by Sandra Owens
“Oh, that’s so cool.” She touched it with a finger and when it moved, she snatched her hand away. “It’s really bumpy. You’re going to let it go, right?”
“Hold out your hand.”
When she did, he put it in her palm.
“Just stay like that and it’ll crawl off and back into the water.”
It tickled when it moved, and sure enough, it fell off and plopped back into the gulf, and she watched it return to the bottom. She glanced at Jamie to see him looking at her, a smile on his face. Her heart did a funny dance, and she knew she was in trouble. The day he tired of her, or if the day came she had to run, it was going to hurt worse than anything Rodney had ever done to her.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Time for you to join me.” Jamie moved to the back of the boat and grabbed hold of the ladder. “Come, Sugar.”
She stared down at him and then eyed the water surrounding them before shaking her head. “I don’t want to.”
It was obvious she was scared, and she had every right to be considering what had been done to her. He’d wanted to demand the man’s name because whoever he was, he deserved a beating.
“Come, sweetheart,” he said, holding out his hand. If she panicked once he talked her into getting in the water, he’d get her back on the boat. If they were going to spend some time together, he wanted her to love boating and the water as much as he did.
He also believed she needed to confront her fear. What if she fell in a pool someday, or off his boat if he took her out again? She needed to know how to swim, at least enough to float on her back until she was rescued.
“You said you trusted me, right?”
She crossed her arms over her breasts, and her gaze darted from him to the water, then back to him. “I changed my mind.”
“You changed your mind about trusting me or that you’ll come in with me?” The bastard had done a real number on her. If he’d been willing to almost drown her to exert his control over her, what else had he done to her?
“Both,” she said.
“Put your hand in mine, sweetheart,” Jamie said, still holding up his arm.
Her feet slid forward a few inches, then stopped. “You promise you won’t make me put my head under the water?”
“You have my word. You’re safe with me, Sugar.” A visible shudder traveled through her, and he almost gave in. Just as he opened his mouth to tell her she didn’t have to, she reached out and placed her hand in his. Because she was doing this for him, a tenderness he’d never felt for any woman before slipped its way into his heart.
“Turn around and climb down backwards,” he said when she eyed the ladder with misgivings. “I’ll be right behind you.” It took a few minutes as she descended at the pace of a sloth. Once in, with the water at shoulder level, she held on to the ladder with an iron grip and white knuckles. Her eyes had gone so wild, he didn’t think she even saw him.
He grabbed the life vest and floated it in front of her. “Sugar, look at me.” Whether it was the command in his voice or just plain desperation, her gaze locked on his, her eyes beseeching him to save her. “Easy, sweetheart. I’m right here.”
Hoping to make her feel more secure, he grabbed the ladder, caging her next to his body and lifting his leg to her bottom to form a seat. He’d thought to have the vest for her to hang on to, but her fear was just too great.
“I’m going to put this on you,” he said, “but you’re going to have to let go so I can slip it up your arms.” The leg he’d put under her seemed to help. She let go of the ladder and wrapped her arms around his neck in a death grip.
“I’m not usually such a coward.”
No, she wasn’t. She was a brave, brave girl who trusted him not to let her drown. “Actually, you’re amazing.” Although he had to peel her fingers out of the ends of his hair, he managed to get the vest on her. Once it was snapped up, he decided the next best thing to do would be to kiss her.
She responded immediately; whether from the pleasure of having his mouth on hers or because it took her mind away from fearing she was going to drown, he didn’t know. Didn’t care. All he knew was kissing her was even better than double-chocolate chip cookies, and those, he loved. As her back was now to the boat and she hopefully wouldn’t notice, he floated them both away.
Her legs were wrapped around his waist so tightly he’d probably need a crowbar to pry her away, but he had no desire to. For a few minutes he allowed them to drift, letting her get used to being in the water. Too bad there was a life vest between his chest and her breasts. If he could get his mouth on them, they would taste seawater salty. Soon, he vowed.
When he felt some of the tension drain from her body, he dog-paddled back toward the boat, keeping one arm around her waist. Now to see if he could get the rest of her suit off.
“Hold on to the ladder for a minute.”
She didn’t let go of him. “Why?”
“I need to do something. I’m not going away,” he added, before she could protest. As soon as he had his hands free, he slipped off his shorts and tossed them into the boat.
“What’re you doing?”
“Just this.” He quickly tugged on the ties of her bikini bottom and pitched it over the side.
“Jamie!”
“Mmm?” While her attention was on her newly nude state, he took her hands and pulled her with him, away from the boat. “Having fun yet?”
She snorted. “Seriously? I’m in the middle of the ocean, and the only thing I’m wearing is a life vest, and you want to know if I’m having fun?”
“Then my work here isn’t done.” Whether she realized it or not, she was more at ease and was even treading water. No longer plastered around him like she’d been glued to him, she only had the fingers of one hand curled around his wrist as he dog-paddled them in place.
“When can we get back in the boat?”
“Soon.” He pulled her to him, sorry for the vest she wore. “But first this.” Careful to keep his erection—the one he’d had from the moment he’d removed her bikini bottom—from touching her, he angled his head and covered her mouth with his. She put her hands on his shoulders and parted her lips. It was all the invitation he needed.
Water lapped gently around them as he explored her mouth, her taste one he could come to crave. He slid his hand over the back of the vest to her bottom and cupped a taut, rounded cheek in his palm. It was cool to the touch from the sea, and little goosebumps rose on her skin as he caressed her.
Unfortunately, in his lust-induced haze, he forgot his intention to keep the lower parts of their bodies separated and pulled her against him. She wrapped her legs around his waist, putting her right where he wanted her. The head of his erection nudged itself past her folds, seeking entrance.
Her body went instantly stiff, and she tried to push away. “Jamie!”
“Sorry.” He put his hands on her waist and moved back. “That wasn’t intentional, Sugar.” Distrustful eyes stared back at him in accusation. Irritated she didn’t believe him, he slipped his fingers through the vest’s snaps and towed her back to the boat.
Was she worth the trouble?
Probably not, but he couldn’t deny he wanted her. If he could figure out why that was, maybe he could find a cure. The girl had issues, that was certain. Yet, the way she responded when he kissed her and touched her told him there was a sensuous woman inside her screaming to get out of whatever prison she’d been locked into. The temptation was there to find the key that would unlock the cell door.
“Jamie, I’m sorry.”
He slipped an arm around the ladder and turned. If he’d accomplished nothing else, at least he’d helped her face her fear of the water. She probably didn’t even realize she’d let go of him and was using her hands to keep her in place. Or that the water was so clear he could see her pubic hair and long, sleek legs. The red polish
on her toes flashed in and out of sight as her feet busily dog-paddled.
How long would it take him to get her to come in without the life vest or her bathing suit so those magnificent breasts of hers would float tantalizingly near the top of the water? That he was asking the question told him he’d answered another one. He would do his best to prove to her some unnamed bastard had it all wrong, would prove to her that sex with the right person was a thing of beauty.
She grabbed the opposite side of the ladder. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“I panicked,” she answered, her gaze on the horizon as if she were too embarrassed to look at him.
Jamie put a finger under her chin and turned her face back to him. The tears filling her eyes tore at his heart. “There’s no denying I want you. I want to slide inside you and lose myself in you. I want to make love to you so badly I’d give up my boat for it.” He slid a glance at his beloved Sea Ray, wondering if he’d really just said that. “Okay, maybe not quite that bad, but close. So damn close, Sugar.”
She gave him an adorable scowl. “Why are ya all of a sudden cursing? Not that I don’t, but it’s just weird when you do.”
Good question. He put his hand on the boat and pushed away from her. To answer her question, he’d have to tell her why he’d hit the delete button on cussing in the first place, and why she had him saying words he hadn’t said for ten years. To avoid going there, he decided to turn the tables on her.
He forced a chuckle. “I just told you how much I want you and your response is to ask why I’m cursing?”
Sugar didn’t know what to say. When she’d first met him and started this game, she’d flirted with him the way she thought a woman who was attracted to him would. For a while, it had been a safe flirtation because he’d made it clear he didn’t like her. Knowing he wouldn’t put any moves on her, her behavior had grown more outrageous in her attempts to get a reaction out of him. It looked like she had.
She understood she was at a crossroads with Jamie. There was probably not another man on earth who would tolerate her fears the way he had and continued to do. But for how much longer? When she’d felt him poking her down there, she’d transported back to Rodney and the cruelty she’d suffered at his hands.
Logically, she knew she wasn’t being fair to the man waiting for her response; she knew he wouldn’t hurt her. Not like that, anyway. How could she explain the punishments she’d been subjected to so he’d understand, without spilling her pathetic story? She didn’t want his pity, nor did she want him to feel like he needed to avenge her. Already, he’d asked several times for Rodney’s name. Why? So he could track her husband down and teach him some kind of lesson?
Although she’d tried without success to put out of her mind the man knocking on the condos’ doors and asking questions, the idea that Rodney had found her scared the bejesus out of her. No way did she want to involve Jamie in her problems. But if she had a week or two before she had to haul ass, maybe he could get her past turning into an icicle at the touch of a man.
And if her heart decided to stay behind with him . . . well, it was a risk worth taking. So what if she couldn’t wear mascara for the next six months because she couldn’t stop crying? All she had to do was gather up the courage Sugar pretended to have and . . . she swallowed hard. She could sleep with him without losing her lunch. She could!
First she had to climb the ladder, her rear end in all its naked glory available for his viewing pleasure. No way would she let him go first and stay in the water by herself. Although if he did go first, she’d be the one ogling him.
Tempting, but she wasn’t ready to do a solo swim yet. Admittedly, as long as he was with her and she had the vest on, he’d helped her face her fear as he called it. When he’d kissed her, she’d even forgotten she was in the water. If she liked kissing him that much, would sleeping with him really be as bad as it had been with Rodney? There was only one way to know and that was to just do it, to face another fear. On the positive side, it wouldn’t kill her like drowning in the ocean would.
“You could probably fill a book with all the thinking you’ve just done. I’d give anything to know what’s going through your head.”
She lifted her gaze to his. Blue eyes stared patiently back at her, and that was another thing she wasn’t used to: a man’s patience. “I was only thinking if I don’t get out of this water, I’m going to look like a prune.”
“Oh, there was more than that going on in your head, but after you,” he said, sweeping an arm up.
“Close your eyes.”
One side of his mouth curved up in a wickedly sexy grin. “So not happening, sweetheart.”
“Pervert,” she grumbled, reaching for the ladder.
A low chuckle rumbled out of him. “No, just a man who appreciates the sight of a beautiful woman and her sexy bottom.”
If he wanted to put it that way, who was she to argue? When she lifted her ass out of the water, he growled and put a hand on her butt to help push her up. She had to admit it was a heady feeling to have a man like him make throaty sounds because he wanted her. At the moment, with him, she’d give anything if she were a normal, sex-is-a-good-and-wonderful-thing kind of woman.
Hope you rot in hell someday, Rodney.
She scurried over to the bench seat and sat, pressing her legs together and placing her hands over her lap. How had Jamie managed to talk her into the gulf, strip her of all but a life vest, and have her almost enjoy the experience before it was over?
A water god rose from the depths and stood over her, glistening seawater dripping down a body that took her breath away. Mamma mia, someone should coat his lovely self in plaster and stick him in an art gallery. Women the world over would beat down the doors to get a glimpse of such a magnificent specimen.
Her gaze slid to the one part of him she wasn’t so keen on. It didn’t look too threatening, shriveled up in a nest of golden curls. It must have realized she was eyeing it because it moved, grew a little. She wished it wouldn’t do that.
“He’s not going to hurt you, Sugar.”
Were all her thoughts scrawled across her forehead for him to read? “I know,” she whispered. But that was a lie. She summoned her courage and met his unwavering gaze. “Actually, I don’t know it. I-I want it to be true. It’s just . . . there are things . . .” No, she wouldn’t go there.
“Touch me. See for yourself I’m harmless.” An amused smile curved the corners of his mouth. “I can’t believe I just said that.”
It was the humor in his voice and the kindness in his eyes she couldn’t resist. If she didn’t do this now, she never would and it would be a regret she’d have to live with for the rest of her life. She forced her hand to lift and touched the tip of him with her index finger. It reached for her the way Junior did when he needed a pet.
A laugh escaped, surprising her. She trailed her finger down the side of him, amazed and pleased with herself that she was touching that. His skin there was hot and velvety. As she explored him, he grew and grew and grew. Her stomach gave a churning dip, then settled as if even it knew he was safe.
His pubic hair was still damp and springy to the touch. When she trailed her hand under him and held his balls in her palm, the muscles in his legs flexed. From above, she heard a growl and looked up to see his attention was focused on her hand and what she was doing to him. Then his lashes lifted, his gaze landing on her face. Heat shimmered in eyes gone as dark as the midnight blue of a sky.
“Sugar.”
Her name was spoken in two drawn-out syllables, sounding almost as if he was in pain. Even as clueless as she was about these things, she understood he wanted her and he wanted her badly. For the first time in her life as a woman, she had a glimpse of the power that was hers to command if only she dared.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Jamie gritted his teeth. It was obvious Sugar didn’
t know what she was doing, yet her fingers were like magic, leaving tingling sparks everywhere she touched him. The slow glide of her hand down his shaft to his balls, then back up again, then back down, almost did him in. Just as he started to drop to his knees and beg her to let him show her how good they could be together, he heard the sound of a boat motor.
A cigarette boat traveling at maximum speed seemed to be aiming straight for them. What the heck? He grabbed her cover-up and thrust it into her hands. “Get below,” he ordered, reaching for his shorts.
She blinked back at him, confusion in her eyes. “Below?”
The speeding boat continued on its course, and he scooped her up. With three long strides, he arrived at the door to the cabin, opened it, and tossed her onto the bunk. “Don’t come out until I tell you to.”
“What’s happening?”
“I don’t know. There’s another boat going way too fast, headed straight for us.”
Faster than a crab caught on top of the sand after a wave, she scrambled for cover, pulling the bunk sheet over her. “Is it him?”
He’d been about to close the door when her words stopped him. “Is it who?”
“No one. I don’t know what I’m saying. It’s just that you’re scaring me.”
“Stay here,” he said, pulling the door shut. If she entertained the chance that the mysterious him could be in the other boat, then he wouldn’t discount the possibility.
After pulling on his boardshorts and T-shirt, he opened the compartment near the steering wheel and removed the loaded Glock 19, slipping it behind his back, into the waistband of his shorts. Deciding it best to be ready to flee, he started the engine and eased the throttle forward, turning the boat toward the open water. As sweet as the Sea Ray’s engines were, he’d never be able to outrun the Marauder 50 if the occupant was up to no good.
The sleek, silver boat veered off at the last minute and circled them. Jamie recognized the driver, a loud-mouthed, pot-smoking man in his late twenties who didn’t seem to work as he was always hanging around the dock. Because he hadn’t trusted the dude, Jamie had previously done some checking up on Roger Blankenship, not surprised when he’d learned the man was a drug dealer. Just what was he up to?
