Page 24 of Cruising for Christmas
He sat up and watched as she sat back and took her shoes off. He stood up and brushed himself off.
“No. Just startled me.”
She looked at him guiltily. “I didn’t think that one through.”
He chuckled. “It’s all right.”
He reached a hand down for her to take and helped pull her up. She sprang up with little effort and fell into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist to steady her. Her big brown eyes looked up at him.
“It seems we always end up this way,” she whispered.
“It seems we do,” he said softly. His eyes flickered down to her full lips. If he just leaned forward a bit, he could claim them.
Ian wanted nothing more than to taste her. Her tongue darted out, wetting her lips. As if accepting an invitation, he dipped his head and pressed his lips to hers. Electricity shot through him, and his dick immediately hardened. Her lips tasted like cranberries. She opened her mouth wider, and their tongues danced together. But before he could deepen the pressure, she pushed back and broke them apart, flicking her eyes away from him and wrapping her arms around herself. His heart clenched.
“Sorry,” she said.
His fingers tingled, and he longed to haul her back, but he buried his hands in his pockets to avoid reaching out.
She’s drunk. It’s better this way, he told himself.
“It’s okay.”
They took turns getting ready for bed before they turned the lights out. Ian laid back in bed, staring at the ceiling. Norah laid on her side with her back to him, her breath even in her sleep.
He sighed. He had already crossed a line, and they were only four days into their trip. Falling for his sister’s best friend was not on the agenda.
12
Norah woke with a groan. The night’s events rushed back to her—Ian dancing on stage and winning the contest, Norah downing way too many alcoholic drinks, the two of them lying in a heap on the floor. The kiss.
Oh God. How embarrassing.
She had pulled away from him so quick; it surprised her neither of them had whiplash. Norah couldn’t imagine how they wound up in that situation. She didn’t want to end the kiss, necessarily. But she also didn’t want him only kissing her because he was caught up in the moment.
She cracked her eyes to the bright sunlight streaming in from around the blinds. They made a soft clacking noise as they slapped one another with the breeze flowing through them. The balcony door was open.
Norah rolled onto her back and looked over to find the bed empty beside her, as she had expected. She pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes and willed the pounding to go away. The ship was docking in St. Thomas today, and Norah had signed up for an excursion of kayaking a mangrove waterway that ran through the small island with Shay and Ryan. They would hike to some tidal pools, some volcanic cliffs, and a blowhole before hiking back down to the water. There, they would enjoy a snack and snorkel before kayaking back to the marina.
A knock on the door had her pulling herself into a seated position. Ian popped his head into the room.
“Good morning, sleepyhead. Did someone just knock?”
She nodded.
“Great. I was worried I wouldn’t hear them over the water. I ordered us breakfast.”
She stared after him as he hurried to the door and pulled it open. A member of the kitchen team came in carrying two trays of food with metal lids. He set it down on the tiny table and opened each lid to show Ian before wishing them a good day and stepping back out of the room, pulling the door closed behind him.
Ian turned to look back at her. “Coffee?”
“Yes, please.” Norah swung her legs out of bed and stood up, squeezing her eyes shut to ward off the pounding before stepping closer to Ian.
“I bet you have quite the hangover,” he said softly, handing her a mug of coffee.
“Mm-hmm,” she hummed as she sipped from the mug.
He walked over to his bag and dug around before producing a bottle of aspirin. Norah thanked him as she shook two into her hand and downed them with the coffee.
