Page 27 of Deep In Love
“No,” I bite out, “they did not.”
“I’m so sorry. We told them when they asked for the switch that we didn’t have any single beds with the extra film crew. They told me not to worry about it.”
She apologizes again, but I wave her off. It’s not her fault my advisor forgot to mention I would have to share a bed withhim.
This is going to be a big fucking problem. My plan was to avoid Mateo as much as possible by hiding in my cabin and only interacting with him when we had to advise. It’s what I concocted last night when I couldn’t sleep because I was too busy thinking about how he spun me around on the dance floor and how easy it was to escape the swirling thoughts often clouding my mind.
Getting out of my head doesn’t happen often, but twice with Mateo, the voices have grown quiet, and for a few precious minutes, I could live in the moment, untethered from my thoughts.
I hope Mateo has a good back, because he’s about to become quite cozy with the floor. Three weeks at sea with him was going to test my patience, but three weeks commingling in a queen bed on a rocking vessel with no windows will end in bloodshed.
“Well?” he presses, his arms flexing as he sits up when I return to the cabin.
I ignore him and the smug look on his face, and aggressively unpack. My poor duffel takes the brunt of my anger, but it’s either the bag or Mateo’s face. He huffs, the sound uncomfortably intimate, and I stumble, kicking my luggage before disappearing into the bathroom to unpack.
Rogue strands stick out around my face, and my right eye twitches—a telltale sign I’m teetering on the edge of a conniption. I smooth out my hair and wipe the sweat from my brow, then haphazardly store my toiletries, monopolizing the little storage space the bathroom offers.
“Uh…Charlie?” Mateo trails off, the deep timbre of his voice traveling through the cabin and dancing along my spine. “I think your bag is buzzing.”
My toothpaste tumbles from my grip, crashing into the sink as his words register.Oh, fuck.
“Close your ears and plug your eyes,” I scream, diving for my bag.
This cannot be happening.
“Close my…what?”
“Lookaway, Mateo,” I screech, digging through my clothes so I can end this nightmare. “If you choose one moment in your life to listen to me,pleasechoose right now.”
I could vomit from the embarrassment creeping up my throat as I pull out my blue vibrator and shut it off.
“Is that…” His husky accent puffs against my ear as he pops my personal-space bubble. The crisp, summery scent of his cologne assaults my nostrils in a tantalizing way.
“Get away,” I yell, spinning to block his view, the bright-blue vibrator tight in my grip. My body collides with his chest and the toy whirls, swatting him on the cheek.
Mateo recoils, staring down at my hand with horror.
Oh, Neptune, I just whacked Mateo with my sex toy.
I gasp. Mateo responds with his own. Time creeps to a stop as he examines the sex weapon in my hand.
“Did you just slap me with your alien dick?” he asks, each word slow and full of disbelief.
My jaw slackens.
“This is not analien dick,” I say, whacking him in the chest with the vibrator. “It is a normal fake penis. Thank. You. Very. Much.”
Each word is punctuated with a good ole dick slap between his pectoral muscles.
“Stop hitting me with it!” He rips the blue silicone out of my hand and waves it in the air. It jiggles back and forth, and I don’t know what’s worse: that the toy looks small in Mateo’s grip or the way my core bottoms out as he waves it through the air.
“Mateo.” I hold up a hand, creeping toward him like he’s a viper poised to strike. “Hand me theitem,and we can forget this ever happened.”
His smile is mischievous as he takes a step back.
There is no crystal found on earth that could save me from this predicament, and the small round fire opal dangling around my neck mocks me.
You asked for fiery passion,it whispers,well here you go. I’ll serve you up sexual tension on a silver platter.
