Of course her mind went into a spin.What is he going to pull out?For a moment, she was floating, but then she crashed down.The thick wad of banknotes in his hand choked off her exclamation of pleasure.
“Your wages,” he explained.
For a moment, she couldn’t compute what he was saying.Her wages for what?
Alexei frowned when she remained frozen and made no attempt to take the money from him.“You are a crew member on boardRussian Thunder, aren’t you?”he pressed.
“Yes,” she agreed on a dry throat.
“Then, take it,” he insisted.“There’s holiday pay, and whatever else.”His frown deepened when he saw her expression.“You’re being treated exactly the same as all the other crew.I always give them a good Christmas—”
She would have preferred him to slap her in the face.It might have woken her up faster.“Of course I’m a member of your crew,” she agreed, battling hurt and humiliation.
“Come on, take it,” Alexei insisted impatiently.
No chance.She tucked her hands out of sight behind her back.
“Don’t be silly, Amber.There’s pride, and then there’s foolishness.”
“Well, maybe I am foolish,” she agreed as she backed away from the dining chair Alexei had pulled out for her.“But I don’t want your money, and I’m sure you can find a better use for it.”
Thrusting it into her hand, he brought his face close.“What makes you think you’re better than everyone else, Amber?”
“Absolutely nothing,” she fired back.“That’s not how I think.”
“Then take the money,” he repeated.
“Youtake the money—” And shove it, she wanted to say, but she had a better idea.“Take that money and make sure it gets to the women you saved.Let them have a decent Christmas.”
“That’s all taken care of, as I’ve already told you.”
“Okay.”Taking the money from him, she laid it at the side of her place setting.“I haven’t earned this and I don’t want it, but there must be something those women need, or something for them in the future going forward.”
“Where are you going?”Alexei called after her.“Amber, come back here!”
She had started to run.When was she going to get it through her thick skull, that she would never mean more to Alexei than good sex?And she didn’t run back to her luxurious apartment on the upper deck of his superyacht but to her staff cabin in the bowels of the ship.
Would he ever understand women?He could guarantee a man would take the money, thank him, and that would be the end of it.But a woman?Oh no.A woman had to analyze and emote and suspect, and do all those things while looking as if he’d just insulted her.He had only wanted to pay Amber the money he owed her—a fair wage in his world—for putting up with him, if nothing else.He guessed the salary for a cub reporter atHard Newswould be derisory, if they paid her at all.Maybe that had something to do with her outrage.But was it enough to make her run from him?
Amber had never run from anything in her life, as far as he could tell, so what was she running from now?
Descending to the lower deck, he noticed the lack of natural lighting and lousy air-con.There was no excuse.Cruise ships had virtual vistas on the inside cabins and air-con that worked.When was the last time he’d been down here?
He hammered on the door of her cabin.“Amber, let me in.”
“Go away.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” he assured her.
“Then, you can settle in for the night.”
He rested his brow against the door.“You don’t mean that.”
“Try me.”
He could kick the door in—
And piss her off even more?
