Ship Happens

by Eve London

  He continued to worship at the apex of my thighs, driving me higher and higher, toward something that seemed just out of my reach. Then he slipped a finger inside me, catapulting me toward a release I didn’t think possible.

  “That’s my girl.” His muffled words vibrated against me. I knew it was just the heat of the moment that made him talk like that, but the thought of being someone’s girl, especially his girl, sent me right over the edge. I came on his tongue, clenching around his finger, my orgasm rocking me so hard my teeth actually chattered.

  “Easy there.” Max lowered my hips, his touch so gentle, it almost brought me to tears. I couldn’t remember the last time someone had shown me such tenderness. “Are you okay?”

  I nodded, embarrassed at the emotion. “Sorry, it’s just… been a while.”

  “Want to talk about it?” He swiped his thumb across my cheeks, wiping away the threat of tears.

  “Not really.” I offered a half-hearted smile.

  “I’m here when you’re ready.” He laid down next to me and pulled me into his arms.

  His erection pressed against my leg. He’d been so worried about my release that he hadn’t tried to take his own. I wasn’t sure where he’d come from, but we’d already crossed the point of no return.

  I reached for him, gliding my fingers over his velvety length.

  He hissed in a breath. “We don’t have to do anything else. I just wanted you to get what you needed for your birthday.”

  “My birthday isn’t over yet.”

  Max

  Not over yet.

  Those words were like an aphrodisiac to my ears. My cock thickened under her hand. I held back while her fingers glided over me, circling my erection. Making her come under my tongue had been a major turn on. But now, knowing she wanted to give as well as receive… I was all in.

  She continued to slide her hand up and down, and with each pass I got harder. Her fingers were tentative, like she wasn’t sure how to please me. I reached down, wrapping my hand around hers, showing her how I liked to be stroked.

  As she continued to work me over, I dipped my head, taking a nipple between my teeth. I nibbled one while I palmed her other breast. Her breath came faster, and she was ready to go again. Fuck. I didn’t have a condom. All of my crap was still on the boat.

  Like she could read my mind, she reached for the nightstand. “Here. My friend sent me an entire basket of naughty stuff for my birthday two years ago.”

  I ripped the box open with my teeth, so eager to take her. With the condom in place, I laid her back. She looked up at me with trusting eyes. My hand slipped between us to make sure she was ready. I was tempted to taste her again but then she shifted under me, lining up the tip of my cock with her entrance.

  I eased in, slowly at first, wanting to make sure she could handle my size.

  A wrinkle furrowed her brow, and I kissed it away. “You okay?”

  She nodded against my chin. “Better than okay. I’ve just never been with anyone as… um… big as you before.”

  “I’ll go slow.” I eased in another inch, holding myself back. Fuck, she was so tight. “You feel so good, Nova.”

  Her nails dug into my back, and she shifted her hips. Then her ankles locked together behind my ass. She caught my gaze and nodded.

  I pushed into her, surrounding myself with her heat. Her teeth scraped against my ear and she arched into me, pressing her breasts against my chest.

  We moved together, our bodies covered in a sheen of sweat. I was so fucking close, but was determined she was going to come again before I did. I pulled out all the moves and swirled my hips to find the right position to drive her crazy.

  “Oh God. Right there. Yes.” She groaned and threw her head back.

  Got it. I pounded into her, exactly like she wanted me to and gritted my teeth hard to wait, to be able to watch her come apart again for me. She needed one last push to get over that edge.

  “Come for me, Nova. Come on my cock.”

  She sucked in a gasping breath and came, clenching around me so hard that I lost the last bit of control. My entire body strained as my release built. I came so fucking hard, grunting as I pumped into her one last time then hung, suspended as she exploded around me.

  “Come for me, Nova. Come on my cock.”She sucked in a gasping breath and came, clenching around me so hard that I lost the last bit of control. My entire body strained as my release built. I came so fucking hard, grunting as I pumped into her one last time then hung, suspended as she exploded around me.

  After, I pulled out and pressed a kiss to her mouth. Then I got up to take care of the condom. When I came back to bed, she seemed surprised.

  “You’re not going back out to the couch?”

  “I’d rather sleep with you.”

  Those perfect pink lips split into a grin and she slid over, making room for me to slip under the covers next to her. “I’d like that.”

  “You’ve been hurt before, haven’t you?” I could tell by the look in her eyes. “Is that why you left Texas?”

  9

  Nova

  I didn’t know how Max could read me like a freaking open book. But part of me was glad he could. I nestled my cheek against his chest, somehow more comfortable with him after just a few hours than I’d been with the man I thought I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

  “I was engaged awhile back, and he stole everything from me. He only wanted me for my money and once he got it all, he didn’t need me anymore.” I lifted a shoulder in a mini shrug. “Live and learn, right?”

  Max’s fingers lazily traced the curve of my hip. “So that’s why you took a job way out here?”

  “I wanted to get away. He left me with nothing so I needed a job where I’d have a place to live. I don’t have any family. My friend, Shenae is the closest thing I’ve got, but she moved when her husband took a job in Anchorage last year so there wasn’t anything holding me to Texas.” I bit my lip to stop the verbal diarrhea. He wouldn’t care about any of that. Max would be out of here tomorrow or the day after at the latest.

  “Are you happy here?” He smoothed a palm over my hair.

  His touch calmed me, made me feel grounded. I wanted to snuggle up against him and cling to him forever. Like my personal rock in a raging storm.

  “I have been. But once my boss and his wife get back, I’ll have to find something else. I’ve got applications in at a few places in Miami. I’m sure something will work out.” I tried to sound a lot more confident than I felt. “My grandmother used to say that things happen for a reason. We might not know why, but with time all things become clear.”

  “Your grandmother sounds like a wise woman.”

  “She was.”

  “I have a feeling things will work out for you. Maybe even sooner than you expect.”

  I hoped he was right.

  Max wrapped his arm around me and closed his eyes. His breathing evened out and as the sounds of the storm faded away, he fell into a deep sleep.

  I laid there, gazing at him in the dim light, afraid that if I closed my eyes, I’d wake up and he’d be gone. At some point I must have fallen asleep because I woke up to bright light filtering in through a crack in the shutters.

  There was no one next to me, no sign that anyone had been in my bed. For a moment, I panicked. If that had been a dream, I didn’t want to wake up. I tried closing my eyes, begging sleep to take me back to Max.

  10

  Max

  “Hey, sleepyhead, get up.” I perched on the edge of the bed and pressed my lips to Nova’s forehead.

  She squinted up at me. “Max?”

  “Reese found some pancake mix and made breakfast while Chase and I checked on the boat. Good news, there’s only minor damage so we ought to be able to get underway soon.” I held up the robe she’d given me the night before. As much as I’d prefer to spend the day naked in bed next to her, there was too much to do if we wanted to get back on course and meet up with the other boats.<
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  Her lips turned down. “You’re leaving already?”

  “Yeah, we are.”

  She let out a sigh. “That figures. You gave me the best birthday night of my life and I’ll probably never see you again.”

  I tried to tamp down my excitement before I ruined the surprise. “I wanted to ask you about that.”

  “What?” She shoved her arms through the robe I held out for her then stood.

  I tied the sash in the front—no need to let Chase or Reese catch a peek—then stood and pulled her against me. “I’m hoping you’ll come with us.”

  Her eyes grew wide and her mouth opened like she was about to say something.

  I waited but nothing came out. “Cat got your tongue?”

  She shook her head, her eyes shining. “You want me to come with you?”

  “Yeah.” I shrugged, an attempt at downplaying the significance of my offer. I didn’t want to overwhelm her but since the moment we first touched, I knew I wanted to be in her life for more than just one night.

  “But we hardly know each other. Won’t you be on the water for over a year?”

  “If you get sick of me, you can fly home from wherever we put in to port.” Pulling her tighter, I rested my chin on the top of her head. “But you won’t get sick of me.”

  “What makes you so sure?” She pulled back, eyeing me with a spark of sass.

  “I’m pretty sure fate wants us together. I’m not about to argue with that.”

  She let out a laugh. “This is crazy.”

  “Think of the awesome story we’ll be able to tell our grandkids about how we met.”

  “You’re serious.” Her eyebrows shot up. “Won’t your brother and friend have something to say?”

  “My boat, my rules. If they have a problem with it, they can leave.”

  “Just like that?”

  I nodded. “Just like that. I’ve been looking for you for almost thirty years, Nova. I’m not about to risk losing you now. I know it’s crazy, but I fell head over heels for you the second I met you. I’m in love with you. Say yes.”

  Nova

  As insane as it was, I said yes. Xiao agreed to handle everything at the resort until the owners returned and in less than an hour I’d packed my meager belongings and was ready to go.

  “Is this it?” Max reached for my bag. Funny how everything I owned could fit into a medium-sized duffel.

  “I know you said I should only bring the necessities, but I have one extra I have to take with me.”

  “What’s that?” He looked even more delectable in the light of day than he had last night.

  I pulled Triton from behind my back. “I can’t leave without Triton.”

  “You want to take a cat on a trip around the world with us?”

  “I do. He actually likes the water. He’s not a normal cat.”

  He shook his head and chuckled. “If it’s that important to you, it’s fine. He can come.”

  “Really?”

  “Really.” Max let my bag drop to the floor and put his palms on either side of my cheeks. “I want you to be happy.”

  I wrapped my arm around him sandwiching Triton in a group hug between us. “Thank you. He’s a good boy, he won’t be any trouble.”

  “My pleasure.” Then he hitched a brow. “You know I love a good pussy.”

  My cheeks flushed as I recalled the amount of attention he’d paid to that particular part of my anatomy last night.

  “Let’s go.”

  With a final glance at the bungalow that hadn’t really been a home, I slid my hand into Max’s and let him lead me toward a future I’d never imagined.

  I guess it was like my grandmother said, sometimes the sea gave gifts to people who needed them. She’d outdone herself this time.

  Epilogue

  Nova

  Max and I had the catamaran to ourselves. He’d sent Chase and Reese off to flirt with a few women on one of the boats we’d been sailing with for the past seven months. Carving out alone time together had been quite a challenge with four of us living in such close quarters, so sometimes we had to get creative.

  But not tonight. We had a few hours before they’d be back which meant we might get to have sex lying down instead of our usual quickie.

  Max held out a glass of white wine.

  “Are we celebrating?” I took it, still not accustomed to the way he liked to take care of me.

  “It’s our seven-month anniversary.” He clinked his glass against mine. “And we’re about to watch the sun go down over the Great Barrier Reef.”

  I took in a deep breath, letting the salty ocean air fill my lungs. “It’s a dream come true.”

  “You’re a dream come true.” He sat down next to me and pulled me against him.

  Not content to sit side by side when I could straddle him instead, I shifted onto his lap. “Can you believe it’s been seven months already?”

  He sucked my earlobe into his mouth sending a shiver up and down my spine. “We’re halfway through our trip. I can’t wait to get you back to Boston. We’ll have so much room when we get back to my condo, we won’t know what to do with ourselves.”

  I laughed. It didn’t matter to me where we went, as long as we were together. “I don’t care if we live in a ten-thousand-square-foot mansion, you know wherever you go, I’ll be sitting right next to you.”

  In the time we’d been together, we couldn’t stand to be apart. I didn’t expect that to change when the trip ended. He’d already asked me to move in with him in Boston. Of course I agreed.

  Shenae thought I was absolutely insane to take off with him when he’d asked. But even she’d come around once she saw how happy we made each other.

  “I know visiting Australia was your dream,” Max said.

  I nodded against his neck. “That’s right. And it all became possible thanks to you.”

  “Now that we’ve done that, I wanted to give us something new to look forward to.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box.

  “What did you do?”

  His eyes shone as he held it out to me. “Nova, we haven’t been together long, but I already know that even a lifetime won’t be long enough for me to show you how much I love you. Will you marry me?”

  My heart beat so loud and so fast I could barely hear myself speak. “Yes,” I whispered.

  He slid the ring on my finger then stood, lifting me up with him. With my legs still straddling his hips, he spun us around.

  Triton looked up from where he’d been grooming himself. No doubt wondering what his crazy humans were up to now.

  “We can wait until we get home. Whatever you want, a big church wedding, eloping in Vegas… it’s up to you.”

  “I love you, Max Richardson.” I couldn’t stop kissing him. His mouth, his ear, his cheek, his nose.

  “I love you, too.” He caught my lips with his.

  I broke the kiss, pulling back to look deep into his eyes. “You know what would make this moment even better?”

  “What’s that?” His hands cupped my ass, holding me tight against him as he lowered us back down to the deck.

  “I’d love to watch the sunset together.”

  “Isn’t that what we’re doing?” His brow wrinkled for a moment. Then his mouth ticked up into a grin. “You mean together together, don’t you?”

  I nodded.

  He glanced both directions. “The other boats are pretty close.”

  Sliding my skirt up my legs, I grinned. “Then it’s a good thing I didn’t put on my granny panties tonight.”

  As my bare pussy made contact with his crotch, he thrust his hips up and shoved his pants down his legs.

  And there, on the deck of a catamaran, in the middle of the ocean, we watched the sunset together while he filled me with love and his thick, hard cock.

  As I shattered, exploding around him while the sky faded from blazing red to pink to purple to black, I murmured my thanks to the sea. For finding me worthy. For sending
me another gift from the ocean… this incredible man.

  Snag my next book, the first one in the Book Boyfriends Series here!

  Bad Boy

  Xander: I’ve been dying to get a taste of Kennedy and all her curves. But I’m not her type. She’s a bookworm, nose always stuck firmly in her laptop, and I’m the tatted up, motorcycle-riding bartender barely making enough to pay tuition.

  But when she asks me for dating lessons, I’m going to cheat and do everything I can to teach her exactly how opposites attract.

  Kennedy: I’m gonna do it. I’m going to ask bad boy Xander to teach me how to flirt. It’s not like he’s going to fall for me. I’m the nerdy, chubby, book blogger, girl next door, nothing like the hot sorority chicks always swooning over him at the bar.

  Then I can use my new skills to find a guy who’ll do dirty things to me, someone just like him. Ack, I mean help me find a nice guy who’ll fit into my nice girl life. Oh geez. I’m a wreck and I’m pretty sure I’m doomed to die a virgin.

  Bad Boy is an insta-love New Adult romance with a bookworm virgin and the bad boy bartender (who’s secretly a good guy!). Grab this opposites attract short story and escape for an hour today!

  Exclusively available on Amazon and free to read in Kindle Unlimited!

  And if you can’t wait to get started on my new series, check out a FREEBIE short, Boy Friend, by signing up for my newsletter right here!

  About the Author

  When Eve London was a girl she wanted to be a trapeze artist. Instead, she grew up to be like most women–a juggler–trying to keep bunches of balls in the air.