‘I just had my finger in your crewman’s arse cheek. A ship’s form doesn’t faze me.’
A ghost of a smile played at her mouth, and it seemed to jolt through his entire body. Somehow, it was more than just attraction. He was well-versed in sexual chemistry, and equally skilled at controlling it, not giving in to it. But this was...different. She—Isla—got to him. And he didn’t care for such a realisation.
‘Is that so?’
‘It is.’ She bobbed her head. ‘I may not be one of the doctors on your ship, but I am actually Port-Star Cruise’s newest doctor.’
‘Say again?’
She laughed unexpectedly and her face lit up so stunningly, so vibrantly, that for a moment he was sure she’d eclipsed the hot Chilean sun.
Suddenly he realised he wanted more of that smile. More of that joy. As if he’d taken a shot of something earth-shaking. And now he needed more.
‘You work for Port-Star?’
‘I do. The Jewel of Hestia will come into this port in two days’ time, and it will be my first assignment.’
‘A new career move then?’ he mused. ‘All the more reason to celebrate, surely.’
And although it should have been a question, Nikhil realised that it hadn’t been.
‘Dinner, I think. I’ll collect you around seven-thirty. Where are you staying?’
‘What if I have a boyfriend?’ she asked, but he could tell it was more curiosity than refusal.
‘You don’t,’ he answered simply. ‘You have a line where you have recently removed a ring. Judging by the width of it, I’d say an engagement ring, not a wedding ring. And, as you just said, your assignment on the Hestia will be your first. So, a fresh start.’
And if the fact that he’d noticed so much about her in so short a time worried him, he was determined to ignore it.
She stared at him for a long moment, those expressive eyes of hers threatening to draw him in with every sweep of her gaze.
What the hell was he doing?
‘Fine,’ she answered after what seemed like for ever. ‘I don’t have a boyfriend, but I have...friends here, with me. I can’t just ditch them.’
‘You’ve ditched them now,’ he pointed out. ‘Or they’ve ditched you. Either way, you clearly don’t live in each other’s pockets. You have your last night with them tomorrow, and presumably that’s the big farewell meal, so you’re free to meet me tonight.’
She opened her mouth but then closed it again.
She was tempted...and that gave him more of a kick than it had any right to.
‘Plus it’s my birthday—are you really going to leave me to celebrate it alone?’
Why the hell had he told her that?
Fury shot through him. It had to be Daksh’s letter and imperious command to meet that had rattled him.
He never told anyone when his birthday was.
If he were honest, Nikhil didn’t know why it was such a secret, or how it had come to be this big thing. Nor did he know quite why he got such a kick out of the fact that no one on board knew. Perhaps it was because, in these close-quarter confines, everybody knew everything about everyone else’s business and this was one little nugget he could keep to himself—save for the Captain and HR, both of whom would have been in breach for divulging it.
Yet now he’d just announced it to the newest member of Port-Star. It should have been his cue to turn around and walk. Instead, he heard himself speaking again.
‘Which hotel then, Isla?’
Her blue-grey eyes sparked, and yet still she didn’t shut him down.
‘Okay,’ she answered suddenly, biting out the name quickly.