by Vivian Wood
I take a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. “Did I scare it away?”
“I have no idea. Although I won’t lie, if I were that dolphin, I wouldn’t come back to check on you. There is a whole sea to explore, fish to catch and eat. He’s not worried about you.”
I nod, tears pricking my eyes. “Okay. Sorry. Can we go back to shore?”
Gabe starts paddling. “Of course. I didn’t realize you were so squeamish about the ocean.”
I blow out a breath, following him. “I wouldn’t say squeamish. I’m just… alert.”
He tosses a skeptical look over his shoulder, smirking a bit. “Uh huh.”
Chagrined, I shake my head.
“Just keep paddling, Captain Gabe.”
By the time we make it back to the shoreline, I’m out of breath. Gabe hops out of his kayak so nimbly, as if he was born hopping in and out of kayaks. He tosses his kayak onto the beach and then pulls mine onto the beach.
He helps me out of the craft with strong, steady hands. I turn as soon as I can and hug him, my arms going around his neck, my head burrowing against his warm collarbone.
He makes a soft sound of surprise, his hands wrapping around me. One across my upper back, one at my waist, tugging me closer.
I feel so foolish, clinging to him like this. But it feels right.
It feels necessary.
“You’re all right, Luna,” he rumbles. “You’re safe.”
And I do feel safe, wrapped up in Gabe’s arms. Hugging him tightly for another second, I finally let go with reluctance.
“Sorry,” I apologize, feeling stupid.
Gabe’s lips tip up. “For what?”
I shrug, feeling my cheeks color. “Maybe for overreacting.”
He reaches out and takes my hand, twining it with his own. “It happens to everybody. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you’re only human.”
I manage a small smile. “It’s true.”
“Come on, let’s take these kayaks back in. I could use a drink, I think. I bet the bar in our hotel serves a great Sazerac. What do you think?”
Cocking my head to the side, I size him up. “Do you think that we could skip the bar and just have something from room service? Because I’m in the mood for something a little more private, if you get my drift…”
His eyes light up. “Oh yeah?”
“Definitely.”
“Well, fuck. We’d better get moving, then…”
Smiling, I pick up my kayak and trail him as he heads up the beach.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Gabe
After the relative freedom of being able to spend time with Luna in Anchorage, getting back on the yacht seems like a punishment. I’m still not really talking to Mal, so every moment spent outside of my bedroom is basically fought with tension. And even the moments I do manage to have a little downtime are often frustrated.
Too little time. Too little space.
Be quiet, be careful.
I want to be anything but careful when I’m with Luna. A part of me, way in the back of my head, is sounding the alarms.
Luna is my employee. Not just that, but I’m supposed to be in a solid year of mourning.
I’m playing with fire. I know that.
And yet… the more time I spend with Luna, the quieter we have to be, sneaking around at night…
The more entangled and enmeshed I find myself. It’s like I know what I’m doing is wrong on so many levels but I just… I can’t bring myself to care.
I sail the yacht in a wide arc, leaving Anchorage behind and cutting across the wild blue waves of the Northern Pacific. Malkia and I trade off shifts for a couple of days as we sail back toward the very southern tip of Alaska. Silence reigns in the pilothouse, angry and brooding.
When we finally come into a harbor late at night, I find my way down to my room. When I slide open my door, I find Luna sleeping on my bed, barefoot and still in her heavy jacket. I pause for a second, noticing how her blonde hair shines in the moonlight that pours into the room from above.
If I had to summarize my feelings about Luna right this very second, I would probably say that having her feels very much like holding a small, fragile bird.
She’s not exactly struggling with my hold, but I know that it’s only a matter of time before she wants to be free again. She’s from a different world than I am and before long, she’ll want to return.
That’s just the way of things.
When I close the sliding door behind me, she stirs sleepily. I shed my coat and shoes, slipping into bed behind her.
“Mm,” she mumbles. Luna shivers. “It’s cold.”
Putting my arm around her, I pull her against my body. Moving her hair out of my way, I nuzzle the back of her neck until she releases a husky laugh.
“Better?” I murmur.
She turns in my arms, her lips finding mine. “I’m not warmer. But I am distracted…”
My lips are on her neck, my tongue and lips playing against her flesh.
She brushes back her hair and looks up at me, her blue eyes glowing. “What are you doing to me, Gabe?”
One corner of my mouth hitches up. “Getting you out of my system, Luna. The only way that I can think of to do it.”
I can’t miss the way that she draws her breath in, making her chest rise, and looks down to my mouth. I cup her cheek, angling her mouth up. Pressing my lips to hers, I feel a current that flows from her lips to mine. Needing more, I immediately bow her head backward and deepen the kiss.
She feeds into it, making these little mmm sounds as soon as I trail my mouth along her jawline and drive my teeth into her neck. She goes wild for that; apparently my lovely princess likes a little pain mixed with her pleasure.
That fact only makes me harder for her. When I slide onto my lap, straddling me, she thrusts her breasts forward. I fall on them like a starving man on a scrap of bread, licking and sucking everywhere that isn’t covered with clothing.
She rides my lap like a heathen, grinding against my cock like there’s no tomorrow. I groan, wanting desperately to just lay her down right here and fuck her brains out. My need has ballooned since the last time that she let me touch her. It’s driving me insane right now.
“Gabe?” she whispers. Her cheeks heat. “Would you — umm — I like it when you talk to me while we’re… doing stuff.”
“God yes,” I say.
There is nothing gentle about the way that I grab her, hauling her up against me. I’m already hard for her, imagining the sweet satisfaction that I’m about to find at the apex of her thighs. My tongue seeks hers and she opens her mouth to me, urging me on.
She makes this sound, a mewling sound, but more guttural. The sound makes the fine hair on the back of my neck stand up and my whole body tingles for a second. I pull her body up against mine, rubbing her tits across my chest. She moans and wraps her legs around my torso.
Fuck, she feels so good. She starts to kiss my neck, sucking hard on my earlobe. My eyes roll into the back of my head for the briefest moment and I stumble. Luna seems totally unworried about our surroundings.
Maybe she’s completely oblivious to my thought process about how I can fuck her the fastest. She looks up at me. Her eyes are filled with the same impatient lust as mine.
“Take me right here, right now,” she demands, her voice low and throaty. “I need you, Gabe.”
Lust fills my veins like lead. Her words are the balm I’ve needed for so long; it feels like it’s been eons since I’ve been inside her, instead the better part of a week.
Fuck. How long have I needed to hear those words pulled from her sweet lips?
“Yes,” she whispers in my ear. She grabs my hand, pulling it down her body, until I’m touching the front of her panties. They’re damp, soaked by her need. Her words turn pleading. “Now. I need you inside me right now.”
At the same time, she reaches down between us, feeling the outline of my cock through my pants.
/> Fuck. It’s hard to think, hard to speak. Especially when she pleads so sweetly for me to fuck her.
“Uh uh,” I say, my eyes burning into hers. I sit back, leaving her looking at me with a note of shock on her face. She thinks I’m turning down sex, which is almost funny. “If you need it as badly as you say, get back on the bed,” I order.
I get immense pleasure out of watching her miles of fantastic legs and ass as she scurries to obey. I climb in the back, pulling down the gate behind me.
It’s still a little crowded in the cabin, being that I’m almost six and a half feet tall. But when she gets herself turned around, biting her lip and looking up at me, I suddenly feel that same urgency as I felt earlier.
“Get your panties off,” I growl. “I want you to ride me, right fucking now.”
She looks at me with those wide, innocent eyes and starts to unzip her skirt.
“No. Leave it on,” I tell her. “And take the panties off. Don’t make me tell you again.”
I unzip my own pants as she shimmies her panties down her legs, kicking them off with her shoes. I hook my thumbs into the waistband of my boxer briefs, shoving them and my pants down to the middle of my thighs.
My cock springs free, long and thick, the tip of it already slick with precum. Luna’s hand is on my cock instantly, her fist closing around it.
Fuck, that feels so good.
It’s been so long since I felt anyone else’s grip on my dick that I close my eyes when she touches me. She gives me a few experimental strokes, testing the waters. But when I see her head going down to my cock, I have to stop her.
“No, not now,” I grit out, guiding her face up to mine. “I don’t want to blow my load in your mouth. I want your pussy, and I want it right now.”
She straddles me, breathing a little bit faster. I force her head down and kiss her, even as I lift my hips up. My cock touches her warm inner thigh. I close my eyes for the briefest moment, distracting myself.
Then I open my eyes, realizing that I should’ve definitely jacked off in the last couple days. Or maybe been with a girl that was less hot than Luna, who is a straight up bombshell.
I kiss her, pressing her ass down so that her knees widen.
“You’re going to have to ride slow,” I warn. “I’m so fucking hot for you right now, I can barely see straight.”
She gives me a wicked grin. “Is that right?”
I just grunt, pressing her down again. I use my free hand to stand my cock straight up, groaning when the blunt tip touches her pussy lips. They are already dripping with moisture.
She has been waiting for me, it seems.
She sinks down on my dick, her expression enraptured. I have to close my eyes and list whiskey brands while she stretches to take all of me.
“Fuck!” I mutter. “God damn, you’re so tight. So wet. So perfect.”
When she finally takes all of my cock, I pull her down for a long, slow kiss.
“Can you handle me?” she asks, already breathless.
To answer her question, I move my hips upward. She cries out, but she doesn’t stop. No, she keeps going, her actions growing frenzied. Her pussy grips my cock as she rides me.
I move my hand down between our bodies, rubbing her clit. I am going to make damn sure that she comes when I do… and I’m going to come pretty damn soon.
“Oh my god,” she says, leaning forward. “Omigod, right there…”
I can feel her tensing and clenching, getting close to the edge.
“Fuck. That’s right. I love the way you ride me, Luna. The way that sweet pussy grips my cock so tight—”
That little bit of dirty talk is enough to push her over the edge. She cries out, her pussy spasming wildly, her nails scoring the flesh of my chest.
I let myself go, pumping up into her body with abandon. I can feel the orgasm before it hits, feel it start down low in my balls. It tears loose and I thrust upward again and again, her greedy little pussy milking my cock of every drop.
I slow, then stop, trying to catch my breath. She lays sprawled across my chest, her breathing rapid, covered in a layer of sweat. Not just hers, but mine, too.
I close my eyes and hold her close, enjoying the musky scents rising from our combined skin, and the moment of closeness.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Luna
I’m standing on the main deck, my brows furrowed as I watch Gabe direct the disembarkation. We are on the last stop of the entire trip, docked at a solitary, rickety little pier. Far above us is a lighthouse that sits atop the rocky terrain at the highest peak. In the middle distance, I only see a set of steps carved into the dark bedrock, disappearing as they ascend to the lighthouse.
I’m not even paying attention to that at all, though. No, my attention is on Gabe.
On his tall, broad frame. His dark hair and brows. On his angular, handsome face. His big hands, his long legs.
I don’t know exactly when he stopped being a thorny prick and turned into a protective lover. I can’t remember ever thinking that I should pull back or stop sleeping with him.
But now, as I look at him, I realize I let my guard down at some point. I’ve allowed myself to become infatuated with him.
I won’t even let myself think the word love, though it does lurk somewhere below the dark surface for me.
Mostly, I want to know when I started to care about him. Was it the day he took me out kayaking? Or was it the day that I first stepped onto this yacht, knowing full well that he was captain?
I don’t know. But Gabe is the center of my little universe just at this moment. Taking a deep breath, I head down the gangplank onto the dock.
Malkia herds the clients up toward the stone staircase. Gabe looks back over the crowd, his gaze seeking.
It lands on me and I notice relief crosses his expression. My brow furrows a little bit as I follow the procession of people drifting toward the shore.
I don’t get a chance to ask him what his expression meant, though. Gabe is all business today, taking the lead. He hits the stairs first. For a few minutes I can see him climbing, then he turns around a corner in the stairs and disappears from sight.
When I reach the stairs that are cut into the deep stone embankment, I look up. The walls are made of stone that was quite roughly carved; I can actually make out the chisel marks that someone made long ago. Reaching out a hand to feel the cool wall as I climb, I’m very glad that the blue sky is still above us. It would be claustrophobic otherwise.
I tag after the others, finding that when I turn the corner it isn’t that much further. Already I can see Gabe’s dark head disappearing as he makes it to the top.
“It’s just a little further!” Malkia calls from her position halfway through the small crowd. “Everyone just go at your own pace…”
I end up helping Sofia with the last dozen steps. She smiles at me gratefully.
“You should lean on me on the way back down,” I tell her with a wink.
Her cheeks heat a little but she nods. “Thank you, Dr. Luna.”
We reach the top of the steps. My eye is drawn immediately to the breathtaking view all around us. The sea takes us most of the vista, looking almost black right now. Our yacht bobs below.
To my right is the whale watching station, rising domelike above us. Sofia takes a second to admire the view and then heads toward the station’s entrance.
I hang back though, because Gabe is coming my way. Pretending indifference at his approach, I turn my head back toward the million dollar view.
“Are you coming in?” he asks.
The corners of my mouth tip up. “In a while, maybe.”
Gabe lowers his voice, stepping closer to me. Not touching, but hovering close enough that if I raised my hand I would hit him. “I missed you leaving my room this morning.”
Smiling, I eye him. “I actually had to work this morning. Emma asked for my help in advance.”
“Ah.” He nods, looking away out over the water. “I
s that the trick? I have to ask you in advance?”
I chuckle. “Are you suggesting that I slack off?”
He looks mischievous. “Me? Never. I’m just trying to figure out the best way to ask you to do things, that’s all.”
“In bed or at work? Because Captain Gabe gets whatever he asks for…” I repress a snicker. “Actually, Captain Gabe gets whatever he wants in or out of the bedroom.”
He ducks his head, the tips of his ears going pink. He is quiet for half a minute, thinking. I get the sense that he is trying to work himself up to something.
I reach out, briefly touching his arm with my fingers. Gabe looks up, startled. I’m quick to drop my hand again but I flush.
“What?” I ask quietly.
His lips quirk. “Am I that easy to read?”
“You are to me.” I cast an eye over his face, trying to read his expression. “Well sometimes you are, anyway.”
He nods his head, looking at the ground. “The trip will only last a couple more days.”
Squinting, I try to do the mental math of where he’s going with that thought. “So?”
“So I was wondering…” He fidgets, obviously uncomfortable. “What happens when we are off the boat? With us, I mean.”
My eyebrows fly up. “Oh! I hadn’t really thought about it. I mean… I just figured…” My cheeks color. “I thought that we would just keep doing… whatever this is… when we get back.”
He looks up, his gaze pinning me. “That’s what you want?”
“Well… yeah.” I bite my lip, my face the color of a ripe strawberry in the summer. “I mean, as long as you want that too.”
He nods slowly. “I don’t see any reason to stop.”
I give him a funny look. That isn’t the most romantic thing he could’ve said just then, but at least he isn’t ready to call it quits with me yet.
“Gabe!” Behind us, Malkia sticks her head out of the station. She narrows her eyes at us both when she sees us. “Are you coming or not?”
He sighs. “Yeah, I’m coming.” He looks at me, but I just give my head a tiny shake.
