Lena shivered, wetness pooling between her thighs. She’d never realized that the simple act of being fed by another could be so damn stimulating. She was seized with the sudden urge to knock the plate out of Roderick’s hand, tear off his clothes and haul him back into bed with her. But she hadn’t quite forgiven him for commandeering her weekend. That kind of arrogance couldn’t be rewarded with hot, mind-blowing sex—at least not right away.
When Roderick reached for the fork to resume feeding her, she put her hand over his. “I can take it from here.”
His mouth curved in a slow, sensual smile. As he settled the plate on her lap, she could feel the heat of his skin through the thick duvet. The brush of his fingers sent sparks of electricity shooting to her groin, making her clit throb until she had to squeeze her thighs together.
The devilish gleam in Roderick’s eyes let her know that he was fully aware of—and pleased with—the havoc he was wreaking on her body.
As he stretched lazily from the bed, he said, “Tonight we can have dinner on the terrace. The view’s great. Scenic and…inspiring.”
Lena muttered darkly, “The last time you were inspired by that view, I wound up getting kidnapped.”
He laughed. “I prefer the term ‘whisked away.’ It sounds more romantic. Less—”
“Criminal?”
He grinned. “Exactly.”
Before Lena could respond, he plucked a tulip from the vase, broke the stem, then leaned down and gently tucked the flower behind her ear. As his soft gaze roamed across her face, he murmured, “Be still my heart.”
Ignoring the way her own heart thumped, Lena gave him a surly look. “Don’t you have phone calls to make?”
He smiled. “I do. And that’s the only thing keeping me from climbing back into that bed and making love to you. I know that once I start, I won’t be able to stop.”
Lena’s mouth went bone-dry. She could only stare at him as he swiped a slice of bacon off the cart, bit into it and winked at her as he sauntered from the cabin.
She waited until he’d boarded the elevator before she closed her eyes and released a deep, shuddering breath. She was trapped on a boat with Roderick Brand for the next two days, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.
Suddenly the notion of being captured by a marauding pirate didn’t seem so far-fetched after all.
Chapter Thirteen
After breakfast, Lena made a trip to the boutique on the main deck. Half an hour later, she emerged armed with enough clothes to get her through the weekend. As Roderick had promised, she’d found everything she needed inside the upscale shop, which rivaled anything the Magnificent Mile had to offer. Morgan would have been in retail nirvana, Lena mused as she returned to the master stateroom.
At the reminder of her sister, she retrieved her cell phone and composed a quick text message: Something came up. Can’t visit Poppa this weekend. When you see him, kiss him for me and tell him I’ll drop by on Monday.
She grimaced as she hit Send. She knew her vague explanation would raise more questions than it had answered, but she couldn’t tell her sister the truth about where she was, and who she was with. So when Morgan wrote back promptly to ask what had come up, Lena paused for only a moment before typing back: Had to go out of town on business.
Guilt gnawed at her as she thought about her mounting lies. First she’d lied to her boss, now her sister. Before the three weeks were up, she wouldn’t have anyone left to deceive.
Thanks a lot, Roderick, she thought resentfully.
Needing to channel her emotions into something productive, she decided to go for a swim.
After changing into a white bikini—one of the items she’d picked up at the boutique—she went in search of the pool, wishing she’d taken careful note of its location during Roderick’s tour. On a boat this size, it was easy to get lost. Fortunately, she passed a crew member who kindly directed her to an upper deck, where the large pool awaited her with a swim-up bar and dual staircases that rose from the swim platform to the top deck.
She disrobed, kicked off her flip-flops and dropped her towel onto a lounge chair, then dove cleanly into the cold, invigorating water.
An hour later, she’d swum three miles. It was the most she’d completed in months, and it felt damn good. As her head broke the surface of the water, she heard applause. Blinking rapidly to clear her vision, she looked up to find Roderick standing above her at the edge of the pool. He was clapping, a broad grin stretched across his face.
“My Nubian mermaid,” he said admiringly.
Lena accepted his proffered hand, and he pulled her effortlessly out of the water.
“Thanks,” she murmured, smoothing back her wet hair. “How long have you been standing here?”
He smiled into her eyes. “Long enough to see what an amazing swimmer you are.”
Lena smiled, not entirely immune to his flattery. “Thank you.”
Sidestepping him, she padded to the lounge chair where she’d left her towel. She could feel the heat of Roderick’s gaze on her butt, so hot that it chased away the goose bumps on her skin. She grabbed her towel and rubbed down her arms and legs as he walked over to her.
“Where’d you learn how to swim like that?” he asked.
“My grandfather taught me how to swim when I was four. He says I took to the water like a fish.”
“I can believe it,” Roderick drawled, dropping down onto the deck chair beside hers. “Why do you think I called you a mermaid?”
Lena grinned, wringing water out of her hair. “Poppa’s the one who encouraged me to try out for my high school swim team.”
“Which I’m sure you made with no problem.”
She grimaced. “Not the first time. I wasn’t as fast as the other swimmers.” She hesitated, then surprised herself by confessing, “I needed to lose some weight.”
She flushed as Roderick’s gaze wandered down her flat stomach, trim waist and toned, healthy thighs.
“Don’t be fooled by what you see now,” she advised, interpreting his thoughts. “Unlike my sister, who can get away with eating anything she wants, I’ve always struggled with my weight. After not making the cut the first time, I trained really hard, changed my diet and shed the necessary pounds so I’d be ready for tryouts the following year. Joining the swim team helped me stay fit and keep the weight off. So I make every effort to get in the pool at least three times a week.”
“Good for you,” Roderick murmured.
“Thanks.” As she stretched out on the lounge chair, his appreciative gaze raked over her body again, lingering on her breasts until her nipples tightened. She considered putting on her robe, then decided not to give him the satisfaction of knowing how much he affected her.
As if he doesn’t already know.
Shoving the thought aside, she dug out a pair of sunglasses from her beach bag and slid them onto her face. The sun was warm, the sky a vivid shade of blue. Roderick had been right about one thing. It was a perfect weekend for being out on the lake.
“If you get cold,” he told her, “let me know and I’ll have the roof closed.”
“I’m fine,” Lena assured him. “There’s a nice breeze blowing off the water.”
“It is nice.” Reclining in the lounge chair with his hands clasped behind his dark head, Roderick was the epitome of a man at leisure. A very sexy, dangerous man.
“Did you finish making your phone calls?” Lena asked, dragging her gaze away from him.
“I did,” he murmured. “So now I can give you my undivided attention.”
Lena’s pulse quickened. She knew it was no accident that he’d made the seemingly innocuous words sound like a seductive promise. “What time are we supposed to arrive at our first stop?” she blurted.
“Whenever,” came his lazy response. “I told the captain to take it slow, keep our speed under ten knots. We’re in no rush.”
Speak for yourself, thought Lena, suddenly eager for the company of other people to
provide a buffer between them.
As if to taunt her, Roderick got up suddenly and sat down on her lounge chair, the fabric of his jeans rasping her bare thigh.
Lena jumped, staring at him. “What are you doing?”
His eyes glinted with amusement. “Are you thirsty? I could bring you something to drink.” When she glanced toward the unmanned swim-up bar, he said, “I’ll fix you something. Whatever you like.”
Lena smiled. “A mojito would be nice,” she said, as much to get rid of him as anything else.
He smiled. “One mojito, coming right up.” But he lingered at her side, sweeping a look over her that ignited every inch of her bare skin. “God, you’re beautiful,” he said, low and husky. “I can’t take my eyes off you in this bikini. You found it in the boutique?”
She swallowed hard. “Of course.”
A slow smile curved his sensual mouth. “I couldn’t have chosen better myself.” He fingered the string tie at her hip. “Easy on…easy off.”
Need throbbed between Lena’s thighs. Abruptly she sat up and swung her legs over the opposite side of the chair. As she stood, she yanked off her sunglasses and tossed them onto the chair.
“I’m going for another swim,” she mumbled.
“I’ll join you.”
She glanced over her shoulder and gulped at the sight of Roderick stripping off his T-shirt, muscles bunching and rippling in the sunlight. She quickly averted her gaze and launched herself into the pool. Moments later she heard a splash as he dove in after her. She swam away from him, doing a leisurely breaststroke that masked her sudden urgency to escape.
She gasped as a pair of strong hands grabbed her around the waist and dragged her underwater. She flailed her arms and legs, swallowing a mouthful of water in her struggle.
As she and Roderick surfaced together, she sputtered indignantly, “Hey, what the hell—”
He slanted his mouth over hers and kissed her. The feel of his warm, wet tongue sliding against hers sent electricity sizzling through her veins, instantly melting her resistance. Her arms wound around his neck as his hands framed her face, pulling her even closer. He kissed her until she was breathless, until she had to break away to drag vital air into her lungs.
His lips trailed a simmering line of kisses down her jaw, to the tender skin behind her ear and lower to her throat. She wrapped her legs around him as his hands slid from her waist to cup her breasts. She shivered, her nipples hardening as he lightly caressed them.
When that was no longer enough, he untied her bikini top, catching her breasts as they spilled into his hands. He made a husky sound of pleasure, then lowered his head and closed his mouth over a beaded nipple. Lena moaned and tilted back her head to give him better access. He sucked her nipples, first one and then the other, the wetness of his tongue mirroring the wetness of the water surrounding them.
As the throbbing ache deepened between her thighs, Lena shamelessly rubbed herself against his erection, wanting him inside her. Lifting his mouth from her breast, he deftly untied her bikini bottom, letting the scrap of fabric float away. And then he reached down, his fingers finding her clit and stroking it. It swelled instantly under his caress, making her groan. She arched her hips against his hand, begging him to go deeper.
He gave her a wickedly sexy grin, then disappeared underwater. His hands gripped her thighs, pushing her legs apart. Lena let out a shocked gasp of pleasure at the touch of his mouth on her sex. The cold of the water, and the contrasting heat of his tongue, was like nothing she’d ever felt before. She closed her eyes, moaning as he licked her swollen folds and sucked her clit until she climaxed with a wild cry.
Roderick came up for air, his eyes glittering with satisfaction as he cradled her shuddering body in his arms. Water dripped from his thick black lashes when he bent and kissed her, deeply and possessively. The brilliant blue sky faded away as her vision blurred.
Her head was still spinning as he quickly removed his briefs, turned her around and pulled her down onto his strong thighs. She cried out as his long, thick shaft slid inside her. She closed her eyes, curving an arm around his neck and leaning her head back against his shoulder. He felt huge inside her, wedged so high and deep she swore she could feel him in her chest. As he began to move she expected pounding—hard, fast and frantic. Instead he gently rocked, gliding in and out of her body with a slow, sensual rhythm designed to drive her completely out of her mind. A delicious sizzle began in her belly, pooled in her groin and spread rapidly through her veins.
He swept her wet hair over one shoulder and kissed her nape, scraping his teeth over her sensitized flesh. She shivered convulsively. His fingers slid up and over her stomach to palm her breasts and pinch her erect nipples. She whimpered, torn between pleasure and pain.
His strokes deepened, rippling the surface of the water. She leaned forward on his thighs, spreading her legs wider to take in as much of him as she could. The friction between their joined bodies was so hot she was surprised the water around them didn’t start boiling. She moaned as an unbearable pressure built inside her, straining to its breaking point.
“I want you to come for me, Lena,” Roderick whispered in her ear, low and husky.
She groaned. “I’m—”
“Come now.”
She exploded on command, screaming and convulsing with the force of her orgasm. He gripped her waist and held her tightly in place as he began thrusting faster and harder, his hips pummeling her ass. The harsh sound of his breathing filled her ears. And then he stiffened and groaned, shooting liquid heat into her womb.
Struggling for breath, he buried his face in the curve of her neck. “Damn, baby,” he rasped. “That was hot.”
Lena smiled dreamily. “Mmm-hmm.”
A feeling of sated exhaustion had crept over her body. She was vaguely aware of Roderick nuzzling her throat and the side of her face and holding her in his arms as they drifted around the pool. The water lapped at her swollen sex, a soothing, intimate caress. She was so relaxed that she could have gone to sleep right then and there.
It was only when they reached the edge of the pool that reality intruded.
“Wait,” she murmured as Roderick nudged her toward the steps. “We can’t climb out of here naked. One of your crew members might see us, or people on the shore—”
“Wait here.” Roderick stole a hot, wet kiss before swimming off to retrieve their discarded scraps of clothing. When he returned to her, they dressed quickly, smiling lazily at each other. As Lena climbed the steps ahead of Roderick, she provocatively gyrated her hips and laughingly darted out of the way when he reached for her.
As she sauntered toward the lounge chair to collect her things, he grabbed her from behind and tossed her over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry.
“Hey!” she squealed, her sodden hair hanging like a curtain over her face. “I was going to—”
“Get them later,” Roderick growled, slapping her soundly on the ass as he strode from the deck. “You need to be punished for teasing me like that.”
Chapter Fourteen
And punish her he did.
Frontward, backward, sideways, up against the wall, down on the floor. He made her come so many times she thought she’d go blind from the light show that exploded behind her eyelids during each orgasm. He was insatiable. So was she, for that matter.
Hours passed before they finally collapsed in a heap, completely entangled, thoroughly spent. Every inch of the bed was drenched, and so were they.
“So much for seeing Holland,” Lena panted, sprawled across Roderick’s hot, heaving body.
He grunted. “Holland who?”
She tried to laugh, but didn’t have enough air in her lungs. After several moments, she attempted to speak. “I’m surprised your captain didn’t send a search and rescue team after us.”
Roderick chuckled, a low, husky rumble that vibrated through her body. “I’d already told him not to stop if he didn’t hear from me at least half an hour befor
e we reached port.”
A wry grin curved Lena’s mouth. “Such premeditation.”
He laughed. “I prefer to think of it as good foresight. Premeditation sounds so—”
“Criminal?”
“Exactly.”
They both laughed.
Pressing a kiss to her temple, Roderick murmured, “Does this mean you’ve forgiven me for—”
“Kidnapping me?”
“Whisking you away,” he corrected.
“I suppose.” She heaved a dramatic sigh. “It could be worse.”
“Yeah? How so?”
“You could have me locked up in some dark, musty dungeon crawling with spiders and rats.”
She felt him smile into her hair. “I don’t have a dungeon.”
“Why not? This mega yacht has everything else.”
“Well, I’m not a pirate.”
She snorted. “The verdict’s still out on that.”
His smile deepened. “If I’m a pirate, then you’re—”
Lena choked out a laugh. “Oh, no! Don’t say it.”
“Don’t say what?”
“Don’t say anything about pirate treasure, or about me being the finest booty you’ve ever captured.”
Roderick laughed. “Why not?”
She lifted her head from his chest to grin at him. “Because I’d have to dock you cool points for delivering such a corny line.”
“Well, now, we can’t have that.” His eyes glinted wolfishly. “Even if you are the finest booty I’ve ever captured.”
Lena laughed. Smiling demurely, she fluttered her lashes at him and gushed in the breathy voice of an infatuated maiden, “Oh, Captain, I bet you say that to all the girls.”
“Nah.” His gaze softened. “Just you.”
Her smile wavered. Their eyes held for a long, charged moment before Lena glanced away, resettling her head against the solid warmth of his chest and staring out the windows. The scenic Michigan shoreline was silhouetted against a sky ablaze with orange, red and purple.
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