*unedited*

"Why don't we just go and have fun tonight," Logan said, standing quickly. "We've had enough serious moments to last the rest of the day. Let's curb any others until tomorrow"

Tamara grunted under her breath, but didn't argue as he took her by the hand. Her mind was going a mile a minute so she just let him guide her through the ship to the restaurant. She couldn't make him give up his job for her. She couldn't let him move his daughter to the other side of the continent.

Why, oh why, did she get caught up in the heat of the moment before they had a chance to talk things through? When they stopped in front of the elevator, she said, "Logan, I can't let you do it."

With light pressure on her shoulders, he pressed her back up against the wall and placed a leg between hers; His thigh pressing deliciously against her crotch and his cock rested against her belly. "What did I say about serious talk tonight?"

With that simple touch, her parts came alive and burned with fire. "Logan."

"I want you," he whispered, his fingers caressing the tips of her breasts through her shirt.

"This isn't fair," she whined, trying to push him away. She wanted to talk, get everything out into the open so they could move forward, but talking was impossible when every nerve in her body wanted his attention.

"I never said I'd play fair."

"Someone is going to see us," she replied, pressing her hands against his chest.

Reaching between them, he grabbed her hands and held them over her head. "Now what are you going to do?"

'They're going to give away our table." She said in a last ditch attempt to keep her sanity. Her underwear was wet and soon it would leave a liquid trail down her leg.

"I'm interested in a different kind of food."

Just as he said that, the elevator dinged and the doors opened. An older couple stepped out and glanced over at them. "I remember those days, don't you, Henrietta?" the man said, giving them a saucy grin.

"Young love," the woman replied, placing a hand dramatically over her heart before they disappeared around the corner.

Tamara buried her head in Logan's chest as he let her hands drop, her cheeks on fire. "See, I told you!"

Logan chuckled. "It's a good thing they didn't get a good look at the front of my dress pants."

Taking a wild chance, she slipped her hand into his suit jacket and let her fingers run along the front zipper of his pants, relishing in the feel of his hard cock straining against the fabric. "That would have been slightly embarrassing," she commented, giving him a gentle squeeze.

Upon hearing voices around the corner, Tamara pulled her hand away and took a step back. She didn't really want to be known as an exhibitionist. It wouldn't bode well for her career. And she really did want their dinner.

"Shall we find a quiet corner," he said, trying to pull her close again, but she evaded his grip.

"You can have me later. Right now, I'm famished..." Her voice trailed off as she rubbed her shoulders. "And sore." She hadn't realized how much energy performing CPR had taken from her. She'd been running high on adrenaline, but now that her body is coming back down, tension ran through her right into her toes.

His heated gaze locked with hers. "I'll give you a full body massage later."

As good as it felt to be in his arms, they really did need to talk, and putting a table between them would be the only way. Instead of answering him, she took his hand and pulled him towards the stairs.

On the first landing, he pressed her up against the wall again, taking her chin in his hand so she'd look up at him. He studied her intently. "You aren't allowed to go quiet on me."

"Let's just go eat," she said, gently removing his hand from her chin.

"I think I might just lug you back to our room."

Logan didn't like the look in her eyes; it was the same one as before. The stubborn, this isn't going to work, look. He didn't know exactly what brought it on, but he knew that there was no one else in the world that was just right for him, but her. And she just needed a little push in that direction again.

"Not this time. We're going to have a normal dinner and have with normal non-sexual conversation."

"You really know how to zap fun out of a conversation," he said with a wink, not letting her serious tone affect him. "Fine, come on."

***

All though dinner, when she tried to start talking about what was on her mind, he managed to steer the conversation to lighter things. But he knew he couldn't dance around the topic forever, so when his third beer arrived and a slice of chocolate cake, he gave her the open floor.

"Why don't you tell me what's on your mind," he said.

Tamara sat back in her seat, drumming her fingers slightly on the table as she stared at the cake in front of her. "I don't want you giving up your life for me."

"That's my choice to make, don't you think?"

"Look, Logan. You have your work. You have your daughter, your sister. It wouldn't be fair to uproot you all just for me. I'm nothing. Hell, I can't even get a promotion."

Logan leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table. "Let me set one thing straight. You are not, and never have been, nothing. You are everything I want and more. If the only way to be with you is to move back home." He shuddered at the word, but continued, "then so be it."

Her face fell. "See. That's thing. You'd move back there and then you'd eventually resent me for it. I know it."

Reaching out, he took her hands in his. "I could never resent you."

It didn't take long before she pulled her hand back, placing it on her lap. "I can't be the reason you leave everything behind. And I refuse to be the reason you come back to a place you hate, leaving a job you love behind. It's a recipe for disaster. I thought I'd be okay with it until I saw my life flash before my eyes while I was doing CPR."

A deep pit opened in his stomach. "It's too late to change your mind now. We're married remember."

Tamara glanced down at his ring on her finger, spinning it around and around. He could see the conflict rushing through her eyes. Slowly and agonizingly she pulled the ring off and rested it in the palm of her hand, tears pooling.

"Don't give up on us now," he pleaded softly. "It took us too long to get to this point."

"Maybe we were never meant to get to this point," Tamara said, staring at the ring.

"That's horseshit," he replied in a low voice, trying not to alert the patrons around them. "Excuse my French."

"Look, these last few days have been wonderful. I've loved our time together, but—"

"But nothing. We're not breaking up. I'm not letting you go, so put that damn ring back on your finger."

Tamara placed the ring on the table, her hand shaking. "I'm not going to let you do this for me."

This was a do or die moment. There was no way he was going to let this happen, not while he still had breath. "Tough luck. It's happening whether you like it or not."

"Logan, please don't make this any harder than it already is."

He grabbed her hand, holding it tight as he searched her eyes. "Prove to me that you don't love me and I'll walk."

"Don't you get it? It's because I love you that I can't let you do this. I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

"I'm choosing to move of my own accord."

"Only because of me."

It was true that when he first planned this meet up, he was going to convince her to move to the East Coast instead. The thought of moving back to where he grew up was as far out in left field as you could go. It had a big red X on it in his mind. Even now, thinking about it was enough to make his insides squirm. He had no idea how he would be received. People often don't forget stuff like that. His therapist told him that to really make peace with his past, he needed to go back. Needed to face his dad.

And Tamara was as good a reason as any to do it, and she gave him more of a purpose than just returning for his dad. "No. This is something I need to do."

Saying that only seemed to solidify the stubbornness in her eyes. "Then you need to do it first, without me."

"I can't," he whispered, his voice hoarse. He couldn't do it on his own. He needed to do it with the only person in his life that ever believed in him. Even his own sister thought he was guilty until everything was uncovered. And he didn't really blame her, the evidence was damning. His dad even had someone jerk him off just so his DNA would be on the girl.

"If things don't work out as you hope, I'll be the one to blame. I couldn't live with that."

"Don't leave me." He could barely croak out the words as his throat tightened.

"I'm sorry," she cried as she scrambled to her feet.

She hurried away, and he watched the ring spin before it settled on the white tablecloth. It felt like the pit in his stomach swallowed his heart whole, crunching it into itty bitty pieces. She didn't want him. He had waited too long.

He picked up the ring and stuffed it into his pocket as he stood up. God. He needed a real drink. The hard stuff that packed such a punch that it knocked you out until the morning. Stepping out of the restaurant, he went in search of a bar.

Tamara raced down the hall, wiping the tears from her eyes as she raced towards the woman's washroom. Her stomach churned and she could feel the acid rising up from her stomach. "It was the right thing to do," she muttered, trying every bit to convince herself that she made the right choice.

She wanted to be with him so much that it hurt. Her heart physically ached and her pulse was about to beat her to death, crying at her to go back. She felt like she was losing him all over again. Bursting into the one stall bathroom, she flicked the lock and collapsed in front of the toilet.

Great sobs racked her body as the food in her belly rose up to meet the toilet bowl. This couldn't be happening. Not again. "Damn...you...Sylvester!" she cried between heaves.

If it wasn't for his crappy plan, they wouldn't be stuck in this moment. She wouldn't have been forced to break his heart like hers had been and still is. Now wasn't the right time to get involved with him. But it was easy to get love boat fever on a cruise like this and do things you wouldn't normally do otherwise.

If only Carla were here, she'd have someone to talk to about all the emotions swirling like a tornado inside her body. Her friend always knew the right thing to say. Tamara wiped her lips as the last dry heave settled, resting her head against the bathroom wall. Thank god for clean restrooms. Closing her eyes, she took a few deep breaths and tried to calm her body.

"So much for a fun and enjoyable vacation."

This would go down as the worst trip ever. She didn't care that she was in the Caribbean or that she had endless drinks on her card. Nothing mattered without him. Hopefully they had an empty room because if she continued to stay with him, she'd give in.

Opening the door slowly, she checked to make sure the coast was clear and he hadn't followed her. She sighed when all that greeted her was an empty hallway. Carefully, she made her way to the customer service counter.

"Can I help you?" the young attendant asked.

"Do you have any empty rooms available?"

"One just came open in the last port."

Sighing in relief, she asked, "Great, can you organize that for me please? I can't stay in my current cabin."

"May I ask what the problem is?"

"My roommate and I aren't working out."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Tamara just shrugged. If she opened her mouth to say more, she was going to bawl her eyes out in front of him. And she prided herself in being able to keep her composure in public. It's what she was taught to do. She had to remain calm and steady.

"Do you mind being near the elevators?"

"At this point, I don't care. Just plunk me in anywhere."

"Alright, it's just going to take me a few minutes to switch rooms for you. Why don't you go grab your luggage and when you return, I'll have your new card ready to go."

Oh right, her luggage. Tamara smacked her forehead. "Crap!" If Logan was searching for her that would be the first place he'd look. She'd better move it.

Rushing to her room, she stopped at the door and listened. There was no noise on the other side, so she slid her key into the lock. Thankfully she wasn't a messy housekeeper and all her stuff remained packed in her suitcase. It only took a few minutes for her to be out on her way and back to the counter.

The same attendant took her key card and handed her a new one. "If Logan comes by asking about me, please don't tell him where I am. Please leave a note on my account so that your staff can see it."

'Okay, Ma'am."

Glancing at the room number and floor, she was pleased to discover it was all the way on the other side of the boat, and one floor higher. If she played her cards right, she wouldn't run into Logan.

Swiping her card in the lock, she strolled into her new room—right into the path of a bed full of guns and two startled men.

----
A/N

*Yikes* What is Tamara going to do now?

Thanks so much for reading my chapter. I hope you are enjoying the story so far.

Next chapter will be out on Friday.