Sleeping With My Boss

by Wood, Vivian

Gabe starts to paddle again, forcing me to keep pace. The movement required is kind of soothing to me.

  “I was one hundred percent sure that Asher and I were going to be married once.” I sigh. “We were high school sweethearts. Our parents ran with the same set of rich snobs. And I was completely, crazily, foolishly head over heels in love with Asher.”

  He cocks a brow. “That guy? Really? He’s not even that handsome.”

  I dip my paddle in the water, cocking a brow right. back at him. “He was everything to me back then.”

  Gabe nods, looking out at the horizon again. “So what happened?”

  My lips twist. I feel acid stirring in my belly, leftover angst. “When I was a college sophomore, he got me pregnant.” I shake my head at the stunned look on Gabe’s face. “We only found out because I ended up having a miscarriage. It was pretty early…”

  I have to stop. My eyes are misting over, my voice is so tight when I continue that I’m sure it will break. “Sorry. It was early in the pregnancy. It happens all the time. But when the OBGYN checked me out in the emergency room, she saw signs of endometriosis…”

  Gabe stills, his brow furrowing. My heart flip flops. “What is that?”

  “It’s a problem that some women get. Basically your uterine lining grows outside your uterus. So like… on your ovaries or fallopian tubes, for instance. It’s not the biggest deal…” I take a breath. “Unless you are trying to get pregnant. Which, at the time, I wasn’t.”

  “Is it… severe?” he asks. It’s clear that he’s out of his depth and uncomfortable.

  I give him a tight little smile. “It can be. At any rate, I was clearly pretty upset. I called Asher there to comfort me. Instead, he dumped me right then and there.” My lips twist as I struggle to contain myself.

  Gabe’s blue green eyes study me. “Really? You called him and he came to see you… to break up with you?”

  My heart squeezes, thinking of being so cold and alone in the ER room. “And that is why I dragged you out of the room when I saw Asher and his perfect fiancée. I would just rather not relive the past if at all possible.”

  He’s quiet for several long moments. “That’s… that’s a really shitty way to treat somebody. I’m sorry that happened.”

  Nodding, I try to casually wipe at my eyes. “Yeah, thanks. Anyway, he’s the last guy I was serious with. Ever since then it’s just been easier to focus on my career.”

  I take a couple of deep breaths, trying to quell the agita within. It works, at least partially.

  “Yeah, no shit,” Gabe says. “If it helps at all, after you left Asher got plastered and made a huge scene. He was politely asked to leave the gala.”

  My eyes widen. “Really?”

  “Yep.” He balances his paddle across his kayak, stretching. “Thanks for answering my question. I don’t know if I would’ve, if I had been in your shoes.”

  I shrug. “It’s not exactly a secret. Besides, now that I’ve told you something, you owe me.”

  He gives me a funny look. “What do I owe you, exactly?”

  I shrug, one corner of my mouth rising. “I don’t know. What do you have to give me?”

  He huffs out a laugh. “You really are something else, Luna.”

  “I will choose to take that as a compliment.” I flash him a smile.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I see a silver flash deep in the water. My breath leaves me is a rush. My heart starts pounding. My hands grip the paddle.

  “What?” Gabe asks, looking down to where my eyes are riveted.

  “I saw… I saw something,” I whisper, the hairs on my arms standing straight up.

  He looks down with a frown, dipping his paddle into the water and maneuvering around for a second. “I think you saw a fish, Luna.”

  My eyes dart back and forth, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever I saw. “Mm… oh! There!”

  It’s a little further off this time, but I see a sleek form briefly in the dark water below. It’s no fish; it’s body is much larger.

  “It’s too big to be a fish!” I yell. “Gabe, it’s too big!”

  “Just breathe, Luna,” Gabe advises, shifting his gaze around where his kayak sits in the water.

  We are sitting ducks, both of us. How stupid was I, agreeing to follow Gabe out this far in such a flimsy little boat?

  Then the mysterious animal surfaces briefly on my other side, scaring the daylights out of me. I scream and it reacts, instantly ducking and plunging below the water.

  “It’s a dolphin,” Gabe announces.

  I look up at him. “What?”

  “It’s a dolphin. That or a porpoise, I can’t really make out which from here.”

  Sliding my gaze back downward, I look for the shape again. “Are you sure? How do you know?”

  “Hey.” He snaps his fingers a few times to get my attention. “Look at me. I’ve spent as much time out here among the waves as I have on land, okay? I’ve paddled way, way farther out in a kayak. Besides, dolphins are harmless. He probably just saw you floating on the surface and felt curious.”

  “You swear? You’re not just telling me that to keep me from panicking?”

  He rolls his eyes a little. “I wouldn’t do that.” After a moment’s thought, he shrugs. “Probably, anyway.”

  I take a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. “Did I scare it away?”

  “I have no idea. Although I won’t lie, if I were that dolphin, I wouldn’t come back to check on you. There is a whole sea to explore, fish to catch and eat. He’s not worried about you.”

  I nod, tears pricking my eyes. “Okay. Sorry. Can we go back to shore?”

  Gabe starts paddling. “Of course. I didn’t realize you were so squeamish about the ocean.”

  I blow out a breath, following him. “I wouldn’t say squeamish. I’m just… alert.”

  He tosses a skeptical look over his shoulder, smirking a bit. “Uh huh.”

  Chagrined, I shake my head.

  “Just keep paddling, Captain Gabe.”

  By the time we make it back to the shoreline, I’m out of breath. Gabe hops out of his kayak so nimbly, as if he was born hopping in and out of kayaks. He tosses his kayak onto the beach and then pulls mine onto the beach.

  He helps me out of the craft with strong, steady hands. I turn as soon as I can and hug him, my arms going around his neck, my head burrowing against his warm collarbone.

  He makes a soft sound of surprise, his hands wrapping around me. One across my upper back, one at my waist, tugging me closer.

  I feel so foolish, clinging to him like this. But it feels right.

  It feels necessary.

  “You’re all right, Luna,” he rumbles. “You’re safe.”

  And I do feel safe, wrapped up in Gabe’s arms. Hugging him tightly for another second, I finally let go with reluctance.

  “Sorry,” I apologize, feeling stupid.

  Gabe’s lips tip up. “For what?”

  I shrug, feeling my cheeks color. “Maybe for overreacting.”

  He reaches out and takes my hand, twining it with his own. “It happens to everybody. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you’re only human.”

  I manage a small smile. “It’s true.”

  “Come on, let’s take these kayaks back in. I could use a drink, I think. I bet the bar in our hotel serves a great Sazerac. What do you think?”

  Cocking my head to the side, I size him up. “Do you think that we could skip the bar and just have something from room service? Because I’m in the mood for something a little more private, if you get my drift…”

  His eyes light up. “Oh yeah?”

  “Definitely.”

  “Well, fuck. We’d better get moving, then…”

  Smiling, I pick up my kayak and trail him as he heads up the beach.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Gabe

  After the relative freedom of being able to spend time with Luna in Anchorage, getting back on the yacht seems like a
punishment. I’m still not really talking to Mal, so every moment spent outside of my bedroom is basically fought with tension. And even the moments I do manage to have a little downtime are often frustrated.

  Too little time. Too little space.

  Be quiet, be careful.

  I want to be anything but careful when I’m with Luna. A part of me, way in the back of my head, is sounding the alarms.

  Luna is my employee. Not just that, but I’m supposed to be in a solid year of mourning.

  I’m playing with fire. I know that.

  And yet… the more time I spend with Luna, the quieter we have to be, sneaking around at night…

  The more entangled and enmeshed I find myself. It’s like I know what I’m doing is wrong on so many levels but I just… I can’t bring myself to care.

  I sail the yacht in a wide arc, leaving Anchorage behind and cutting across the wild blue waves of the Northern Pacific. Malkia and I trade off shifts for a couple of days as we sail back toward the very southern tip of Alaska. Silence reigns in the pilothouse, angry and brooding.

  When we finally come into a harbor late at night, I find my way down to my room. When I slide open my door, I find Luna sleeping on my bed, barefoot and still in her heavy jacket. I pause for a second, noticing how her blonde hair shines in the moonlight that pours into the room from above.

  If I had to summarize my feelings about Luna right this very second, I would probably say that having her feels very much like holding a small, fragile bird.

  She’s not exactly struggling with my hold, but I know that it’s only a matter of time before she wants to be free again. She’s from a different world than I am and before long, she’ll want to return.

  That’s just the way of things.

  When I close the sliding door behind me, she stirs sleepily. I shed my coat and shoes, slipping into bed behind her.

  “Mm,” she mumbles. Luna shivers. “It’s cold.”

  Putting my arm around her, I pull her against my body. Moving her hair out of my way, I nuzzle the back of her neck until she releases a husky laugh.

  “Better?” I murmur.

  She turns in my arms, her lips finding mine. “I’m not warmer. But I am distracted…”

  My lips are on her neck, my tongue and lips playing against her flesh.

  She brushes back her hair and looks up at me, her blue eyes glowing. “What are you doing to me, Gabe?”

  One corner of my mouth hitches up. “Getting you out of my system, Luna. The only way that I can think of to do it.”

  I can’t miss the way that she draws her breath in, making her chest rise, and looks down to my mouth. I cup her cheek, angling her mouth up. Pressing my lips to hers, I feel a current that flows from her lips to mine. Needing more, I immediately bow her head backward and deepen the kiss.

  She feeds into it, making these little mmm sounds as soon as I trail my mouth along her jawline and drive my teeth into her neck. She goes wild for that; apparently my lovely princess likes a little pain mixed with her pleasure.

  That fact only makes me harder for her. When I slide her out of her chair and onto my lap, straddling me, she thrusts her breasts forward. I fall on them like a starving man on a scrap of bread, licking and sucking everywhere that isn’t covered with clothing.

  She rides my lap like a heathen, grinding against my cock like there’s no tomorrow. I groan, wanting desperately to just lay her down right here and fuck out her brains out. My need has ballooned since the last time that she let me touch her. It’s driving me insane right now.

  “Gabe?” she whispers. Her cheeks heat. “Would you — umm — I like it when you talk to me while we’re… doing stuff.”

  “God yes,” I say.

  There is nothing gentle about the way that I grab her, hauling her up against me. I’m already hard for her, imagining the sweet satisfaction that I’m about to find at the apex of her thighs. My tongue seeks hers and she opens her mouth to me, urging me on.

  She makes this sound, a mewling sound, but more guttural. The sound makes the fine hair on the back of my neck stand up and my whole body tingles for a second. I pull her body up against mine, rubbing her tits across my chest. She moans and wraps her legs around my torso.

  Fuck, she feels so good. She starts to kiss my neck, sucking hard on my earlobe. My eyes roll into the back of my head for the briefest moment and I stumble. Luna seems totally unworried about our surroundings.

  Maybe she’s completely oblivious to my thought process about how I can fuck her the fastest. She looks up at me. Her eyes are filled with the same impatient lust as mine.

  “Take me right here, right now,” she demands, her voice low and throaty. “I need you, Gabe.”

  Lust fills my veins like lead. Her words are the balm I’ve needed for so long; it feels like it’s been eons since I’ve been inside her, instead the better part of a week.

  Fuck. How long have I needed to hear those words pulled from her sweet lips?

  “Yes,” she whispers in my ear. She grabs my hand, pulling it down her body, until I’m touching the front of her panties. They’re damp, soaked by her need. Her words turn pleading. “Now. I need you inside me right now.”

  At the same time, she reaches down between us, feeling the outline of my cock through my pants.

  Fuck. It’s hard to think, hard to speak. Especially when she pleads so sweetly for me to fuck her.

  “Uh uh,” I say, my eyes burning into hers. I sip back, leaving her looking at me with a note of shock on her face. She thinks I’m turning down sex, which is almost funny. “If you need it as badly as you say, get back on the bed,” I order.

  I get immense pleasure out of watching her miles of fantastic legs and ass as she scurries to obey. I climb in the back, pulling down the gate behind me.

  It’s still a little crowded in the cabin, being that I’m almost six and a half feet tall. But when she gets herself turned around, biting her lip and looking up at me, I suddenly feel that same urgency as I felt earlier.

  “Get your panties off,” I growl. “I want you to ride me, right fucking now.”

  She looks at me with those wide, innocent eyes and starts to unzip her skirt.

  “No. Leave it on,” I tell her. “And take the panties off. Don’t make me tell you again.”

  I unzip my own pants as she shimmies her panties down her legs, kicking them off with her shoes. I hook my thumbs into the waistband of my boxer briefs, shoving them and my pants down to the middle of my thighs.

  My cock springs free, long and thick, the tip of it already slick with precum. Luna’s hand is on my cock instantly, her fist closing around it.

  Fuck, that feels so good.

  It’s been so long since I felt anyone else’s grip on my dick that I close my eyes when she touches me. She gives me a few experimental strokes, testing the waters. But when I see her head going down to my cock, I have to stop her.

  “No, not now,” I grit out, guiding her face up to mine. “I don’t want to blow my load in your mouth. I want your pussy, and I want it right now.”

  She straddles me, breathing a little bit faster. I force her head down and kiss her, even as I lift my hips up. My cock touches her warm inner thigh. I close my eyes for the briefest moment, distracting myself.

  Then I open my eyes, realizing that I should’ve definitely jacked off in the last couple days. Or maybe been with a girl that was less hot than Luna, who is a straight up bombshell.

  I kiss her, pressing her ass down so that her knees widen.

  “You’re going to have to ride slow,” I warn. “I’m so fucking hot for you right now, I can barely see straight.”

  She gives me a wicked grin. “Is that right?”

  I just grunt, pressing her down again. I use my free hand to stand my cock straight up, groaning when the blunt tip touches her pussy lips. They are already dripping with moisture.

  She has been waiting for me, it seems.

  She sinks down on my dick, her expression en
raptured. I have to close my eyes and list whiskey brands while she stretches to take all of me.

  “Fuck!” I mutter. “God damn, you’re so tight. So wet. So perfect.”

  When she finally takes all of my cock, I pull her down for a long, slow kiss.

  “Can you handle me?” she asks, already breathless.

  To answer her question, I move my hips upward. She cries out, but she doesn’t stop. No, she keeps going, her actions growing frenzied. Her pussy grips my cock as she rides me.

  I move my hand down between our bodies, rubbing her clit. I am going to make damn sure that she comes when I do… and I’m going to come pretty damn soon.

  “Oh my god,” she says, leaning forward. “Omigod, right there…”

  I can feel her tensing and clenching, getting close to the edge.

  “Fuck. That’s right. I love the way you ride me, Luna. The way that sweet pussy grips my cock so tight—”

  That little bit of dirty talk is enough to push her over the edge. She cries out, her pussy spasming wildly, her nails scoring the flesh of my chest.

  I let myself go, pumping up into her body with abandon. I can feel the orgasm before it hits, feel it start down low in my balls. It tears loose and I thrust upward again and again, her greedy little pussy milking my cock of every drop.

  I slow, then stop, trying to catch my breath. She lays sprawled across my chest, her breathing rapid, covered in a layer of sweat. Not just hers, but mine, too.

  I close my eyes and hold her close, enjoying the musky scents rising from our combined skin, and the moment of closeness.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Luna

  I’m standing on the main deck, my brows furrowed as I watch Gabe direct the disembarkation. We are on the last stop of the entire trip, docked at a solitary, rickety little pier. Far above us is a lighthouse that sits atop the rocky terrain at the highest peak. In the middle distance, I only see a set of steps carved into the dark bedrock, disappearing as they ascend to the lighthouse.

  I’m not even paying attention to that at all, though. No, my attention is on Gabe.