by Body, Heart
He could hear the waves lapping against the hull of the ship, the knowledge that they were getting farther and farther from Barbara setting in. With her head rested on his collarbone, her arms around his neck, he listened to her breath moving in and out at a labored pace while his hand so tenderly ran the length of her spine.
“God, Dev. Is it always like that?”
He smirked at the disbelief in her voice, taking a small amount of pride in something he knew he really had nothing to do with and placed a kiss to the top of her head.
His voice husky and reverent, “It’s never been like that.”
And he knew it was true, and he knew it was because it was Kira, and he knew it had been…beautiful.
“Dev?”
He kissed her head, her eyes , her temple, anywhere he could reach without moving her too much.
“Yes?”
“Is it bad if I fall asleep?”
His deep chuckle rippled through him, vibrating her body as well.
“I think it’s expected.”
The light from outside was fading, still he could tell that her eyes were closed. He slowed his breathing, holding her tightly as if someone might burst through the door at any minute and snatch her from him.
“Good. Because I don’t care if this tub of yours is sinking. I don’t think I can move.”
Her voice sounded thick with sleep and weak from fucking. It was an irresistible combination. Her soft scent mixed with the musky smell of sex and the salty ocean air created a heady mix and he could still feel her nipples hard and erect against his chest and her slick pussy pressed against his leg. His cock stirred, and he almost laughed.
He’d just had the pinnacle of his sexual experiences, he’d have thought his dick would want a respite, but apparently not. Too bad Kira wouldn’t be ready for more for a while yet.
As she fell into a light sleep and the last of the sun disappeared, he moved her marginally to lie beside him. His eyes took in the swell of her breast in the moonlight, his fingers lightly grazing it before he cradled her to his chest, claiming her for his own, at least for as long as she’d let him.
* * * *
Kira lay on her stomach, the morning sun streaming in the windows, bathing them both in its warm glow. Dev’s arm was wrapped around her waist, the fingers of his other hand entwined with hers, index fingers of each of their hands circling one another in lazy repetition. Kira felt as if she’d gone to sleep in a dull black and white movie and awakened in another reality where color was everywhere.
The remnants of their breakfast lay beside the bed, and Kira had to admit to a certain amount of embarrassment when Dodge had delivered it with a message from his wife that they would need to keep up their strength if they planned to continue on like last night.
She’d thrown the sheets over her head and refused to come out until Dev assured her it was merely payback for when Dodge had brought Sarah aboard for her first trip. He’d assured her that Sarah had been distinctly more tactful then he’d been in his ribbing of Dodge.
Then he’d stuck his head under the sheet and kissed her gently, admitting it had been sheer jealousy driving him then. He was sure it was Sarah’s happiness on his behalf that had led to her comments. It wasn’t long after that when breakfast had been forgotten completely for at least an hour. She’d turned pink again when she realized Sarah had anticipated that and hadn’t sent anything that would be ruined if left for awhile.
But now she was safe and secure in Dev’s arms, the sound of water all around her and a surreal feeling of disconnection with the rest of the world had sunk in, and at this point, she didn’t care if she ever saw land again.
“Was it what you expected?”
His deep voice sounded heavy in her ears and his breath wafted over her skin, leaving her tingly. She blinked slowly thinking about all the times they’d made love in the past thirty some hours and that feeling of awe-inspiring contentment stole over her again.
“No.”
She watched as his finger made another circle over hers, slowly touching her, exploring it as if it were the buried treasure of Davy Jones, and it was just her stupid finger.
“No?”
He sounded surprised, and she imagined his ego slightly pricked. She figured it wouldn’t hurt, considering the truth, she didn’t need him getting a big head now. She gazed into his eyes, lethargy from another round of lovemaking starting to pull her under.
“It was better. More.” She looked away, trying to find the right words to explain it and not sound juvenile. “All my life, I’ve dreamt of the fairy tale, same as every little girl, but when it came to sex, I had very little information. My mother absolutely forbade me to take Sex Ed, even in college when I could have taken it, I felt I’d let her down somehow if I did.
“She always told me sex was a man’s business and my husband would know what to do.”
Dev chuckled, and sarcastically added, “I can see why your dad ran off.”
She pulled his chest hair and he duly apologized.
“Seriously though, probably because the subject was taboo, I spent a great deal of time thinking about it. I was just too much of a chicken to disobey my mother and find out about it for real, but I used to sneak away to watch soap operas, and I guess part of my brain thought it would be all kissing and wriggling beneath sheets.”
He laughed, but not cruelly. She knew it seemed lame, but she’d gone along and never questioned it, figuring it would take care of itself at some point.
“Soap operas?”
She looked up to find his one brow raised in query.
“For all the good it did me. When I was with you, I never even considered grabbing the sheet and I’m sure my hair didn’t look all adorably rumpled.”
Dev chuckled again, and she loved the way the sound rippled through his chest beneath her ear.
“Trust me, all of you looks adorably rumpled. And completely fuckable.”
She snuggled closer, a smile on her lips. She thought she liked being fuckable.
“It’s just, I expected it to feel good, not anywhere near as good as it does, but I never expected it to affect more than my body. I didn’t think my heart would fill so much I feared it would explode. I never imagined my brain would completely short-circuit and my legs would go numb afterward. I didn’t know I’d want to cry because I’d be so happy, and I never imagined I’d feel so completely and utterly adored.”
“You should never have settled for less, Kira. You deserve all that and more.”
He shifted position, sitting with his back against the cushion headboard and causing Kira to move away, sitting cross-legged in front of him. For the first time since they’d hit the pier, she saw the shadows coming back. She reached out and touched his jaw, holding her fingers there until he looked at her.
“I couldn’t handle more. You’re all I need, Dev. Just don’t leave me, okay?”
His grin hitched up on one side, dimple flashing. He ran his hand over his hair pulling it back from his face, a face Kira loved along with every other molecule that made up Devlin Kiersen.
He reached for her and she already knew he’d be hard. She let him pull her forward for a long, wet kiss. Funny, but after everything they’d shared, kissing was anything but mundane. She liked that. Liked that a kiss heated her soul just as much as having his tongue inside her.
On her hands and knees, leaning over Dev’s sheet-clad body, she grew uncontrollably aroused. Sliding the sheet down his waist, she exposed his hard cock, already weeping for her. She slithered between his legs and thrilled at the heat that flared in Dev’s gaze. She looked at his cock. It was formidable and caused her to shiver when she thought of the pleasure the man could produce with it.
Her hand ran over the length of him, gripping him hard until he moaned. She slid her hand up and down, grabbing the skin and shifting it. Barbara had told her a blowjob was the ultimate in power over a man. That men were known to kill for a good one and that a woman who knew how to ple
ase her man could have anything she asked.
Kira didn’t see it like that at all. She could see how it might be that way for some who chose it, but for her it would always be a gift. Something she wanted to do for Dev because she loved him and she knew how much pleasure it would bring him. She wanted him on the brink of ecstasy, and she reveled in the thought that she could take him there.
“I want you, Dev.”
He groaned and ran his hand through her hair.
“You’ve got me, love.”
She slid her tongue over him slowly, taking the time to notice and enjoy the taste and feel of him on her tongue. The first time she’d been so nervous and so turned on that she barely remembered it. This time she wanted to enjoy it, remember it.
While her hand worked the base, her mouth worked the tip. She got a good rhythm going and tasted the first drops of fluid on her tongue. Dev writhed and groaned and did everything short of jumping off the bed, but this time when he reached for her to pull her away, she refused. She looked up into his lust-heavy eyes. He was afraid. For her? Him? She wasn’t sure but she shook her head and sucked a little harder.
“I want all of you, Dev.”
She was so hot and so needy herself she could barely find the words or forced them out. He stiffened in response, and for a minute, she thought he’d refuse her.
“Oh, God, Kira.” His hand pushed against his head, his other hand caressed her shoulder. “I can’t pull back.”
When his cum spurted into her mouth, she had a moment’s hesitation where she wondered if she’d made a horrible mistake, but she closed her eyes, remembered it was Dev and as his salty cum coated her mouth and the back of her throat, her eyes filled with tears of love and she was so glad she’d done this for him.
* * * *
Dev lay back on the bed, knowing exactly what Kira had felt earlier, he wouldn’t have been able to move if the ship sank beneath his bony ass. Kira made several more passes with her tongue over his dick, which was considerably softer now.
And he’d been worried about Kira keeping up with him.
He touched her hair, ran his fingers over her head lovingly. “Are you okay?”
When she looked up at him, her eyes bright with tears, his heart stopped. He grabbed her by the forearms and pulled her into his lap, cuddling her against his chest.
“God, Kira, I’m so sorry. I’m an idiot, I never should have let you do that. I should have…”
She kissed him—long and hard and wet—and for a second, Dev felt like the virgin.
“I’m not crying because of what I did. I’m crying because I love you.” Her voice got considerably softer as she fought back the tears. “And I’m just so happy.”
Her words ripped into Dev’s soul.
She loves me.
The most perfect, beautiful, sweet, incredible woman on the planet loved him, and he was so not worthy of it. He cradled her head, pressed a long kiss to her forehead, and contemplated what on Earth he should do now.
Part of him wanted to be cruel, push her away, make her hate him, but the sniveling coward he was at heart told him to just shut up and take the love she offered. Even the thought of it warmed him like the first sunny day after a particularly brutal winter.
His life literally started flashing before his eyes: his brothers, the mother and sister he tried never to think of, his father, the girls the man destroyed, Barbara and the choices he’d made. He was so completely unworthy of Kira’s perfection, but he wanted it, craved it, was sure he’d die without it. He had no answers and wasn’t sure he ever would.
Kissing her deeply, he pulled her under him. I love you too, Kira mine. He couldn’t ever tell her that, though. It would be the final nail in her coffin. If she knew how he really felt, he could never make her leave him, and at some point, he’d have to.
His love wasn’t worthy. She would do so much better once he had the courage to walk away. Someone else would know how…His heart seized at the thought of someone else holding Kira, loving her.
Kira, seemingly unaware of the tumult coursing through him, circled her arms around his neck and allowed his tongue to plunder her mouth. He kissed the tears from her cheeks and loved her until there was no beginning of one and end to another. Until he was blissfully numb and no longer asking what he should do, only feeling.
“Dev.”
She moaned his name and Dev felt like the most powerful man in the Universe. She slid out from under him, straddling his waist, naked and proud, she sat atop him. The most beautiful sight he’d ever seen.
“Kira, you’re so beautiful.”
She slid down his length, groaning along with him as her wet pussy covered his hard and aching cock.
“But you’re going to be sore if we don’t stop.”
As she found her rhythm—and Dev became mesmerized by the way her tits bobbled as she rode him—she answered in that sweet breathy voice he had come to love.
“So? Then you’ll take care of me, right?”
He pulled her head forward, capturing her mouth in a hot and hungry kiss that destroyed her rhythm, then he scooped her from the bed and carried her to the sofa tucked under the windows. Sitting down, he slowly slid her onto him as she came down into his lap. He moved her up and down until she got the hang of it, then his hands held, tugged, and worshiped her breasts. He skimmed her waist, her thighs, then played with her clit as she continued to ride him.
Kira in the throws of an orgasm was the only thing more beautiful than simply Kira, and when she came, he held her close. He was learning her body, how it worked, what she liked. He’d never taken the time before. Never known all the nuances of a woman.
With Kira, he knew how to make her wet, make her pant, make her want him so badly she’d say things like ‘fuck’ and ‘pussy’. He knew exactly how to lick her, how to suck, how to play her with her clit. He loved the little panting sounds she made, loved the way she always tried not to scream but always did in the end and loved the way she tasted. One taste of the woman was lethal and had him hanging on the brink of another explosive orgasm.
He’d thought over the years he’d become desensitized to the wonders of the female body and sex in general. It took more and more stimulation to get the release he wanted. Playing all the stupid mind games with Barbara, taking anyone willing in any way he could get them—nothing had ever filled him the way she did.
He could feel the ship’s engines vibrating beneath them as she slipped over the edge, her bottom lip sucked in, caught between her small even teeth. Sometimes she bit it so hard it bled. When the last wave of intensity rolled over her, he plunged into her once more and found his own abyss, then pulled her close, cuddling her to his chest. This was why he wanted her on the sofa. He could hold her flush against his chest, skin to skin, and still be inside her.
The feelings rocked him as she made small sounds of pleasure sounding a lot like a contented feline.
“Was that all right for you, love?”
She nodded, snuggling her face into his neck and circling her arms tightly around him.
“Sublime, Dev.”
She sighed. He kissed her. Sublime was exactly right.
Chapter 14
A month of perfection had slipped past, and as Kira stood on the bow of the ship enjoying a rare moment alone, she wondered how life could ever get any better. It had been blissful, it had been the best time of her life, and it was coming to an end, but she wasn’t sure how to tell Dev.
The wind whipped through her hair as the ship slipped effortlessly through the liquid heaven of the sea. To port, dolphins raced alongside them. She watched as they swam and leaped into the air, seeming so happy. The old saying high on life sprang to mind.
Life with Dev was more than she ever imagined or ever would have dared to dream.
She felt loved completely. Not just her body, but her heart and mind as well. They spent their days swimming, talking, reading Shakespeare and Dean Koontz among others. She’d hidden under the covers while
he read the latest Stephen King novel to her and they’d cried together reading Nicholas Sparks. And of course there were stolen moments for making love where the nights were reserved solely for the pleasures of the flesh.
Whenever Dev made love to her, she learned more and more about her own body and its capacity for pleasure, but she’d also learned how to love him. Knew now how to bring him to the brink and torture him, but also knew how to bring him more pleasure then he’d ever received. Every act of love she doled out on him only made her love him more, and every time they joined their bodies she felt more and more of herself slip into him.
The funny thing was, it didn’t make her feel less. In fact, she felt stronger, happier, and more whole than she ever had in her life.
Wherever they docked, he always made it special. Whether street fairs or hidden jewelry shops, cafes overlooking the ocean or quaint little inns, he seemed to know everything and exulted in showing her.
On one stop, they’d found a coffee shop tucked in an alley, had snuggled in a back booth for hours sipping coffee and listening to a trio playing soft music. Dev had called it jazz, but it wasn’t like any jazz music she’d heard before. It had been wonderful, but…
Another time, they’d followed a local boy to a tiny jewelry shop located at the end of a cobbled walk. The owner custom designed every piece he sold and specialized in working shells from the harbor into his work. Dev had bought her a beautiful bracelet of abalone. It was the most exceptional gift she’d ever received.
One night he told her he hadn’t been to the movies in twenty-three years and she’d nearly fallen out of the bed and spent the next three days trying to catch him up with the best of the best—and a few bombs, just so his education would be well rounded.
A surprise gift of art supplies had her remembering how dearly she missed expressing herself creatively. She immediately started to sketch the enormous sails of the boat with the huge blue dragon on them. Since then she’d sketched the ocean and the ports, Dodge and Sarah and even Banfield steering the magnificent ship. She’d also been secretly sketching Dev whenever he slept.
