Page 77 of Below Deck Billionaire
‘Not really.’ He stared into his tea. ‘I was lucky.’
He raised the cup to his lips, obscuring half his face but not the trace of bitterness that had laced the word ‘lucky’. It was stark in the profound silence. Clearly, there was more to that story.
Was that why his eyes were so sad?
She inspected his profile as he drank, looking for answers, but his face was a mask. And it wasn’t any of her business. He was apassenger, for fuck’s sake. She’d returned his wallet and helped him out when he’d been unwell. She’d fulfilled her duties as a member of theHellenic Spirit’s crew.
Gold star for her.Now get out!
‘Well…’ She placed the umbrella on the tea tray and handed him the empty saucer. ‘I best be off, if you’re sure you’re okay.’
The teacup rattled against the saucer. Those dark eyes slid once again to hers and locked tight. ‘Yes, thank you.’ His gaze slipped to her mouth with a laser-like focus.
Kelsey suddenly realised how close they were, their arms and thighs only inches apart. Her breath hitched and her hand shook a little as she concentrated on inhaling. She’d been with guys who could excite her with a look but never with one who could interfere with her ability to breathe.
Who made her feel like there wasn’t enough air.
‘It wasn’t any trouble.’
Her voice sounded weird. High and strange, like she’d been sucking on helium. Not the usual husky quality. And still, he stared at her mouth, and every pulse point in Kelsey’s body started to throb. Her nipples hardened. Her belly tightened. Heat radiated from his thigh to hers, sliding up her leg. All the way up.
She really,reallyshould leave.
‘Maybe,’ he murmured. ‘Still…’
Kelsey waited for him to continue, to finish what he’d been about to say, but he didn’t. He just kept staring at her mouth, the sound of his breathing growing rougher and rougher, thicker and thicker, until it rubbed against her exposed flesh like a velvet glove.
He kissed her then, his mouth swift as it breached the distance between them, his lips pressed hot against hers. Not moving, just pressing. Not hard but not light either.
Firm.
Pressing and pressing. Not opening or shifting to take the kiss deeper. Not attempting to touch her. Just pressing. And breathing – hard and fast. Sucking air in and out of his nostrils in swift, harsh respirations, like he was struggling to keep himself in check.
Or struggling against some kind of internal demons.
Kelsey’s pulse hammered at her temples and beat a wild tango between her legs as she tried to compute myriad sensations coursing through her body. How perfectly his mouth fitted against hers, how her erogenous zones had lit up like a pinball machine, how his loud, crazy breathing was a bigger turn on than everything else put together.
How she was kissing a virtual stranger. A near-naked virtual stranger. In his cabin. At her work.
Apassenger.
Her sex tingled and her body pulsed at a primal level. The kind that made a lot of women stupid.
But Kelsey had used up her quota of stupid.
Tearing her mouth away, she jumped to her feet, stumbling back two steps, dragging in oxygen. ‘I… can’t,’ she muttered.
‘Christe!’ He shoved a hand in his hair as he stood, placing the cup and saucer on the tray before holding up his hands in a placatory manner. ‘I’m sorry.’
Kelsey shook her head, a wild unchecked thrill zinging through her body at the sight of his big, almost-naked body. ‘It’s against the rules to…’
Fuck the passengerswas what she wanted to say, because God knew she wanted to push Ari George onto his bed and ride him like a pogo stick.
‘We’re not supposed to fraternise.’
‘Of course.Theé.Of course.’
Christe… Theé…Kelsey realised absently the passenger she’d just gottenwaaaytoo close to was Greek.
‘Please, forgive me,’ he continued. ‘I… don’t know what came over me. It wasunforgiveable.’
He shoved his hands on his hips, drawing her gaze downwards again. To what lay under the towel. The light might have been low but there was no mistaking the state of his arousal or the fact the man was packing some serious dick.
‘I don’t do this,’ she said, dragging her gaze back to his face. Kelsey wasn’t a rule breaker. And she needed this job. She had financial responsibilities. ‘Some staff do cross that line, but not me. I’veneverdone this.’
She had no idea why she felt the need to convince him. Givenhe’dkissedher, she didn’t think he’d report the incident. Maybe she was just trying to convince herself? Convince her body it didn’t need what he had under that towel.
‘I believe you,’ he said as he sunk down on the bed behind him. ‘It wasn’t your fault. It was mine.’ He propped his elbows on his knees, leaned forward at the hips and cradled his face into his palms. ‘You should go.’
If Kelsey had been in her right mind, his dismissal might have rankled. Right now, she was glad for the out as she turned on her heel and fled the cabin.
