Page 76 of Below Deck Billionaire
Mostly.
‘I just need to sit.’
Not trusting his ability to stay upright, Kelsey followed Ari into his cabin, lowering herself down beside him on the bed as the door clicked shut. The cabin plunged into a darkness that was the hallmark of inner cabins on cruise ships.
‘How’s that?’ Kelsey asked into a silence exacerbated by the deep, bottomless black hole pressing in from all directions.
She should take her hand off him, but he felt solid and real as her eyes adjusted to the tomb-like gloom. His aftershave seemed more pronounced too.Sweet.Wrapping her in a cloud of maple syrup and a fuck-ton of pheromones.
He grunted. ‘Better.’
‘Is it okay if I turn on the lamp or do you still need it off?’ Kelsey’s mother needed the dark when she was in the grip of a migraine.
‘On is fine.’
The low rumble of his voice went straight to her nipples and Kelsey was momentarily thankful for the lack of light as she inched her way around the bed, his wallet still in her hand. Her feet found what she assumed were his clothes discarded on the floor. She resolutely ignored them – the less she thought about how little he was wearing, the better!
She continued on until her knee bumped the bedside table. Placing the wallet down, she groped for the lamp switch and flicked it on, immediately adjusting the dimmer switch at the base. A low, yellow glow, like a single candle flame, illuminated the cabin.
Kelsey glanced over her shoulder, noting the sheets had been pulled back before her gaze snagged on the golden play of light across the planes and angles of his back and shoulders. His hair was short at the nape, which only seemed to emphasise the riot of dark waves atop his head.
‘That okay?’ she asked quietly.
He nodded. ‘Thank you.’
A knock and a murmured ‘Room service’ startled Kelsey.
He started to rise but she waved him down. ‘I’ll get it,’ she said, hurrying to the door, pleased he didn’t try to pull some bullshit macho act about being okay.
Kelsey hadn’t really thought about who might be on the other side and whether she’d know them but, thankfully, she didn’t. On a ship with a thousand-plus staff and a turnover higher than any ship she’d ever worked on, it wasn’t uncommon.
But Kelsey was still in the red shirt and white knee-length shorts worn by the staff manning the pool deck bar, which could be problematic if the room service attendant was a stickler for rules. Thankfully, he didn’t appear to pay Kelsey any attention and was happy to hand the tray over and depart.
Placing the tray on the nearby desk, beside a closed laptop, Kelsey fussed around making his tea, adding the cocktail umbrella on the spur of the moment. It looked even more ridiculous in a cup of tea, but she remembered how he’d smiled at the one she’d put in his whisky, and maybe a little comic relief wouldn’t go astray right now?
Sitting beside him again, she offered him the cup and saucer. He gave a barely-there smile. ‘Do you walk around with a supply of them?’
‘Tools of the trade.’
He took the cup off the saucer, placed the umbrella on it and sipped at his tea in silence for a long moment. Heat radiated from his body, and Kelsey was conscious of how close they were as the peppermint from his tea joined the bouquet of aromas playing havoc with her senses.
‘Do you get them very often?’ Her voice was tentative as it broke the silence.
He cradled the cup in his lap. ‘I used to, not so much any more.’
‘Have you had them investigated? Sometimes they’re more than just a headache, you know?’
As soon as the words were out, Kelsey wanted to bite her tongue.Nice one, Kels.Why not imply the man has a brain tumour?
‘I mean… I didn’t mean anything serious like a…’Bloody hell, don’t say the T word!‘It could just be you need… glasses or something simple.’
Oh, Jesus. Shut up already!
His black eyes sought and held hers for a moment and then he chuckled, his beautiful mouth parting. Kelsey blinked as the noise poured over her skin like warm oil. Sadly, it didn’t last.
‘I was in an accident three years ago. It’s a residual thing from that.’
‘Oh God, I’m sorry. Were you badly hurt?’
