Seduction of Steel: The Complete Series Read online

  “I'm not interested in 'cashing in' on whatever happens to be popular right now. I'd like to write something a little more unique. Besides, I don't even know if I can write that sort of thing. It's not as though I actually know any billionaires. Do you?”

  “No, but you might meet one or two if you ever got out of the house. How long has it been since you had a date, anyway?”

  “Too long.” Jessica sighed. She really hadn't had a date, at least a serious one, in several months. She'd met a couple of guys through Amber when they went out for drinks, but none of the guys had really interested her. Jessica didn't think of herself as a snob, per se, but as someone with a solid income in a lousy economy, she was hoping to meet someone who at least had a steady job with some sort of potential. The guys Amber kept introducing to her were mostly either in between jobs or working at something temporary. Jessica was hoping for something better.

  Amber, on the other hand, was more of the free-spirited, “live for the moment” type. An attractive redhead, with blue eyes and a figure any woman would kill for, Amber worked as a barista in a local coffee shop and had a semi-steady boyfriend named Jason. He worked at an auto parts store, but the two of them seemed happy. Amber was happy to take life one day at a time. Jessica was still hoping to get swept off of her feet by one of those strong, silent, brooding men she so often wrote about.

  That is, when she had something to write about. Right now, she was just drawing a complete blank. Writing about another billionaire with a predilection for tying up young women in his mansion/dungeon/playroom just seemed like a cop out.

  Everybody is writing those books right now. I'm not going to do it just to make money.

  Jessica reached for the lamp on the nightstand, and rolled over and went to sleep.

  Chapter Two

  Jessica rolled out of bed about seven and jumped in the shower. As she toweled off, she looked at herself in the mirror. While she had never regarded herself as a beauty, she did think she was attractive enough to be able to find somebody to call her own. She was five feet six, a decent enough height, and had wavy, shoulder-length blond hair. Jessica liked her button nose and blue eyes, but didn't think her breasts were anything to write home about. Then again, no one had ever complained, so they must be OK, she thought. She threw on a pair of cutoff shorts and a tank top and headed to the kitchen to grab some coffee and a bagel.

  Amber was there already, looking like she'd just crawled out of bed. Despite being the sort of woman who looked great in skimpy lingerie, Amber loved to hang around the house in flannel pajamas with little bears on them. Jessica had to admit that Amber did look cute in flannel pajamas, little bears or not. Of course, Amber pretty much looked cute in anything. She was just like that.

  “If I don't find something to write about soon, I'm going to scream”, said Jessica, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

  “You're not having any luck? Have you checked the bestseller lists to see what other people are writing about?”, Amber asked.

  “Sure, but it's still mostly that rich billionaire stuff or virgins being trained at S&M camp. Bor-ing. I need something new. I need some inspiration. I need something.”

  “Why don't you go find a job?”

  “A job? I have a job. I'm a writer”, Jessica said, as she put her bagel in the toaster.

  “No, Jess, I don't mean an 'earn-a-living' job. I mean something you could do for a few months that might allow you to meet different kinds of people. Something that might put you in a position to meet the right guy. Perhaps something involving travel. There are a lot of interesting people in the world, but you never meet any since you never seem to leave our apartment.”

  Jessica did agree that Amber had a point. The Internet is good for research, but nothing gets your creative juices flowing like getting out in the world and experiencing new things and meeting people. Perhaps it would be a good idea to find something else to do for a few months, if only to clear the cobwebs out of her brain and help her to get writing again.

  “OK, Amber. Got any suggestions?”, asked Jessica.

  “My friend Julie just went to work on a cruise ship. I get occasional e-mail from her. She's working as a cocktail waitress. She says it's a lot of fun, she's met some interesting people, and she's getting to spend most of her time in the Caribbean. If you want, I can have her put you in touch with the cruise line.”

  “A cruise ship? Really?” Jessica was curious.

  “Really. She works for eight months and then gets two months off. She gets paid, she gets to travel, and her room and board are provided for her. She's made a lot of friends and she's gotten to see a lot of really nice places. Every time I get e-mail from her she seems to include a picture from some tropical beach. And she says that she's met some truly amazing guys, though she's not allowed to date passengers. Still, she says she's having the time of her life.”

  Hmm, thought Jessica. The Caribbean does sound nice. And all kinds of people take cruises. The ships go to interesting places; at least that might provide something to write about And why not? I'm already not getting anything written. What's the worst that can happen?

  “Sure. Maybe I'll give that a try. It can't hurt. What do I need to do?”

  “I'll e-mail Julie and see if she's got the number for their human resources department.”

  Jessica thanked her, and went back to her laptop to try to write something. Anything. Just like yesterday, she was drawing a blank.

  She hoped Julie got back in touch soon. Otherwise, she'd have to write about dungeons and billionaires just to pay the bills.

  Chapter Three

  The hiring process with Enchantment Cruise Lines was fairly straightforward, and after the usual forms, interviews and background checks, Jessica was assigned to work on the company's newest ship, the Ocean Enchantment. Built by industry leader Matsumo Heavy Industries, or MHI, the Ocean Enchantment was one of the largest and most luxurious ships afloat. Measuring a thousand feet long and some sixteen decks high, the ship carried four thousand passengers and some fifteen hundred crew members. The ship had a new drive system that was supposed to be quiet and more fuel efficient than those used on older ships.

  The ship was doing alternate trips around the Eastern and Western Caribbean, which meant there were a lot of tropical destinations to see. Crew members did get some time off from time to time, so there would be chances to see some beaches and restaurants. Jessica boarded the ship in Miami during its weekly stop there.

  She was completely overwhelmed by her new place of work.

  The Ocean Enchantment wasn't so much a ship as it was a floating city. There were five swimming pools, two dining rooms, a spa, a fitness center, three nightclubs and a gorgeous five story atrium in the center of the ship that featured lots of plants, chrome, and natural light. If you had to spend time indoors, you'd likely want to be either in the atrium or in one of the ship's fabulous luxury suites.

  Of course, the luxury suites were available only to paying passengers. Crew members had to live in the crew quarters, which were somewhat less luxurious. Actually, they were a lot less luxurious.

  Jessica looked around her stateroom. “This is it?”, she asked of no one in particular. While passenger staterooms on the thousand-foot-long Ocean Enchantment were plush and airy, with natural light and even balconies, those offered to crew members were strictly utilitarian. There were two beds in the room; one for Jessica and one for Kristin, her Norwegian roommate.

  Kristin worked in one of the dining buffets, which were open 24 hours a day. She tended to work odd hours, and as a result, Jessica rarely saw her. She seemed nice enough, if quiet, and had girl-next-door type non-threatening looks. She was pretty enough, with pale porcelain skin and shoulder-length blond hair that everyone from Norway seems to have. Jessica was sure that she and Kristin could become good friends in time.

  As for the room, there was a small dresser with lockable drawers for each woman to keep their belongings that sat in between the beds. On top
of the dresser was a small nineteen inch television, and near the door was an all-too-tiny bathroom that had a sink, a toilet, and the smallest shower Jessica had ever seen. That was it; everything you need crammed into about 125 square feet. The room was on Deck 3, which put it below the water line. That meant that the room had no windows, not even a porthole.

  I guess that will make it easy to sleep in here since it's always dark. That's one upside, she thought.

  It wasn't much of a room, but it was, for the next few months, home. Jessica was grateful that she seldom saw her roommate, as the room was pretty small for two people. It could have been worse; other ships in the company's line had four crew members to a room.

  The small room size didn't really matter; Jessica's job working at the Passenger Services desk midship was going to keep her busy all the time, anyway. Her typical day involved anywhere from twelve to fourteen hours of work, mostly working at the desk in the atrium on Deck 6. There she helped passengers with all kinds of problems ranging from cashing traveler's checks and replacing room keys to answering customs and import duty questions.

  If you want to meet people on a cruise ship, you could do worse than working at Passenger Services, as you do get to meet just about everyone during the week or so that a typical Caribbean cruise lasts. At one time or another, every passenger is likely to need Passenger Services for something.

  Sure enough, Jessica did meet a lot of people. She chased down lost dry cleaning. She replaced batteries in stateroom safes. She tracked down lost luggage, and occasionally, she tracked down missing children or senior citizens. The job kept her busy, and she found the work interesting, as the sorts of things she was asked to do changed nearly every day.

  So far, however, she hadn't really met any interesting people. While all sorts of people take cruises, the passenger list does tend to skew towards the elderly. There were hundreds of senior citizens aboard the Ocean Enchantment. There were some younger men, including a number of handsome ones, but Jessica quickly discovered that nice looking men don't take cruises alone - they take them with their wives or girlfriends. While single women will take cruises with other single women, single men almost never take cruises with their male friends. If a guy is on a ship, it's a virtual certainty that there's a woman with him.

  Not that it mattered, anyway, since employees of the Ocean Enchantment were strictly forbidden from having any sort of nonprofessional interaction with passengers. That was company policy, and it was rigidly enforced. If you're caught getting involved with a passenger, you'll be off the ship at the next port.

  I guess I'll have to find some interesting things to write about, rather than some interesting guys.

  Still, the job was fun, and the ship did have a lot of great amenities. The ship was in various Caribbean ports several days a week, and Jessica loved shopping and catching some sun on the beach when she had occasional time off while the ship was in port.

  She also managed to keep entertained during her off-hours while on board the ship. While using the passenger facilities was more or less off-limits, the cruise line did provide quite a lot of things to do for their off-duty employees.

  The crew dining room was nice enough, offering a large variety of food that was reasonably tasty. The offerings weren't quite as fancy as what the passengers ate, but it was certainly good enough. There was also a crew-only swimming pool as well as a fitness center. The fitness center was small, but had a number of different exercise machines as well as free weights and a small aerobics area. Jessica spent some time in the gym every day, doing her best to keep fit. It's easy to eat too much and exercise too little on a cruise ship, even for employees. The food is always there, and it's both fattening and plentiful.

  The best of the employee facilities was probably the employee bar. Located near the front of the ship, the bar was probably the most popular off-duty hangout for crew members. Besides offering a place to get a drink the bar also included a pool table, a Foosball table, a jukebox and several windows, which gave the room something that most crew areas didn't have - real light.

  Jessica frequently visited the crew bar after the end of her shift just to unwind with a cocktail after a long day. It gave her an opportunity to meet some of the people who worked in other parts of the ship that she rarely had a chance to see. Some of the people came from some pretty exotic places, and that gave her an opportunity to learn more about how people live around the world. It was certainly better than spending time in her tiny little cabin, alone with her Kindle and her vibrator.

  Still, after three months on the ship, she'd yet to meet any interesting guys or come up with a can't-miss story idea. She took a sip of her Cosmopolitan and wondered if the remaining five months on the ship would offer her a chance for either one. Five more months of long days and living in a room the size of a phone booth suddenly didn't look all that appealing, especially if she was likely to wind up empty handed for all of her efforts.

  Well, not entirely empty handed. The job did offer a salary, if not a great one. The paychecks weren't that great, but since she wasn't paying rent or buying food, she could save it all. She was certainly enjoying visiting all of the tropical ports.

  Jessica was too busy pondering all of this to notice the handsome man who approached her table.

  “Excuse me, is this seat taken?”, a voice asked.

  She didn't answer. She was lost in her thoughts about months of wasted time.

  “Is this seat taken?”, he asked again. Jessica looked up, and there, standing in front of her, was perhaps the most handsome man she had ever seen. He was certainly the most handsome man she'd seen since she came aboard three months ago.

  “Uh, no”, she answered nervously. “Please. Sit down. I'm Jessica Steel.”

  “Nice to meet you, Jessica. My name's Ryan Stevens. I'm fairly new here and haven't had the chance to meet many people yet.” Ryan sat down with his beer. From the dark amber color of it, it wasn't an American brew.

  Jessica took a sip of her Cosmo and gave Ryan a quick once-over. He looked about six feet tall, with broad shoulders and piercing, intense hazel eyes. His thick lips looked like they were made for kissing. He had thick, dark brown hair. He was dressed in the standard uniform for below-deck personnel - navy blue slacks and a light blue short sleeved shirt with the name “Ryan” embroidered on it. She could tell from his huge biceps that Ryan worked out. A lot.

  Wow! This guy is ripped, she thought. Jessica suddenly became a bit embarrassed, as she realized she was staring at him. Worse, she probably didn't look all that appealing herself. She was still wearing the knee-length khaki skirt and fashionably dull white blouse that constituted her official cruise line uniform. She'd pulled her hair up into a ponytail when she got off of work, and she hadn't touched up her makeup in hours. Here I am meeting this gorgeous man and I look like a mess, she thought to herself.

  “How long have you been on board?”, Ryan asked.

  “I've been here three months”, Jessica replied. “You?”

  “I boarded last week in St. Maarten. I'm still learning my way around. It's a big ship.”

  “American?”

  “Yes, born and raised in Pittsburgh. You?”

  “I'm from St. Louis originally.” Jessica played with her ponytail and thought about letting her hair down, but she didn't want to do anything that obvious.

  “Where do you work?”

  “I work in the engine room, on Deck 1. I'm a mechanic. How about you?”

  “I work at the Passenger Services desk. Not very exciting, but I do get to meet a lot of people and I do occasionally see some sunlight.” She chuckled at her joke, well aware that anyone who worked on Deck 1, which was well below the waterline, rarely saw the light of day, at least during working hours.

  “Passenger Services? Then you obviously see more of the ship than I do. Perhaps you can show me around the ship sometime. I have no idea where to find anything on the upper part of the ship.”

  He's asking for a tour?
Jessica couldn't believe her good fortune. She also couldn't believe how good looking Ryan was. His lips certainly looked inviting enough, and she simply couldn't get enough of those piercing hazel eyes. She'd only known him for a few minutes, but Jessica ached to have those lips meet hers.

  “I'd love to give you a tour. How about now? There are lots of interesting things to see on the upper decks.”

  “Fine. I should probably change clothes first. Why don't we meet in the atrium in about fifteen minutes?”

  “That will be great. See you there.” Jessica nearly skipped back to her room. She hadn't had a date in months and here she was about to give a tour of the ship to this amazing guy she'd just met.

  She went back to her room and put on some jeans and a cute red short sleeved top. She brushed her teeth, touched up her makeup and attempted to do something useful with her hair. She also put on some cute earrings she'd picked up a couple of weeks ago in St. Thomas.