I glanced down at my watch and then looked up to give her a wicked wink. She blushed even more. “I think I can safely move to the private-libations portion of the evening, if that’s something you two might be interested in...”
Nova and Elena nodded eagerly. “As long as we aren’t stealing you away from your adoring fans,” Elena ventured.
Nova stepped a little closer and pressed her champagne flute against the skin exposed by the deep V-neck of my silk romper. I felt goose bumps erupt all over my chest. “But we’ll adore you plenty to make up for it,” she said in a low murmur.
“Excuse me,” a voice said from behind us, and before I could process what was happening, Krysta had somehow inserted herself between me and my potential,ah, bosom buddies. Her expression was furious, her posture tense, and I was going to perverted hell, because the first thing I felt when her hand wrapped around my upper arm was a sharp, aroused thrill. Followed by a fleeting sense of victory.
Which was then followed by the realization that she was only doing her job.
Only bodyguarding. She’d seen a guest touch me and was here to address it.
Fuck, that was deflating.
“Krysta,” I explained, “it’s okay. This is Nova and Elena. Nova and Elena, this is my new bodyguard. She’s a little food aggressive.”
Krysta slid a look to me and then to the two women blinking up at her like they weren’t sure if they should be terrified or turned on. She made a noise in her chest and then said, “It’s time for Ms. Hayes to be getting to bed.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but then thought better of it. Telling Krysta that I had been planning to go to bed—just not alone—seemed a little childish now. Plus, I hadn’t had a chance to talk to Elena and Nova about what their boundaries were, and what they kept public and what they kept private, and I didn’t know how much I could say. So instead, I gave them a rueful smile. “Krysta’s right. I probably should get to bed tonight, sinceit’s an early morning tomorrow. I’m so sorry! But maybe we can meet up again another evening?”
Krysta’s hand tightened around my arm, but she didn’t speak.
Nova and Elena glanced at each other, doing the silent communication of longtime lovers, and then looked back at me with smiles that seemed a little too knowing.
“Yes, of course,” Nova said. “Hopefully we’ll get to snag you for those private libations sometime.”
“Definitely,” I said. “And our next shore excursion is—”
But I was already being led away by a taciturn Krysta, pulled at a quick stride through the party and down a substantial length of the deck to our rooms.
I allowed her to guide me through the second-story door of the suite and lock it behind us before I yanked my arm away and spun to face her.
“What on earth was that?” I demanded.
Krysta’s jaw was tight. “They were too close to you. It violates protocol.”
“People have been giving me air-kisses and sideways hugs all night. You just thought Nova and Elena wereflirtingwith me, and that’s why you cared.”
She didn’t deny it, which I appreciated, but also:arggggh!
“You realize how ridiculous that is, right?” I asked, starting to pace. “You drop me like a half-finished chicken Caesar salad wrap after we have sex, but then no one else is allowed to touch me? How is that fair?”
Her mouth curved into a frown. Even with only the low glow of the wall sconces for light, I could still make out the lush pink color of her lips. “I didn’t drop you after sex.”
I once moderated a panel about gaslighting that had at least two licensed therapists on it, so I was something of an expert. “You did too! You reverted tohating me, like you have since the moment you stepped onto this ship, and I don’t evenunderstand why you took this job if you dislike me so much. I can’t help it that my hair is this healthy, and that I’m so organized and driven, and that I can still tolerate gluten, okay? It’s my cross to bear!”
The ship pitched to the side, and Krysta closed her eyes. “I don’t hate you.”
“You can’t even look at me right now.”
“That’s not—” She huffed and then squeezed her eyes more tightly closed. “That’s not what’s going on.”
“Then what’s going on? Radioactive spider bite? Kryptonite?” I dragged my hands over my face, suddenly exhausted. “Look, I don’t need you to like me. I know you’re just here to do a job, but even you have to admit that going cold on me without so much as a heads-up—”
“I’ve never been on a cruise ship before, and I didn’t know they could make you so seasick,” Krysta said all in one breath, her eyes still closed.
My mouth was still hanging open, midrant, and it took me a minute to process what she’d said. “I’m sorry, make you what now?”
“Seasick,” she answered through clamped teeth. “When we’re at sea, I’m so sick that I can barely see straight. Every minute I’ve stepped away it’s so I can vomit, and I haven’t been able to keep anything down other than bananas and sparkling water, and I hate sparkling water, Addison, I hate it so much. I hate that it’s just water that hurts your throat. I hate that other people think I’m in their bourgeois sparkling water club whenever they see me drinking it.”
