‘I let my personal boundaries slip twice,’ he grated out. And suddenly Isla realised that Nikhil’s battle was more with himself than with her. ‘The first time was the other day when I kissed you in the damned corridor.’
‘No one even saw.’
‘But they could have,’ he growled.
‘But they didn’t,’ she repeated. But it was too late.
She could feel the rage and the hurt swirling inside her, and they made for a lethal combination.
‘I’ll tell you what, Nikhil Dara,’ she threw at him, ‘you stay away from me, and I’ll stay the hell away from you.’
Then, before either of them could say anything further, she yanked open the door and stalked outside on legs she was sure would buckle under her at any moment. If only staying away from Nikhil was that easy.
If only her need for him didn’t pump through her veins like a drug. Turning her into something all too close to that idiot patient in the crew rooms earlier.
Only Nikhil wanted her too. Just as badly. And if what had just happened was his attempt at intimidation then it had done exactly the opposite of everything he’d intended, because it didn’t tell her that he regretted what had happened between them that first night in Chile.
It told her that he couldn’t trust himself not to be tempted to do the same again. And being t
hat desired by Nikhil Dara was a heady experience indeed.
CHAPTER NINE
THE KNOCK ON her door several hours later made Isla’s heart lurch violently in her chest. Enough to leave a mark.
Nikhil.
It was all she could do not to race across the room and yank it open. She would not be the infatuated girl who fell all over him just because he’d changed his mind and chosen to bestow his time and attention on her.
With deliberate care, she walked to the door, placed her fingers over the handle and drew in a deep breath. She’d barely unlocked it when it was pushed open and a figure was sweeping past her, inside.
‘Good grief, this hovel can’t possibly be your cabin!’
Isla stared for a moment, horrified. ‘What are you doing here, Mother?’
Marianna spun around dramatically, her arms outstretched. ‘I came to see you, my darling. To make sure you were all right. I missed you that last night in Chile. We were going to have such a good evening together, but you had to go and get yourself transferred onto an earlier ship.’
Hardly how it had been, but Isla knew better than to argue with her mother over trivial things. She’d long since learned to save her energy for the bigger issues. Like how her mother was here.
‘So you booked yourself a last-minute cabin on my ship?’
No need to ask her mother how much that had cost. It wasn’t as though money was an issue to Marianna. No doubt she’d flown in from Chile by helicopter, with the top concierge standing out there on the landing pad to greet her. Her mother was a master at making an entrance.
Especially when Marianna was grinning at her like that. That was to say that a lesser woman might have grinned. Her mother dazzled.
‘It occurred to me that it might be fun, my flower. Don’t tell me you aren’t pleased to see me?’
Isla opened her mouth, then closed it again as a smile tugged at the corners of her lips. No matter how frustrating her mother was, it was impossible not to be drawn to such a wild, charismatic personality. If nothing else, her mother was never predictable.
‘Besides, you know I always enjoy a good cruise. Now, come and give me a hug.’
Dutifully, Isla stepped over to her mother and allowed herself to be enveloped in a tight embrace. Familiar, and somehow oddly comforting.
‘Of course it’s good to see you.’ She pulled her head back and shot Marianna a warning look. ‘Just don’t interfere in my job.’
‘Of course not!’ Her mother had long since perfected the butter-wouldn’t-melt look, not that Isla bought it for a moment.
‘I mean it, Mother,’ Isla reiterated. For all the good that would do.