Chapter Nine

Dana should have been excited. She’d never been on a cruise in her life, and here she was, doing it for free, but as she stared at the single bed that they had to share, she couldn’t help but wonder what she’d gotten herself into. Three days had passed since their moment of unleashed passion in the office, and while Cole had acted like it was no big deal, Dana was shaken to the core.

She’d never felt anything that raw or heated in her life, and it had taken the real fear of losing herself to make him stop. Every nerve in her body had screamed at her, but when Cole had told her to take her shirt off, she felt the icy fingers of doubt crawling up her spine. Cole was used to sophisticated women, and he could spend money on her and dress her up, but in the end, she was still just Dana Coulson, the daughter of a chain-smoking waitress and a potty-mouthed truck driver. There was no future between them.

So just enjoy the sex? What’s wrong with that?

Nothing. There was absolutely nothing wrong with a little no-strings-attached sex, but Dana wasn’t confident enough with her sexuality to try that with a man like Cole.

“You’re staring,” he commented dryly behind her. “Do you find it lacking in some way?”

“Lacking?” she forced a laugh. The bedroom/living room suite combination was easily three times as big as her whole apartment. It was a gorgeous combination of blues and tans with a large and stunning view of the ocean. “I think it’ll do.”

“Good. And I see that our luggage is here and unpacked. Excellent.”

Eyes wide, Dana realized that her dresses had been hung and her shoes arranged. When she opened the drawers to the dresser, her cheeks flamed. Not only were her bathing suits arranged, but her lingerie had been carefully folded in the drawers as well.

Fumbling, she opened the bottom drawer and breathed a sigh of relief. Her own cotton shorts and T-shirts were also there. That was good. There was no way in hell she was going to wear the skimpy lace lingerie to bed if she had to sleep next to him.

She glanced uncertainly at the couch. It was big enough to fit her. Maybe she’d just sleep there.

“Don’t even think about it,” he growled behind her. “The servants will know, and they’ll talk.”

Wearily, she stared at him. “How did you know…”

“Every thought is written on your face. You’d be terrible at poker. Don’t worry. I’m not in the habit of touching women who don’t want me,” he said coldly. “I had Jeanine type up an itinerary. There are some dinners and events that we must attend, and you’ll have some alone time to yourself. Otherwise, you’re welcome to look through the entertainment section. If there is a show or concert that you want to attend, and it doesn’t interfere with anything that I need to do, feel free to go.”

She noticed that he didn’t volunteer to escort her there. “I don’t really understand what we’re doing here. Your family isn’t here. The press isn’t here. What’s the point of me joining you?”

“First and foremost, the press will soon discover that we’ve taken a trip together, which will solidify our relationship. Second, there are several business associates who I would like to speak with on the cruise, and taking my girlfriend on a romantic vacation is my cover. Don’t worry. You’re here, and that’s pretty much all that you need to do.”

Looking at him uncertainly, she tried to gauge his mood. There was something strange about his voice, something that made her think that he wasn’t telling the whole truth. “I’m not going to have to impress them at dinner or anything like that?”

“Maybe once, but I’ve always kept my personal and my business life separate,” he said with a shrug. “No one will find it hard to believe when I don’t serve you up at every dinner. I’m going to explore the ship. I’ll be back around seven to take you to dinner. Wear the black dress.”

After the command, he quickly left the cabin, and she sank onto a couch cushion. She was in way over her head, and they’d only been on the ship for an hour. She had seven more days to endure him.

Find your happy place. Listen to the morning dew as it drips from the leaves and cools your skin. The birds chirp in the distance as they welcome you. Feel the light and love here.

Screw that. Cole might be paying her fifty grand to play the part of his girlfriend, but he was about to discover that no man of hers would ever boss her around.

Squaring her shoulders, she marched to the closet and riffled through her dresses. With a devious smile, she pulled out the purple one.

Careful to maintain his distance, Cole watched Kathryn from afar. She stood at the railing of the upper deck and watched as they pulled away from the dock. The air lifted her blonde hair up, tangling it, and she made no effort to fix it. Pushing her sunglasses up her face, she lifted her arms wide as though she was reenacting the classic Titanic pose.

Strange. She was dressed in a simple pair of jean shorts and a T-shirt. Not the kind of attire that he’d expect to see her in. Her body was relaxed, and there was a peaceful smile on her face. For the first time, Cole actually thought Kathryn was quite beautiful. Gone were the coldness and the edged, sexual allure, not that it made a difference. His body didn’t respond to her at all. She didn’t conjure the heated sexual fantasies that Dana did. He didn’t imagine her wrapped around his body or wonder what might make her moan and whimper. Instead, he watched her with the cold calculations of a desperate man. There was something different here that he was missing. Something about this trip that she’d taken that seemed off. Heartbreak or not, what would cause a woman to take an expensive cruise on her own?

His stomach clenched. What if she wasn’t alone? What if this was all just a show to meet some lover that he didn’t know about?

“Cole Parker. I’d heard that you wrangled a couple of tickets for this cruise.” Cole turned to find Frank Dawson, the CEO of Hoag International, watching him through suspicious eyes. “I’m surprised that you’d leave Parker Industries during this critical time.”

Cole had met Frank a handful of times when he was younger. Dawson and his father used to be friends, although Cole had suspected that the friendship was more of a cutthroat competition. Their compliments were always borderline insults, and there was always some tension simmering between the two men. “I promised my girlfriend that if she was patient with me, I’d take her away on a vacation before the unbearable summer heat rolled in.” Cole reached out and clasped the older man’s hand. “I had no idea that you’d be here. Small world.”

“Yeah, someone had this brilliant idea to reward some of the top executers by forcing them on a cruise with me.” Dawson grimaced. “Now I’m afraid of what will happen if I’m forced to watch a bunch of old and hairy men take their shirts off. I fear our relationship will never be the same. Are you dating the lovely Ms. Wellington?”

Cole glanced back over his shoulder at Kathryn. “No. She’s another surprise. Dana is actually in our room getting ready for dinner. She has two hours, and I guarantee that we’ll still be late.”

Dawson laughed and clapped him on the back. “My wife is worse although I’d never admit to saying that out loud. I’m sorry I didn’t make the funeral. I’m afraid that Robert Parker and I weren’t very close at the end of his life, but I was sorry to see him go. That man always kept me on my toes. I did hear about the interesting terms of his last will and testament.”

“I think the whole world heard it,” Cole grumbled. “One year of working with my brothers or the business goes to Wiltshire and Donovan. Dad hated Wiltshire, so I still don’t see why he chose him, of all people.”

“Maybe he thought it would be a good motivator.”

In the corner of his eye, Cole watched as Kathryn pushed away from the railing and disappeared in the growing crowd. It was just as well. He wanted Dana on his arm when he first accidentally ran into Kathryn, just so there was no suspicion on Kathryn’s part. He was hoping to see her at dinner, but her assistant didn’t have her cruise itinerary, and there were thirty restaurants on the cruise ship. “Maybe for Blake.” Cole returned his attentions back to Dawson. “But Hawk and I don’t really have the same connections to Parker Industries.”

“Apparently you do. I saw the article that you boys did. You’ve provided a united front, and you’re promising to bring Parker Industries into the future.” Dawson smiled. “Not that it’s any of my business. I have to get back to the wife, but if you want to join up sometime this week, I’m in cabin 1-27.”

Cole mentally filed the number away. He wasn’t lying to Garret when he said that he did want to conduct some business while he was here. It was never a bad idea to expand his network, but Dawson’s company was still doing very well despite the economy. He wanted to pick the man’s brain and figure out all of his secrets.

After walking around a little more, Cole realized that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d taken a vacation. Sure, he’d traveled to beachfront properties for galas and fundraisers, but they’d always been business related. He’d never had a chance to relax, and this trip was no different. Everything in his life was so controlled, but it’s what he’d always known. He hadn’t even questioned it until Dana moved into his house. It was like a slow invasion. First, she’d snuck some plants in. Then she started with the tranquil music. Suddenly he was smelling incense. It was all very strange considering that the woman behind it all was more of a hurricane than some meditative guru. There was nothing calm about her. She was wild and tangled and a complete free spirit. The other morning he found a box of Captain Crunch in his cabinet.

Serious? He hired a professional chef who would make her anything that she wanted, but she was stashing kids’ cereal in the kitchen. Nothing about her made sense to him.

Twenty minutes before seven, he returned to the cabin so he could also change for dinner. The sight that greeted him stopped him cold.

She wasn’t in the gorgeous, black dress that he’d bought her. Instead, she was wearing some slinky, purple number that he knew wasn’t on his list at the boutique. As she stood in front of the mirror and tried to clip her hair up, it exposed her entire back. The dress hooked at the back of her neck but didn’t meet again until it dipped an inch or two below her waist. Her entire spine was exposed, and he had a strange desire to slide his fingers down it.

Glancing at him in the mirror, she smiled. “You’re back. Thank God. I thought I was going to have to wear the safety pin all night. Can you help me?”

Silently, he watched as she undid the pin at the nape of her neck. The halter came tumbling down, and she barely grabbed it before it exposed her breasts. Gripping the dress against her, she stood and turned. “It’s supposed to hook, but I’ve been fighting it for thirty minutes and I can’t get it. Finally, I found this safety pin, but now you’re here.”

It took him a minute to find his voice. “This isn’t the dress that I told you to wear.”

“No, but the black dress is boring. This is the first night of the cruise, and I wanted something that would pop.” She tried to look innocent, but he could tell there was something else going on in that strange head of hers.

“Nothing would look boring on you. Wear the black.”

“No.” Pulling the pin out of her mouth, she turned around and starting pinning it again. “I’m not going to wear the black. If I’m going to play the part of your girlfriend, I might as well do it right. You’d never be okay with the kind of woman who’d stand there and let you dress her. That’s ridiculous. I’m wearing the purple, and if you’re not going to help me, then I’ll wear the safety pin all night.” A mischievous smile crossed her face. “I wonder what those businessmen who you’re trying to impress will think of that?”

“For fuck’s sake,” he growled and reached up to take the pin from her. Annoyed, he tossed it back on the vanity. “You’d think that fifty grand would be enough to make you obey.”

“Despite what you might think, I’m usually not driven by money. But I sort of like having a roof over my head. Besides, you’re paying me to do a job. You might as well let me do it and quit interfering.”

As he hooked the dress in place, he felt her body shudder. Glancing in the mirror, he could see the flush on her chest. She liked the way he’d touched her. Unable to resist, he smoothed his hands down her back and teasingly ran it to her sides where he could stroke his finger along the skin beneath her dress. She inhaled sharply. “Is this why you wanted to wear the purple?” he whispered. “Did you want to catch my attention?”

“No. We both know that it’s a bad idea.” She still didn’t move away.

Keeping his gaze trained on her reflection, he started to move his hands up, closer to the sides of her breasts. As she inhaled, her chest inflated. “But you didn’t say why it was a bad idea,” he whispered as he pressed his lips to the sides of her neck. He was so tempted to go further, to stroke her nipples, but then he’d lose control and they’d never make it to dinner. Instead, he released her and stepped back.

“Finish your makeup. I hope you get some sun while you’re here. You’re far too pale.”

It was cruel, but he needed to put some distance between them. Turning, he went to his own closet, and she didn’t say another word.