Excerpt of Show Me The Ropes by Roz Lee

Richard sank into his desk chair and crossed his arms on the desktop. His forehead dropped to rest on top of his arms. Thank God the passengers were gone, for now. He had a few blissfully quiet hours until the new crop came aboard. Two whole hours of solitude. He refused to think about the fact his business partner had abandoned ship the day before, sailing off to domestic bliss with his new girlfriend, and leaving him in charge. Ryan Callahan had found the love of his life and said goodbye to the Lothario, perhaps for good.

With a little luck, Richard would be following Ryan, but first, he had to convince the woman he loved to give him a chance. He’d tried everything he knew to get her attention. He’d tried the playboy angle, parading a variety of women in front of her in a futile effort to make her jealous, and he could admit now, he’d been searching for a viable substitute for the woman he couldn’t have. Instead of jealousy, he’d garnered disgust from Fallon, and from himself. He’d tried courting her, but as Cruise Director, he was always in the company of beautiful, desirable women. How he would ever convince Fallon he wasn’t the reprobate she believed him to be, he had no idea. Perhaps if he told her what he’d done eighteen months ago, she might give him the chance he was hoping for. No, as long as there was still a chance he could convince her he’d changed, then he preferred to keep his desperation to himself.

Everyone knew not to disturb him for these two precious hours unless the ship was sinking, or on fire, so at the sound of his office door opening, he jerked upright. Fallon stood in the doorway as if he’d conjured her from his frustrated desire. Sharp pain gripped his groin and he willed his erection to wither. He’d become a master at self- control when other women were around, but with Fallon it was still a major struggle, one he lost more often than he won.

"Richard, do you have minute?"

A minute. An hour. A lifetime. "Sure. What’s up?" Besides me?

She kept her grip on the doorknob, half in, and half out of the office, as if she prepared to run and use the door as a shield if he moved toward her. "I...I’m resigning, effective immediately."

Well, shit. "Come in and shut the door, Fallon. I promise I won’t bite."

She glanced over her shoulder as if hoping someone else would come by and witness her entering his office. Her smart, chin-length blond hair fanned out to hide her profile.

He sighed inwardly. Damn. She didn’t even want to be alone with him, even in a professional manner. "You’re safe with me. I swear."

She closed the door, took the two steps needed to cross the small office and sat in his solitary guest chair. "Is there a problem?" she asked.

Was she kidding? His pulse accelerated as his heart pumped blood to the problem. "I assume you have someone lined up to replace you?" Of course she did. She wouldn’t have come unprepared, not Fallon Enright. A lesser mortal maybe, but not the goddess of human sexuality. Fallon would have a plan A, and at least three others to fall back on if the first one fell flat. He loved that about her, the way she thought things through, paid attention to the details, planned.

"Yes. Kelsey has been observing and assisting for almost a year. I’m sure she can take over."

He nodded in agreement. "You would know best. I’ll take your word for it." He knew Kelsey. She didn’t have Fallon’s credentials, but her customer satisfaction ratings were at the top of the chart. She’d do. So much for nixing Plan A. He’d have to come up with something else to keep Fallon aboard. He needed time to think. If he lost Fallon, he’d effectively doomed himself to a lifetime he couldn’t begin to contemplate, and remain sane. "What are her qualifications?"

Fallon launched into what sounded like a well-rehearsed speech touting Kelsey’s numerous attributes. Richard tuned it out, his mind working double-time to come up with something, anything, to keep Fallon from leaving.

"Richard. Have you heard a word I said?"

He hadn’t. Between watching her pouting lips move, imagining them moving over his cock, and racking his lust- impaired brain for a solution to his problem, he hadn’t heard a word. "Sure. You convinced me. Kelsey can take over for you, as of today."

She started to rise. "Thanks. This was easier than I thought it would be." She stood between the chair and his desk. "It’s been a pleasure working for you Richard. I’ll make sure you get a copy of the book as soon as it comes out."

"Just a minute." He leaned back in his chair and plopped his heels on his desk. His cock throbbed, as if he needed a reminder of what was at stake. He pointed at the chair she’d just vacated. "Sit back down, Fallon." He waited until she complied. "Are you forgetting you have a contract?"

"Well, no. But..."

"But what? You still have several months before your contract comes up for renewal I believe."

"Yes, but..."

He’d stooped lower than this before, but not in a long while. It was a slimy thing to do, but he was out of options. "I think we can work something out, if you’re willing to negotiate."

"Uhm, I guess."

"Okay. Have you ever been a passenger on the Lothario?"

"No. Why?"

"I’ll let you out of the remainder of your contract, without penalty, if you spend the next week onboard as a passenger."

She opened her mouth to speak. He stayed her with his hand raised, palm out. "As my passenger."

"Your passenger?"

"You heard me. For the duration of this week’s cruise, you will be mine. All mine. You follow my orders without question. You will wear what I provide, go where I direct, submit to me in all things."

"All things?"

He dropped his feet to the floor and leaned on his forearms across the desk. His eyes met hers. "All things."

He hoped she couldn’t see his flop-sweat, or detect the tremor in his legs, the real reason he’d shifted his feet to the floor. She, on the other hand, made no effort to conceal her nerves. Her eyes gave her away. The idea aroused her. For the first time in two long years, he felt a surge of hope. He fought to control his facial features as another sharp pain gripped his groin. "I’ll take your lack of protest as an affirmation. I’ll speak to Kelsey. She can take over for you immediately. Return to your cabin now. Take off your crew uniform and pack up the rest. I’ll have wardrobe bring you a set of standard passenger attire, and pick up your crew uniforms. Don’t leave your cabin until I come for you."

"You can’t be serious."

"Sure I can. And I am."

"What’s this about, Richard?"

He knew she wouldn’t acquiesce without a fight. It wasn’t her nature to let someone order her around, at least not where her work was concerned. He was certain that didn’t apply to her sexual pursuits, however, and he had every intention of proving it to her, if she’d give him the opportunity.

"It doesn’t have anything to do with your work, or your contract. This is personal."

He didn’t think her spine could get any straighter, or her features any colder.

"Personal? As in you and me?"

"Yes. Give me one week. No research. Just you and me, together."

"You expect me to submit? Is that how you put it? What, exactly, does that mean?"

"Just what it sounds like. You will be mine for the next seven days. If I tell you to do something, anything, you will do it."

Her eyes narrowed to razor-sharp slits and he thought he could hear her teeth grinding even though she was a good four feet from him.

"Anything?"

"Everything," he clarified.

"This isn’t right, Richard. You know this is grounds for a sexual harassment lawsuit."

"Yes. You would be within your rights to sue me, based on this conversation alone. I’m willing to take that chance in order to prove to you that I’m not the man you think I am. I’m gambling everything on the premise that you want this as much as I do."

"I do?"

"Yes, you do, or you would have stormed out of here already. Instead, you’re sitting there trying to figure out how to accept, without sounding as if this is exactly what you’ve wanted all along."

She closed her eyes and her lips moved as she silently counted to ten. At least she was thinking about it.

"Damn you, Richard Wolfe."

"I’m certain of that. Now, what’s it going to be? A lawsuit? Or, if you choose to accept, a simple, ‘Yes, Richard,’ will do."

She opened and closed her mouth a few times as if trying to find words. Richard held his breath and his heart beat like a jackhammer against concrete. Ryan would kill him if Fallon sued them for sexual harassment, but it was a risk he was willing to take.

Finally she stood, as regal as any queen, and moved to the door. She paused with her back to him, her hand on the doorknob. This was it. She was going to sue him for everything he had, and probably most of Ryan’s fortune too.

She looked over her shoulder. Her lips moved. Two words. Not, "Go to hell," as he’d expected, but "Yes, Richard." And then she was gone.

He let out his pent-up breath and slumped across the desk. His fist closed around cold metal and heated flesh, but brought him no relief. She was going to do it. He’d gambled and won. At least this hand.