Tiger's Voyage (26 page)

Randi smiled at me evilly, the way the winner in a beauty pageant would smile at the runner-up. On the surface she was polite, but beneath the white smile was a layer of something very unpleasant.

“Shall we go then, handsome?” She winked at Kishan before following along after Ren. Randi didn’t walk up the stairs—she wiggled her way up them. As they left, she trailed a finger down Ren’s arm, pouting, “Are we going to swim? All I have is my one bikini, and I really shouldn’t be getting it wet.”

“I’m sure we can arrange to get you another one,” he said.

“Oh, aren’t you just the sweetest thing.” She leaned over and pressed a slobbery wet kiss on Ren’s mouth as the two of them disappeared around the corner.

Kishan and I stood there quietly for a moment, and then he said, “You might want to close your mouth, Kells.”

“What? Who? How?
Why
is she here?”

He sighed. “She’s a girl Ren met last night. In fact, I was planning to talk with you about it right after Wes left.”

“You knew about her and that she was like …
that
?”

“Yes and no. I hadn’t met her yet. Ren just told me about her.” Kishan frowned. “Her parents also have a boat and are staying in Trivandrum. The good news is that the
Deschen
sets sail again in a few days so she won’t be here long.”

“Well, I don’t like her.”

“Hmm. We’ll do our best to avoid them both. How does that sound?”

“Sounds good to me.”

But avoiding Ren when he didn’t want to be avoided was impossible. Later that afternoon, I was sitting in an outdoor lounge chair reading. A shadow fell across my legs. I finished my paragraph and leaned over to pick up my bookmark.

“Back already?” I asked, assuming it was Kishan.

“
No.
”

I shaded my eyes and looked up. Ren was glaring at me, livid. His fists were clenched at his sides. I set down my book and asked, “Is something wrong? What happened?”

“What happened? What
happened
? You cut your hair!”

“Yes. I did. So what?”

“So
what?
” he asked incredulously. “It’s so short now you can’t even braid it!”

I ran my fingers through my hair and pulled a lock forward to study. “Hmm … that’s probably true. I could do small, thin braids I suppose, but it doesn’t matter. I like it this way.”

“Well,
I
don’t!”

I frowned at him. “What exactly are you upset about?”

“I can’t believe you just went off and cut your hair without telling … anyone.”

“Women do that all the time. Besides, it’s none of your business what I do with my hair, and Kishan likes it even if you don’t.”

“
Kishan
—”

He worked his jaw and was about to say something else when I interjected. “If you need to see a girl in braids why don’t you just ask your new girlfriend to braid her hair? I’m sure Miss Beverly Hills would love to do it. She can play Helga to your Thor. Where is she now anyway? Better keep your eye on her, or she’ll sneak off to cozy up to someone else. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get back to my book.”

I saw Ren clench and unclench his fists several times in my peripheral vision, as I pretended to read a paragraph. Finally, he spun around and stormed off through the hatch.

I didn’t see Ren or his new girlfriend again until dinner. Kishan and I had just filled our plates and sat down when they showed up. Nilima and Mr. Kadam were sitting at the end of the table talking with each other quietly.

“Oh, how wonderful! I’m so famished,” Randi said and approached the buffet table, warning Ren not to eat the chicken or the shrimp that was being served.

She took a seat across from us and explained, “I’m very careful about what I eat. I only eat vegetables, and occasionally some fruit. It helps me maintain my figure.”

Her plate had two forkfuls of salad and a wedge of mango. Carefully, she pushed the croutons away with a butter knife. I looked at Ren. He was staring at his plate of vegetables like a man who’d just been sentenced to prison.

Randi continued, “I’ve never eaten meat in any form. Not even eggs or milk. I just think animals are so filthy. I can’t imagine ingesting them. I don’t even like house pets. Especially cats. Their fur is so dirty. They lick themselves all over. And their little paws touch you everywhere.” She shuddered. “I think animals should be kept in zoos, don’t you agree? That’s all they’re good for, after all.”

I sniggered
loudly
, took a bite of chicken, and sipped my papaya juice.

She leaned over and, in a stage whisper, said to me, “You
do
know that papaya juice makes you fat. My personal trainer says you should never eat sugar in
any
form.” Her gaze dropped deliberately to my waist. “But I can see that maintaining your figure is not a priority for you.” She smiled sweetly at Kishan, who was frowning. “A girl should always try to look her best, shouldn’t she?”

Ren looked up, smiled at her, and said, “Yes and your figure is … exquisite.”

She pecked him on the cheek, and Ren went back to picking at his plate.

Kishan set down his fork, stared at Ren incredulously, and said, “There is absolutely nothing wrong with Kelsey’s figure.” Then he stood and picked up his empty plate, heading back to the buffet again.

Randi quickly backpedaled. “Oh, of course
you
wouldn’t think so because you’re such a gentleman, but you are biased after all.” She pushed aside her plate. “Oh dear, I’ve eaten too much. Now I’ll have to work out for an hour.” Half of her salad was still on her plate. She pouted prettily at Ren, who consoled her by telling her that she looked beautiful.

I poked my stomach covertly. It still seemed pretty lean to me. Obviously, I wasn’t built like a supermodel, but all the swimming and workouts were keeping me trim enough. Kishan took my hand, squeezed it, and brushed a kiss on my fingers before setting it back onto my lap. I smiled at him in gratitude. He smiled back and began eating his second helping. Ren scowled at his half-eaten dinner plate. Barbie said she wanted to take a nice romantic stroll around the deck. Ren rose quickly, taking her with him, and we all were finally able to relax and enjoy the rest of our meal.

Kishan purposely made a giant ice cream sundae for us to share, and we had a great time feeding each other spoonfuls. I “accidentally” missed his mouth and smeared ice cream on his nose and he “accidentally” dropped a spoonful down my shirt. After that, it was a free-for-all. He grabbed the canister of whipped cream, and I grabbed the bottle of chocolate syrup. Nilima and Mr. Kadam quickly exited, leaving us to our food fight.

Several minutes later, our arsenal had run out. We stood there laughing at each other. A big glob of whipped cream slid from my hair to my cheek, and Kishan was coated in chocolate syrup. I ran a finger down his arm and put it in my mouth.

“Mmm, you taste pretty good.”

He scooped up a glob of whipped cream and smeared it across my cheek. “Hmm … you’re not quite done yet.” He picked up a bottle of confetti sprinkles and shook them dramatically over my head while I stood still with a small smile waiting for him to finish.

“There. All done.”

Kishan wrapped his arms around my waist and tugged me closer. I looked up into his handsome face and felt an immense wave of appreciation and love overwhelm me.

“Thanks,” I said softly.

He laughed. “Thanks for what? The sprinkles?”

I shook my head. “Thanks for making me happy.”

“Anytime.” Kishan hugged me, and we stood there in the wind long enough that we started sticking together. “Want to go for a swim in the ocean and get all this stuff off?”

“You’re on.”

As we strolled down to the dock, taking the back stairs so we wouldn’t muss the carpet, he said, “That woman is crazy. How could anyone live without sugar?”

I grinned and twined my fingers through his as he draped his arm across my shoulder. “I don’t know. What’s life without something sweet?”

He nodded in agreement.

Kishan and I managed to avoid Ren and Randi the next day by having picnic meals using the Golden Fruit. For breakfast we ate egg sandwiches while our feet dangled over the railing, and for lunch we climbed on top of the wheelhouse. Kishan had the Scarf make comfortable cushions and surrounded them with silk flowers.

He placed a heavy linen napkin on my lap and used another napkin to blindfold me. He then hand-fed me a variety of scrumptious foods, making me guess what they were. Some were easy, especially the fruits. Dips were hard. He included a pear torte from Shangri-la that I hadn’t yet tasted. I did the same for him and I giggled mischievously choosing weird dishes like tuna surprise. He just smacked his lips saying each one was better than the last. After we were full, we sipped sparkling grape juice and leaned back against the cushions to watch the clouds.

We’d planned to swim during the afternoon, but I found Randi sunning herself at the pool in a tiny red bikini held together with thin gold chains. I mentally groaned in disgust. Kishan and I would have to swim later. I turned to exit, but she’d spotted me.

“Oh, there you are! I’m so glad you’re here. Can you be a dear and ask that serving girl, Nilima, to come here?”

“Nilima is not a serving girl.”

Randi waved her hand in the air and flipped over onto her back, talking in great detail about a certain kind of lotion she
must
have. Her top barely covered her heaving bosom.

They looked too perfect to be real and I briefly wondered how much something like that cost.
Wow. What if one pops?
I giggled.

“It’s not funny,” she languished. “If you cared about your skin at
all
, you would understand why I need to have that lotion. It would be so much easier to have blotchy, uneven skin like yours. Why, no one even
expects
you to look pretty. You don’t have the same pressure that I do. Wrinkles might not matter to you, but they do to me.”

Kishan strolled to the pool area and kissed my cheek.

“Kelsey would look beautiful in wrinkles.”

Randi’s expression changed immediately. “Isn’t that just
sweet
of you to say something like that, but the truth is women don’t age as gracefully as men do. In the blink of an eye, men move on from their forty-year-old wife to a twenty-year-old.”

Kishan frowned. “I would never do that.”

She gushed, “Oh, I know
you
wouldn’t. But so many men do. A girl just has to do the best she can with what she has.”

“Can’t you ask Ren for what you need?” Kishan asked. “We’re busy.”

She sniffed, “He was here, but he disappeared.”

“We’ll find him for you and make sure he gets your lotion.”

She smiled coquettishly. “Thank you so much. Such considerate men in one family. Your mother must be so pleased.”

“She was,” Kishan said abruptly and turned me around. “How about a workout and a massage instead of a swim?”

“Sounds good.” We left and started walking toward the gym. “Aren’t you going to go find Ren and tell him she needs him?” I asked Kishan.

“Nah. I’m sure he already knows. If I were Ren, I’d be avoiding her too.”

On the way, I ran into Nilima, who was furious with Randi.

“She’s so demanding! She’s insulted every member of the crew. The chef, who I had to beg to come here, has been demeaned in front of his staff. The captain has taken to locking the wheelhouse, and Grandfather refuses to come out of his room until she’s gone. If she’s not infuriating them, she’s flirting with them. She uses every trick at her disposal to get what she wants. I don’t care why Ren invited her here. I want her
off
the ship
!”

I’d never seen Nilima so upset. I was glad, though, that I wasn’t the only one who disliked Randi. I’d been concerned that I was responding with jealousy, which might have been true at first, but now the situation seemed kind of funny to me. I actually felt a little bad for Ren.

The next morning, Kishan burst into my room. I sat up and rubbed my eyes sleepily. “What’s wrong?”

He was wet and had a towel wrapped around his waist. “She’s gone too far.”

“What is it?” I tried to keep my eyes locked on his face and ignore the very nice bronze torso barely hidden under the skimpy white towel.

“Randi came unbidden into my room and interrupted my shower!”

I frowned. “Why would she do that?”

“She claimed that she was desperate to find Ren.”

I shrugged. “There might have been some truth to that. She probably kept him up for most of the night, and he still has to be a tiger for twelve hours a day. I’m sure he’s just hiding out somewhere.”

“Even so, she had no right to barge in on my shower! I’m going to finish in yours. You keep an eye out.”

I giggled. “Okay, I’ll watch out for any dangerous women. Don’t worry. I’ll protect you from their crafty wiles. You can go shower in peace.”

He ducked his head through the door and grinned. “Just so you know,
you
are welcome to barge in on my shower
anytime
.”

I laughed. “Good to know.”

After Kishan was safely ensconced behind his suite door, locked against intruders, I headed off to breakfast. On my way, Randi accosted me and demanded my help in locating Ren.

“He’s really being a terrible host. In fact, I think
you
should help me find him,
and
you convince him that he’s in love with me.”

I folded my arms across my chest. “And
why
would I do that?”

She smiled. “Because if you don’t, I’ll just move on to the next rich eligible man, his brother, and I don’t think you’ll be too happy about that.”

“Kishan wouldn’t touch you with a ten-foot pole, and honestly I never would have suspected Ren would either. Besides, it’s time for you to go. There’s no time for more of your games.”

“You’d be surprised at the things I can get men to do in no time at all.” She adjusted her skimpy tank top to show off her cleavage. “I don’t mind switching to Kishan. He’s handsome, and the brothers are obviously wealthy and well connected. Daddy would be pleased either way. I’m sure I could win over Kishan just as quickly.”