Ivorie's Surprise [Golden Dolphin] (Siren Publishing Classic) (5 page)

Ivorie felt herself blushing as the memory of her after-dinner activities last night came back to her mind. If he only knew the fantasy she had entertained in her bathtub. If he noticed her blush at all, hopefully he would think it was because he was still in his robe, which was possible but unlikely. Drew was too astute for that.

“Great. Breakfast is here. I’m starved.” She tried to hurry off toward the doors to the deck, but Drew pulled her up short.

“What’s up, Ivorie? You seem nervous. I thought we got that out of the way last night.”

“It’s nothing.” She scanned the expanse of his cleanly waxed, muscular chest and blushed some more.
I have to get a grip. This simply will not do
. “What did you order for breakfast?”

“You seem very interested in food for a girl who ordered a steak-and-potato for dinner last night. Ahh…I think I see. Let’s get this out of the way.” He pulled her up against his glorious naked chest and kissed her. Hard. Right on the mouth.
Oh my God
. It was even better than her wildest fantasies. A sizzle of hyperawareness skittered up her spine then directly back down and zapped her pussy. That was her last thought as she sank into the kiss and reality drifted away as if on a breeze. He plundered her mouth, and his tongue swept away all of her inhibitions. Her last conscious thought was
Wow! Can he ever kiss
.

When they came up for air, he said, “Nice. Very nice. I’ve wanted to do that since last night. That little peck on the cheek didn’t do it for me. Now that that’s out of the way, do you think you can settle down?”

She was slightly miffed at his smug attitude and said stiffly, “I think I can manage, Mr. Blessingame.”

“Drew. The next time I have to tell you, I’m going to smack your butt. Let’s see if that will help you keep your focus.”

“You’d better be kidding, Mr. Blessingame…” Before she could finish her sentence, he had grabbed her arm, whipped her around, and planted a single stinging smack on the backside of her snug jean shorts. She gasped. “I guess you weren’t kidding, Drew.”

“Much better, Ivorie. Now, let’s have breakfast before it gets cold.” He turned and walked to the door and opened it for her.

She followed him wordlessly. Ivorie was stunned. No one had ever done that to her before. She couldn’t say he’d hurt her. It had barely stung, but it was a shock to her sensibilities nonetheless. Drew pulled out her chair, politely seated her at the table, and removed the covers from the breakfast plates. He poured her a cup of coffee and said, “I didn’t mean to stun you into silence. Say something.”

“If you do that again, I’ll break your arm off at the shoulder and throw it overboard.”

He laughed. “Well, at least you’re still with me. I won’t do it again without your consent. Probably. If you call me Mr. Blessingame again in that tone of voice, all bets are off.”

“No problem, sir.” She smirked at him. She was sitting firmly on her butt and thought that afforded her some protection.

“Don’t push your luck, Ivorie.” He chuckled. “Well, you certainly seem to have grown some teeth since you boarded the
Golden Dolphin
. Why do you think that is?”

“We’ve only interacted in the office, Drew. The atmosphere there is not conducive to showing any spunk, or personality for that matter. You might consider that in your interactions with staff in the future.”

“I know I’m a perfectionist, but am I that much of a monster?” He looked perplexed. Apparently he had no idea what effect his tirades had on the office personnel.

Ivorie looked at him for a moment, trying to judge if he really wanted the truth or if he just wanted to be placated. The look in his eyes told her to be honest. “Yes, you are a monster. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t indicate your preferences or correct an employee, but you can be brutal. I don’t think a typo in a first draft is cause for the roof to fall on someone’s head.”

He looked pensive. “I’ll take that under advisement. Eat your breakfast. I’m not going to rip your head off your shoulders…and throw it overboard.” He finally grinned. “I think we may just get along, Ivorie James.”

After they had finished breakfast and second cups of coffee, Drew said, “Do you want to go ashore and see some of Key West? We’re not scheduled to leave until five o’clock. Or would you rather spend the day at the pool?”

“Is this an instance where you want to know my preference? If so, I’d love to see some of Key West. Maybe visit the Hemingway House and have lunch at Sloppy Joe’s Bar? I was planning to do some sightseeing if I got a chance.”

“Okay, call the bridge and request the tender to take us over to the dock while I get dressed. The tender will probably be going back and forth all day picking up the last passengers anyway. Did you want to change or go like that? It is Key West after all. No need to get dressed up.”

“I think I’ll make the call from my cabin and change into something a little nicer.”

* * * *

Drew and Ivorie enjoyed their tour of the historical Hemingway House and grounds. They stopped for lunch at Sloppy Joe’s Bar, Ernest Hemingway’s favorite Key West watering hole.

They both agreed that it would be fun to enjoy at least part of the Halloween blowout known as Fantasy Fest at the end of the month. It was Key West’s week-long version of Mardi Gras, and the costumes were reputed to be totally outrageous. The ship would be back in port on the twenty-ninth.

After a satisfying lunch of conch fritters and spicy conch chowder with huge hunks of Bahamian bread washed down with ice-cold beer, they continued their sightseeing. He held her hand while they browsed the shops on Duval Street, and Ivorie bought some kitschy Key West souvenirs for her niece and nephew. They walked around the docks of historic Mallory Square, although it was far too early for the famous sunset festivities. Drew found Ivorie to be a fun and relaxed companion. He’d been worried that she would retain her stiff demeanor after their altercation at breakfast, but she was interested and curious about everything she saw and enjoyed watching the colorful citizens of The Conch Republic, as Key West was known to locals.

Drew looked at his watch. “I hate to say it, but we should probably get back to the dock and catch the tender. I know the lifeboat drill and safety lecture are scheduled for 4:30. The captain will want to pull out on time, and I’m sure all the remaining passengers will have boarded by now.”

“Thank you for putting up with my tourist act. You were very patient in all those souvenir shops. The T-shirts and other stuff I got will be a hit with my niece and nephew. Jessie will especially love the cat one. Those six-toed cats at the Hemingway House were amazing.”

“Not a problem, but I do think we should get moving.”

Drew helped Ivorie aboard the Novurania Chase tender that had been traveling back and forth all day ferrying passengers and luggage between the dock and the ship. The crewman said, “Perfect timing. This is the last trip for the day. We’re about ready for the safety drill and to pull up anchor. The captain likes to get under way on time, although I know he wouldn’t have left you stranded.”

As they pulled away from the dock, Drew looked over Ivorie’s shoulder and saw a car pull up and park near the dock. The door opened, and he turned back to the crewman. “It looks like another passenger just pulled up. Do you want to wait?”

“No, sir. Everyone but you and Ms. James are already on board. Whoever it is is not here for the
Dolphin
,” he said as he backed the tender away from the dock and turned toward the channel.

* * * *

The tender had picked up speed and was cruising toward the
Golden Dolphin
as Eugenia Cartwright got out of her rental car. She speed walked to the dock in her high-heeled pumps and tried to wave the tender back to no avail. She was amazed, but was that Ivorie James and Drew on board the tender? She strained to see as the boat pulled away.
No. It can’t be that bitch taking
my
trip with Drew!
It must have been her imagination—maybe a lookalike. “Shit. I missed it by seconds. I can’t believe it.” The harbormaster had told her that was the last trip scheduled out to the
Dolphin
.
Maybe if I hurry back to the harbormaster’s office, I can get them to come back for me
.

At Eugenia’s request, the harbormaster contacted the bridge of the
Golden Dolphin
on the radio and was informed that all passengers were either on board or accounted for, and the tender would not be making another trip to the dock. Departure was planned for five o’clock, and they would be leaving on schedule.

Eugenia was steaming. She left the harbormaster’s office in a huff. She couldn’t believe she had missed the last boat. And she simply wouldn’t believe that Ivorie James was on board with Drew. She had to have been seeing things. The woman was partially turned away, and hair was blowing across her face. Why the hell couldn’t the ship be docked at the wharf like the cruise ships? She had never counted on the
Dolphin
being moored out in deep water. She sat down on a bench on the dock to think. What should she do now? Her options were to go back to New York and hope for another opportunity to mend fences with Drew at a later date, or follow the ship to St. Bart’s and make another attempt to board the
Dolphin
. She had come this far, and she didn’t plan on going back to New York without accomplishing her objective. The
Golden Dolphin
would be making port in St. Bart’s on Wednesday morning. She had plenty of time to get there, and this time, she would get on board or else.

Gregory Dempsey, attired in his crisp white uniform, led the safety and lifeboat drill with Natasha’s assistance. All passengers were directed to wear the dark-blue waterproof rubber bracelets, which they would find in their suites, at all times. They were absolutely not to leave the ship without them. Greg explained that the bracelets contained the personal identification of each passenger and would allow them to embark and debark from the ship. The bracelets also contained GPS chips that would locate them wherever they were. In the event of an accidental fall overboard they could be located in the water. In the event of another emergency, either aboard ship or on shore, their locations could be tracked. Greg advised that some of the areas they would be sailing through had unsavory elements, and their personal safety might depend on wearing the bracelets.

* * * *

After the lifeboat drill, Ivorie returned to her cabin and put on her blue bracelet right next to the red one she already wore.
Hmmm, colorful but not unattractive.
She had no plans to fall overboard, but she surely wanted to be found, and quickly, if she did. She then went to the office and checked the e-mail before dinner. Finding nothing that needed her attention and nothing that needed to be forwarded to Drew’s iPhone, she locked the office and passed through the connecting door to her cabin to dress for dinner.

This was the first night that all the passengers would be aboard, and she wanted to look especially nice. She chose a short, dark-blue silk cami dress and spiky high heels with ankle straps. The matching dark blue silk teddy she wore under it made her feel particularly sexy. The dress showed her figure to advantage with a nice length of leg. She had to admit she was enjoying dressing for dinner tonight a lot more than she had last night. Her new and improved attitude toward Drew Blessingame had to be the reason. She found herself looking forward to spending the evening with him, and she especially looked forward to another one of those really superior kisses.

With all the passengers now on board, the lounge, dining area, pool deck, and other public areas were teeming with activity. It was certainly a good-looking crowd. Excited couples as well as some singles milled around the bar on the deck and mingled over cocktails as the crew prepared to get the ship under way. Ivorie could feel the slight vibration as the huge diesel engines began to gather power and head out to sea. She felt a ripple of excitement run through her body as the adventure actually began. She had never been on a cruise before, although she had traveled to Cancun with some girlfriends once and she had been to Europe with her grandparents when she was younger. Those had been her biggest adventures so far. She usually stayed at her grandmother’s house at the beach for long weekends and spent a couple of weeks with friends in Southampton during the summer.

Drew ordered a scotch on the rocks for himself and a frozen strawberry margarita for Ivorie. She could tell by the look on his face that he didn’t get the sweet drink thing. She had to admit he looked like he had just stepped off the cover of
GQ
in his black slacks and a white silk shirt open at the neck. His sleeves were rolled up, showing off his tan, corded forearms, and the light coating of golden hair catching the rays of the setting sun completed the picture. She saw the eyes of most of the women and some of the men drifting toward him as they stood on deck sipping their drinks and engaging in conversation with the other passengers. They were probably wondering who the heck she was.
Ha! Just the unlucky second admin who got drafted to take his fiancée’s place. Or maybe she should revisit that thought. Maybe she was the lucky second admin
. “Thanks for taking me ashore today, Drew. I had a wonderful time.”