Interference (Prescott Family Book 1)

by Mignon Mykel

  We were now in the middle of a four-day at sea stretch and while some of the days had Sydney occupied, they at least allowed me to spend some solo time with her, away from the curious eyes of the other contestants. Mostly at night, but I enjoyed sleeping with my arms around her.

  The first day at sea, Sydney couldn’t stay with me. The other women invited her to a sunrise party so she thought it would be better if she stayed in her own room. As much as I hated it, I agreed with her.

  Tonight though…

  Tonight, I was taking Sydney to dinner at the exclusive steak restaurant on my side of the ship. I had informed Tony I was doing it, telling him I was pissed at the lack of contact I had with Sydney, to which he replied something or another about the drama being just what he needed for the show.

  Without giving him a big fuck you, I let him do whatever it was he was doing. I may not have Sydney during the day, but I had her most of the nights.

  Tonight I was wearing my own clothes. Nice dark slacks and an ironed light blue dress shirt.

  I refrained from rolling up the sleeves. Syd got her share of my sexy forearms, thank you very much.

  I was finishing up my shave, splashing on aftershave, when Sydney let herself in to my suite. She wore a cream-colored fitted dress that fell just above her knees with nude heels. These may have had height she hadn’t worn around me before. The dress brought out the slight tan she was getting. With her hair falling in loose curls around her shoulders, and her face made up, she was fucking stunning.

  “Damn, Sydney,” I said as I wiped my hands on a towel.

  She smiled her radiant smile and walked straight to me. She lifted herself up on her toes some so she could kiss my chin. If I had to guess, her heels were easily five-inches plus.

  “I can’t stand in these long, but they were really cute,” she said as she lowered back to the ground. I shook my head and grinned at the logic. Cute shoes versus pain. Regardless, they did amazing things to her legs.

  She reached up to my chin and rubbed lightly below my goatee. “Lipstick,” she said softly, concentrating on the spot.

  I jutted my chin out a bit to help her and when her hand fell away, I brushed my own kiss across her forehead. “Ready?”

  She nodded. “More than.”

  Dinner was low-key and low-stress, exactly what I needed. Obviously, we were the only ones around in the dimly lit room, which only added to the intimacy. We talked about the week and Sydney laughed at my transgressions where Tony was concerned. I told her I was excited for her to meet my family, even though it was still a week or so away.

  Sydney told me a little more about her brothers and I decided I would probably get along well with them. I had better, if I planned on keeping Sydney in my life. I knew all too well what happened when family members didn’t care for a significant other. Then again, Jonny didn’t seem to mind.

  After dinner, she and I relaxed in the hot tub, baked, with Sydney sitting between my thighs. We watched the stars as we cruised through the dark ocean. Sydney wished on stars and I scoffed at her when she egged me to do the same.

  But I may have wished on one of them.

  Just one.

  And as the clock struck midnight, we made our way up to bed where we alternated making love, fucking like rabbits, and sleeping like babies.

  It was a good day at sea.

  Sydney

  Day 14 of 21

  The last ten days had flown by.

  Which was surprising, considering my time was mostly spent with the other girls. Grace had warmed up to me and I decided I liked the soft-spoken girl; she was, after all, my favorite from the audition process. She and I got along well, talking about the cruise itself and about Hawaii and our different ports.

  I wasn’t able to spend every night with Caleb, but the ones I did were certainly blissful. I was falling into a comfortable habit where he was concerned and it no longer scared me. I could actually see the light at the end and I had every confidence in Caleb that he meant the words I wouldn’t let him say.

  It was in his actions. It was in the way he held me. It was in the way he sought me out whenever he could. My anxiety over the speed of our relationship, as well as over the unconventional nature of it, was dwindling to nothing.

  This morning I woke in Caleb’s bed and left early enough to make it to my room, so that when the others left for breakfast, I would be right there with them. As far as I knew, no one knew of our nightly trysts.

  We had docked a few hours ago at Raiatea of the Society Islands and this particular day was a free one for everyone on ship. A day for everyone to unwind and just have fun. Most of the girls were going shopping in the village, but some were hanging out at the beach.

  Caleb had done research and found a lagoon he and I could go to that no one would show up at. We took separate taxis to the other side of the small island, meeting up with one another hardly ten minutes apart, then spent the day in the water. When we made love in the water without any barriers between us, it was beautiful. It was a little difficult, too, but it was certainly fun.

  I muffled my screams against Caleb’s shoulder as he stifled his own grunts against my temple. We would drop under water only for Caleb to push us back up. Thankfully, the water wasn’t terribly deep.

  At least for someone with Caleb’s stature.

  He was still inside me, my legs wrapped around him, as we made our way closer to the beach. He hadn’t yet orgasmed himself and was impossibly full and pulsing inside me. He knelt down near the shore and deposited me in the sand before starting a slow grind yet again. Our lower bodies were still in the water, but the tide barely reached to where my shoulders rested on the beach.

  With every push of his hips, I could feel sand digging into my ass and while it wasn’t all that comfortable, the feeling of him inside me more than made up for it.

  He was slow yet deep. He held one hand beside me and cradled my head with his other in an attempt to keep sand out of the locks, but I could feel him everywhere. His kisses were slow and lazy, but the emotion of the moment had my heart threatening to burst from my chest.

  If I thought he and I had made love any number of times before, I was not prepared for what we were doing now.

  I was a sucker for his dirty words, could always come on the drop of a single four-letter word, but now, in the near silence, it was the emotion that had me amped up and ready to come yet again for him.

  He murmured sexy words, loving words, and the occasional dirty word into my ear while his hips pushed and pulled in a slow grind. I wrapped my arms around his neck, needing to be as close as physically possible.

  The wave of release came, slow and steady. My body arched up into his as my thighs shook and my arms tightened.

  “God, Syd. Yes, like that. Like that baby.”

  My body refused to finish the fall and my slick channel squeezing and pulsing around him as he continued to thrust into me had another shiver running through me. Caleb pulled back enough to put his lips to mine and when his tongue entered my mouth, sweeping over my own, his hips began mercilessly pumping as he fought to find his own release.

  It didn’t take long before he pulled his mouth from mine and he threw his head back, the muscles in his neck straining as he shouted out my name. His hips were tight to mine and his arms were taut, locked straight beside me. I thrilled in the feeling of his pulsing cock inside me, as my own muscles were beginning to still and calm. I ran my nails down his chest lightly, allowing them to lightly graze over the ridges of his abdominal muscles. He let out a few quiet grunts as his body slowed and his release dwindled.

  When his eyes finally dropped to look into mine, I gave him a wide smile.

  I almost let those three words slip but for whatever reason, I wanted to keep them to myself for a little longer. I didn’t want the drama of the show to taint what I felt, what I knew he felt.

  He kissed me softly then, as he ran a hand down my thigh. I sighed into his mouth when he lifted his hips from me to
dislodge himself, but still he didn’t break the kiss.

  When he did, he ended the kiss with a series of pecks, three of them, before helping me to my feet. “We’re going to have to head back soon.”

  I nodded then looked around the shoreline for our discarded clothes. Finding them, I went to grab them but Caleb had other ideas and pulled me back into the water.

  “Caleb!” I said, laughing.

  “I have sand in uncomfortable places.”

  I lifted my brows. “You have sand in uncomfortable places? Pretty sure you were using me as a shield from it.”

  He grinned. “Fine, next time you can be on top.” He squinted his eyes in thought and when his cocky grin crossed his face, I knew he was going to the gutter with his thoughts. “Reverse cowgirl. So I can watch your ass and pull on your hair.” I watched in amazement as he was hardening yet again. I swore Caleb was the energizer bunny when it came to sex.

  “Let’s save it for a bed. I’m not a huge fan of the sand.”

  We continued to move until the water was up to my waist and Caleb started to cup water and run it down my back, my arms, then my chest. I laughed. “Caleb, I can do it on my own!”

  “I like taking care of you,” he said, his eyes on his hands as he poured water down me.

  “I’m curious what you’re like at home.” Surely he wasn’t like this all the time.

  “Guess you’ll just have to wait and see.”

  When he was sure I didn’t have sand on me anymore, he walked a bit further and dipped down. I took the time to squat down myself to get the hidden sand out.

  Both of us without sand, we returned to the shore, where we put our clothes back on and made our way back toward civilization and a taxi.

  Another good day in the books.

  Caleb

  Day 15 of 21

  Earlier today, I had another duo date. Of course, not with Sydney. The more I thought about it, the whole bringing Sydney onto the show to create drama…and then not having her on dates…

  It had me curious just how many cameras I was missing when I was with her.

  Tony wasn’t the guy who just brought on a girl because I wanted her around and to create a little drama among the women. He would want more than just catty conversations.

  He had to have cameras on me and Sydney when we weren’t aware. How else would he truly build the drama from a viewer’s standpoint?

  We docked at Bora Bora earlier this morning, an hour or so before breakfast even. While Sydney ate with Grace, I sat on the opposite side and attempted polite conversation with two girls I hadn’t gotten to know very well over the course of the last two weeks, Ashley and Alana. They were sweet girls, sure, but when I was informed I had the option to send them both home after our duo date that afternoon, I took it. We only had seven days left and with them gone, there were still six women left, including Sydney. I knew Sydney was going to be my last choice; the question was who I was going to keep around until the last possible moment.

  We were staying the night at Bora Bora and Stewie made a big show of it earlier, giving each woman a key to a bungalow. Each bungalow was a decent amount of space apart so each could enjoy their privacy and the thrill of being in such a beautiful place.

  It wasn’t announced to the women, although I was sure they all figured it was going to happen, but I had the option of staying the night with one of the women. Tony, in his douche way, even waggled his eyebrows and said I could split my time if I really wanted.

  The D-bag knew what bungalow I would be in so why he tried to play it off differently just fucking annoyed me.

  That night, Sydney and I actually did not make love. We didn’t fuck like crazy.

  We simply lay in a bed that was under a huge skylight while I was in boxers and she was in my shirt. My arm was under her shoulders, wrapping her close. Her head on my chest, with her arm draped over my stomach.

  We lay there and simply talked.

  She and I had conversations many times before. I knew she had brothers, she knew about my siblings. This wasn’t the first time we just lay back and talked, but for whatever reason, it felt more…

  Well, it just felt like more.

  It was regular conversation between two regular people. Two people who were looking at making a relationship work. There wasn’t any of the outside world pounding on the door.

  “When do you have to go back to San Diego?” She was lazily drawing over my pec and around my nipple as she asked.

  “Camp generally starts in September. Our summer renters will be out by August 15th, so Jonny and I will likely fly in then. Any news on your first gig?” I moved my head on the pillow so I could look down at her.

  She shook her head. “No, nothing yet. I’m sure Mr. Sorenson and David are waiting until this fiasco is finished.”

  “Probably.”

  After a few minutes in silence, I moved my hand to rest under the hem of her shirt, just above her ass. I rubbed small circles there as I worked up the nerve to say what I had to say next. It shouldn’t be hard. I was excited about it, after all. “You’ll meet my family the day after tomorrow. Do you think you’d want to come back to Wisconsin with me after all is done? I mean, you’ll have met my family and obviously we can wait until you figure out what’s going on with your work projects but—”

  Sydney cut me off by pushing herself up and leaning into kiss my lips. With her lips against mine, she smiled. “Yes, Caleb. I’d like that.”

  “Good,” I said against her lips, relieved. She settled back down and again we lay there in comfortable silence.

  “You worked away from the office with this job, right?” I said some time later.

  “Mmhmm.” She sounded sleepy. I looked down again and saw her eyes were closed. I rubbed my hand over the small of her back again.

  “Do you think maybe, if everything works out, maybe you could work from San Diego?” I didn’t know what it was about Sydney, but my normal confidence with women often waivered when I asked her questions about the future.

  No, I knew what it was.

  I was terrified she would say no.

  I could feel her cheek press into my chest as she smiled. “Yeah, Caleb. I could probably work that out.” Her voice was still sleepy and her eyes were still closed, but her long since stilled fingers spread so her hand rested over my chest where my heart was pounding beneath my ribs.

  Again, we fell into quiet, comfortable silence. If only my mind would slow down with it.

  Sydney’s breath was deepening and evening out. She was probably sleeping. “Hey, Syd?” I whispered into the room so if she were sleeping, I wouldn’t disturb her.

  “Yeah, Caleb?”

  She was almost asleep. I could hear it in her voice. I felt like an ass now.

  “Nothing, baby. Go to sleep.” I rubbed my hand over her ass before removing my hand from her shirt. I moved my hand to thread my fingers through her down, auburn locks.

  She shook her head and when she went to lift it to look at me, I gently pressed her head back down. “No, what is it, Caleb?”

  What was it? I was thinking back to an earlier time I lay in bed with her and my mind went to redheaded children. I always knew I’d probably have a kid or two someday, but I never really thought it would happen until I was closer to retirement. I liked the life of a kid with a professional athlete for a parent. It just wasn’t something I ever thought I wanted to subject a kid to.

  But I saw my mom and dad together. I knew it took a strong woman at home and an even stronger relationship to withstand the demands this lifestyle brought. I truly believed it was possible and something I’d be willing to do, though, with Sydney by my side. This wasn’t the first time I had these thoughts where Sydney was concerned, either.

  “You want kids?” I finally pushed out.

  I kept her head pressed to my chest. I didn’t want to see anything negative in her amber eyes.

  “Sure, someday,” she answered. “In your interview, you told me you would consid
er them later in life. What’s with the questions, Caleb?” There was genuine curiosity in her voice.

  I shrugged against the pillows. “Just some things I’ve been thinking about.” I ran my hand through her hair again, wincing when I encountered a knot.

  She snuggled in closer, appearing to not be affected by the fact I nearly ripped a chunk of her hair out, and when she yawned, she turned her head into my chest as if to stifle it. With her eyes closed, she settled in and I could feel her falling back to sleep. I untangled my fingers, not expecting to hear anything else from her.

  “You’ll have beautiful babies,” she finally said.

  I pressed my lips to her forehead. “No, Syd, you’ll have beautiful babies. All red hair and golden eyes.”

  I could feel when her body relaxed into sleep. But of course, she had to have the last word. The impossible swelling in my chest with her words made all the unsureness ok.

  “Green eyes.”

  Caleb

  Day 17 of 21

  I needed this date to be over.

  The moment I sent Noelle and DeeDee home, I would see my family. They were all, all of them, in the suite next to mine. I already told Sydney in passing this morning to meet me at my suite just after the ship disembarked at six.

  I was so fucking excited to see my family and for them to meet Sydney. If I ever brought a girl home in the past, I was usually nervous to some degree. I had never been as excited as I was right now.

  I knew they were going to love her. I just really hoped she’d like them.

  When the date was done, I got into my car as Noelle and DeeDee got into theirs. I bounced my knee up and down as the car drove impossibly slow to the port, my fingers tapping on my knee restlessly. I practically ran up the ramp and to the elevators when the car finally arrived. I would have knocked on my family’s door first, but I had to see Sydney, had to get her and bring her.

  When I opened the door, my grin at seeing her was automatic.

  She bit down on her lip as she stood from the couch and I was about to ask her what was wrong when Myke came bustling down the stairs.