemed to be talking about her. That didn’t make sense.

An onshore scandal, perhaps. A husband caught out flirting too vigorously with another woman, even while his wife was playing with their children. Or maybe a husband on holiday with his mistress, confounded by being discovered by a friend of his wife’s. She could never understand how some men could be so stupid.

Lucky for her, the liaison with the captain had been a secret, and it had ended quickly when she’d found out about him being married. Bastard. She’d never have gone there if she’d known.

She set her mind wondering over Dylan’s left hand. It had been ring free, and there was no telltale tan mark from a ring removed, either. If she’d checked Captain Atkinson’s hands a bit better, she might have come out of the whole affair unscathed. But Dylan’s hands were definitely single.

Those hands. They’d certainly wanted to consummate something. Perhaps tonight she might just let them.

She saw Felicity and waved.

“How was your day?” Felicity asked casually.

“Lovely,” Michaela gushed, her thoughts of the evening with Dylan still simmering.

“Oh.” Felicity paused, her demeanor changing. “Great.”

She’d been nervous about something, Michaela realized, but whatever it was, it seemed to have passed.

Michaela’s pager buzzed. “It’s the captain. Must run. Meet you for a drink later?” she asked. Felicity nodded, and Michaela went to answer her call.

The captain’s face was stern when Michaela arrived on the bridge, putting her on alert. There had been times when passengers hadn’t arrived back on the ship as instructed, and it was always a frantic scramble to try and find them. They’d left port with no fuss, though, and were now powering back toward Auckland Harbor. The cruise had whizzed by. They would be in New Zealand the next afternoon.

“Can you leave us, please?” The captain dismissed his staff.

A sense of foreboding washed over Michaela. Had one of her staff done something? Had Dylan…? She looked about the bridge for some sort of clue. A note, some paperwork of any kind, but there were just the usual charts on the captain’s desk, and his computer monitor showed only navigational radar readings.

“It has been brought to my attention that you have been having relations with someone onboard.”

Oh, dear lord, I’m going to kill Jake. Michaela tried to remember the look on Jake’s face. Had he seemed triumphant? Ready to dish the dirt on her?

“Well? Are you going to deny it?” The captain spoke in a clipped tone, as if he would like nothing better than to throw her overboard and be done with this business.

Michaela shook her head. Jake had looked genuine in his vow to be discreet, but clearly he hadn’t been all that genuine. “It’s only been the one time.”

“One time too many.” The captain warmed up, starting to enjoy himself. “I knew it was a bad idea putting a woman in this position. Too much power goes to your head, and then look where you end up. You’ll be lucky to work in this industry again now. You’ll have to resign straight away. Lucky it’s the end of this cruise.” He paused. “Perhaps you’ll be able to start again in another industry. You worked in music before, didn’t you? That might work. I hear they’re a bit more forgiving of this sort of thing. Groupies, et cetera.”

“What?” Michaela’s jaw dropped. It was officially frowned on to have liaisons with other staff, but to lose her job over it? To be threatened with never working in the cruise business again? She hadn’t thought the captain would stoop this low.

“Well, what did you expect? Using a position of power to seduce a younger man. And the way you did it—quite outrageous.”

“Seduce?”

“The passengers are all talking about it, so we have to make an example of you. You understand, of course.” The captain smirked at her, his expression full of disdain.

So Dylan had been too good to be true.

And here she’d been thinking of the stupidity of men only moments ago. What a fool she’d been. “He said I seduced him?”

“He did. Or so I hear. It’s good to see that you’re not trying to deny it. That makes it much simpler to deal with. No need to bring in those human resources people from head office or any of that. Investigations get messy. We’ll keep it simple, shall we? I’ll expect your resignation on my desk in the morning. You can hand over your responsibilities to your deputy.” His face closed against her, and she could read nothing in his eyes.

“But I—”

“I’m afraid there isn’t anything else to say about the matter. I have to admit that despite my concerns about your being a woman in this position, I thought you’d done a fairly good job. I’m surprised at you. Surprised and disappointed.”

Michaela opened her mouth to speak, but he held up a hand.

“That will be all. Thank you.” He turned away from her, pulling himself up to his full height and dismissing her from his office and her life onboard with an utter lack of sympathy.

Lifting her legs was like trying to move lead, but Michaela managed to shift one in front of the other and shuffle out of the bridge back to her stateroom. She could feel the hot sting of tears threatening to fall, and she poked her nails into the palms of her hands to stop them. She refused to cry in front of anyone.

A couple of passengers passed her by, and this time she noticed the looks she was getting from the men rather than the women. A younger man, probably in his early twenties, leered at her in a way that was entirely inappropriate between a passenger and a crew member, and she hurried away, worried that some other rumor might get started and that her distress was more evident than she thought.

When she got to her stateroom, she was alarmed to find Dylan waiting outside her door. “You’re not someone I want to see right now,” she said flatly.

His face fell, the filthy grin that had been waiting for her erased by disappointment.

After looking about her to check that they were alone in the corridor, Michaela sighed. “You better come in before someone else reports us.”

“What? Who? What are you talking about?” Dylan looked confused, giving no hint of the man who must have reported her for “seducing” him. Forget dancing, he was an amazing actor.

“The captain knows. I’ve just been up on the bridge. He’s threatening my job, my whole career.” She bit her lip, determined not to cry. “I’ve been instructed to resign.”

“Jake would never have said anything. And if he did, who cares anyway? Everyone else does it. The captain can hardly make you resign over—”

Michaela stopped him with a hand on his chest. “He said you accused me of seducing you.” The words were hard, and even as she said them Michaela still couldn’t believe the man in front of her could have stooped to such an accusation. “He said he was told that I used my position of power to influence you into being with me. Made it sound like we did something revolting.”

“Well, he’s clearly got it all wrong. It was definitely me doing the seducing.” A smile flirted with the corners of his eyes. His hands moved toward her waist.

Indignation got the better of her, and she shoved him away, much harder than necessary. “You accuse me of seducing you, putting my job and my career in jeopardy, and now you’re turning it into some kind of joke?”

The smile dropped away completely. “I’m not sure that was really called for.”

“You’re not sure, huh? My career isn’t worth much anyway, is that what you’re trying to say?” Even as she said the words, they sounded hollow and harsh.

“You know that’s not what I was saying. You’re upset, I’m sorry, but the captain’s clearly got his wires crossed. It’ll get sorted out. Don’t worry about it.”

“Don’t worry about it? I’m told to resign and all you can say is I’m sorry, don’t worry about it?” She practically spat the words and watched the shock at her vehement outburst spread over Dylan’s face. “I think you should leave.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said. “You’re in no state to be left alone. Calm down before you do anything stupid.”

“Now I’m stupid?”

“God damn it, that’s not what I meant.” His voice ratcheted up a notch, his exasperation finally turning to full-blown anger. “I didn’t say anything about us to anyone. That you could think I did clearly shows how little you think of me.”

A glimmer of reason tried to get Michaela’s attention, but she dismissed it. She was too angry. Enough was enough. “What I think of you is no longer important. You asked me to tell you I didn’t want you. Well, you got your wish. I don’t want you. I never really did, I was just confused by being on my own for so long.”

His expression turned icy. “You don’t mean that.”

“It was just a silly fling. I was a fool to think anything good could come out of it.”

Dylan looked at her carefully, calculation in his eyes. “Sure.”

They were both silent a moment. Then he shrugged. “It’s just a job,” Dylan said, his voice flat. “Think of this as an opportunity to start a new career. You said you were almost done with cruise ships, anyway.”

“Stop trying to tell me what to do with my life. If I lose this job, I lose everything.”

“Everything?”

“Everything.” The anger left her, and her whole body sagged. The truth that she had built her life around her career finally slammed into her. She really would have nothing if she was forced to resign.

Michaela held back a sob. It felt as if someone had pulled the bones from inside of her but left the skin and muscles and organs intact.

“Well, then. I’ll get out of your way.” Dylan straightened, turned on his heel, and stalked out of the room.

The sound of the door closing seemed to echo her life closing in around her. With the evaporation of anger came despondency. Finally, the dam burst, and her tears fell. What was she going to do? The thought of leaving the ship had been appealing when it was on her terms, but to have the decision made for her threw everything into disarray. There would be no international management job now. No job anywhere if the captain had his way. She could hardly get a senior position after leaving Adventurer Cruises under circumstances that implied she couldn’t be trusted with power.

Faced with the facts, she realized she had no desire to start all over in another industry. She wanted to go upward, not to begin at the bottom again. Getting off the ship was supposed to herald a new chapter in her life—more responsibility, more money, more prospects. Leaving under these circumstances promised none of that. Oh, how could she have been so stupid?

Michaela threw herself on the bed and cried in earnest. Very soon, her pillow was wet with tears, and her throat was raw. Trying to think through what to do next only brought on another round of tears. “I’m ruined,” she said. “I’m going to be one of those women who grow old alone, with nothing.” The next round of tears completely exhausted her, and she lay on her bed for almost an hour, empty and unmoving. She stared at the ceiling and felt the movement of the ship through the water. How would she be able to sleep without its gentle rocking? How would she relearn how to cook?

The idea of cooking made her realize she was hungry. Pull yourself together. Crying isn’t going to solve anything. But the thought of facing everyone in the canteen was just unbearable. She reached out for the phone and rang Felicity’s stateroom.

“Hello? Michaela, is that you?”

Michaela gave a small sob.

“I’m coming.”

…

Dylan couldn’t believe Michaela would cut him cold like that. She was the one woman he’d felt he’d been able to read. Her candor was so refreshing, so unlike the personalities of the women he usually dated. But now that she was upset, the rawness of her emotional state stabbed at him. And that she could even have thought for a second that he’d reported her to the captain, that he’d said she seduced him… It hurt.

And that was nuts. She was a beautiful woman, sexy, interesting, but all they’d had was a fling. Nothing worth getting bent out of shape over.

Dylan drifted toward his stateroom. They had a music night on tonight, and the dancers who didn’t sing weren’t required.

On his way downstairs, he saw a group of women huddled together and overheard one of them talking about Michaela. She spotted him.

“Hey sexy, how you doing? Isn’t it outrageous? That filthy woman. I didn’t think it would be allowed,” she said.

“Sorry?” Dylan had heard Michaela’s name but now wondered if they were talking about someone else.

“The cruise director seducing a man like that. Hardly even a man—still a boy, really. I mean, I’m sure he enjoyed it. He’s certainly been bragging about it, or so everyone’s been saying.”

Something clicked for Dylan. “Everyone’s been saying? With a passenger?” Michaela assumed he or Jake had told tales to the captain, but there was clearly something else going on.

“Oh, yes. And a young one, too. He’s only twenty. His parents thought it would be nice to bring him away on a family holiday—you know, before he leaves the nest for good and all that.”

“Are you sure?”

“Well, as much as we can be. I mean, I heard from someone who’s in with the captain’s crew that she hasn’t denied it. So it must be true, mustn’t it?”

“Do you know his name?” Dylan asked.

The women looked at each other. “Christopher something, wasn’t it?”

“Christopher Fielding,” one of the others said.

Dylan nodded his head and made to leave, anger burning within him.

“Do you think you’ll have a bit more time to dance with us this evening? You know, seeing as the cruise director doesn’t need babysitting anymore?”

You, ladies, are the last people I want to spend time with.

He gave them a quick wink and a flash of smile, walking away before he said something he would regret.

Christopher Fielding? Michaela would never have cheated on him with a passenger. She was just too honest. The captain probably hadn’t even confronted her with the whole story—he’d probably made an allegation of infidelity, and Michaela had copped to it. She hadn’t admitted to having relations with Christopher Fielding. She’d admitted to her affair with Dylan.

The captain was a right piece of work, making her resign without even bothering to check the facts. Michaela hadn’t been exaggerating about him, that’s for sure. It was time someone stood up for her. Maybe he wasn’t the best candidate—not after the argument they’d had—but if not him, who would do it? She didn’t seem to have a lot of allies on board, and being asked to resign had genuinely upset her. Michaela cared about her work. It was her passion—she’d told him the first night they talked. It was one of the things he enjoyed about her, and he didn’t want her to lose it over a stupid misunderstanding.

Besides, if it weren’t for him, she’d never have admitted having an affair to the captain. In a strange, circuitous way, this was all his fault.

All right, Christopher Fielding. I’m coming to get you.

He didn’t have far to go. A group of young men were heading to the onboard casino, laughing and ribbing each other. They looked about the right age.

“Hey guys,” Dylan said, trying to keep his voice light.

The group turned, a couple of the men shying away from his broad shoulders and large fists. “Do any of you know Christopher Fielding? I need to have a chat with him about…” Dylan searched his mind for something feasible. “…disembarking in Auckland. There’s a form he needs.”

The boys visibly relaxed, and one of them nodded. “Yeah, I just saw him by the pool. That way.”

Dylan nodded his thanks and headed for the forward pool, his hands clenching and unclenching as he walked. Be calm.

But he couldn’t help it. Michaela was his. He pictured her, smile restored, and picked up his pace.

Really? When did you decide to care?

“Well, I’m certainly not losing out to some twenty-nothing, pimple-faced boy and his sad attempt at gossip,” he growled under his breath.

A fair-skinned young man stood beside the main bar. “Excuse me,” Dylan said, his voice light. “Are you Christopher Fielding, by any chance?”

“Depends who wants to know.” The youth turned to face Dylan. His face, already paler than most, whitened further, but Dylan didn’t let him hesitate. He took Christopher’s arm and guided him forcefully to the more private tables in the corner of the deck.

Christopher looked frantically around, checking for security, no doubt. Happily, there was none about, and in any case Dylan would probably be able to get them to help him out when he told them Christopher’s story.

“So, I heard you’ve been having quite the cruise,” Dylan said, trying hard to keep his voice casual.

“Um, yeah, sure.”

“Time of your life, you might say. Getting some luck in with the ladies.” Dylan gave him a wink. “I was hoping for a little extra action myself, thought you might be able to give me some pointers.”

Christopher relaxed at Dylan’s easy tone. “Well, you know how it is. You’ve got the ladies all over you, hardly thought you’d need any pointers.”

Dylan smiled through gritted teeth. “Cruise director is a bit of all right, though, isn’t she? Pretty good for her age.”

“Yeah. I mean, I’m not usually into older chicks, but she’s pretty fine, and I mean, what am I going to do? I can hardly stop her wanting me, can I?” The color had returned to Christopher’s face. As he bragged, his chest puffed up. A bloody rooster.

For a moment, there was a flash of red in front of Dylan, and he thought he might actually punch the boy for being so selfish. Instead, he stalked through a doorway, hauling Christopher with him.

“What on earth possessed you to make up a story about the cruise director? You don’t even know her, and she’s much older than you. Why not pick someone young and less important?” Dylan’s anger laced every word.

“I guess I just thought…” The younger man blushed, his body shaking, and then he blurted out, “Well, she’s always dancing with people, and then I saw her getting pulled into some guy’s room. I mean, she’d gone into the crew area, through one of those big blue doors, but it hadn’t closed, and as she went up to a stateroom door someone grabbed her and she smiled. You know, she looked like she was into it. I just thought…dunno. I guess I let my imagination get carried away.”

He saw her coming into my room.

“We’re going to tell the captain the real story,” Dylan said, giving Christopher an authoritative look. “Just the bit about you making stuff up to look cool. He doesn’t need to know anything else.”

“Oh.” Christopher’s head drooped, but Dylan gave him another stern look. The boy needed to know exactly who was in charge.

“Okay,” the younger man said, his head nodding up and down.

…

There was a gentle knock on Michaela’s door. “It’s me.” Felicity’s voice came through the wood and metal.

Michaela dragged herself off the bed and let her friend into the room.

“Oh, sweetheart.”

“I’m an idiot,” Michaela said. The two women hugged, and yet another burst of tears erupted from her.

“I’m so sorry. I heard someone say something about you earlier, but you seemed so unconcerned, I thought it must have been nothing.” Felicity shook her head.

“Nothing!”

Michaela took three deep breaths, then told Felicity about her conversation with the captain.

“The bastard,” Felicity hissed. “Saying that a woman couldn’t do your job. As if he would do any better—he needs a staff of ten to make sure he doesn’t forget anything.”

Michaela smiled. Oh, it was good to smile.

“And the captain said it’s Dylan who’s been telling tall tales? The bloody cheek! I’ll have that man on toast.”

“We did sort of…” Michaela hesitated, but there was nothing to lose now. “Dylan and I… We…”

“You fox!” Felicity’s delight was immediate. “Was he scrumptious?”

“Oh, God!” Michaela’s heart dropped again at the thought of the gossip that was even now whirling around the ship. “Everyone’s been saying I seduced him. That I used my position to take advantage.”

“And I bet it was him that snared you, wasn’t it? The toad, trying to look squeaky clean.” Felicity switched from triumphant sex-gossip to compassionate friend in a heartbeat. “What’s he trying to prove, that he’s hot enough to score the cruise director for starters and then have dessert of those dancing twins? Just wait until I get hold of him.”

Despite the relief it gave her to hear Felicity pour scorn onto the men who were making her life a misery, Michaela was still floundering. “What am I going to do?”

“Don’t worry. We’ll find out what really happened.”

Just then, the phone rang. The women looked at each other. “You expecting more news?” Felicity asked.

Michaela shook her head. “Try and make them go away,” she whispered.

Felicity picked up the receiver, then immediately covered it. “It’s bloody him!”

“The captain?”

“No, Dylan.”

Michaela flapped her hand at the phone, dismissing the idea of talking to Dylan. Not now. Not ever.

Felicity didn’t give him a chance to get going. “Don’t you think you’ve done enough damage? Why don’t you just get lost? Leave her alone.” She paused. “Why should she believe anything you say? No, wait. Don’t bother to answer. I can’t even trust you to breathe with honesty.” She hung up with a flourish, indignation written large on her face. “Don’t worry, sweets,” she said, patting Michaela’s arm. “This will all get sorted out.”

The phone rang again.

“Hello?” Felicity listened a second, then covered the receiver. “Captain’s assistant,” she whispered. “The captain wants to see you on the bridge.”

“Okay, I’ll be fifteen minutes.”

“Fine.” Felicity relayed the message and hung up the phone. Michaela groaned again. The ceiling she had stared at only hours earlier now seemed like a different dimension, as if she could fall forward into an abyss. Was there going to be more humiliation?

She blinked until the ceiling flattened and became a ceiling again. She wished she could lay her emotions out flat so she could climb over them rather than have them tangling her legs. “I’ve got to go. Wish me luck,” she said to Felicity, and set off for the bridge with a heavy heart.

…

“What the hell were you thinking, taking his word for it? Don’t you usually check the facts first?”

Michaela heard the row before she even entered the bridge. Was that Dylan shouting? She hesitated at the door. There was something about the challenge in his voice that gave her pause—and a thrill. Was he taking up for her? She unclenched her hands, tried to steady herself as gratitude, indignation, and hope washed over her all at once.

“She didn’t deny it.” That was the captain.

“You probably didn’t give her a chance to deny anything. I bet you bully all your female staff.” That was definitely Dylan. Was he crazy?

Michaela couldn’t move, her hand stuck on the doorknob, but suddenly the door opened, pulling her into the room.

“Here she is. Do you deny it this time?” the captain asked.

Michaela stammered as she looked between the furious faces of her two ex-lovers.

“She doesn’t even know what she’s denying. Wait.” Dylan held up a hand to silence the captain. “Do you know this boy?” Dylan thrust a pale-faced youth she hadn’t noticed in front of her.

“Him? Um, I’m not sure, is he a passenger? Are you a passenger?” she asked the young man.

“You don’t know his name?” Dylan’s eyes shimmered.

“No, should I?” Michaela’s confusion must have shown clearly on her face. “What are you doing here? What’s going on?”

“His name is Christopher, but you really didn’t know that, did you?” The corner of Dylan’s mouth curled into a smile.

“I’m sorry,” Christopher said. “I, um…” He trailed off.

“Come on lad, speak up.” The captain was gruff, no doubt riled by Dylan’s tirade.

“I’m sorry. I made the whole thing up. I said that you seduced me ‘cause…well, I was trying to impress the others.” The words came out of Christopher in a rush. “I’m sorry I said anything, and I’m really sorry it got you in trouble.”

“So you won’t lose your job, or your position, or anything.” Dylan spoke to her, but his eyes remained fixed on the captain, a challenge in every word.

Michaela looked from one to the other, trying to take it all in. The mess wasn’t anything to do with her liaison with Dylan, just as he’d said. The entire situation was about this young boy. “You just made the story up?”

Christopher nodded.

Several seconds passed, and a flush crested up the captain’s face. “Yes, all just a big misunderstanding,” he said finally. “Get him out of here.” The captain pushed the young man into the protective custody of one of his assistants, who hurried the passenger toward the door.

“Hang on,” Michaela said, suddenly finding her anger. “I almost lost my job, and that’s all you have to say?”

“Nothing we can do about it now. And we’ll have a whole new load of passengers shortly.” The captain turned, his white shoes squeaking in his haste to get away. Dylan put out a hand.

“Don’t you think she deserves an apology, Captain?” Dylan’s voice was calm, but his eyes demanded a response.

“Not from me. The boy should have known better.” The captain paused as if about to say something else to Dylan, but he must have thought better of it. “This will be the end of it. Michaela.” He nodded to her, and one of his assistants ushered them all off the bridge.

Christopher scuttled away, almost breaking into a run as he looked back over his shoulder into Michaela’s angry eyes. She was left standing outside the bridge with her indignation and Dylan, who watched her closely.

This was more than just an unexpected turn of events. She’d witnessed something in Dylan—a powerful protective streak that she hadn’t known was there. It was enticing, but made her wonder about his past. Surely no mere dancer would be able to muster such authority, to make even Captain Atkinson bow to his will?

What did she know about Dylan Johns really? He knew plenty of her history, but there was a glaring gap where his life story should have been in her mind. She’d been so caught up in the romance of it, feeling safe with him, feeling sexy, she hadn’t looked that deeply into who Dylan really was. That was just asking for trouble. She’d learned as much from her affair with the captain. But every minute she spent with him was a minute she felt richer, more feminine, more alive. That was worth a bit of risk, wasn’t it?

As they walked away from the bridge, Michaela became conscious of Dylan’s eyes on her. He wasn’t involved in this at all. There were no allegations about him and her. He was simply a spectator. “What are you doing here?”

“I found Christopher. He’d been boasting, the rumor got around, and I refused to accept what he’d done.”

“You saved me,” Michaela whispered, still not quite able to believe it. “You saved my job.”

“I guess.”

She looked up into his eyes. “What were you thinking, talking to the captain like that? You were the one who told me to be subtle with him.”

“I don’t do subtle.” He thrust out his jaw. “Like I told you, I’ve met his type before, all bluster and bullying tactics. I’ve had more practice dealing with them than you have.”

There it was again—the hint of another past.

“This will be fine, don’t worry,” Dylan continued. “Anyway, I could have got caught up in the mix. That boy thought you were an easy target because he spotted us together. He was skulking around the crew quarters, and he saw me pulling you into my stateroom.”

“That boy saw us?”

“Well, not us, exactly. He saw you going into someone else’s stateroom, and he seemed pretty clear what you were about to get up to.”

Michaela didn’t know whether to be flattered Dylan had bothered to rescue her or worried there’d be more repercussions from the captain.

“Come on, I’ll get you a drink. You look like you need one.” Dylan’s smile promised all sorts of treats.

Michaela could think of nothing better than to fall into those open arms and be held and reassured that everything would be all right. But not here. Not now. Perhaps not ever. “I think I just need time alone,” she said. “I’d be better to go and lie down.”

“I’ll come with you,” Dylan said instantly. “Make sure you get off to sleep all right. I know just the technique to relax every part of you.” He reached out a hand to pull her toward him.

“No,” she said quickly and backed off. “I don’t need to be seen with anyone else tonight.” She thought of the young boy and his rumor-mongering.

Dylan’s face hardened.

“But thank you,” she said, and meant it. “Thank you for finding out what really happened. Night.”

She turned without waiting to see the look on his face and walked quickly back to her stateroom.

Every part of her felt terrible.