Crashed into Love: Boxed Set (10 page)

 I gasped with pleasant surprise when I entered the
canopied dance floor. It was all open air. The constant island temperature
didn’t require walls.

My skin already had a soft sheen of sweat from the
balmy night. Staff smiled when I arrived and a young man bowed. “Drink,
milady?”

I laughed. As if. I was no lady. “Milady? I don’t
think I’ve been called that before.”

The waiter chuckled too; his black hair twinkled
with the red and pink fairy lights from the ceiling. He winked. “A pretty woman
like you should be called a lady all the time.”

“Flirt.” I joked back. “You’ve twisted my arm. I
don’t normally drink, but I’ll have a Sex on the Beach.” I deserved a bit of
alcohol after today.

He raised an eyebrow. “Excellent choice, milady. The
beach is just there.” He pointed behind me to the sounds of swishing water on
sand in the darkness.

I swatted his arm, disbelieving how bold he was. I
could get him into serious trouble for that. I wasn’t angry, though. It was
nice to joke and let my guard down.

“I’ll have it in liquid form, please. And a large
glass of water.”

“Your wish is my command,” he said in his thick
Samoan accent. He headed to the bar to place my order, and I made my way to a
vacant table with high stools on the rim of the small dance floor.

The gentle breeze from the ocean fluttered my hair;
I wondered briefly if I should put it into a pony tail. If Nikolai was here, it
would stick to my back as I grew hot from dancing.

It was as if I summoned him. The instant I thought
about him, he appeared on the edge of the dance floor.

I froze.

He scanned the tables. A few guests were strewn
around, indulging in conversation or tapping their foot to the mellow beat of
music. It took several passes before his eyes settled on me.

His face lit up, then he coughed, wiping away the
anticipation glowing in his eyes. He couldn’t fake it. He’d been looking for
me, too.

I smiled as he made his way over. “Fancy seeing you
here.”

He chuckled, sliding onto the stool opposite me. “I
heard you broke a plane.”

The busboy arrived and placed a pink concoction,
complete with umbrella and pineapple slice, in front of me. I choked on my sip,
unable to hold back my laugh. “You’re blaming me for crashing into paradise?”

He nodded, flicking a messy brown lock from his
forehead. “Yep. You’re mischievous. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you
sabotaged the plane to get me here for a night of dancing.” He winked. “Am I
right?”

Stress melted off me, and the last kinks in my neck
dissolved. Liam popped into my thoughts interrupting my budding happiness, and
guilt subdued me again. Guilt? Why guilt? It wasn’t like I was with Liam—sure
my feelings for him were complicated, and we shared a few moments, but beyond
that we were strangers. But there was something… some tug telling me he was
more than he seemed. 

Refocusing on the present, I took a sip of my drink.
“You’ve been looking in every bar in the hotel for me. Don’t deny it; you want
to dance with me as much as I want to dance with you.” It didn’t bother me to
admit it. There was no shame in dancing. It was pure, undiluted fun.

He slapped his forehead. “My plan has been foiled.
Dammit. Was I that obvious?”

I smiled. “Not at all. It’s nice to know someone who
likes to get as sweaty as me.”

His eyes changed from hazel to smouldering brown.
“Oh, I like getting sweaty all right. And not necessarily on the dance floor.”

My heart fizzled, and I thought it safer to ignore
his comment. I downed my Sex on the Beach and stood. “Should we get the show on
the road and ask them to turn on some proper music?”

Nikolai jumped off his stool, cracking his knuckles.
“Leave it to me. If they don’t have what we need, I do.” He pulled a flash
drive from his black jeans, looking very pleased with himself.

I resisted the urge to clap. That had been a concern
of mine. We were willing to dance, but if the music wasn’t right, it would’ve
all been for nothing.

I tried not to gawk at Nikolai’s figure as he walked
to the bartender and struck up conversation. He was well-built with sweeping
back muscles hiding beneath a loose green t-shirt. I couldn’t help comparing
him to Liam. Liam was bigger in broadness and height. Nikolai was swift and
toned—a dancer’s body. But there was something untamed about him that hinted at
rule-breaking and naughtiness.

A few laughs and a slap on the back later, the music
changed from island sway to Salsa heat. Every nerve ending in my body sprang to
attention; my feet tapped in rhythm. It began in my toes, trickled to my
ankles, and crept up my calves. Inch by bodily inch, I became alive until my
senses were smothered in Salsa notes. 

Ah, this was what I needed.

What I wanted.

Liam’s heated look outside my fale distracted me,
but I pushed it away. Liam was dangerous—provocative and tantalizing. I could
easily get swept away with lust.
Don’t deny he means more to you than that,
Nina.
I shied away from the thought. Could I afford to let my emotions be
involved? Sure, I’d promised myself to sample every experience, but letting my
tender heart break free from its self-imposed prison and get drunk on the
anticipation of love again—it asked a lot of courage.

Nikolai on the other hand was easy and fun. One
night with him would equal burned calories and sweat. Not scorned feelings or
tears. I’d take option two any day. Not that I had any calories to burn—a few
biscuits didn’t constitute as dinner. I made a note to order something before I
went to sleep.

Nikolai came back, holding out his hand. “Ready to
shake your tail feathers?”

I looked behind me, pretending surprise. “Feathers?
I don’t have feathers.”

He reached around and pinched my butt.

I slapped his hand away. He captured it instead,
laughing. “Was that a yes?”

“If you keep your hands off my butt, then yes.” I
cringed at how excited my voice was. I hoped the crew were so knackered no one
left their rooms. I wanted to purge myself on the dance floor. To let loose
with Nikolai. Dancing was private; I didn’t want my colleagues to see.

Nikolai jerked his hand and the inertia spun me onto
the dance floor. My dress fluttered around my legs, and I relaxed for the first
time since I boarded the plane.

My heart was high in my chest thrumming with the
beat, and my hips swayed to the tempo. I didn’t want safe and virginal tonight.
I wanted fierce, passionate dancing. Something that left me panting and my feet
screaming in my heels.

I think Nikolai felt the same. The look he gave me
wasn’t tame like it was last night. His jaw was set, eyes trained on my lips.
He grinned tightly, showing perfect, white teeth. He tugged me to slam against
his chest; musky body spray and freshness encased me.

His hot hand branded my lower back as he pulled me
even tighter. We moved straight into a Merengue sway. My thighs burned as I
followed his lead. My mouth parted as areas of our bodies brushed.

I didn’t know this man, at all. And I wasn’t sure if
I really wanted to. All I needed from him was a good swing.

As the music melted into me, I tried to place the
beat. It wasn’t one I’d heard—a Lambada but with an island undercurrent. It
conjured images of palm trees and teal oceans mixed with Mardi Gras and mayhem
from Rio de Janeiro.  

Nikolai didn’t let up the pace and spun me countless
times, occasionally hooking my leg over his hip to grind to the beat.

I was in my element, laughing sultrily as he bent me
backwards, running a hand down my throat, chest, and stomach as I dipped. His
fingertips left a trail of fire in their wake.

The songs all merged into one, and we were both
panting hard by the time we stopped for water.

The guests and wait staff clapped as we took our
seats. I was so caught up in the song, I hadn’t noticed we were the only ones
on the dance floor. Oops.

“You’re a great dancer, Nina.” Nikolai said, once
he’d chugged back two glasses of water from the bottle we summoned over. “Where
did you say you learned again?”

Ah, that was sneaky—asking again. I hadn’t told him
the first time when he’d asked.

Wiping my forehead from excess sheen, I answered, “I
was lucky enough to catch the eye of an instructor at one of the local dance
studios.” Lucky my ass. The prick. “He told me he’d teach me for free if I
entered competitions with him. Apparently, I was a natural.” He was a
two-timing scoundrel, and I should’ve seen him for what he was and not blinded
by the glamour of dancing. I shrugged. “So I accepted.” And got my heart
broken. The end.

“Did you dance in a lot of contests?” Nikolai leaned
forward, his elbows on the table; the breeze mussed his hair a little.

I dropped my eyes. I didn’t like to brag, but every
contest I’d been in, I won. However, I never knew if it was because of my
talent or jerk-ex’s. “A few,” I muttered. “My teacher was very good. I was
lucky.”

“Luck has nothing to do with it. He was right. You
are
a natural. You listen to your body and aren’t afraid to go with the way you’re
feeling. To abandon your thoughts and give in to what your body wants. That’s
rare to be able to switch off and just… be.”

I blushed, waving to take the limelight off me.
“What about you? You’re pretty good yourself. Where did you learn?”

“My family has always danced. My mom taught Salsa
part-time at the local school and was in a few competitions, but she stopped
when she married my father as she didn’t want to make him jealous.” He laughed.
“Of course, then Dad felt guilty she stopped so he learned, even though he had
two left feet. They’re a good partnership now.”

“Nina?” Liam appeared behind Nikolai’s shoulder with
Captain Anderson. They were both in casual gear: t-shirts and shorts, and
looked ready for a beer.

Oh crap on holy fire.

“Liam,” I stuttered.

He gave me a tight smile, but his eyes zeroed in on
Nikolai. “Nik. I thought you were working tonight.”

They
knew
each other?

Nikolai gave me a look. His eyebrows knitted
together as he tensed. “I was going to, but Mack advised it would take longer
than they thought to move the wreck. So, I caught a cab.” He smiled, tipping
his head. “Evening, Anderson.”

The Captain grunted. His skin was taut and green
eyes wish-washy. “Glad to see the engineering department is already on it. I’ll
be interested in reading the report.” He focused his attention back to his
co-pilot. “We gonna get that beer, Mikin?”

I swear Anderson wobbled a little. My eyes narrowed.
Should I call the hotel doctor?

Liam had trouble wrenching his gaze off mine. “Uh,
yes.” Life came back into his face and he nodded hard. “Definitely. Dying for a
beer.” Shaking Nikolai’s hand, he added, “See ya around, Nik. Have to have that
drink another time, seeing as you’ve got company.”

Nikolai didn’t have the grace to look embarrassed,
but I sure did. Heat scorched my cheeks as Nikolai muttered, “Sure, another
time.”

Liam frowned. “Yeah, fine.” His eyes fluttered to
mine, but he spoke to Nikolai. “Just out of curiosity, how do you know Nina?”

I gulped. Wonderful. I’d come across like a slut if
Nikolai told him we’d only met twice, and half of that we’d been bumping and
grinding.
Stop blushing.

When Nikolai just shrugged, Liam looked hard at me.
“Nina. Can I have a word with you, please?” There was sweet sincerity all over
his face. The only problem was, I could see past his ruse. He was anything but
serene; his jaw clenched, hands curled.

I didn’t know what to do. I retaliated, “Should you
be having a beer with your head injury?”

Anderson’s gaze whipped to Liam. “You didn’t tell me
you were hurt.” His voice wasn’t the usual firm pilot I knew. There was
something definitely not right with him.

Liam shot me an angry scowl. “It’s nothing. A bump.
That’s all.”

I stood, unable to stand the tension between Liam
and Nikolai. I refused to be in the middle of a man sandwich, believing they
had a claim on me. Plus, I couldn’t fathom dancing in front of Liam. “Right,
well, I’m tired. I’m leaving.”

Nikolai raised his eyebrow; disappointment clouded
his eyes. “You sure you have to go?”

Liam straightened, sucking all my awareness into his
vicinity. How did he do that? How did every part of my body turn into crackles
of lightning, full of electric tingles and jagged white power when he was near?

I sighed, forcing myself not to look at Liam. “Yes.
It’s been a long day. Sorry.”

Nikolai swiped a hand through his hair, sending
musky body spray my way. “I understand. Shall I meet you here, same time
tomorrow?”

Before I had time to filter my answer, which I
really should’ve done with the way Liam glared at me, I said, “Absolutely.”