Christian eyed her petite frame. Where the hell was she going to put it all?

“How about something with a kick?” Andy asked her.

Ah, Christian thought. Let the alcohol-plying begin. But Dorie wouldn’t fall for that. She was sweet and naive, but not that naive. Nobody was that naive.

“It’s not like you have to drive home.” Andy leaned in, waggled a brow. “And afterwards, we could dance.”

Her plate wobbled and Andy steadied it for her.

“I’m not a very good dancer,” she murmured.

“All that matters is that you do it.” Andy shot her the smile that probably got him laid nightly. “Come on, Dorie. Live a little.”

Come on, Dorie, slug him a little.

But Dorie nodded. “Yeah. You’re right. Okay, I’ll take that drink with a kick. Your pick.”

Christian shook his head. Unbelievable. She had fallen for it.

“Atta girl.” Moving to the bar, Andy looked over the display of piña coladas, bushwhackers, daiquiris, choosing two rum punches, no doubt for their potency and potential seduction aid.

Christian’s jaw hurt and he realized he was clenching it. Andy moved back to Dorie, taking one of her plates so she could drink.

“Here it goes,” she said. “Liquid courage.”

“What could you possibly need liquid courage for?” Andy asked.

Christian wondered the same thing. Dorie sucked down her drink, then set both her empty glass and her second very full plate on a nearby table. Drawing a deep breath, she tipped her head back to look up at the baseball player. “I’ll have that dance now. If you still want it.”

With a smile, Andy pulled her in close, sliding his hand low on her spine. Then a little lower…

Christian frowned.

Dorie squirmed.

Andy grinned.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Dorie muttered.

“Do you?”

She blushed adorably. “I was in a hurry when I got dressed.”

Andy laughed. “Are you somehow apologizing for not wearing panties?”

“It’s just that-”

“Can I see you later?”

She looked up at him, extremely cute, and extremely flustered, and Christian had the inexplicable urge to pull her away from Andy.

Crazy.

“See me?” Dorie repeated. “As in go out with me see me?”

“Yep,” Andy replied.

“We’re on a boat.”

“In the South Pacific. Nothing more romantic than that.”

She blinked, slow as an owl. “You want to be with me.”

“Say yes, Dorie.”

Say no, Dorie.

“I have to use the restroom,” she said, and hightailed it out of Andy’s arms.

Finally.

FIVE

The rum punch had gone straight to Dorie’s head. Or maybe that was just amazement that she was really here, on a sailing yacht, out of her comfort area.

Make that a couple of time zones out of her comfort area.

Baseball Cutie wanted to be with her. Boggled the mind, it really did. In the bathroom just off the galley, she looked at herself in the mirror. “I’d love to go out with you, Andy,” she told her reflection.

See? How hard was that?

How was she going to do this whole living life thing if she couldn’t talk? Well, she’d be a mime if she had to, because this was an opportunity of a lifetime. He was the opportunity of a lifetime.

She touched up her gloss and headed back to the salon, looking around at the beautiful boat as she did. The interior gleamed with obvious care and pride in every nook and cranny, and the view… unbelievable. She was used to tall buildings, smog, and traffic twenty-four/seven. Here there was nothing but glorious open water.

And gorgeous, tongue-swelling inducing men. Remembering that odd conversation she’d overheard, she stood there a moment trying to put faces to the voices she’d heard.

But couldn’t.

Captain Denny was talking to Christian near the door. Gorgeous Grumpy Doctor had lost his baseball cap, and now his dark hair tumbled loose and free. He hadn’t changed those faded, well-worn Levi’s, and surrounded by elegance and sophistication, he looked like the last holdout.

His gaze snagged hers, and she couldn’t help but notice he seemed rough and tumble and… trouble, pure trouble. Before she could look away, he cocked a brow, and slowly dropped his gaze down the length of her.

Then again, it might just have been her rum punch.

Yet he did it again, definitely eyeing her skirt. Looking to see if she’d put on panties? Something went through her at that. A bit of daring. Bravery. And because of it-and the slip she’d added-she executed a little curtsy, spreading the material of her skirt out with her fingers, inviting him to do his best to try to see through it.

An invitation he freely took.

His gaze traveled slowly down to her toes and back up, and by the time his eyes landed on hers, they were two scorching balls of pure flaming heat.

Yowza.

She hadn’t realized the full potency of the serious sex appeal he was packing behind that edgy, dangerous front. So much so that she nearly staggered back a step. She actually had to look away to breathe, and then, unable to help herself, she turned back.

He was still looking at her.

She swallowed hard, suddenly unsure of even attempting to play, because unlike Andy, who probably ran bases during a World Series game looking relaxed and easygoing, Christian was one long, lean line of tensed muscle.

Ready.

But for what, she hadn’t a clue. Just thinking about the possibilities did the oddest thing-it heated her from the inside out. Interestingly enough, her tongue didn’t swell.

It made sense, she supposed. The men in her life had mostly been safe and sweet and kind. Fun and easygoing. Her father. Her sister’s husband. Her own too few and far between boyfriends. She liked fun and easygoing. In fact, it was what drew her to Andy. Fun and laid-back counterbalanced all the stresses in her life, such as working at Shop-Mart when she really wanted to be designing clothes.

But, and this was something she’d never really admitted to herself until she’d won this cruise, something had been sorely missing.

What, exactly, she wasn’t yet sure. Sex? Definitely. But if she could just get her nerves under control-and her tongue-she could have that. No, this went deeper. Maybe she needed adventure. Excitement. Danger.

A brooding rebel.

Another peek at Christian assured her that she was the only one still thinking about this because he and the captain were deep into conversation, both looking… extremely uptight? In fact, there was a tic in the captain’s jaw, and Christian’s eyes were still hot, but no longer sexy hot.

Temper hot.

Huh. Maybe things weren’t as comfy cozy as they seemed, which was a disturbing thought considering they were in the middle of the ocean.

Denny stepped onto a platform, and Dorie realized it was some sort of observation deck, and that he could control the boat from right here. Good to know.

He called Bobby to his side. Bobby tugged on his baseball cap. Whatever Denny said made the three of them look even more tense. Unable to help herself, Dorie shifted closer.

“The weather could go south,” Denny was saying. “Hard and fast. I want that storm jib checked.”

“We’re not going to hit bad weather,” Bobby said. “They’ve been calling for this supposedly big storm for days now, and we’ve gotten nothing.”

“Check the fucking jib.”

“But-”

“Look But-Boy, I sign your checks. I can stop signing your checks.”

Without a word, Bobby turned away.

Through the large windows, Dorie scanned the horizon but saw no signs of a storm growing. Surely they weren’t in any real danger or Denny would turn back. Right?

“Care to join us?”

She turned. The two other women on the boat were seated at the bar, smiling at her. The dark-haired woman wore capris and a blouse open over a tank top. Casual clothes, but worn with a look of easy elegance that spoke of wealth. Dorie recognized it because she’d never looked that way in her life.

The other woman was Sailing Barbie, who’d been trying to eat off Christian’s face in his office. She wore a different pair of shorts, stark white, with a matching itty-bitty halter that barely contained her, with carefully perfect makeup that couldn’t quite hide a hardened soul. She smiled though, a genuine one actually, as she scooted over to make room for Dorie. “Brandy,” she said, holding out her perfectly manicured hand-with the exception of her thumb nail, which was chewed down to the stub. She caught Dorie looking at it and laughed easily. “That’s my nerve nail. Have a seat.”

Dorie had no idea why such a gorgeous creature would ever need a nerve nail, but her handshake was warm, and in spite of wanting to hate her for looking like a goddess, Dorie couldn’t. So she sat.

“Cadence Powers,” the other woman said, and offered her hand as well, which was much smaller, but strong and callous. “We’re just figuring out what we’re going to do with ourselves out here in the middle of heaven on earth.”

“Whatever we decide,” Brandy said, “I plan to do it prone, while soaking up the sun, with any or all of the onboard stud muffins oiling up my back.”

“No prone for me,” Cadence said with a shake of her head. “I came for adventures.”

“Honey, there’s plenty of adventure to be had while prone.” Brandy waggled her brow at Dorie. “We’ve already had two drinks, each, and have jabbered for an hour. Let me put you on the fast track. Cadence here? An artist. In spite of that, she’s practical and pragmatic, and always in a hurry. Has a big problem with a little thing called relaxation.”

Cadence nodded. “True. And don’t leave out the part where I tend to make bad decisions when it comes to men.”