The woman named Ria, singing directly to him and no one else, touched Cam on a level no one else had ever reached. He couldn’t take his gaze off her. He considered inviting her to join him for a drink. As she continued singing, he revised his plan. He wanted to invite her to his home. He had the next few days off. Perhaps he’d bend his personal rule and invite her to stay longer than a single night.
If she was willing, they could spend the entire weekend together…not sleeping.
Chapter One
Early the next morning
Cam came awake the moment his communicator buzzed on the nightstand. The first thing he felt was a warm body snuggled against his side. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was a thick strand of blue-streaked hair curled invitingly over his bare chest. He inhaled deeply and a newly familiar perfume filled his lungs.
Ria, the luscious karaoke singer. Memories of the night before filtered into his brain one by one, bringing with them a relaxed, satisfied attitude. After she finished her song, the crowd gave her a standing ovation and quickly requested she sing another.
Her cheeks colored prettily. She seemed surprised by the audience’s vocal approval, but she complied with a soulful, angst-filled rendition of Heart’sAlone. Again, she sang for Cam. Again, it felt like they were the only two in the room. He liked it.
As the last notes faded and the audience clapped and hollered their approval, she came straight to Cam’s table and sat next to him on the sofa. She mashed her leg up against his from knee to hip as if they were already involved and couldn’t keep from sucking together like magnets when they got close. He liked that, too. A lot.
Her gaze never strayed far from his face the entire time they spoke. He couldn’t quite remember the details of what they’d discussed, but she eagerly accepted his invitation to spend the coming weekend with him. Her lovely hazel eyes lit up the moment he suggested a more intimate setting for a further discussion.
Cam’s communicator sounded stridently once more, rattling across the surface of his nightstand and bringing him back to the present. He recognized the caller on the number display, picked it up and answered, “What?” He tried not to sound as grumpy as he felt over the interruption.
“Cam!” Axel, his typically happy-go-lucky brother, sounded uncharacteristically uptight and worried. “Thank heavens you answered! You’ve got to come here right now!”
“Come where?” He glanced at the clock on his nightstand, grimaced when he realized he’d only been asleep for about two hours. It was not enough rest, according to the ache growing inside his head, no matter how pleasant the reason for his lack of sleep.
“To the passenger lounge,” Axel said impatiently, as though he expected Cam to read his mind. That wasn’t going to happen, especially not on so little sleep.
“Why?” Cam began to mentally drift as he waited for an answer.
“There is someone missing. Someone important.”
Cam’s eyes opened and his brain did, too. “Missing from Alienn?”
“No! Why would I care about that? Apassengeris missing from theRoyal Caldera Fortecruise liner! They are set to depart in less than two hours, but they obviously can’t leave until the missing passenger is found.”
Cam glanced at Ria, head resting on his shoulder. She seemed sound asleep. He didn’t typically discuss below stairs issues when he was entertaining, but found he didn’t want to move to a more private location. Her warmth felt too good curled against his side.
“I thought they were leaving after the weekend. Was there a schedule change?”
“Yes. There was a significant volcano blast on an uninhabited planet along the route. Didn’t you get that memo?” Axel didn’t give Cam time to answer. “They’ll lose a day each way going around it. The eight days out just became ten days because they are losing the weekend here. And now with this missing passenger, this has become a veritable space potato storm about to hit an industrial-sized fan. Are you on your way yet?”
Ria stirred. Sliding her palm tantalizingly across his chest, she hooked a hand around his other shoulder and hugged him even closer. He looked into her sleeping face. She sighed, smiled and sent his attention blasting into several incredible memories from the night before. He gently grabbed a fistful of her rich, soft hair and kissed her forehead. He wished he could go back to sleep snuggled up against Ria. Or maybe wake her up…
Axel shouted, “Cam! Are you still there?”
He sighed. “Yes. Still here.”But I’d rather be re-living my memories and creating new ones.
“Are you on your way?” Axel asked again. “Please come and help me. I’m in the passenger lounge with…Director Patmore.”
Cam stifled a groan. Since Axel whispered the name, Cam guessed the man in charge of passengers on theRoyal Caldera Fortemust be within earshot. He really had no choice.
“Okay. Fine. I’ll be right there.” He disconnected and eased away from Ria. If it were anyone but Axel, he might have brushed them off and told them to figure it out. However, Axel didn’t often get so riled. He was the most easygoing of Cam’s five brothers.
Plus, Patmore was a real“pain in the patootie,”as his unconventional aunt Dixie often said about difficult people. Smiling to himself, he amended the mental phrase to, “Patmoreis a pain in the patootie.” He attributed his goofy attitude to the woman snuggled up in his bed. For the first time in a long time, he had a happy start to his day. He dressed quickly, intending to rescue Axel, but not stay in the basement of the Big Bang Truck Stop any longer than he had to.
He leaned down and kissed Ria’s cheek. She opened one eye and saw him fully clothed. Dismay filled her features. The other eye opened drowsily. “Are you leaving me already?” she asked in a husky, totally sexy, voice.
“Only for a little while. I have to take care of something at work, but I’ll be back as fast as I can. Okay?”
