Her Cruise Ship Surprise | ✔

Chapter Seven

She tilted her head back and downed her drink like a pro, and then jumped up from her chair. "Sounds good to me."

"Mara, please. I need some time alone."

Her nostrils flared in annoyance, but the worst was the hurt tumbling in her eyes. "Fine by me. I'll just ignore you like I planned," she snapped, flipping him off before turning to rush away. It didn't take long for him to catch up and take her by the arm, but she grabbed his finger bending it back. "Did you forget? I don't like being touched."

Yanking his hand back, he sucked on his sore finger and watched her speed walk across the atrium and up the stairs. Their relationship was not off to a very good start. If he didn't find a way to open up to her, he might as well book a ticket home when they docked at the next Port.

She never liked secrets, even the good ones. If she knew you bought a Christmas present, she snooped until she found it. He had to wait until the last second to buy hers because she had a way of wangling the answer out of him.

His present to her this year was meant to be himself, but unless he could figure out how to let her unwrap him and not flinch or have a flashback, this whole trip would be for not. But he didn't know what her reaction would be to his illicit affairs. He found that the more he fought against the brutality in jail, the worse the recovery time.

His name may have been cleared, but his body would always remember his stay. As soon as anyone's hands began to roam, things hit him hard. He hadn't let a woman touch him in years because of it. Funny how he'd almost forgotten all about it just by seeing her again, until Tamara's finger came in contact with the scar on his back. She completely entranced him, pushing past the pain momentarily. The excitement of seeing her brought back so many good memories, and, for a moment, he thought it was going to be fine.

If anyone could help him, it was her. And he knew that the only way to overcome is to open up to someone, despite wanting to bury it so deeply that even he couldn't remember the past. Hmm. What if the answer was to bury his past memories under good memories of the present? Maybe if she let him tie her up, it would be a fresh start.

"Stop trying to talk yourself into it and just do it," he mumbled to himself. Caleb paid good money to have Logan join Tamara on the cruise. If he went back and told him that he chickened out, Caleb would knock him on his ass.

Sucking up a deep breath, he went in search of his high school sweetheart.

***

The stubborn pigheaded man might as well go back from wherever he came from, Tamara thought to herself as she tore off her top and stepped out of her shorts, revealing a hot pink bikini.

Some whistles sounded from the hot tub behind her, which was full of men sipping away on their beer. She didn't bother giving them the time of day as she walked to the edge of the pool. Her stress levels were to the max, and she needed to work off some excess negative energy before she strangled somebody.

Executing a perfect dive, with barely a splash, she stayed under the water as long as her lungs would allow before breaking the surface. Not too many people were swimming, so she almost had the pool to herself.

She sliced through the water, turning her head occasionally to breathe. She pushed her body harder and harder, clearing her mind of all her frustrations, focusing only on the feel of the lukewarm water against her skin. The air was mild, not cold or hot.

Kicking off the wall one final time, she switched up her swim style and started doing the breast stroke, working an entirely different set of muscles. Even before she reached the edge of the pool, she could feel someone new staring and tilted her head up. Her gaze landed on Logan.