All Hands Below Read Free Page A

look like?”
    Evangeline closed her eyes. “Tall, beefcake build, executive-style handsome. No pretty boy for me. Thirties. Early forties…”
    “Sexy eyes?”
    She sighed. “Yes. Rich greens with golden champagne undertones.” She stopped, dismayed. She’d just described the man in the engine room.
    Maisy’s eyes widened. “With an eight-inch willy? And great in the sack?”
    “Wha-at?”
    “Honey, I was a young woman once. I had many lovers back in the day, I’ll have you know.”
    “Well, okay,” Evangeline said with a laugh. “Wish me a tiny bit of your luck. I just hope finding one man who’s a great lover—”
    “With a big cock.”
    “—with a big cock isn’t asking for a Christmas miracle. I will settle for a good man if I can’t have exciting and drop-dead sexy. But…I’m looking for an all-inclusive deal, you know? Roses and forever.”
    Maisy’s eyes darkened with eerie mischief. “I get it. You want to make a man fall in love with you.”
    “Something like that,” Evangeline said, then wondered why making a man fall in love with her sounded like…entrapment. She shook her head. She wasn’t out to trap anyone.
    Booking this cruise put her on course to making another dream come true. If she found a good man, maybe the third item on her list after “Meet Hunky Husband Material” and “Make Him Love Me” would eventually follow—a baby.
    “But don’t settle for crap,” piped the older woman. “Then again, the way they’re making them these days, Santa might have to dig deep in his sack.”
    Evangeline smiled. Now, if her Christmas wishes listed no-strings, booty-banging sex with ship’s engine guy … Well, she knew just where to look.
    Scruffy man’s mint-laced kisses lingered on her tongue. She could still smell him. Desire puddled in her panties at the memory of his breath feathering her skin, the tip of his tongue teasing her lips.
    Exciting? Yes.
    Mr. Right? Wrong .
    “Don’t worry. We’ll get you hooked up with Mr. Hot Pants in no time.”
    Evangeline laughed at the mischief that quirked up the other woman’s lips. “We? Do you have a mouse in your pocket, Maisy?
    “No. I just have…connections,” she airily replied.
    “Well, thanks for the vote of confidence. Is there anything else I can help you with?”
    “I’d love it if you could you join me tomorrow for the lunch buffet at the International Bistro. That is, if you don’t have anything else planned.”
    Evangeline nibbled on her lower lip. She wanted to dance till the clubs closed. To find an unattached male onboard ship who wanted similar things—romance, hot sex, and more.
    Taking a lonely woman under your wing wasn’t in the cruise plan, Evie. This cruise was about you. Roses and romance—remember?
    The hopeful gleam in the older woman’s eyes wrenched at Evangeline’s heartstrings. Keeping a cute little lady company for a couple of hours wouldn’t get in the way of that, would it?
    “No,” she said with a smile. “No, I don’t have anything planned. I’ll be there by noon.”
    “See you tomorrow, then. Oh, and Evangeline?” Maisy peered at her from her open door. “Thanks for being my friend. Be careful, and don’t hop into bed with any strangers tonight. Wait till tomorrow.”
    Evangeline’s cheeks warmed. “Get your outrageous self into your stateroom!” She shooed the other woman inside.
    With a shake of her head, Evangeline strolled off on her merry way, just as the upbeat holiday bells of All I Want For Christmas Is You began clanging joyfully through the ship’s PA system.
    High on the excitement of the holidays and a Christmas hope that her wishes for the New Year would come true, she hummed and broke out in a shuffle, slide, and strut. Shaking her ass and snapping her fingers, she danced her way down the corridor in her high heels.
    “Well, well, well,” drawled a deep voice from the depths of the interior hall. It slid down her back, warm as butterscotch. “We meet