As the taxi pulled up to the terminal, Tamara's eyes were glued on the massively large multi-deck boat with Waterslides that could be seen on the upper most floor; it stood taller than the terminal.
"Wow," she said, her hands splayed across the window.
"She's a beaut, isn't she," the older blond haired taxi-driver said, smiling at her excitement. "Never fails to make everyone speechless."
Tammy pushed open the door and turned to look at him. "I take it you make this trip a lot?"
"Just enough to make me envious. Now go, have a good time for both of us."
"Thanks for the ride." She handed the driver the cab fare, along with a few dollars tip for his trouble, and then climbed out of the cab. The minute she walked down the sidewalk to the terminal doors, she was accosted by people wearing fluorescent vests asking if they could take her luggage.
"I think I'll hold onto it for now," she said, waving them off. The last thing she wanted was for someone else to take her luggage. The websites did say that there would be people to take your luggage to your room, but how was she supposed to tell who was legit and who wasn't?
The cynic inside her had taught her to question everything, and her experiences taught her to question everyone. There was always another side to a person that they never showed you. With a half-smile, she turned another baggage holder away as she approached the table. She gave the gentleman sitting there her name and he handed her a tag.
"Put this on your suitcase and then give it to anyone with a high-vis' vest and a luggage cart, and then head inside."
That sounded easy enough. Tamara studied the couriers, watching as they interacted with various customers and decided to go with the one with the most luggage, and the soft eyes. It felt weird walking away from him though, like she was forgetting something.
Following the crowd, she went in the glass sliding doors and lined up in front of the counter that had her Deck name, Emerald, hanging above it. Every other person in the lineups around her had gray hair. It struck her funny. She would have figured that a singles cruise was a young person thing, or that they would have waited for one of those Senior Cruises or something. Was there such a thing as a seniors singles cruise?
But to each their own.
Stepping up to the counter, she showed them her ticket and her passport, and they handed her the card for her room. "When you board be sure to have your card and passport out as they will be scanning it. Your room will be ready around 5pm," the young lady said as she pointed to the escalator. "Just head up the escalator and someone there will let you know what to do next."
She'd shown up early, hoping to get on board before the big crowd rush, but it looked like everyone had the same idea. Her boarding time wasn't for another two hours, but she loved being on time or early if she could.
Following the lineup up the escalator, she paused when she reached the top. Various crowds lined up, waiting to go through security.
After she got through security, she waited with Emerald group. They were supposed to be taking them on deck by deck at certain times. And that meant she'd have a few hours left to go.
It didn't turn out that way though. She was motioned through the doors to where a photographer was taking pictures at the entrance to the gang plank. After her picture was taken, Tamara joined the rest of the crowd and began the long winding trek towards the boat, turning this way and that with the metal floor bouncing softly in everyone's wake.
One by one they were let onto the boat and finally it was her turn. Instead of walking into the atrium of the cruise boat, like she had expected, they stepped onto deck 10. Ahead of her were elevators on one side and stairs on the other. The doors on her right and on her left were currently closed and the crew motioned them ahead to either the stairs or the hallway on the opposite side which led to who knows where.
God, she was glad that she received a map of the boat. She'd never find her way around otherwise. Deciding to take a trip down to her cabin, she made her way to the stairs. Only one elevator was currently running and all the older passengers were using it.
Going down a few flights of stairs, she stepped out onto her floor. She was glad to have been going down, not up. She had a feeling by the end of the trip she would be in the best shape of her life with all the stairs. Her work made sure that the officers stayed in good shape, but there was nothing like a good stair workout.
Following the signs on the wall, she stopped at the door of her room. There were two bags of luggage by her door and two by the one beside her. Only one of them was hers. The luggage carriers must have misplaced the other.
Ignoring it, she slid her card into the reader and pushed open the door. Her jaw dropped as she stepped into the room. The walls were a dazzling shade of white with gold trim, and the rest of the room was dressed to match. White sheets with a gold duvet covered the twin beds, with three pillows each lining the head. And towel animals sat in the middle of the bed behind a box of chocolates. One animal was a giraffe and the other an elephant.
Tamara walked over to the balcony door and threw open the matching curtains, white with gold trim. Pulling open the door, she walked out into the spacious balcony facing the breakwater. The turquoise water glittered liked a gem in the bright sunlight.
Taking a deep breath, she breathed in the salty air and sighed as she rested her hands on the railing. The life rafts were two decks below hers and thankfully didn't block her view of the ocean.
She glanced to the back of the boat and saw numerous cruise ships lined up behind hers. She could only see the edges of the others from her position in the middle of the boat, but she felt like a kid again, opening a present on Christmas Day.
Tamara looked up and saw the balcony above her. It was set back a bit further than hers. It was a little unnerving that they could see down onto hers, but at least she had a little bit of an overhang and could sit underneath it without being seen. Two cushioned loungers and a table graced the balcony.
All she could think was that she'd just stepped into heaven, minus the singles that she knew were mingling around the ship now. Stepping back inside, she picked up the papers on the white and gold desk and riffled through them. Tammy squealed in delight. Beer! One of the simple delights in her world. Without looking through the rest of them, she placed them down and glanced around the room. Her gaze stopped on a cupboard door that looked big enough to house a fridge. Leaning down, she opened it, and then opened the fridge, and found it empty. Her lips pulled to one side. It said it would be delivered to her room.
Tammy picked up the phone and then she remembered that the front desk clerk said her room wouldn't be ready until 5pm. Not wanting to miss the embarkation ceremony held on the upper deck, she shoved her suitcase into the closet, grabbed the ship map, and left the room.
***
It wasn't until she could no longer stand that she stumbled her way to the room, having drunk too many beer and margaritas. The sun had long since dipped behind the horizon and all the older crowd had disappeared into their rooms, leaving the young partiers roaming the ship; primarily taking over the hot tubs.
She hadn't pulled out her suit yet, but planned to do that tomorrow. Sliding her card through the lock, she pushed open the door and heard the faint sound of snoring coming from inside. Her heart rate kicked up a notch and she reached for the gun on her hip, but her hand came up empty. Damn! She wasn't allowed to bring a gun onboard.
"Shit!" she whispered. The phone was on the other side of the room by the balcony. There was no way she could reach it without waking up the sleeping intruder. Left with no other choice, she flicked on the light and spotted a head full of blond hair resting on the pillow, face buried in the sheets.
"Hey, dimwit, you're in my room," she called, her feet spread wide to balance her body in case he decided to attack her. The stance didn't work too well with the room was spinning, so she stepped back with one foot to even out her shifting weight.
His response was to roll over and continue snoring.
"Hey, wake up!"
Still, he remained asleep. Man, the guy must be deaf or something. Tamara wandered over to the pillow that he'd tossed on the chair and picked it up. She lifted it above her head and smacked him with it. The man grunted, but still refused to open his eyes.
"Wake up, Damn it!" she said as she raised the pillow to hit him a second time, but this time he was ready. He reached up and snatched the pillow out of her hand, pulling her down on top of him.
"Let me go!" she cried, struggling against him.
"I thought women wouldn't start breaking into my room until tomorrow," said a groggy voice from under the covers.
That voice. It couldn't be him. Could it? Tamara grabbed the sheets and yanked them down from his face. Sleepy emerald green eyes locked on hers and a smile spread across his face, his hold on her tightening. She could feel the heat of his hands through the comforter and her insides tightened.
"Well, I'll be!" he said. "If it isn't little Tamara Jackson."
She fought to untangle herself from his arms and scrambled to get off the bed. The sheets tangled around her body, and she fell in a heap on the floor. A moment later, a blond-covered head peeked over the side, amusement dancing across his face as he struggled to suppress a chuckle.
"What the hell are you doing in my room?" she cried.
"I could ask you the same thing," Logan Dupon replied, not even bothering to help her up. This was the first time he'd seen her in 14 years, and she didn't look a day over 18 years old. Her long black hair had been chopped off and she was sporting a bob style, which made her look even sexier than she did before. And her body was more filled out in certain areas and that caused his parts to stiffen up and take notice.
"This is my room," she said again, giving him a frosty look. "How'd you get in?"
"Same way you did, sweetheart, I used my card."
Tamara freed herself from the sheets and stood up. "I'm calling security!"
"Check my pants pocket if you don't believe me. I'd get you my card, but I'm kind of naked."
She glanced at his bare chest as he sat up and her cheeks turned red. He knew she had to be remembering the same thing he was. It wasn't every day that you had sex for the first time under the stars on the beach.
Cautiously, Tammy picked up his pants off the chair and searched his pockets for his card. Sure enough, his name was written all over the front, along with their room number.
"Fuck!" He listened as a few other colorful expletives burst out of her mouth, her temper flaring with each one.
No one could ever accuse her of being passionless; her passion was as strong now as it ever was. Over the years, it was the one thing he couldn't get out of his mind. No other woman he'd ever met in his lifetime came close to her.
"This has to be a mistake," she said, flinging the card at him. "You aren't staying in my room."
"Why not?" he asked innocently. "There are two perfectly good beds."
"Did my family put you up to this?"
Play dumb, man, play dumb, his conscience pleaded. Caleb had contacted him out of the blue about a month earlier, knowing full well that he'd jump at the chance to make things right again. "Caleb called me and said your family had a Christmas gift for me." Logan couldn't help but grin. "I didn't expect that gift to be you."
"Let's get one thing straight, I'm not your gift. I had my fill of you 14 years ago." She tossed his pants at his head, which he easily scooped out of the air. "Get dressed. We're going to Customer service."
"I doubt there is an open room on the boat."
"Humor me," she spat as she kicked his shoes at him.
"Tamara, your anger is very arousing so you might want to turn around."
Her cheeks turned as red as a cherry tomatoe and she quickly turned her back. His spirit groaned. He kind of wished that he didn't warn her. He wanted her to know exactly how attracted he was to her, but he'd rather not have her cut off his member. Her beautiful temper was quite famous around town. Logan threw back the sheets and slipped on his pants before standing up.
Back in the day, his teenage-self found her a little intimidating, but now, as he let his gaze roam over her body, he found her fire strangely exhilarating, like a challenge to be overcome. He wasn't the clueless kid he used to be, and she wasn't the willowy girl he'd left behind.
"Decent?" she asked.
"Yes."
She turned around and lost her balance, grabbing onto the chair for support. He probably should have told her that he was shirtless. She was staring at his abs, licking her lips. Damn, she was alluring.
"Tam, if you keep looking at me that way, we both know what'll happen next."
Then she closed down, like a sheet of ice fluttering down over her dilated pupils. "Say something like that again and I'll handcuff you to the bed."
Hot damn. "I'd like to see you try," he said, taking a step towards her. If there was one thing their relationship always had, it was sexual intensity. And he hated that he destroyed what they had, but he had been left with very little choice when life spun out of control on him.
Things happened so fast that he didn't have a chance to tell her good-bye and the last thing he had wanted was for her to find out where he was and why he wasn't going to be coming home any time soon. It was best to leave her with the memories they had of each other and not the one that society once had of him. The one he had to work his tail off to get rid of and the very reason for the line of work he'd stumbled into, forensics.
She snorted with derision, turning her nose up at him as she walked to the door. "You wish! Hurry up." Tammy tapped her foot impatiently while he finished getting dressed. He purposely left his shirt as the last thing to put on, letting her take his honed body in, and it was working just as he'd hoped. She'd toss him a quick glimpse every second or two, heat pumping off her body like an aura.
Oh ya. The spark still existed between them. It was zipping through him like a tornado on the plains of Alberta, whipping his insides like a lasso. He'd have to thank Caleb and his family for pulling this one off.
If he wouldn't have gotten on the ship earlier and hidden his own papers that were in the room, she'd have learned about him long before she stumbled into bed with him. And that wouldn't have been anywhere near as much fun.
After he'd finished getting ready, she gestured towards the door. "Dickheads first!"
Logan couldn't help but pat her ass on the way by. Her pants were hugging them far too nicely. And before he realized it, she had him pinned against the wall with his arm twisted behind his back. "Try something like that again and you'll find my foot up your ass."
He bit his cheeks to prevent himself from laughing out loud. She'd really do a number on him if he did. Any other man would be intimidated by assertiveness, but with her leg in between his, pressing up against his butt and the front of his body smashed against the wall, the crotch of his pants was beginning to cut off his circulation. It was then he knew without a doubt that he had to have her back.
Stepping back, Tamara released him. "Move it. Now!" she ordered.
"As sweet and as gorgeous as ever," he grinned, holding his hands up in surrender when she moved towards him again. "Don't sweat it, my little Mara, I'm going."
The look in her eyes temporarily softened at the use of her old nickname. He was the only one who had called her that. The name had been reserved solely for him. But as quickly as they softened, they hardened again as she followed him through the door, staying a safe distance behind him.