Destination Love

She was not a virgin. She’d figured that a nineteen-year-old woman ought to know something about sex, so she chose a college classmate who she considered to be of superior intelligence and made what she regarded as a clinical experiment into the efficacies of sex. She hadn’t counted on the pain, but when that was over, something pleasant should have happened. Nothing pleasant did. Maybe she’d chosen the wrong guy. Several months later, she tried it again with a different man and with the same results. It had not occurred to her that she might be the type of woman for whom an enjoyable sexual experience required emotional involvement. Instead, she decided that the hoopla about sex was a lot of hype and spent her time thereafter cultivating her mind.

She showered, changed into a cotton-piqué yellow sundress and bolero, and a pair of low-heel sandals, and went to the ship’s store. “I don’t want any lipstick,” she told an aggressive saleswoman, “but could you recommend something for my lashes and a little rouge? I’m a university professor, and I don’t put a lot of goo on my face.”

“Come over here.”

Sheri followed the woman to what looked like a dental chair in a tiny room. “You have lovely skin, but you’re pale. You’re a little bit darker than what we call olive tone, and you need a little color.”

Twenty minutes later, Sheri looked at herself in the mirror. She didn’t see any makeup, but her face glowed. “Can you teach me how to do that?” she asked the woman.

“With pleasure.”

Later, feeling as if she’d made a friend, Sheri left the cosmetics counter with several articles she’d never owned before and expert advice on their application. She also had an added sense of confidence.

“Don’t tell me I’ve become invisible.”

Sheri whirled around at the sound of the familiar voice. “Hi, Brian. For that, you’d have to shrink a lot or take some kind of miracle drug.”

“You’re glowing. I wish I was the guy responsible for it. Surely you can have one little drink with me.”

“Brian, I’m sure you’re a nice guy, but I don’t see the point in crossing my signals.”

“How long have you known that guy? If you met him on ship, he’s not more entitled to your confidence and trust than I am. Think about that.”

“You’re probably right, but I normally go with my intelligence and my instincts. Where he’s concerned I’ve got that and more for a guide.”

“I’m not giving up. There’s something about you. I missed it at first, but the more I see you, the more I see in you.” He didn’t smile, and she realized that his interest in her might be more than the desire for a shipboard romance.

“I’m sorry, Brian. I really am. Bye.”

She hadn’t gone six feet before she saw Wright sitting in a lounge chair with his right ankle draped across his left knee, and she knew at once that he’d seen her talking with Brian.

“With that glow you’ve got, you’re not going to tell me you bumped into that guy a minute ago, are you?”

“That’s exactly what I’m going to tell you. And if you don’t believe me, tough,” she said, her temper high and rising. She would have walked on past him, but he was out of the chair like a squirrel after a nut.

“Why don’t you tell him to leave you alone?”

“I told him that I am not interested, and he said he’s not giving up. As long as he keeps a reasonable distance, I can’t demand that the captain pitch him into the Atlantic.”

His fingers plowed through his hair. “All right. I’m sorry. But that guy’s starting to get on my nerves. He sees that you’re with me. Why doesn’t he get his own woman?”

This good-looking brother was jealous. Would it be different with a man who made her feel as he did and who cared about her? Her gut instinct told her that it would be, and if for no reason other than the fact that Wright was a mature and experienced man, not a pretend-to-know-it-all college jock. But did she dare take a chance? She had spent years bridling her libido. She looked at Wright and, for the first time, she saw genuine vulnerability in him.

She grasped his hand. “Come on. I wanted to look nice this evening, so I dressed, went to the store and bought some makeup.”

“You what? You didn’t need makeup.”

“Yes, I did, and that’s what’s making me glow, as you put it.”

He looked hard at her “Something’s different, but I don’t see any makeup. It’s six-fifteen. I’d like a margarita.”

“I’ll have a glass of wine, but I need to put this package in my room. It won’t take long.”

“I’ll go with you. That guy knows when I’m not around, and I’m damned if I’ll make it easy for him. I’m not going in,” he said when they reached her room. “You’re temptation personified.” She went in, dropped the bag on the bed and rejoined him. “This is a great color for you,” he said of her dress.

“Thanks. I was glad to see that Brian wasn’t wearing his yellow shirt today,” she said as they approached the bar.

When his arms slid around her waist, and his hand tightened possessively, she saw from her peripheral vision that Brian approached. “Good evening,” he said to Wright. “Care to share a drink? I’ve been trying to get Sheri to join me for a drink. Maybe if you join us, she won’t be so apprehensive about me.”

“I’m not apprehensive, Brian. I’m just not interested. If Wright wants to have a drink with you, he’s welcome. But I don’t and, after this cockeyed trick, I won’t.” She looked at Wright. “You coming?”

“Excuse me a minute, Sheri.” Wright walked over to Brian, and she couldn’t hear what he said, but from Brian’s expression, it could not have been friendly. She was relieved when Brian lifted his shoulder in a shrug and walked away.

“What did you say to him?”

“Precisely? I’m not sure you want to know. It added up to showing me the proper respect.”

It wasn’t the first inkling she’d had that Wright was a no-nonsense man. Brian did a foolish thing, and he didn’t have her sympathy. “I’ve just decided to join you in a margarita. Life’s too short to miss out on the good stuff.”

He narrowed his left eye. “Brian’s recklessness brought on that scene. That’s no reason why you should be incautious.” He took her hand and headed for the bar. “When did you last drink a margarita or any other mixed drink containing hard liquor? Huh?”

“I don’t remember.”

“I bet you don’t. You’re not a worldly woman. If you’d like to try a cocktail, I suggest something like brandy Alexander, which contains heavy cream, or a vodka comet, which contains vodka, tonic water and a slice of lime on a cube of ice. Let the ice melt before you drink it. And to be on the safe side, drink some half-and-half or chew a few Mylanta tablets before you go to the bar, and eat something while you drink. You don’t know your tolerance for alcohol.”

If she had needed proof that his aim was not merely to get her into bed, he’d just given it to her. This man did not want to ply her with alcohol in order to seduce her. She stifled a laugh. He’d be lucky if she didn’t seduce him.

“Be careful, Sheri. Your eyes are giving me some signals that you may not want me to have.” His words came out in a low, almost sultry growl. “You are an exciting woman, and you shouldn’t forget that.”

“I’ve been called a lot of things, I’m sure, but I doubt exciting was one of them. But if you think so…” She let the thought hang.

“I think so. What will it be?”

She looked from him to the bartender and back. “A vodka comet, long on the tonic water.”

“And you, sir?”

“A margarita. Very cold. I thought you’d order wine,” Wright said to her when the bartender turned to mix the drinks.

“Why? I trust your judgment.”

Something firelike flickered in his eyes. “Thank you. That’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me.”

“I wasn’t being nice. I was telling the truth.”

“This is not the place for me to kiss you.”

She’d never dreamed what it would be like to go toe-to-toe with a man on a nonacademic, nontechnical topic, and she loved every second of it. “You mean there’re special places for kisses? Where?”