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pretending and so I can’t pretend I’m
uninterested in who you were talking to. Especially not when you were
discussing a subject matter that holds a certain importance to me.”
    Her heart hammered at the strangely
hypnotizing effect of his words. She fought very hard to think rationally. This
was the real world, albeit a rarefied one right now—but the real world
nevertheless. People didn’t say things like that to each other. “How can it
hold importance to you? We met a little over two hours ago.”
    He just regarded her as if he could see
right through her, to the heart of her every need. Her every desire.
    “Answer the question, Bethany,” he said
simply.
    “I was talking to a friend.” She moved
away from him then whirled back to face him, irritated by that compulsion to
answer and also by his demand to know intimate details about her. “Let’s get
something straight right now. What happened in your office doesn’t give you the
right to probe into my private conversations.”
    His hands fisted at his sides, and she
once again got the impression that he was stopping himself from reaching for
her. “I beg to differ, but if you prefer we can take this slower—”
    “Or we can stop whatever this is dead
in its tracks,” she said. Bethany wasn’t afraid to admit the direction of the
conversation disturbed her. There was a look in his eyes, one that implied a possessiveness
that thrilled and bothered her at the same time. No man had ever looked at her
with the focus and intensity with which Zachary Savage was looking at her right
now. It made her palms damp and her heart race as if she’d ran a marathon. She
passed her tongue over her lower lip and sucked in a breath when he zeroed in
on that telling movement. “Umm, maybe this tour was a bad idea. I can get my
personal guide to—”
    A single shake of his head and a long
black curl fell between his eyes. With a casual hand, he raked it back.
    “No, we’ll shelve this discussion for
later. I promised you a tour. I think you’ll find this upper deck even more
interesting than the lower deck.” He smiled, but the smile didn’t quite reach
his eyes. He fell into step beside her and went through a wide arch.
    Her eyes widened as she took in the
vista before her. On the far side, a stage had been set up clearly for music
entertainment.
    “We have a rock band, Friday’s Child, on
board. They’ll be providing the music for the Shanghai and Aleutian Mountains
trips. But there are other forms of entertainment on board, too. We pick up a
new crew every two cities to give the guests a fresh experience and to allow
the crew a break.”
    She looked over to the opposite side of
the area. Intimate seating provided private entertainment areas and even across
the vast space, she saw a pole that only had one purpose. “Are the pole dancers
specially invited or can anyone join in and have a turn?”
    “All entertainment is provided by The
Indigo Lounge, but guests are at liberty to participate as much or as little as
they want. The objective is to have a great time away from unwanted scrutiny.”
    “Right, I see.”
    Within another space, she saw a private
screening area, although the booths were unlike anything she’d seen in a regular
cinema. They were high and extremely private with indigo-colored velvet screens
to ensure utmost privacy. Each seating area could accommodate a group of ten. A
tallboy drawer was carved into the end of each row of seat. She pulled open the
first of the five drawers and her eyes widened.
    Sex toys in all shapes and sizes,
including an exact replica of what she carried in her own luggage, graced the top
drawer. The second contained bull whips and handcuffs in varying sizes.
    Slowly, she slid the drawers shut and
glanced up to find Zach’s eyes on her.
    “I take it you don’t show just cartoons
here?” A blush rushed to her face as their eyes clashed.
    Again, that smile that barely touched
his lips. “No, but if you crave