Separate Cabins by Janet Dailey

. haven’t remembered to turn it in.” He held it up between his thumb and forefinger to show her. “I decided it was time I removed temptation from my pocket.”
    It hadn’t occurred to Rachel that Gard still might have a key to the cabin they had shared so briefly. When he offered it to her, she extended an upturned palm to receive it. The metal key felt warm against her skin when Gard laid it in the center of her palm. Her hand closed around it as her silently questioning gaze searched his face.
    “You could just as easily have knocked,” Rachel said.
    “I could have,” he admitted as his glance went to the hand still clutching the back neckline of her dress. No apology was offered for the fact that he had let himself in. “I guess I didn’t want to have the door shut on me again.”
    Her eyes ran over him, taking in the masculinity of his form and finding pleasure in the presence of a man in her room ... in her life.
    “I think you’d better leave now.” Her suggestion was completely at odds with what she was feeling.
    “Not yet.” His mouth quirked. “First I’ll help you with those hooks. Turn around.”
    Rachel hesitated, then slowly turned her back to him and tipped her head down. Her stomach churned with nervous excitement at the firm touch of his fingers on the nape of her neck.
    “If nothing else,” Gard murmured dryly, “I’llhave the satisfaction of doing this . . . even if it means the cold comfort of a shower afterward.”
    The material around her throat was loosened as he unfastened the three remaining hooks that held the high collar. An aroused tension swept through her system when she felt his fingers on the zipper. He slowly ran it down to the bottom, the sensation of his touch trailing the length of her spine. With a hand crossed diagonally, Rachel held the front of her raspberry dress to her body.
    His hands rested lightly on each shoulder bone. She felt the stirring warmth of his breath against the bared skin of her neck an instant before his warm mouth investigated the nape of her neck, finding the pleasure point where all sensation was heightened to a rawly exciting pitch. Her mouth went dry as a weakness attacked her knees. Somehow she managed to hold herself upright without sagging against him.
    “I think you’d better leave, Gard.” Rachel didn’t dare turn around, because she knew if she did, she’d go right into his arms.
    Disappointment welled in her throat when he moved away from her and walked to the door. But he paused there, waiting for her to look at him. When she did, Rachel was glad of the distance that made the longing in her eyes less naked.
    “I never did get around to giving you a tour of the owner’s suite,” Gard said. “It has a double bed.”
    “Does it?” Her voice was shaking a little.
    “Next time I’ll invite you to my place ... for coffee,” he added on an intimate note and opened the door.
    When it had closed behind him, Rachel discovered she was gripping the extra key in her hand. She looked at it for a long moment, almost wishing he had it back. A degree of sanity returned and she slipped the key into her purse with its mate.
    Rachel stood at the bow in front of the wheel-house as the ship steamed into the inlet of the bustling Mazatlan Harbor. High on a hill, the massive lighthouse of El Faro kept a watchful eye on the ship while shrimp boats passed by on their way out to sea.
    “Are you going ashore when we dock?” Gard asked, coming up behind her.
    She really wasn’t surprised to see him. In fact, she’d been expecting him. “Yes, I am.” She cast a glance at him, the vividness of last night’s interlude still claiming her senses.
    In denims and a pale blue shirt, he looked bronzed and rugged. Those hard, smooth features were irresistibly handsome. Rachel wondered if she didn’t need her head examined for taking it so slow.
    “Did you sign up for one of the tours?”
    “No.” She shook her head briefly and tucked her hair