best forgotten.
“Dinner?” he asked.
They ate in the main dining room, Zeus’ Temple. The room was crowded, and they kept their conversation to mundane topics. They spoke of mutual friends they’d lost contact with, the weather and their favorite movies.
Their waiter brought their desserts, warm chocolate soufflés, and departed.
Drew sat forward, using his spoon to toy with the dessert, but not eating. He wasn’t sure how she would take what he was going to say. He hardly knew what to make of it himself, but he knew it was the right thing to do. They needed to be alone.
“I reserved one of the private fetish rooms for us tonight.”
Celeste choked on the bite she’d just swallowed. She cleared her throat with a drink of water from the crystal goblet a waiter rushed to bring her.
“Fetish room?” She carefully placed the glass on the white linen tablecloth and raised her eyes to Drew’s. “What exactly did you have in mind tonight?”
“Nothing specific. The room looks like any stateroom onboard, except for the restraints and a few other amenities. I reserved it so we could have some privacy. I bribed the new IT guy to change the camera code for the room so Sean won’t be peeking in on us.”
“You think Sean would do that?”
“I know he would. I’d bet he is right now. How else do you think he knew we were at the Captain’s party?”
“So what?”
“I thought we could talk some. Get to know each other again. It’s been a long time, Celeste.”
Touching her had been heaven, and his fingers itched to do it again, but he’d be damned if he was going to be wondering if Sean had turned on the in-room security camera to watch them. He wished to God, he hadn’t seen Sean and Celeste in the pool that morning.
He’d finally gotten his feet to move, and headed toward their stateroom in the pre-dawn. He’d gone past the pool, not imagining Sean would indulge in his usual morning swim when he had Celeste to occupy him, but he’d been wrong.
He’d paid the bastard back with the scene at the Captain’s party. He wouldn’t have touched Celeste in public if he hadn’t noticed Sean lurking, spying on them. The mud-fucker had no boundaries it seemed, and Drew hated that he’d stooped to the same level, if even for a few moments. Moments seared in his brain, along with the taste of her he’d had in her cabin. If she hadn’t snatched the toga and locked the bathroom door behind her, he might have taken liberties then he had no business taking, not until they got a few things straight between them.
* * * * *
Celeste couldn’t help the flash of apprehension when Drew opened the door and stood aside so she could precede him into the fetish room. It felt eerily like she was being lured to her doom, a feeling that only increased when he closed and locked the door behind her. The fact that he’d accurately described the room helped calm her. On first glance it appeared to be a normal cabin, much like hers, but larger. Along the interior of Atlantis Deck, it had no window. Lamps provided ample light, along with overhead track lighting to accent the bed and an overstuffed chair in one corner. On closer inspection, she amended her original assessment. It was more luxurious than her cabin. The carpet beneath her feet was plush and decadent. The bed linens were a step up, as were the wall coverings.
She turned to Drew. “This is beautiful.”
“And, it’s private.” He waved her to the overstuffed chair. “Have a seat, Celeste.”
He took a seat on the edge of the bed, facing her. “We need to talk.”
“About what?”
“Us,” his hand waved between them then dropped, “and Sean.”
“Can we leave Sean out of this?”
“No, we can’t. You know we can’t.” He stood and paced a few steps and stopped. One hand cupped the nape of his neck, and Celeste noted the tension in the shoulder left bare by his toga. He didn’t want to have this conversation anymore than she did, but he was
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