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Though the others continued to play cards, she could tell from their shared looks, they thought she was nuts. “Okay, tell me to go back to my room and sleep.” She set her mug on the coffee table. She knew it wouldn’t work, but she didn’t want to look any more stupid than she already did. Maybe Alicia had some of that seasickness medicine that might make her drowsy. “Okay?”
Stasio looked up at her. “Go back to your room and go to sleep.”
Caitlin stood. The ship rolled and she instinctively grabbed Levka’s shoulder. He winced and she quickly released him. “Sorry.”
She shook Alicia. When she didn’t respond, she said, “Alicia, come with me back to our room.” Alicia stood. Caitlin took her hand and grabbed a nearby pole, then without a backward look made her way down the hall to the stairs that would lead to their deck. She knew the guys were watching them, knew they were laughing to themselves. The lounge was supposed to be empty. They shouldn’t have been there. She had wanted to hide there from the storm, from the crew, from the passengers, not show her insecurities to the world.
Minutes later, she unlocked the door to their room. “Go to bed, Alicia.”
When Alicia settled back on her bed, Caitlin stared at the balcony door where the rain pounded the glass. It might have been waves and not rain as high as she imagined the crests were.
Searching through Alicia’s bags, she couldn’t find any seasickness medicine. She grabbed her pillow, walked into the hall, and shut the door to her room. With her back to the wall, she sat and laid her head on her pillow on top of her knees. She would not get near the balcony or the ocean. Here in the narrow hall away from the prying eyes of others and the wickedness of the cruel waters, she would be safe.
Sometime later, she dreamed Levka called to her, “Invite me in, Caitlin. Invite me into your room.”
She felt she’d slurred the words, “Come in,” but she couldn’t have sworn to it. In the hazy fog of her mind, she further fantasized he carried her to her bed, pulled off her lifejacket, and covered her with her blanket. Leaning over, he kissed her forehead with a gentle caress. “Sleep,” he said, his dark eyes overpowering her. “Sleep, and join us in the morning.”
She studied his semi-sweet dark chocolate eyes, amusement and intrigue sparkling in their depths. She wanted to reach out to him, to touch his pale cheek, and thought she had. But he captured her hand and kissed it. His lips curved up, and he leaned over and kissed her mouth this time. His tongue licked her lips, then he pulled away, seemingly startled, his eyes turning to midnight. Then he withdrew into the shadows. She wanted to follow, tried to, but he repeated his words to her, “Sleep, sweet angel.”
It seemed that no sooner had the vision faded from her sight, that an annoying knocking on her door woke her. She stared at the door, but the knocking had stopped. Maybe it was next door.
She glanced at Alicia, still sleeping in her lifejacket. Caitlin was still dressed, too, only her lifejacket was sitting on the desk chair. Levka couldn’t have brought her into her room. He was too weak. Still not completely awake, Caitlin sighed. She must have walked into the room half asleep without even realizing it.
The knocking began again, and this time Caitlin realized it was her door.
Alicia bolted from her bed, stared at her lifejacket, then jerked it off. Before Caitlin could say a word, Alicia grabbed her pillow and slugged Caitlin in the head with it. “You’re a moron, you know!” Alicia shrieked.
Caitlin grabbed at the pillow before Alicia slugged her with it again when the knocking at the door grew louder and more frenzied.
Chapter 6
Levka shook his head at Arman as they stood outside Caitlin’s stateroom door. “It sounds as though Alicia needs to be under our control again.” He stared at the door. “I can’t believe as much sleeping medicine as you’d put in Caitlin’s two mugs of cocoa last night, she ended up trying to stay awake in the hallway.”
Arman shrugged. “Stasio says she’s resistant to mind and drug control. But then, you already found that out, I suspect.”
Yeah, Levka had when he’d tried to get her to tell him what upset her so much during the lifeboat drill. “You amended the records at the doctor’s station so no one would know you broke in and stole some of the sleeping medicine?”
“Yep, I don’t make mistakes like Stasio.”
Glad Arman had finally stepped in to help their cause despite breaking rules, Levka nodded.
“I’m the best trained to serve as the doctor, and she needed to sleep,” Arman said, crossing his arms, defending himself.
“She did, and I thank you for helping her.” Staring at the door, Levka said, “Knock again. I’m afraid she’ll miss breakfast.”
Arman pounded on the door again. “Caitlin, are you up? Levka’s worried you’re going to miss breakfast with him.”
Levka scowled at him.
Arman shrugged. “Your words, Levka. You cannot fault me for being honest.”
Caitlin yanked the door open, a hairbrush in one hand, a smile stretching across her face. “I’ll be just a few minutes.” She looked down at Levka and gave him a lopsided grin. “Sorry, I guess I finally fell asleep sometime this morning.”
He looked at the cut on her lip where she must have bitten it earlier and even now could taste her blood on his tongue, sweet and spicy. Forever, her blood would be imprinted on his mind. He bowed his head to her. His friends were right. He wanted her in the worst way, and resisting her would take all his strength. “The seas have settled down.”
“Yes, thank God. Did you want to wait for us upstairs? There’s no reason for us to hold you up.” The bathroom door slammed behind her, and Caitlin rolled her eyes. “Sleeping Beauty will take forever.”
“Do you still need to use the bathroom?” Levka asked.
