Page 2 of Harbored by the SEAL
Cowboy smiled. He liked the agent Logan had pulled from the Academy for this assignment. She was tiny — five foot nothing — and she seemed like a goody-two-shoes until she opened her mouth.
She dropped her hand. “Come to think of it, when I get married, she better not have chest hair.”
“She?”
“That’s right. You didn’t think you’d convert me with your little display of male virility, did you?”
He looked down at his bare chest. “I just took a shower. I was hot.”
“Well, get dressed. They’re just about to do the safety lecture at the lifeboat. The princess went to her cabin, I’m assuming to get her husband. I’ve got to get back out there, and you should too, unless you’re a really good swimmer.”
“I’m a Navy SEAL, remember?”
“Unless you can make it all the way to shore from the middle of the ocean, I suggest you come to the safety lecture.”
“I’m sure some pretty little cadet from the Academy would save me.”
She rolled her eyes and smiled. “I’m a lieutenant. And I still don’t like dick.”
He laughed as she left the cabin. If he was going to be stuck sharing adjoining rooms with a stranger for a week, the amusing little lesbian would do just fine. Before getting here, he’d had some concerns about who he would be paired with on this mission. The very last thing he needed was any kind of romantic entanglement on this assignment.
Keep the royals safe, and he’d be given his promotion when he returned. Simple enough as long as he didn’t complicate anything, and women had always been his favorite complication. No, this trip was all about playing bodyguard and soaking up some sun. Maybe a little introspection as he crossed the finish line in his mind.
A mechanical crackle preceded a man’s voice on the loudspeaker. “Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. This is the captain speaking. Welcome aboard the maiden voyage of theGem of the Seas, the biggest and fastest cruise ship in the world. This is a bittersweet trip for me, my last before retirement. It is my honor and pleasure to be with you on this voyage. Now, if you would be so kind as to report to your lifeboat, it’s time for our mandatory safety lecture. Your lifeboat location is printed on the back of your door. The sooner we finish, the sooner we depart. I’m looking forward very much to this trip.”
Cowboy slipped on his Captain Morgan flip-flops and headed to his designated lifeboat. The safety lecture was part of the cruise ship experience, and he wasn’t going to miss a single bit of it.
3
Charlotte O'Malley cranedher neck and shielded her eyes from the sun, the bangles on her wrist clanging when she moved. “Well, sweet mother of God.”
TheGem of the Seaswas sixteen stories tall and longer than the Eiffel Tower lying down and floating in the harbor. A smile spread across Charlotte's face. “Hot damn, this is going to be fun.”
She marched toward the terminal, dragging her wheeled luggage behind her in the hot Miami sun. Cowboy was somewhere on that boat, and she couldn't wait to get that man between herself and a mattress. Going on a cruise was the best idea her brother had ever had, though Logan certainly hadn't intended for her to go on the same exact cruise ship Cowboy was going to be on.
None of his fucking business anyway.
She was a grown woman. Hell, some days she felt like she was damn near over the hill, but of course that had a lot more to do with her ex-husband than with her chronological age. Rick had sucked the life out of her and traded her in for a nineteen-year-old model when he was through.
“Fuck Rick.” It was something she whispered under her breath several times a day.
She mentally resolved to stop saying that for the next week.
“Maybe I should change it to, ‘Fuck Cowboy,’ and then every time I think it, I should go and do it.” She giggled to herself.
Man, she needed this week to play and be free and enjoy the attention of a man who made her feel good, no strings attached. She didn't want anything permanent from Leo Wilson. Hell no. Not only was she unsure permanent relationships even existed, but she was pretty damn sure she was done ever trying to find out.
She was excited Princess Violet and Prince Hugo would be on the ship, and hoped for her own sighting of the royals. She read everything she could about the royal family in magazines and tabloids. Something about castles, princes, and princesses helped her to believe in happily ever after — no matter that her own life had tried so hard to wring that out of her.
She wanted it to be real. Wanted to believe that true love existed and some people got to experience it, even if she was not one of the lucky few.
Once inside the terminal, she ducked into a bathroom and eyed herself in the mirror. The humidity had done a number on her hair, but her makeup was looking pretty good. One more go-round with the lipstick and she'd be set. It wasn't very likely she’d run into Cowboy on the way to her stateroom, but she wanted to be ready just in case. She hadn’t come all this way to mess up the all-important meet-and-greet.
She pulled down the V-neck of her shirt and yanked the underside of her bra upward, settling the underwires back into place and pushing her breasts together. A middle-aged woman at the next sink surreptitiously glanced at Charlotte's reflection in the mirror.
“You excited to get on the boat?” Charlotte asked.
“Yes, of course. My husband and I cruise frequently, but it never gets old.”
