by Julie Leto
He’d already prepped the boat for departure, so he guided her down the pier with only their backpacks slung over his shoulder. At the end was his pride and joy—a sleek, black-hulled cruiser with every imaginable luxury from a full galley to a spacious master stateroom. The weather promised calm seas all the way to the Keys, so he knew he could handle the vessel with moderate help from Jessie.
How he’d handle Jessie was something else altogether.
She stopped at the end of the dock, glancing coyly over her shoulder when he came up behind her.
“This your design?”
He didn’t even attempt to contain his swell of pride. “My newest.”
She leaned forward, her back arched enticingly, as she took in the clean lines and sleek surfaces of his creation. He hoped she didn’t ask him any questions because at the moment, watching her backside lift toward him in unabashed offering had zapped all his knowledge about the ship. Hell, he couldn’t remember his own name.
“And it’s safe?” she asked, her eyes glinting with naughty delight.
He fought to restore moisture to the inside of his mouth. “Safe?”
Oh, yes. The boat was utterly seaworthy. Jessie was in no danger of drowning. He wished he could say the same for himself, because this woman—the utterly unrepentantly sexy woman, so like the one he’d fallen in love with—was pulling him under with her wild sensuality.
She quirked an eyebrow. “I’d prefer not to get too wet on our way to the Keys.”
He swallowed thickly, and then regained his ability to speak. He gestured her aside, jumped onto the deck and then offered her his hand. “I can’t make any promises, but I can guarantee you’ll stay out of the ocean.”
She smiled. Smiled! He’d just turned her statement into a potent innuendo and as a result, she’d smiled? This wasn’t Jessie.
Well, actually it was. The old Jessie. The one who’d matched his wit word for word and who’d never shied away from anything exploratory in a sexual sense as long as he eased her out of her comfort zone with assurances of love that, damn it, he’d totally meant. Had all this talk about weddings and forever-afters finally softened her heart?
He made short work of the last preparations for sailing, checking the satellite radio, his navigation system and his supplies. He grabbed a life jacket from the aft compartment and went looking for Jessie. He found her sitting on the bow, her bare legs dangling over the side.
“It’s a beautiful night for sailing,” she said.
He handed her the jacket, which she folded behind her. “Should be calm seas.”
“How long does it take to get to the Keys?”
“If we keep to about six knots, either by sail or by engine, we should be there by tomorrow night.”
She glanced up at him through hooded eyelids. “And if we go…” she paused while she took an obvious visual of his crotch “…slower?”
He stepped back. “What are you up to, Jessie?”
“Up to?” Her gaze flicked back to his groin. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that question?”
Again with the husky voice and bold attitude. He had half a mind to haul her to her feet and kiss the superior look off her face—so he did.
5
SHE MELDED to his chest like neoprene, hot and snug and tight. She opened her lips even before he’d pressed his mouth to hers so that their tongues instantly connected. She tasted like mint and rainwater. Her perfume, a warm scent that reminded him of the churning ocean during a sun-drenched squall, made him dizzy. When she slid her hands against his cheeks and raised herself higher to fully explore the depths of his mouth, he thought he might lose his mind.
But instead, sanity slammed into him. As lusty and raw as some of his fantasies about Jessie had been, none included her making the first move.
Even he had limits to his imagination.
He gently grabbed her waist and pushed her an inch away.
“What are you doing?” he asked, panting from the effort of fighting against what his body needed and his mind wanted to know.
“I’m kissing you,” Jessie replied, equally winded. “Has it been so long that you don’t remember how it’s done? Because you were doing fairly well—”
“Fairly?” he asked, shocked. “Wait, that’s not the point. Why are you kissing me?”
She sidled up closer, her pupils so round and black he could hardly spy the brown that normally surrounded them. “Don’t you want me to kiss you?”
“Don’t ask stupid questions.”
“Then you shouldn’t, either. You’ve got me where you want me. Why are you hesitating?”
“That’s a damned good question,” he conceded.
Leo charged to the back of the boat and continued his pre-launch routine until he had the engine purring, the lines released and the boat easing smoothly into the channel that would lead them through Tampa Bay and then into the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico. He was kept busy with procedures, but with Jessie’s taste lingering in his mouth, he found it nearly impossible to not watch her on deck, her shoes discarded, her heels kicked up on the railing so that looking forward as he maneuvered the boat meant constant eye contact with her slender legs.
At sunset, they crossed beneath the behemoth Skyway Bridge. Glowing bright red in the dying sun, headlights sparkling like stars overhead, the structure marked the last portal into open water. In less than ten minutes, they’d be officially on their way.
But to where?
Key West was their destination, but after Jessie’s little display on deck, Leo wasn’t entirely certain where they were going to end up.
Her kiss had knocked his carefully constructed plan overboard. He’d meant to take things slowly and make every minute of their thirty-hour voyage count. He stocked the galley with sensual foods he knew she’d once loved—caviar and lobster and strawberries with chocolate. He’d filled the wine cooler with several tasty vintages and made sure there was lots of bottled water on hand so they didn’t become dehydrated in the sun. He’d slid the silkiest sheets he could find onto the bed and filled the drawers of the master stateroom with playful items such as scarves, feathers and even an assortment of flavored massage oils. He’d expected to have to coax her into making love with him again, but after her bold and demanding kiss, he wondered if they’d run out of condoms before they reached the island.
“Everything going okay?”
Jessie came around the deck and slid her hands up a line while leaning provocatively forward.
He smirked. She was pulling out all the stops and though he didn’t know why, he wasn’t entirely sure he cared about her motivation as long as the outcome was the same.
“Glorious. Sunsets like this are why we live here.”
“I’m kind of surprised you still do,” she replied, swinging underneath the taut cords and landing on a seat near the stairs that led below deck. She braced her foot on the wheel shaft, high enough for him to see a flash of something dark between her thighs.
He shook his head, trying to dispel the image before he lost control.
“Why? I was born and raised here like you.”
She shrugged. “I guess I figured you’d move to the Caribbean or Aruba or somewhere since you go there all the time to sail.”
“I didn’t know you kept up with my itineraries,” he remarked.
She frowned, but didn’t reply.
“They’re great places to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live anywhere but here.”
“And yet you bought the house in the Keys.”
He cleared his throat. “It’s still Florida.”
Nostalgia had gotten the best of him when the real-estate agent had called and offered him the impressive five-bedroom house after the owner passed away and his heirs had no use for a summer getaway. Leo had snapped it up. At first, he’d used the place for trials of his newest sailboat designs, but memories of his lost love affair with Jessie turned the place hollow and empty and cold. He’d moved his base of operations to St. Tho
mas, accepting that while he was still hopelessly in love with Jessie, he didn’t need to wallow in it.
When Coop had contacted him a week ago about his and Bianca’s imminent return to the States, Leo finally had the excuse he needed to lure Jessie back to where they’d first made love.
Now here he was, headed out to sea with her on his favorite boat, and he was sweating like a virgin about to make it with the hottest girl in school.
Jessie glanced down the shadowed stairs that led below deck. “What’s down there?”
“Galley. Stateroom. Head. A nice study I designed so I can work. Go explore.”
Her mouth twisted while she considered his offer, but then she settled more snugly on the seat across from him. “I’d rather watch you. Manipulating that wheel makes your biceps bulge.”
He couldn’t help but glance at his arms, which were indeed pumped up. Most of his sail trips were not as leisurely as this one. When on land, he and his crew had to remain in tip-top shape. The rigors of international yachting competitions forced him to keep his body healthy and strong. Impressing the ladies was just a side effect.
However, if Jessie insisted on being impressed…
“You should see me with my shirt off,” he countered, winking.
She raised an eyebrow.
He laughed and checked his instruments. They’d cleared the bridge. Though night was falling, he planned to remain on engine power for a while, then open up the sails for a quick run before they anchored for the evening. He could, of course, sail through the darkness, sleeping only in short intervals to arrive in Key West more quickly, but if he was going to lose Z’s, he’d do it for better reasons than a faster trip.
She cleared her throat.
“What?” he asked.
“You said I should see you with your shirt off. I’m waiting.”
“I was teasing.”
She leaned forward and he could see her cleavage glistening from the humid warmth of the night. “So keep teasing. I can take it. Can you?”
He narrowed his eyes, but despite the darkening skies, he could see that she wasn’t kidding. Maybe she’d figured out his plan to seduce her and thought turning the tables might keep him from pushing her too far. Well, she was mistaken. He secured the wheel and tore his shirt over his head, then tossed it below.
He speared her with a challenging stare.
She whistled appreciatively.
“You didn’t exaggerate,” she said.
“I didn’t need to.”
“You never did lack self-confidence.”
He chuckled. “You mean I’m an arrogant bastard.”
“It’s part of your charm.”
“Too big of a part,” he murmured. Maybe if he hadn’t had such a superior big head, he might have realized that Jessie wasn’t going to forgive him for slamming some chick when he and Jessie were supposed to have been in love.
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said, standing and winding her way behind him. “I kind of always loved your big parts.”
JESSIE COULD RESIST no longer. She’d tried to play it hot and cool at the same time, but the only result was a cruel and torturous tingle in places she’d forgotten existed. The lace of the thong she wore underneath her micro-mini chafed against her labia, which had swollen with undeniable want. Her fingers itched to feel Leo’s skin against hers again, so without stopping herself, she spread her hands around Leo’s waist and smoothed her palms against his bare belly. “Jessie.”
His voice was ragged and deep, full of both warning and surprise and surrender.
“Muscles like these can’t be appreciated just by sight,” she said, sidling closer. “They need to be experienced firsthand.”
She pressed her breasts against his back. Her nipples instantly hardened at the contact, even through her shirt and bra. She slid her hands up his rock-hard abs to his protruding pecs, gasping when her palms razed through his chest hair. “You didn’t used to be this solid.”
Despite the sound of the wind and the waves, she heard him swallow thickly.
“You would know.”
“Yeah, I would,” she agreed, her hands drifting down so that her thumbs flicked over his rough male nipples. “I knew your body better than I knew my own. You have a scar…” She paused while she did a tactile search for the puckered skin just slightly below his waist on the right-hand side. “Yeah, there it is.”
His jeans were slung low on his hips, but to reach any farther, she’d have to unbuckle and unzip. So she did.
“Jessie,” he said with a gasp.
“Shh,” she insisted.
She didn’t need him to hesitate. She was operating on pure adrenaline and desire, with no thoughts or rationales to stop her from touching him again. The lights from the nearby beach were shining, but the glare hardly reached them. No other boats were in the immediate area. For all intents and purposes, they were alone.
She’d embarked on this adventure in order to erase the memories of her long-ago doomed affair with Leo. He had haunted every single relationship she’d had since him. No man was quite like Leo; no lover ever made her quite as hot. She’d fallen asleep too many nights imagining what might have been if some stalker girl hadn’t snuggled into his bed.
Now the games were over. She could put the question to rest, once and for all. What if she and Leo hooked up again?
The answer was obvious—they’d make love.
With a quick snap and a rasp of a zipper that rent the air like a gunshot, she had access to him in ways she hadn’t for over a decade.
He was hard beneath her hand and the minute she ran a finger over the tip of his head, her sex clenched with need. Oh, to feel him inside her again. Her body wept with anticipation. But for now, she just wanted to feel him. Make him mad with wanting.
“Jessie, you shouldn’t—”
“Shouldn’t what?” she asked, tugging down his jeans and boxers enough to give her room to work. “You’ve wanted me since the moment you saw me tonight. We’re out here alone. No one to answer to. What did you used to say? There was no room for regrets on a cramped boat in the middle of the sea?”
He groaned. Maybe he remembered how he’d waxed philosophically back in the day and maybe he didn’t. But she couldn’t forget. No matter how hard she’d tried, even his words wouldn’t go away.
She rubbed her breasts against him, invigorated by the sensation of her body against his.
“Do you know what I’m wearing underneath this skirt, Leo? Black panties. Lace. Remember the crotchless ones you gave me back in college? From Frederick’s of Hollywood? We didn’t make it out of the mall parking lot before you’d ripped them off.”
His cock grew beneath her touch. He was so thick and hard and round. Her mouth dried. Salt from the breeze coated her lips and when she licked them, she wondered if his skin would have the same tangy flavor. Oh, she wanted to take him into her mouth, but she couldn’t go too far, too fast. They had an entire trip to Key West to indulge in sensual delights they’d denied themselves for far too long. Instead of surrendering, she tightened her fingers and increased her tempo. She kissed his back and dipped her other hand lower to caress his balls.
“Yeah,” he gasped. “I remember. I remember I had to rip them off you to taste you. The slit wasn’t big enough for what I liked to do to you with my tongue. Licking you from stem to stern. Toggling your clit with my teeth until you—”
If she hadn’t been leaning full against him, she might have stumbled. His words had conjured an instant response, and sweet fluid trickled on her inner thigh. She tugged harder and faster on his erection until he was the one exploding with hot moisture. He sagged forward, his arms hooked over the wheel. He kept them on course with his weight while Jessie stepped back, both shocked and exhilarated by what she’d done.
And yet, before he could say anything, she dashed down below deck and found the head. She locked herself in the surprisingly tiny room, which triggered a dim, gold light. Her image in a mirror above the sink
gave her a start. Even in the half light, she couldn’t mistake what she saw in her eyes.
Arousal. Need. A rush she had not experienced in far too long.
She turned on the faucet, washed her hands and then splashed her neck with fresh water. The icy drops trickled down her shirt, making the stiffness of her nipples more arduous to endure. Oh, to have his tongue on her again. Inside her again.
His knock made her jump.
“Jessie?”
“I’m just cleaning up,” she said, her voice pitched with nerves.
“You sure? Or are you hiding?”
She spun and opened the door, nearly knocking herself senseless in the cramped space. Not that she had much sense to begin with. Not after what she’d just started.
He’d abandoned his jeans and boxers and was standing in front of her in all his naked glory. She expected him to be lax and spent, but on the contrary, his erection stood at attention like the enduring soldier she knew it to be.
“I’m done hiding from you,” she countered.
“Good,” he said, taking her by the upper arm and pulling her flush to him. “Because now that I’ve found you, I’m not letting you go.”
6
WITH ANY OTHER WOMAN, Leo might have tried to hide how he was shaking, how perspiration had begun to form above his bottom lip and how breathing came with a heavy price. But not with Jessie. He needed her to know, needed her to see—needed her to accept how she rocked him to his core.
He released her only so he could open the door to the master stateroom and gesture her inside. She headed as far to the opposite wall as she could. The cabin was spacious by nautical standards, but not so large otherwise. From across the room, he watched her suckle her bottom lip with her teeth. He should have interpreted it as a sign of her anxiety. He should back off. But damn if all he could think about was her applying those straight white biters to parts of his body.
“Shouldn’t you be driving the boat or something?” she asked, crossing her arms tight across her chest.
