KRISTI GOLD - Marooned With A Millionaire

Jack rushed to her side and guided her up the companionway. She removed her hand from her mouth long enough to ask, “Where are we going?”

“To the deck,” he said. “I have a rule. Anyone who gets seasick has to do it over the side.”

“It’s probably morning sickness,” she muttered, her words muffled by her palm.

But it happened to be night, Jack thought. He guessed a little nausea was possible. After all, what did he know about pregnant women? Not a thing. He had a feeling he was about to learn more than he’d ever imagined.

When they reached the stern, he turned her toward the sea and held on to her from behind. “Go ahead.”

She glared over one shoulder. “I can’t do it with you watching.”

“You’re going to have to because I’m not letting you go. If you fall in, then I’ll have to go get you. And babe, I’m thinking that would be a bad idea. Rule one, stay on the boat.”

That brought her around in his arms. “I told you, I’m not a babe.”

“And I’m not Ahab.”

“It’s either that or Captain Hook since we seem to be following a fairy-tale theme.”

“Both my hands are intact.” Definitely so because they’d somehow made their way to her hips.

“I guess you’re right about that, so Ahab it is.”

He couldn’t hold back his smile. “Okay, Dorothy. Are you feeling better now, or do you still need to be sick?”

She drew in a deep breath, thrusting her breasts forward against his chest. Man, he didn’t need that.

“I’m not nauseated anymore, only hungry,” she said. “I just need something to eat.”

Jack needed to kiss her, badly. But he sure couldn’t do that at the moment, or anytime for that matter. He took a much-needed step back but kept his hands clasped loosely around her waist should she decide to pass out. “Look, I have some Oriental noodles with vegetables. Will that do?”

She grinned. “Perfectly.”

How little it seemed to take to please her. Jack wondered if that held true in all endeavors, including lovemaking. Slapping the thoughts from his brain, he released her completely. “Let’s get you something to eat.”

“And Hank,” she added.

Even though it was the last thing he wanted to do, Jack laughed. For the first time in months.

The man kept staring at her. Oh, he’d tried not to be too obvious about it, but four times now Lizzie had caught Jack watching her mouth.

Egad! She probably had a Chinese noodle hanging off her chin. Her fingertips immediately zipped to the area, but thankfully she found no strings. Just in case, she grabbed a napkin and swiped at her mouth to remove any latent residue.

He glanced up from his bowl again and this time his eyes homed in on her breasts. Lizzie immediately looked down at her chest, expecting to find a nice brown blob smeared on the borrowed T-shirt. She always seemed to miss her mouth, very odd since it was a more than adequate size.

Nope, no blob. Just cotton. Fairly transparent cotton that didn’t come close to hiding the fact she was still a bit chilled.

Sheesh. Is that what he’d noticed? Well, if so, she’d just have to cover the evidence.

Sitting back in the chair, Lizzie folded her arms across her breasts. “That hit the spot. Not exactly my favorite, but I feel much better now.”

“Good,” he muttered, dropping his gaze to his food.

“I’m really not that opposed to meat unless it’s beef. I love cows. My grandfather named his herd after the grandchildren. Then one day I learned we were having my cousin, Bernie, for Sunday dinner. Literally. Well, not literally. The cow named Bernie. That was the end of that. No more beef for me.”

Jack murmured something Lizzie couldn’t quite discern. Obviously he wasn’t too willing to join in the conversation. She wouldn’t let that stop her. “There are lots of replacements for beef, though. Take ground turkey, for instance. Have you had any?”

He glanced up for a moment then resumed pushing the last of his disgusting stew around in his bowl. “Not in a while.”

“Oh, so you have had some?”

“Of course.”

“Then I assume you’d agree that it’s not so different from having a regular hamburger.”

His gaze snapped up. “Huh?”

“You know, a big juicy hamburger with all the fixings. Yum, yum.”

He frowned. “That’s a weird comparison.”

“Why? When considering ground turkey versus ground beef, I’d say it was an accurate comparison.”

“Turkey? You were asking me about turkey?”

“Yes, what did you think I was…?” Reality dawned through Lizzie’s own confusion. This was so rich. “Wait a minute, you thought I was asking you if you’ve had any….” She couldn’t finish her sentence, or contain her laughter.

Jack didn’t laugh nor did he look at all amused. “I obviously misunderstood you.”

“Obviously. Did you really think I would ask you about your sex life?”

“My mistake.”

She leaned forward and propped a cheek on her palm. “Well, do you have one?”

He looked away but not before she saw discomfort in his eyes. “I don’t want to go there.”

Oh, but Lizzie wanted to. She wanted to know more about him since they would be sharing their time for a while, and whatever else they might decide to share. She was suddenly very warm. “I imagine a man like you has certain needs to fulfill. And I imagine there are plenty of women at your beck and call to take care of those needs. You know, a woman in every port.”

After pushing his bowl to one side, he clasped his hands in front of him and stared at her. “Think what you will, but I don’t care to discuss my love life.”

“Then you do have a love life.”

“Not anything to write home about.” He looked as if he’d regretted making that admission. Lizzie was glad he had. At least now she didn’t feel so alone in her celibacy.

“I can relate,” she said. “My love life is more or less nonexistent.”

That recaptured his attention. “Obviously you had one at some point since you’re pregnant.”

If he only knew the real circumstances behind the pregnancy. One couldn’t be wined and dined by a plastic catheter. “You’re right, let’s not go there.”

His crooked smile made a sudden showing. “Ah, come on now, Dorothy. You started this.”

She stood. “And it is now finished, Ahab.”

The lights flickered as Lizzie carried their plates to the sink. She stopped and stared at the ceiling. “What was that?”

Turning, she found Jack with his head lowered, the bridge of his nose pinched between two fingers as if he had one heck of a headache. Then came a long, frustrated sigh. “The batteries are going down. It’s only a matter of time before the lights go out completely.”

“Then we’re going to be completely in the dark?”

He looked up. “Yeah.”

“Do you have any candles?”

“Another rule. No candles on the boat, which means we need to conserve power.”

So much for creating a romantic ambience, Lizzie thought. “Flashlights?”

“A couple. But I’m out of extra batteries. I do have a kerosene lantern we can use until that fuel runs out.”

Just peachy. Lizzie leaned back against the counter. “Does this mean we’re going to have to eat cold food?”

“Yeah.”

“And take cold showers in the dark until we’re rescued?”

“Yeah. But I was planning on that anyway.” Coming to his feet, he headed toward the stairs. “Until the water runs out.”

“Where are you going?” Lizzie asked, following behind him in case he decided to shoot something else.

“To light some flares.”

“Can I help?”

He stopped and faced her. “You can watch.”

“That’s no fun,” she said with a grin. “I’d really rather participate.”