Slipping her hand free, Avery remained silent as she fought the urge to wipe it clean. She wasn’t sure what it was, but something about this guy sent her Creep-O-Meter buzzing.
Jack opened his mouth to say something else, but thankfully the speakers chose that time to start blaring fun, upbeat music. Crew members wearing identical uniforms entered from every direction—down the stairs, through both doors, and around the sides toward the area where Avery was standing.
Singing along with the music, they showed off their dancing skills as they got into their assigned positions. As the music died down, a very attractive woman stood at the top of the stairs and addressed the crowd using a microphone.
“Hello, everyone!” She smiled down on them. “I’m Savannah, and I just have one question for you. Are you ready to have some fun?”
The room filled with cheers, Jack clapping his hands and nudging Avery’s shoulder. She gave him a tight smile, praying he’d decide to move on.
Of course, she couldn’t be that lucky.
As the woman on the stairs went over the safety rules and procedures—where the lifeboats were located, where to find the emergency evacuation route for each section of the ship, and so on—Jack would periodically lean down to comment on one thing or another.
The man clearly felt he knew everything there was to know about cruise ships.
By the time the meeting was coming to an end, Jack was seriously getting on her last nerve.
“Wanna go for a drink?” he asked the second they were released.
Not a chance.“Thanks, but I’m good.”
“Just one.” He pouted, giving her heavy-lidded, drunken puppy dog eyes. “Please?”
Avery turned to leave, her heartrate spiking when he followed her.
“Hey, wait up!” Jack hollered after her. “I wasn’t done talking to you.”
But I’m done talking to you.
Picking up the pace, Avery’s heart was in her throat as she closed in on the dining room’s exit.
“You know, you don’t have to be so rude.” He caught up with her. “I was just trying to be friendly. Pretty lady like yourself shouldn’t be alone. Hey!”
From the corner of her eye, Avery saw that Jack, or rather Jackass,was reaching for her.
His fingers brushed against her arm as he started to grab her. Avery opened her mouth to yell for help when another large hand shot between them.
One attached to a taut, sinewy arm that made her heart race for a completely different reason.
“She’s not alone, asshole.” Garrett’s voice blanketed her with a sense of relief and safety. “She’s with me.”
Not really accurate, but Avery wasn’t about to correct him.
“Oh.” Jack looked up at Garrett and blinked. “I-I didn’t—”
“Understand the word ‘no’?”
A smile tugged at her lips. She rather enjoyed seeing Garrett put the guy in his place.
“No.” The idiot shook his head then frowned. “I-I mean, yes. I mean…I understood. I just—”
“Need to apologize.” Garrett growled. “Now.”
Warmth seeped through Avery’s veins as she realized why she felt such a pull toward a man she’d just met.
Garrett was the type of guy who’d stand up for a woman. Not because he wanted to get into her pants, but because it was the right thing to do.
How do you know he doesn’t want to get into your pants?