Kendall instinctively clutched the jacket to keep it from falling off her shoulders. It wasn’t the warmest piece of clothing, but it cut down the wind chill dramatically. And it smelled… She inhaled deeply. Divine. Something spicy and subtle.
“Did you just sniff my jacket?”
“No,” she answered quickly. Too quickly.
Now he was flat out grinning at her like she’d done something delightful. “You did.” He offered a hand. “I’m Alex.”
Now was the time to leave this conversation. She wasn’t on this cruise for the same reason that most everyone else seemed to be, and had absolutely no interest in any of that nonsense. And, since Kendall was the one who’d messed up, she had to put extra effort into ensuring her friends had a good time. This trip was supposed to be about them, about reconnecting after too much time and distance and life pushing them in different directions. The only friend from college that Kendall had regular contact with was Grace, and even then they were both so busy that they could barely manage dinner every couple of months. Maybe if she shored up those bonds, she wouldn’t feel so… lost.
Alex turned and leaned against the railing, apparently content to let her stew instead of offering her name. Kendall hesitated, but finally moved to join him. “I’m Kendall.”
“Kendall,” he said her name like it was candy on this tongue. “What are you so afraid of?”
She jerked back. “Excuse me?”
“I’ve seen you exactly two times, and both times you were bolting like someone tried to set you on fire. It leaves an impression.”
Because she’d all but run from him earlier, even though they’d only shared a look. She pulled his jacket more firmly around her shoulders and thanked the relative darkness of the deck that he couldn’t see the embarrassment heating her cheeks. “This cruise was a mistake.”
“I suspect a lot of people will be saying that by the end of it.”
Because they…
She blushed harder. “I’m not dodging a mistake in human form or anything like that. I just booked this trip thinking it was a normal cruise, and I show up and…”
“Not a normal cruise.” He chuckled, the sound vibrating through her chest as if he’d reached out and touched her. “Must have been a shock.”
“You could say that.” She glanced at him and her stomach dropped. “Oh god, I’m sorry. I took your coat and now you’re freezing. What were you thinking?”
He turned to face her fully, and she couldn’t escape the sudden awareness of how close they stood. He wasn’t a huge guy, but he still dwarfed her. And that face. The moonlight seemed to caress his features lovingly, lingering on his jaw and high cheekbones. He was so attractive, it actually hurt to look at him. Kendall always thought that level of perfection best left to movie stars and people who had no business interacting with normal humans.
Alex didn’t move, but he suddenly felt closer. Close enough to touch. “I wanted to talk to you a little longer.”
Her whole body gave a lurch, as if every cell of her being fought to get closer to him. Kendall planted her feet out of sheer stubbornness. “I think you missed the part where I never planned on being on this cruise.”
“Intentions don’t mean shit. Actions do. You’re here. What are you going to do about it?” As if it was that simple. Decide and act. Or maybe just skip the deciding part and act.
His words wove a siren song around her and Kendall moved without having any intention of doing it. She grasped his thin T-shirt and went up on her toes. He was still too tall to reach her destination, not without help. She made a frustrated sound.
He caught her around the waist, lifting her to him instead of descending to her. It seemed the most natural thing in the world to wrap her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. They were so, so close, and she couldn’t think too hard about what they were doing or all the ways she’d kick herself over being so impulsive tomorrow.
Instead, she kissed him.
Alex let her explore his mouth for three whole heartbeats before he took over. He turned and walked them to the wall across from the railing, pressing her there as he shifted their kiss for a better angle. His tongue slid along hers, light and teasing as if he only wanted a taste. As if he didn’t have this overwhelming desperation clawing through his chest, demanding he get closer, closer, oh my god, touch me. The sheer force of need had Kendall breaking the kiss. “I can’t.”
“Okay.” He started to move from the wall, started to let her down.
She tightened her grip on him. “But I really, really want to.”
Alex pulled back enough to see her face. She had no idea what he saw there. His expression lay almost completely in shadow. He finally reclaimed the small space between them, settling between her thighs as if he could hold her like this all night. “You don’t let your hair down much, do you?”