Under a Vampire Moon (24 page)

Carolyn smiled. “If you say so.”

“That’s ‘Aye-aye, Captain’ to you, wench,” he said lightly, turning to place both hands on the wheel.

Carolyn shook her head with amusement and wondered what the hell was in the punch as Captain Jack concentrated on riding the waves toward the point. She wasn’t generally this comfortable with someone this quickly, and she normally didn’t know how to handle attention from men. Not that she received it often, but on the rare occasion when she did, she tended to get flustered and uncomfortable and do her best to escape the situation.

“Right-o,” Jack said moments later as the boat began to pitch a bit. “This shouldn’t last long. It’ll calm once we get around the point.”

Carolyn nodded and retrieved her water from her bag to take a drink. She then put it away and turned in her seat to peer toward the bow as they moved through the choppier water.

“Like I say, it’ll be less rough once we get around the point,” Captain Jack repeated, glancing her way as he pushed up on the throttle to send them moving faster. She didn’t understand the reason for his repeatedly saying that until he asked, “You don’t get seasick, do you?”

“Not that I know of. This is my first time on a boat,” she said.

His eyes widened at the admission. “You’re kidding?”

“No.”

“Well, hell, woman, where do you live? The desert?”

Carolyn chuckled and shook her head at the suggestion. “Toronto, Canada.”

“Yeah?” He grinned. “I have family there.”

“You’re Canadian?” she asked with surprise, and when he nodded, she muttered, “I keep running into them here.”

“I’m not surprised. St. Lucia was a British colony like Canada and our two countries have a good relationship. A good number of the tourists who come here are Canadian and British.”

She nodded and held on to her seat as the ride got a little bumpier. When she noticed Captain Jack eyeing her with concern, she raised her eyebrows in question.

“You look pale. How’s your stomach?”

Carolyn hesitated. She was queasy again, but she was also feeling flushed and shaky as well, just as she had before she’d had the drink earlier. Her heart was also racing in her chest as if she’d run a marathon. She’d been experiencing those symptoms since yesterday, though, they just seemed a little worse now. She didn’t think it could be seasickness, and was wondering if it was even flu now. It didn’t feel like any flu she’d ever had. Recalling that the drink had helped if only temporarily and suspecting it was the orange juice, she shook her head. “I’m okay. I think I just need some juice or something.”

“Diabetic?” he asked with a frown.

“No, I skipped breakfast and—” She paused as he turned to gesture to one of the crew again. A heartbeat later the big, bulky guy was in front of her with another full glass and a big grin. She eyed it suspiciously. “It’s just juice this time, right?”

“Sorry, all the juice is already mixed into the punch,” Jack said apologetically. “Just sip it and see if it helps again.”

Carolyn grimaced, but took the drink. Noting that Jack’s concern appeared to have deepened suddenly, she raised her eyebrows. “What?”

“Your hand’s shaking,” he said grimly and then turned and began searching through a small open shelf by his hip. Straightening a moment later, he turned and handed her a chocolate bar. “Try this.”

Carolyn set her glass between her knees to free both hands to open the chocolate bar, frowning when she found the task taxing. Aside from disoriented, she was suddenly extremely clumsy. It was a bit scary actually, and she was relieved when she got the bar wrapper open. Sighing, she took a bite.

“If it’s low blood sugar it will take a couple of minutes for you to start feeling better,” Jack said as she finished the bar moments later.

Carolyn nodded and balled up the wrapper, placing it in Jack’s hand when it appeared before her.

“Thank you,” she said as he discarded it in a small bag on the open shelf.

“My pleasure.”

They were silent for several minutes, and Carolyn retrieved her drink and continued to sip it, thinking the added sugar should help. But she was aware as she did that Jack’s gaze kept shifting repeatedly from the water ahead to her and could feel his concern. However, after a bit she started to feel better.

“Your color’s better,” he said suddenly, holding his hand out for her now empty glass.

“I’m feeling better,” she admitted, handing it over for him to discard as she stood up. She then leaned against the stool and peered out over the water as she said, “Thank you.”

“Like I said, my pleasure,” he assured her, and then his gaze on the water ahead, he added, “You know what this means, right?”

“What?” she asked uncertainly.

“Well, I’ve showered you with flowers, bought you drinks, and given you chocolate . . . we’re practically going steady now.”

Carolyn blinked and then burst out laughing. “You’re a terrible flirt, Captain.”

“Actually, I’m a wonderful flirt,” he assured her. “I’m charming as hell.”

“Yes, you are,” she agreed with amusement.

“But you seem to be immune,” he said conversationally. “Is it the boy?”

“The boy?” Carolyn asked uncertainly.

“I came into the bar a couple nights ago after the midnight cruise and you were with some young buck. Ambrose behind the bar said he was from the band.”

“Oh, you mean Christian.” Carolyn laughed suddenly and shook her head. Funny she hadn’t thought of him right away. While she’d seen him as a boy herself when they’d first met, the longer she spent with him, the less young Christian seemed to her. “We’re just friends.”

“Good friends?” he asked meaningfully.

“No, he’s ga—” Carolyn cut herself off abruptly and slammed her hand over her mouth as she realized what she was saying.

“Gay?” Captain Jack asked with surprise.

“No,” she said at once, but then scowled and added, “Don’t tell anyone. I promised not to tell.” Shaking her head, Carolyn muttered, “And I said Bethany was the blabbermouth. What the hell was in those drinks?”

Jack grinned. “Sugar and spice and everything likely to loosen a girl’s lips.”

“Hmm,” Carolyn said, glowering out at the water.

“So the young buck’s a buckette,” Jack marveled. “Who woulda thunk it?”

Carolyn groaned and he patted her shoulder soothingly.

“His secret’s safe with me . . . Certainly safer than it is with you,” he teased.

“Did I say you were charming?” she asked with a grimace.

“No, I said it, you just agreed,” he assured her.

“I must have been drunk.”

Captain Jack chuckled, but then his laughter faded and he asked seriously, “So what’s with all the hand-holding and his having his arm around you business?”

“He wasn’t holding my hand or anything when we were in the bar alone,” she said with a frown.

“So maybe I’ve noticed you more than once the last couple of days,” he said with a shrug.

Carolyn’s eyebrows rose.

“So?” he prompted, when she remained silent.

“His family doesn’t know, so his cousin asked me to play his date while he’s here,” she admitted quietly.

“Ah.” He nodded. “Good to know.”

“Why?” she asked at once.

“It means you’re still on the market,” he said lightly and grinned at her.

Carolyn shook her head and settled back in her seat, her gaze sliding over the two dozen passengers. Every single person was part of a couple, of course, except for herself and the crew. How depressing was that?

“So is it always honeymoon central here?” she asked abruptly.

Captain Jack shrugged. “It’s that time of year. From Valentine’s till June we usually have a lot of honeymooners.” He took in her expression, and then stepped back from the helm and held out his hand. “Come here. The mascot gets to steer the boat for a while on these cruises. It’s in the rules.”

Carolyn hesitated, but then decided, why not? It was better than sitting there staring at the couples billing and cooing around her.

“H
ere come the shuttles for the tour.”

Christian followed the driver’s gaze to three minibuses trundling toward them. After a night filled with incredibly erotic, but frustratingly interrupted dreams, Christian had gotten up and stood watching at the windows until he’d seen Carolyn and Bethany leave their villa to board one of the resort vans. He’d turned away then and gone into the bathroom to splash water on his face and brush his teeth, and had been coming back out ten minutes later when he saw the van pull up in front of the villa down the hill again. Frowning, he’d paused, watching with surprise as Bethany had gotten out and rushed inside.

Christian had wondered briefly why the woman wasn’t on the cruise, and where Carolyn was, and then had found himself throwing on clothes and hurrying down to the main building.

He’d found Genie almost at once and learned that Bethany had returned on her own, leaving Carolyn alone on the boat. When she’d then offered to transfer Bethany’s ticket to him, and arrange for a car to take him to Soufriere to meet up with the tour, he’d immediately agreed.

“And there is the boat,” the driver said now, drawing Christian’s attention to a large boat with a crowd of people on it. It was still a distance away, but he thanked his driver, tipped him, and slid out to walk to where the boat would dock. It took him a moment to spot Carolyn, mostly because he’d started out looking for her among the passengers. Not finding her there, he turned his attention to the helm. His eyes widened and then narrowed as he spotted her at the wheel, laughing at something a shaggy-haired mortal was saying.

Christian scowled when the shaggy-haired guy stepped up behind Carolyn, his arms enclosing her as he clasped the wheel around her body. Christian’s mood and expression didn’t improve much when Carolyn laughed and ducked out from under the man’s arm to escape the intimate hold. She didn’t move far away, just to a seat next to him and she seemed to be having far too good a time. Christian didn’t like the appreciative way shaggy was eyeing her either.

A growl caught his ear, and Christian actually glanced around before he realized there was no one nearby and that the sound had come from his own throat. Forcing himself to relax, he tried for a casual smile as he waited for the boat to dock.

“I
sn’t that band boy?”

Carolyn lowered her water bottle to glance around to where Captain Jack was peering, her eyes widening when she spotted Christian onshore.

“He doesn’t look happy.”

“He plays in a band, I doubt he’s a morning person,” Carolyn murmured as she noted that while Christian was smiling, it was more a baring of teeth, and tension was in every line of his body. “I wonder what he’s doing here.”

“Joining the tour would be my guess,” Jack said. “He must have missed the boat. That’s one of the resort cars leaving.”

Carolyn glanced toward the car now trundling away from the dock, noting the resort logo.

“Well, at least I know you’ll have a girlfriend to keep you company on the land side of the tour,” Jack commented.

Carolyn turned to scowl at him. “That’s just mean.”

“No.” He grinned. “That’s relief because I don’t have to worry about competition from a younger man who’s built like a fricking male model.”

Carolyn just shook her head, not taking him seriously. The man really was a flirt, and he was just doing as Genie had asked and making sure she enjoyed herself, she thought as her gaze slid back to Christian. He really was well built, tall, with wide shoulders that narrowed down to slim hips. His T-shirt was tight enough that you could see the curve of his pecs and his six-pack stomach.

“You should have fun on the tour,” Jack commented. “But we’ll be waiting when you come back and the return ride is tons of fun. By then it’s sunny and hot, and we break out the punch to loosen everyone up for the contests.”

“Contests?” she asked, forcing her gaze away from Christian and to him again.

“Wait and see. I don’t want to spoil the surprise.” The wicked tilt to his grin was a bit worrying, especially when he added, “As ship’s mascot you are expected to join in by the way so save some energy.”

“Uh huh,” Carolyn said, her eyes narrowing on the twinkle in his eyes. She suspected she wasn’t going to like these contests. “Speaking of ship’s mascot, you’d better have this back. I don’t want to ruin it while land side.” Carolyn removed the necklace of flowers and raised her eyebrows in question. “Where do I put it?”

Captain Jack grinned and removed one hand from the wheel to turn toward her. When he bent his head, she slipped off her seat and leaned up to lift it over him, her eyes widening when she felt his hand at her waist.

“You’re pale again,” he said quietly, his hand sliding around her back and steadying her when she stumbled against him. “Do you need another chocolate bar?”

Carolyn dropped the necklace around his neck and moved back with a sigh, but he didn’t release her and she was partially flustered by that fact and partially grateful. She was shaky and off-kilter again and his hold kept her from stumbling around like a drunken idiot. The queasiness had returned as well, but despite that she shook her head, not wanting to be a bother. “I’ll be fine. We eat at the cocoa plantation.”