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"Are you alright?"

Kate lifted her head from her hands and looked up at me. She shook her head as if to clear it. "Jason?" She whispered, her eyes wide. It surprised me how much I liked hearing her say my name.

She closed her eyes and then opened them again. I watched in fascination as a slow smile spread on her beautiful face.

"You're not real." She said solemnly, standing up on unsteady feet.

"Excuse me?" I wasn't expecting that.

"You're in my head." She jabbed a finger in my chest and then frowned. "But you feel real."

Her eyes had that glazed look people got when they were heavily intoxicated. The slight flush on her face backed up my guess. "How much have you had to drink?"

"Not enough." She grinned, a happy carefree grin that made me smile in return. Damn, she looked good.

She wobbled suddenly and I caught her around the waist trying to steady her. Big mistake. I realized the moment her body brushed against mine. It was as if a switch was flicked on. My body tightened with awareness instantly.

"Looks like you've had more than enough to drink." I said trying to ignore my body's reaction. "Let's get you outside to some fresh air."

I knew it was a bad idea being alone with her but it didn't stop me from leading her outside. The deck was deserted except for a few couples enjoying the cool breeze under the stars. I led Kate towards a lounger and made her sit on it. "I'll go get some water for you. Stay here. Don't move, okay?"

She stared at me, a frown on her face and for a moment I thought she had finally realized what was going on. But then a cheeky smile replaced the frown and she made a mock salute. "Yes, sir." She said through a fit of giggles.

Shaking my head in amusement, I headed to the outdoor bar on the other side of the deck. When I came back with a bottle of water, Kate was leaning over the railing looking out to the sea. My heart lurched wildly in fear and cursing under my breath, I pulled her back by the arm.

"Dammit, Kate. I told you not to move. You could have fallen over." The words came out sounding harsher than I had intended to and she looked at me startled.

"You sound just like Peter." She sighed with exaggerated exasperation then grabbed the water bottle and drank half of it in one breath.

When she finished, I took the bottle from her and screwed the cap back on. "Who is Peter?" I asked her curiously as I helped her sit back on the lounge chair.

"My fiancé'."

I stilled. "You're engaged?" My eyes travelled to her left hand. "You don't have a ring on."

"I took it off." She was idly playing with her finger for long seconds and I wondered if she had lost track of what she was saying.

"Why?" She gave me a blank look and I couldn't help smiling. "Why did you take your ring off?"

"Oh, that. I was afraid of losing it. Peter would yell at me if that happened."

"He sounds like a douche." I murmured dryly still recovering from the shock of finding out she was engaged.

"Hey, you're not real so you don't get to have an opinion." She jabbed a finger into my chest. "He loves me." She added as an afterthought.

"Good to know." I said trying not to smile.

She narrowed her eyes at me suspiciously, probably thinking I was mocking her. "And I love him."

This time I couldn't stop the smile. "Well, I should hope so since you're getting married to him."

Instead of saying anything, she just stared at me. I wondered what she was thinking. Again, I was struck by how enticing she looked. The way her hair was wild and dancing around her face was extremely distracting. Her cheeks were still flushed with the alcohol and the redness made her more appealing than she already was. The short black dress she was wearing emphasized her slender figure and long legs. Even as a teenager she was beautiful, but now as a woman, she looked absolutely breathtaking.

When she continued staring at me with that blank expression, I raised eyebrow. "What?"

"Am I dreaming?"

My lips twitched. "Maybe."

"That can't be. You're not allowed in my dreams. You know why?" She stopped suddenly, her eyes glossing over.

"Why?"

She gave me a confused look.

My lips twitched. "You were saying I'm not allowed in your dreams."

"Yeah. Because I don't like you."

"That's a shame." I grinned thinking whether she would remember our conversation the next morning. "You know, you're quite an adorable drunk."

She looked so offended as if I had just insulted her. "I'm not drunk." Then as if to prove her point, she rose to her feet sharply, but the next second she was swaying precariously on unsteady legs.

I caught her by the arms. "Easy."

She winced, slumping against me, her face pressed against my shoulder.

It was so sudden I had to grab her by the waist to steady both of us. The feel of her slender body pressed against me sent all of my senses into overdrive in a split second. Her hair was grazing my chin and I caught a whiff of her shampoo. Something fruity with a hint of vanilla.

She felt too good in my arms. Too tempting. And the way my dick was pressing uncomfortably against my jeans made me realize I had to get away from her fast. Before I did something stupid.

She mumbled something, then lifted her head off my shoulder to look at me. As our gazes met, I felt another kick of lust deep in my gut. Unable to help myself, I brushed away one long strand of hair from her cheek, tucking it behind her ear.

My hand had a mind of its own as it glided along the curve of her neck and resting on her pulse point. She shivered in response to my touch, her lips parting on a gasp. That soft little sound from her lips sent a jolt straight to my already aching dick. It evoked memories of the past, of a time she had been in my arms, making those soft sexy sounds.

Touching her was definitely a mistake. I quickly withdrew my hand. She was staring at me with wide eyes, eyes that reflected confusion, curiosity and a hint of desire. A dangerous combination.

I cleared my throat. "Let's get you inside. Your friend must be wondering..." The rest of the sentence died in my throat when she suddenly wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed herself firmly against me.

My body went tense instantly and before I could listen to the warning bells going off in my head, Kate sighed and crashed her lips into mine.

I knew I should have stopped her, hell, should have pushed her away, but the moment her lips touched mine, it was as if a switch was flicked on. Lust tore through me like fire and I tried to fight it, but the need pulling at me was too overwhelming to deny.

Pulling her more tightly against me, I took over, deepening the kiss. When my tongue slipped past her lips, taking complete possession of her mouth, she moaned and arched into me.

She tasted like tequila, lime and...very drunk.

Fuck, what the hell was I doing?

With a groan, I tore my mouth away from her, breaking our embrace and holding her at arm's length. Blood was pounding in my head and I was so hard for her it was painful. God Dammit!

She made a protesting sound in her throat trying to get closer. "More. I need more of you."

Why was I only noticing the slight slur in her voice now? I clenched my jaw as the self-disgust and anger twisted through me. She didn't know what she was doing. I was the sober one but here I was taking advantage of her.

"You're only saying that because you're drunk." I said gently. "And you're going to regret this tomorrow."

"I am?"

The way she scrunched up her face was too adorable and I found myself smiling. "Oh, definitely." Because the need to kiss her was still strong, I sighed and took her elbow in a firm grip. "Come on. Let's get you inside."

We walked back inside the bar and I helped her sit on the same couch she had been on earlier. When I straightened up, I spotted her friend walking off the dance floor and heading towards us.

One last look at Kate and I quickly made my way through the crowd, looking for Nathan. When I couldn't find him, I called him on the phone. He informed me he was in the Crown Lounge.

As I headed there, my mind kept relaying back to what happened with Kate. I was still dazed by the whole thing, and if it weren't for the fact that my fucking dick was still unwilling to come down, I would have thought the entire incident was a figment of my imagination.

Seeing her after so many years, touching her and kissing her...those were things I had never thought would happen again. And it stirred up unwelcome memories of the past. Our break up, the agonizing days that followed afterwards.

When she broke up with me, we just had three months of high school left. I spent weeks trying to talk to her but she refused to even look at me. I wanted to talk to her and tell her how I felt but she seemed she was doing fine without me. A few months later I graduated and moved to London, but her memories went with me.

In college, there was a never-ending line of girls who wanted whatever I could give them and I eventually moved on. But I frequently thought about Kate and wondered how she was doing. She was the only girl I ever loved so it was understandable that I never forgot her.

Pulling myself out of thoughts, I raked a frustrated hand through my hair. I didn't love her anymore but it was clear that I was still attracted to her. That much was certain from what happened between us tonight. But despite how much I wanted her, it was not going to happen. She was engaged. And strictly off limits.

The Crown Bar was an open-air lounge located on the top deck of the ship and was reserved for VIP guests only. A cocktail party was in full swing, people talking, laughing and dancing, a jazz band playing live music.

I spotted Nathan talking to a group of men. He saw me and excused himself and started walking towards me but he was stopped by a woman. Even from the distance I could see the look of impatience that flashed on his face before he rearranged his features into a polite smile.

I couldn't help grinning. Nathan hated being approached by women and if she wasn't a guest on the ship, he would have coldly dismissed her. Seeing him with that ridiculously polite smile was amusing. She was coming on to him strong but I knew it was all wasted on him. Even though, she was incredibly hot, she wasn't his type. He only fucked blondes and unfortunately for her, she was a brunette.

Nathan said something to her and started walking towards me again. He only took a few steps before he was intercepted by another woman. I watched, enjoying myself.

Just then I felt someone brush against my arm and I turned my head to find two women standing by my side. One of them was dressed in a short red dress that left little to the imagination and the other one was wearing a long flowy dress.

"You look a little lonely." The woman in the red dress said with a flirtatious smile. She had a slight French accent. "Want some company?"

And now it was my turn to force a polite smile on my face. So much for laughing at Nathan. "I appreciate the offer but I'm good." Both of them were exceptionally beautiful but I wasn't interested.

"Aw, are you sure?" The second woman leaned into me, making sure her breasts brushed against my arm. "We'd love to join you for a drink."

Irritation flashed through me. I tried to always be polite and respectful towards women but most of the times they made it impossibly hard.

Nathan appeared by my side, an annoyed look on his face. "Let's get out of here."

The women glanced back and forth between me and Nathan, their eyes going wide and despite my irritation, I felt amused by their reaction. I wasn't a vain person but I knew Nathan and I were good looking, and when the two of us were together we always got the same awed reaction from women.

Taking advantage of their dazed status, I followed Nathan through the crowd of people. "Too much female attention?" I grinned taking in the scowl on his face.

Between the two of us, I was the scrupulously polite one when it came to dealing with women. Even though, I hated every minute of the unwanted attention, I tried not to be rude. Maybe it was because my mom constantly told me to respect women and treat them with kindness.

Nathan, on the other hand, was the opposite of me. He could be nice when he wanted to but when he was annoyed he wouldn't hesitate reducing a woman to tears.

He made a disgusted sound. "They are like hungry vultures." Stepping outside, he took a deep breath. "So how did it go with Kate?"

As we made our way to my suite, I told him what happened.

"So I was right." He smirked when I finished. "You're still into her."

"It's just lust. But it doesn't matter, anyway. She's getting married. Besides, it's not like our paths are going to cross again." As the words left my mouth, I felt a strange feeling. The thought of never seeing her again bothered me far more than it should have. And suddenly, I realized I wanted to talk to her one more time. Just once. I couldn't understand why but I wanted it with an intensity that couldn't be explained.

I turned to Nathan. "I need you to do something for me."