CRUISE TO ROMANCE by Toby Poznanski Page A

time of
her life and she didn’t intend to let him lead.  Not this time.  With control
she didn’t know she had, she raised herself to a sitting position and rubbed
herself against his wonderful hardness.  Then she leaned over and kissed him,
biting his lips with gentle nips, then plundering to his very soul.  Heat,
intense and raw, infused her body.  She grasped his head while they kissed long
and hard, wanting to hold him there for a lifetime, but, alas, even lovers had
to breathe.
    He came in long agonizing pulses
of pure pleasure, crying out in the beauty and intenseness of the feelings
engulfing his body.  Unaware of anything but the rapid beating of his heart, he
tried to fight his way back to reality.  Feeling the weight of her body lifting
from him, he managed to open his eyes only to find her radiant face smiling
down at him.
    “Relax for a minute, Ryan, I have
to go.” she whispered, then grabbed her top and slipped it over her head.   She
knelt down and kissed his forehead.  “Guess I won’t be needing to talk to Mike
after all.”  Without another word, Jennifer made her way back to her room.
    She felt wonderful.  It was a
heady feeling, being in control and giving someone else pleasure.  Deep within
herself she knew she was falling in love, but she wasn’t ready to face those
feelings yet.  First she had to win her bet with Sheila.  If today was any
indication, it would just be a matter of time.  So far Sheila hadn’t even
gotten to first base.
    When she arrived at her cabin,
she turned down the air conditioning and stripped.  After calling room service
and ordering hors d’oeuvres and a pitcher of Margaritas, she headed for the
bathroom.  The plumbing in the shower was of European design with its little
button and knob for regulating the hot water.  After fumbling for a moment, she
had the water running and the temperature to her liking.  She stepped in and
breathed a sigh of relief as water cascaded over her, rinsing away the
perspiration and salt spray from her hair and body.  Once she felt squeaky
clean, she stepped out, wrapped a towel around her, and settled onto a lounge
chair on the balcony.  A quick catnap would help her relax.  Jennifer closed
her eyes and sighed, waiting for room service to show up with her goodies.
     
    *    
*     *
     
    This wasn’t supposed to happen,
these gentle tender feelings of his toward Jennifer.  It was much too
dangerous.  After all he was a sophisticated man of the world.  He knew how to
enjoy women without getting emotionally involved.  He was an expert at it.  Indeed,
women courted him, competed for him, begged him for his attentions.  Being an
expert lover gave him an advantage that he knew he must use with finesse.  So
far, he had, but it seemed that things were getting just a little bit out of
control.  Common sense told him to stop this seduction before it went too far. 
He ignored the quiet little voice that told him he was certainly stretching his
imagination if he believed he was still in control.
    With a heavy sigh, Ryan turned on
the shower and stood motionless while water plummeted his weary body.  Surely
he could control himself enough to maintain a pleasant friendship with
Jennifer.  Of course, he could.  He prided himself in his self-control.  No
woman would ever have enough influence over him to make him deviate from his
well-planned goals.  He just needed to explain the relationship to Jennifer. 
All he could offer her was a short-term romance.  She would understand and
accept his terms.   No commitments, no regrets.  Feeling better about the whole
situation, Ryan grabbed a bar of soap and began sudsing his wash cloth. 
Everything was as it should be, he reassured himself.  He could handle any
woman.

CHAPTER FIVE
    The Ocean Goddess arrived
off the southern tip of the island of St. Maarten, at sunrise.  Pale pink,
peach, and mango-orange rays of light spread out over the horizon before
reaching