“We’re up!” he shouted in a muffled voice from under the pillow. “We’ll meet you upstairs. Save us a table.”
“Check!” Ruby said in a slightly less megaphone-like voice. “Don’t forget, luggage out in the hall by seven.”
“Okay.” Emily grabbed a bathrobe from the floor and put it on. The math actually did work and two peoplecouldfit into the tiny cabin shower. She flushed at the memory. Thigh to thigh. Boobs to chest. Hot water flowing. And lots of soap involved. That would be one for the data banks.
“Where are you going?” Max tugged at one of the robe’s loose ties.
She snatched it out of his hand. “I have to take a shower.”
“We took one last night.”
He could be such a tease. “A real shower.”
“That was a real shower,” he said in his masculine rumbly voice.
Damn him and his raw sex appeal. Did he even know how irresistible he was?
Emily pulled a knee up on the mattress to face him. “I don’t know how I’m going to get any work done back home with you around all the time.”
He lay on two propped up pillows, bare to his waist, which made it nearly impossible to avoid staring at his well-sculpted body. “What are you talking about? We saved time last night. All you have to do is get dressed, and you can meet Ruby for breakfast.”
“Wecan meet Ruby for breakfast.” She placed a hand on his muscular shoulder and resisted the urge to caress the firm deltoid. “Unlike you, I have to wash my hair and restyle it. Morning hair is not my best look.”
He pulled her down to him. “It’s your absolute best look.” With a gentle hand, he combed his fingers through her messy beach waves.
Their lips met in a hard kiss.
Would she ever tire of him? No way. Her body wanted to stick to him like iron filings to a magnet. Maybe the ship’s captain would have to pry them out of bed if they overstayed their cruise welcome. Would they even notice if two passengers stowed away for another voyage? Probably.
Emily groaned and rolled away. “I wish I could stay here in bed with you all day, but we have to disembark and go back to our regular lives.” She knotted the robe tightly around her middle. “I hate regular life.”
“I should be able to move to Roanoke in about a month. My name was never on the apartment lease, so—”
Penelope. He didn’t want to say it, but she knew that was who paid the rent on the condo they’d shared in Miami. Her stomach churned. “I’m going to hop in the shower. Give me five.”
As she stood under the hot water spray, her mind drifted to negative places. Penelope had been his muse, his model. How could she compete with that? No matter how much she wanted to set aside her worries about Max comparing her to a rich, pretty, Ruby-like ex, she couldn’tstop the negative thoughts about herself.
She had to overcome this weakness or she might ruin everything. Who would want to date someone as insecure as she?
Eventually, it would grow old.
And did she want to be the girlfriend who needed constant reassurances and praise?
No. She did not.
Emily shut off the water. Max had done nothing but gush over her curves. Never once had he said anything derogatory, or even given her a look that indicated he was anything but smitten. Time to get over herself.
After toweling her body dry and squeezing as much water out of her hair as she could, she opened the bathroom door, took a deep breath, and strutted fully naked into the bedroom.
Max, who had been packing a few final things into his suitcase, stared. His lips parted, and he clenched his hands briefly. “Um, wow. Are you trying to tempt me?”
His gaze scanned her whole figure from top to bottom.
Emily’s body flooded with warmth. The pure desire she saw on his face made a shiver run down her back.
As he stepped forward to lock her in an embrace, she knew deep inside no other woman had a hold on him. He kissed down her neck, and Emily vowed she’d never belittle herself again. Not even for a laugh.
He loved her inside and out.