“Something will present itself,” Eduard would reply. A heartbeat later, he was searching the crowded deck again for some glimpse of that dusky flesh, those tight muscles.
It seemed his interest in the crewman might be mutual. More than once, he turned to find Reza watching him, and whenever their gazes would lock for a moment, an ardent energy arched between them, sizzling Eduard’s blood and exciting his body. A week passed, a lifetime for Eduard. His bed was lonely and cold at night, and the need for another consumed him. Marien was a woman—she would never understand a man’s desires. He could only hold out against his own heart for so long before he gave in.
Late one afternoon, after the sun had begun to dip beneath the waves and cast golden ripples across the sea, Reza was at the flag
