Secrets Aboard! by Brina Brady

Luka trades the short-term approval of his lover by helping with a home robbery for the gilded cage of Captain Clarke’s cruise ship.

A year of servitude, a court-mandated reprieve from prison, all thanks to his influential father’s deal. Sadly, Luka’s immediate future includes scrubbing the decks and hauling suitcases, a stark contrast to the prison sentence he could have faced alongside his lover, Maleko. Haunted by the ghost of his lover’s absence and his own guilt, Luka grapples with newfound tenderness coming from the least expected person.
Captain Westly John Clarke, an experienced maritime hardliner, enforces the court’s contract with grim adherence. Beneath the surface, something shifts. Luka’s boyish charm chips away at the older man’s icy exterior. Still, he keeps Luka at arm’s length, unable to forget the bitter memories of the young man’s past. As the Captain battles his own awakening heart and hidden secrets, his compass spins out of control, adding to the chaos.

As the love story etches in the shadow of a criminal past and the unforgiving grip of duty leaves them both adrift in uncharted waters. Only time and the churning sea will tell if they admit what’s in their hearts.