2. Sutton

2

SUTTON

"There you are." The unfamiliar feminine voice tickled the fine hairs along the back of my neck, and I turned away from the self-absorbed redhead seated across from me to find myself in the presence of an angel.

"Hey." I smiled back at her, trying not to show just how grateful I was for the interruption. Which meant I probably came off looking more like a feral dog baring his teeth.

Her responding smirk was a thing of beauty. "I've been looking all over for you." She dropped me a wink. "Where's my drink?" Her gaze dipped to the table like she expected to find a fresh cocktail waiting for her.

"I was just headed to the bar to order it," I replied.

Had I ever set eyes on the knockout brunette before in my life? No. If I had, the memory of her devilish lips and her cock-stirring curves would have been seared into my brain.

But I also would have taken just about any decent escape hatch at that point.

"It was great to meet you..." I stood and offered the woman I'd been listening to—I think her name was Amber, or maybe it was Amanda—an apologetic shrug.

"Avril," she said with an irritated huff. "Like the singer."

"Of course. It was great to meet you, Avril." A bald-faced lie.

I'd been sitting at the table by myself, minding my business on the sidelines just in case my buddy Brandon needed a wingman, when she'd plopped down across from me and started droning on about herself. And she kept on talking for the better part of ten minutes. After a brief introduction where I barely managed to get my name out, there was no conversation. No back and forth.

The woman only paused her narcissistic preening long enough to take a breath.

I'd been seriously considering feigning seasickness just to get away from her before this peach-clad goddess swooped in to save me.

Avril's lips twisted down in a frown. "Maybe we can pick this up later?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but Pretty in Peach beat me to it. "We have dinner plans later."

Avril shot her a glare that might have been intimidating in grade school, but the bold woman in front of me wasn't the least bit phased. "Tomorrow then?"

"Shore excursion," the stunning stranger replied without missing a beat. Her golden-brown eyes raked down the length of me before gliding back up to meet my gaze. "This big guy promised to take me on an ATV ride I would never forget."

Did I now? From the look of her, I wouldn't have pegged her as the type to enjoy getting windblown and covered in dirt and sand.

Avril huffed out a breath and stood, snatching her glass off the table. "Whatever." Then she sauntered off to find her next target.

The other woman arched a brow at me. "You're welcome."

I glanced between her and Avril's retreating back. "Did you come over here just to save me?"

"You looked like you needed an out."

"That obvious, huh?" I knew this cruise was going to be a rough trip when I'd agreed to it, but when it came to Brandon, I would do anything for the guy. Especially since he'd come back from a brutal deployment overseas a couple of months earlier.

"Painfully so." She offered me a sympathetic smile.

"In that case, how about you let me buy you that drink for real?"

She glanced toward the bar. "You do know they're free, right?"

"Then I'll buy you two," I teased.

She let out a sweet laugh. It was just two quick puffs of breath, but the sound shot straight to my cock. "What if I don't make a habit of drinking with strangers?"

That was an easy fix. "Sutton Rafferty." I held out my hand.

She took it in a grip that was warm and welcoming, but it was only when she looked down a second or two later that I realized I was brushing my thumb along the backside of her hand.

Instead of pulling away, she licked her lips. "June Basillisa"

"June? Like the month or like the bug?" I asked before I wrangled my idiot mouth shut. My flirting game wasn't just weak, it was pretty much dead.

She gifted me with another smile and tugged her hand free. "Like the tree. June is short for Juniper."

"Even better," I said, wrapping my tingling fingers around my cold beer and taking a much-needed sip.

I had no idea what I meant by that. All I knew was that I needed something to help me recover at least some of my composure. It wasn't her fault that my body had a visceral response to her touch or that my brain had apparently forgotten what it was like to be attracted to someone.

I used to be better at this, didn't I?

Maybe in my former life. Of course, that was the same life that had nearly killed me. The life where almost everyone in it turned their backs on me, save for my parents and Brandon.

June and I watched each other for several silent seconds before I managed to cobble together a few more words. "Well, June, I guess this means we're not strangers anymore."

"I guess not."

"How about that drink?"

She glanced toward the bar, with its sleek marble top and elegant accent lights, then back at me. "Gin and tonic."

Classic and timeless. It seemed a fitting drink for the occasion, and the woman. I motioned to the velvet clad barstool across from me. "Don't let anyone steal my seat?"

She nudged me out of the way and took my spot as her own. "I'll keep it safe."

Scents of high-end liquor mingled with hints of perfume and pheromones swirling in the air as I waited for our drinks. I kept an eye on her and replayed our whole interaction in my head twice over. I didn't know quite what to make of her, but one thing was certain, I wanted to know more.

She watched me too, like she was studying my every move. By the time I made it back to the table, I was more nervous than I'd been in years.

"Gin and tonic, as requested," I said, setting the glittering glass in front of her.

The drink earned me another smile, though this one was a bit tighter than the others. "Thank you." She pulled it closer and stirred it slowly with the black straw, staring down into the swirling ice.

Was she having second thoughts about approaching me? I certainly hadn't planned on connecting with anyone on this trip. My goals were to have a little fun, get a lot of sun, and to make sure Brandon had a chance to unwind.

I grabbed the other stool and tugged it back a few inches before sitting down. My body wanted to lean in closer to June, to inhale deeply and discover if that irresistibly musky scent I was picking up on was coming from her. It was earthy and painfully sensual. But somewhere between leaving to get drinks and returning, she'd closed herself off a little.

Which meant I needed to give her space.

I leaned back and took a sip of my Guinness. "So, June, how are you enjoying your cruise so far?"

She glanced up at me like I'd pulled her out of a deep thought, then her gaze darted out to the mingling crowd before returning to me. "Honestly? I'm not really."

Not the answer I was expecting. "Why not?"

"Do you see the blonde bombshell out there with the three pretty boys hovering around her?"

I nodded.

"That's my best friend, Missy. Her divorce was just finalized, and she needed to get out of town. This..." She waved a hand, encompassing everything around us. "Was all her idea."

"And you agreed to come along to support her even though you don't want to be here?" I asked. It sounded like a familiar tale.

"Pretty much, and when I saw you over here looking miserable, it gave me an idea."

"Is that so?"

She fiddled with her straw, obviously having an internal debate of some kind. "Are you looking to hook up with someone on this cruise?" she finally asked.

I admired a woman who didn't pull punches, and such a direct question deserved an honest response. I shook my head and pointed out Brandon amongst the growing crowd. "Nope. I'm here strictly to play wingman." Though, if June wanted to stick around and get to know me better, I was definitely open to the idea.

"Does he know that?"

"No," I laughed. Then I realized what I'd just said. "And he cannot find out."

I loved him like a brother, but he was the guy who would do anything for a friend, including sacrificing his own desire to let loose for a few days just to make sure I didn't feel left out. If he figured out that I had no interest in sleeping with anyone on this ship, he would make it his personal mission to keep me entertained.

June nodded like she was expecting my response. "I'm in the same boat with Missy."

I pressed my lips together to stop myself from pointing out the pun.

"What?"

I couldn't leave it hanging, could I? I motioned to our surroundings. "In the same boat?"

She rolled her eyes. "Metaphorically."

Obviously. The joke was low-hanging fruit, but damned if she wasn't adorable even when she was irritated. "Apologies." I offered her a weak shrug. "You looked like the kind of woman with a sense of humor."

She flinched. "I am, just not for sophomoric puns."

It took me a second to realize just how backhanded my statement must have sounded. Yeah, I deserved the dig.

I laid my hand over my heart. "I'm sorry. It's been a long time since I've had a real conversation with a beautiful woman, and I'm afraid I've forgotten how to talk like a civilized person."

June studied me as she nibbled on the inside of her lip. "It's fine. I'm pretty sure this was a mistake anyway." She pushed back from the table and stood. "It was nice to meet you, Sutton."

She turned away, but I caught her by the wrist. "Wait." It was a reflexive move, and I knew the minute her glare sliced through me that I'd fucked up. "Please?" I asked, releasing her gingerly.

At least she didn't yank free of my grip. That was something, right?

If she was experiencing the same intense pins and needles sensation radiating up her arm from where I touched her, she didn't let it show.

"Look, you seem like a nice enough guy, but I'm not here to hook up. All I want is to survive the next four nights without having to fend off every single guy Missy tries to throw at me."

"I'm confused. If you're not interested, why would you approach me?"

June's lips twisted before she lifted her drink and drained half the glass in one go. Then she let out a heavy breath. "This might sound a little crazy, but I actually came over to see if you might be open to a proposition."

I straightened. "What kind of proposition?" I asked, praying she wasn't a paid escort of some kind. She was the first woman I'd met in years who caught my attention, and not just because of the way my body responded to her proximity.

Also, if she wasn't careful, she was going to nibble her bottom lip raw.

The image of me leaning across the polished wood table and kissing her, tangling my hands in her gorgeous brown hair as I gave her my lip to nip and nibble on, filled my mind. It was a momentary daydream that lasted all of three seconds, but it was a rallying call for my already half-hard cock.

Shut it down, hotshot. The woman just said she's not on this cruise to find love. Or lust.

She swirled the ice in her glass, weighing her next words carefully. "What if we fake it?"

I blinked. I was missing something. "Fake what, exactly?"

June licked those irresistible lips. "Dating. We can tell our friends that you and I are interested in getting to know each other better during the cruise. That should keep them off our backs, right?" Her gaze wandered out toward the crowd. "It means we'll have to do things together, like dinner on at least a couple of nights. And introduce each other to Missy and Brandon..."

Her words faded, and I couldn't tell if she was talking to me or talking herself through her proposed ruse.

She closed her eyes for a beat. "This is a dumb idea, right?"

"Pretending to date a stranger so your friend won't try to set you up on dates with strangers, on a cruise where half the people on board are here to meet and hook up with new people?" I leaned back in my seat. "It might be a little unorthodox, but I see the appeal."

Some of the tension drained from her shoulders. "You do?"

"Yeah." In a way. It could be a win for us both, but we also ran the risk of having it backfire spectacularly.

What if our friends found out what we were up to? Brandon would probably take it in stride, but would Missy? What if we got to know each other better only to discover we didn't have anything to talk about? Or that we couldn't stand each other?

The last seemed unlikely, but you never knew. Then there was the alcohol factor. I had a feeling June was a little tipsy. For all I knew, she might turn out to be a completely different person in the morning.

But if the goal was to play pretend, did it matter? We could always stage a fake break up. No harm, no foul. I doubted it would come to that. If anything, the real danger would be developing actual feelings for the woman.

That thought pulled me up short. Was that a possibility?

Maybe.

Even in the short time we'd been talking, I could tell she had the potential to be a lot of fun. She was quick witted, bold when she wanted to be, but she also had this hint of vulnerability that was already calling to the protector in me, reeling me in.

"I'm tempted," I admitted. "Walk me through what you're thinking."