by K. K. Allen
My eyes narrow, and I look at Johnny, once again fascinated by his expert comfort with sea life. “How do you two know each other?”
“This is Suzy. She’s about four years old now. I’ve known her entire pod since I was eight, believe it or not. They live in this area.”
“Is a pod their family?” I reach out to touch Suzy, and she turns into me, closing and opening her eyes, mouth open wide in contentment.
He nods. “Kind of. It’s a group of dolphins that swim together and mate. Suzy’s father left the pod a long time ago, though.”
“What about Suzy’s mother?”
“Hunted.” Johnny looks angry as he answers.
“You are passionate about your sea creatures.”
Johnny shrugs as if he never considered how obsessed he was before I mentioned it. It all comes so naturally to him. “Dolphins do so much for our environment, and they’re harmless if humans would just leave them be. So, yeah. I’m passionate about protecting their safety. You know, dolphins are one of the first indicators out there that can tell us how our environment is performing. Scientists monitor dolphins and their contaminant levels to tell us what needs to be done to protect the environment.”
“That’s incredible.” I look at Suzy again, ten times more fascinated now. “How did you recognize her?”
Johnny reaches out to touch her fin. “Her dorsal is unique to other dolphins. I’ve come to recognize it quickly, but even if I couldn’t recognize it, I think I still would remember her from her personality alone.”
As if on cue, Suzy lets out a happy clicking noise. Then she starts to bob her head rapidly and turns her side to me, tipping her fin.
Johnny laughs. “She wants to take you on a ride. Go ahead.” He moves behind me as I feel a rush of adrenaline surge through my body.
“What do I do?” I turn to look at him over my shoulder.
“Put both hands around her fin and hug it. She’ll take care of you. Promise.”
I take a deep breath and do as he says, placing my hands firmly around her fin and hugging it tightly. Almost immediately, she takes off, and I’m moving through the water like I’m in a rodeo. She brings me around in a complete circle, delivering me to Johnny.
I’m still laughing by the time Johnny grabs hold of me and waves to Suzy as she swims off happily. “That was so much fun.”
He gazes down at me with that gorgeous smile that drives me crazy. “You did good.”
“Well, thank you for introducing me to your girlfriend. She’s cute.” I scrunch my nose at him, and he rolls his eyes.
He leans in and kisses my nose. “Don’t tell me you’re jealous of a dolphin.”
I practically dissolve right there. “I’m jealous of any girl who holds your attention if it’s not me.”
I can’t believe I just said that, but Johnny’s smile makes me glad I said it. He grabs the edge of the boat and pulls me to him, a tortured look in his eyes. I wish I could understand. While I know he returns my feelings, I can’t help but feel like Johnny is keeping something from me when he looks at me like that.
I want to know him—everything about him. How he was raised. What his parents were like. If he’s had many girlfriends. If he sees himself living in Apollo Beach forever. But questions don’t form on my tongue quickly enough.
“Hungry?” he asks.
I nod. “Yes, I’m starved.”
Johnny takes me to the bow of the yacht, where we he lays out a large towel. He leaves and comes back with a bowl of fruit, a mini charcuterie board made of meats and cheeses, and a couple of waters.
“Were your parents as good with mammals as you are?”
“My dad was a marine biologist, so you could say that. He’s the one who taught me how to snorkel and dive. Sometimes I feel like I understand how Tarzan grew up in the jungle, being raised by another species in a way that you become detached from your own world.”
I watch him take a bite of cheese then turn to stare off into the distance. “You seem older than twenty-two sometimes.”
He chuckles. “You saying I look like an old man?”
“Nah.” I pop a grape in my mouth. “You have an old soul.” I flash him a grin with the grape between my teeth then start chewing. “What about school and stuff?”
Johnny shrugs. “My mom homeschooled me on the boat, and after that, I just got my GED and read every book I could find. No school could ever teach me the things I’ve gained through experience.”
“What if you want to become a marine biologist like your dad one day?”
He grins. “Then I guess I could go to college.” He reaches for a cracker. “What about you? You said your mom was a nurse, right?”
Pain burns in my chest, and my smile falters. “She was. She worked at the hospital near our home in Silver Lake.”
“Is that something you want to do?”
I shrug. “Maybe. I had a lot of trouble focusing in school. My future career was never top of mind, but it’s something I want to start exploring.”
“And your dad?”
I shrug. “I honestly have no idea. When I got old enough to ask questions about my dad, it just hurt too much to actually ask them. My mom raised me alone, and I always just thought he abandoned us. Come to find out, it was my mom who chose to leave. I just don’t completely understand why. But it’s not like he’s come back to Apollo Beach since I’ve been here either, so I don’t know what to believe.”
“He’s a coward.” Johnny is deep in thought as he says this. “He should have been there for you growing up, especially now after your mom died.”
His words are like a punch in the stomach. I know he doesn’t mean any harm, but these are the same thoughts I’ve had recently. I’m confused why my father still hasn’t come around.
“I’m sorry. That came out wrong.” Johnny scoots closer to me and wraps an arm around my shoulders. “I only meant that he’s missing out on knowing you.”
And like that, Johnny’s words lift me to a higher, happier place. I turn up to stare at his strong jaw and thick neck then lean in to kiss his cheek.
He looks at me, his stare intense and our faces only inches apart. “What was that for?”
I bat my eyes, suddenly feeling shy beneath the heat of his stare. “For being you. For bringing me here. It was exactly what I needed.”
His fingers cup my chin, and he tilts my face up to where his deep-sea gaze reflects my own. “You are exactly what I needed.” His gaze slips to my chest then to my lips, then our mouths are connected once more. This time, a different sort of heat simmers through me.
He eases me down onto my back while deepening our kiss. Our tongues dance while our limbs tangle and our breaths quicken while our hands explore exposed skin. Johnny’s hand slides over my breast, massaging it gently, tentatively, as if waiting for me to tell him to stop. When I don’t, a thick finger circles the cloth above my hardened nipple.
My breath skips in a shallow breath, separating our mouths while my body takes in the shock of his touch. What is he doing to me? I peer down just as he peels away the thin fabric covering my breast, wraps his lips around my nipple, and looks up at me. He feasts on me slowly, taking me between his teeth and lips and lapping me with his tongue. Then he works his way to my other breast, only to do it all over again.
I’m buzzing beneath him, and I’m not sure if it’s all in my head or if the energy I’m emitting is vibrating against me. All I know is that every sensation becomes more intense than the last until my back is arched and I’m pressing him deeper into his mouth.
“Johnny.” His name is just a whisper so soft I’m not sure if he can even hear it.
Everything aches, and there’s a burning deep in my belly that’s more pleasure than pain. Whatever it is makes me hungry for more. I’ve never considered myself a greedy person, but it’s all I can do to resist demanding Johnny suck me harder, rub me faster, and steal the damn clothes from my body. Turns out, I don’t have to say a word.
The n
ext thing I know, my bikini top is a balled-up scrap of fabric by my side, and Johnny’s mouth is traveling downward. His tongue draws a wet line down my sternum, past my belly, until there’s hot breath blowing between my thighs. I’m too dizzy to think straight, too selfish to stop him, and much too eager to see what he’ll do next. So I watch as his mouth comes down on the strip of fabric between my quivering thighs.
He kisses me there, then runs his slick tongue along the length of me until I’m soaked through the cloth of my bikini and tensing so hard that I need to focus to breathe. His fingers are there too, teasing the edge of the fabric like he’s waiting for the right moment to enter. The wait is excruciating.
“Touch me,” I whisper.
His head snaps up, like he can’t trust what he just heard.
“Please, Johnny.” It’s another whisper, but this time, there’s no question following my demand.
Johnny looks back down, his back muscles shaking slightly, and then he slides back up until his mouth lowers to mine. He kisses me deeply as he slowly undoes the ties on each side of my bikini bottom. “Okay,” he murmurs against my lips. “Since you asked so nicely.” Then he grips the undone fabric in his palm, looks down, and tugs, ripping the last article of clothing off me completely.
I wish I could have photographed Johnny’s face the first moment he saw me bare. But I know I’ll never forget how his gaze darkens, his lids become hooded, and his mouth glistens like he’s staring down at a present he could devour now and for the rest of his life.
“Damn,” he rasps before his mouth is on me again. This time, he’s anything but gentle as he sighs into my mouth, all while his hand glides down my side and over my waist.
Everything feels like it’s happening so slowly, making me hyperaware of every sensation rushing through my veins, over my skin, and around my heart. I’m so focused on our heated kiss, that I don’t expect Johnny’s finger to reach my entrance then slip deeply between my folds.
One finger, that’s all he gives me, and I moan at the thickness filling me inch by inch until he can’t go any further. This man could light me up and burn me down and I’d thank him for it in the end.
“What are you doing to me?” I murmur against his lips.
“Didn’t I tell you that you should be afraid of me?”
I bite down on his lip. “I didn’t think this was what you meant.”
I can feel his smile against my mouth. “Yeah, well, now you can say I warned you first.”
He adds a second finger and I gasp at the intensity, my heartrate tripling as I grip his shoulders. His mouth moves to my neck as he quickens his pace, until I feel like I’m going to explode. The very next second, the intensity claims me.
A guttural moan leaves my chest as I convulse around his fingers. I think I just died and went to heaven. I’m a bundle of weak limbs and breathy sighs when Johnny moves down my body, wraps his arms around my thighs, and pulls me to him. His tongue sweeps against my hot center then flicks over my sensitive bundle of nerves like I’m his favorite type of ice cream, melting and dripping beneath a blaring sun. He’s lapping every drop up before I can ever hit the ground as he brings me to yet another climax, this one hitting me harder than the first.
I’m still buzzing from the high of my release when he climbs up my body and presses himself between my thighs. Even though he’s still wearing his swim trunks, the way he rocks against me has me imagining he’s already inside me, burying himself so deep I know I’ll never want him to leave.
“Johnny.” My voice trembles because I don’t want to stop him. I want to keep going more than anything, but a small part of me knows I need to tell him. “This is more than I’ve ever done before. I’ve never…” I don’t even know how to finish that sentence.
He moves so that he’s staring down at me with a conflicted gaze. “We can stop.”
I slide my hand around to the back of his neck and kiss him fiercely. “I don’t want to, but—” I swallow. “Maybe we should slow down a little.”
He nods, and his mouth falls to my neck, kissing me there so softly, I want to tell him forget what I said, to get naked with me, and to be my first. He sits up, eyes devouring my body while he hands me my bikini top. “Later, then.”
We’re both breathing heavily, and I can still feel his gaze burning into me while I put my top back on.
He smiles and helps me to my feet. “Let’s ride around for a bit. I know the perfect spot where we can cool off.”
We cruise north up the Gulf for a while before Johnny pulls over a couple hundred feet from land. He digs into a box at the front of the boat and pulls out two sets of flippers and breathing masks.
I eye the gear. “Whose snorkel am I putting my mouth on?”
He smirks. “Yours. No one has used that before.”
“You just happened to have this lying around.” I raise my eyebrows at him, making him laugh.
“I bought those for you, smartass.”
I point at the flippers, which fit my feet perfectly. “How did you know what size flipper I wore?”
He shrugs. “I pay attention.”
Yes, he does. I pull the mask around my head and waddle my way to the back of the boat, where we jump together.
“Follow me,” he says before sinking beneath the water.
We swim in closer to the shore. The Gulf floor beneath us becomes shallower, and the life below is much easier to see. A stingray passes, followed by a few sea turtles. Then a large round mammal covered in algae floats toward us. A manatee. Soon, we’re surrounded by all shapes and sizes of them.
We snorkel for quite some time, zigzagging around the manatee formations, before Johnny finally points out that there are clouds rolling in.
I frown. “Oh no, but I’m not done.”
He chuckles. “How about we hide out on the boat for a while? We can head back closer to town, swim there, and then I’ll make us dinner before we go home.”
Dinner. All of this swimming and kissing and the way we grazed over lunch has me completely famished.
We sail back into the bay, a permanent smile glued to my face. Happy doesn’t even begin to describe the way I feel at this moment. I hold onto Johnny’s waist as we cruise through the water. Once we’re anchored again, he tosses a large blue inflatable float out into the water, where we cuddle beneath the sinking sun. After an hour and a million kisses later, it’s time for dinner.
“Can I help?”
“Want to make us a salad?”
I shrug. “Sure.”
He hands me a wad of lettuce, a bag of tomatoes, and some other ingredients, and I start chopping, slicing, and dicing until a gorgeously colorful bowl of salad awaits our hungry bellies.
Johnny is mixing sauce for the pasta near a pot of boiling water, and I can’t help but melt over the mixture of scents wafting from the stove. He has me taste test a few bites until I confirm it’s just right.
“Where did you learn to cook?”
“It’s just spaghetti.” He grins. “But I do know how to cook. That’s one of the many talents I picked up from my parents. We always cooked together.”
I hesitate for a second, curious to know more about his parents, but I also don’t want to bring down the mood by asking him anything that will make him uncomfortable. “I’m sorry you had to lose them so young. That must have been incredibly difficult.”
He nods, his eyes on the pasta he’s draining. “Yeah, especially how it all went down.”
The look on his face tortures me. I want to wrap my arms around him, to comfort him, and to tell him everything will be okay. But something stops me. “What happened?” I shake my head, hating that I just blurted out such a question. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
Johnny pauses for a moment like he’s trying to make an important decision, then he sets the pasta down and turns to me. “It was nighttime, and we were playing this ridiculous game on the stern of the yacht—kind of like hide-and-seek, but we would try to scare
the person that got near us first. I think we would get delirious being on the boat for extended periods of time and had completely lost it at that point.” Johnny frowns. “But that particular night, there was this fishing boat that pulled up next to us and collided with ours. We hadn’t even seen them coming. From there, everything happened so fast. I’ll spare you the details, but my parents were attacked and died that night. The men weren’t after me, but I tried to fight them anyway. I wanted to kill them. Once my parents were dead, it seemed like they got what they wanted and took off, but not before they did this—” He points to the scar that runs from the side of his eye down to his cheek. “And this—” He drops his hand to his waist and runs his finger along the length of that scar on his side.
I’m beyond horrified by his story. He not only lost both parents, but also had to witness their murders. Then to be physically branded by the tragedy… I can’t even stomach the thought of going through something like that. I step forward to touch the pinkish-white scar on his side, a permanent reminder of what he’s been through—of what he witnessed. It wasn’t my fight, but I want to kill whoever did this too.
He must see my fury, because he eases my hand down and lifts my chin with his fingers. “Hey,” he says gently. “It’s fine, Kat. I’ve lived with these scars for a long time.” He takes my hands and raises them so that our palms are pressing together. “I don’t want to think about all that right now. I want to focus on you.” He bends his fingers between mine and pulls me closer. “And dinner.” Then he smiles and leans down to push his lips to mine. “And dessert.”
I don’t know how he’s making me melt into the floor after the story he just told, but I allow him the topic change, considering the subject. I’m happy to be whatever Johnny needs.
He walks me backward until I’m pressed against the counter. He leans down, and his mouth brushes mine with a soft sweep of his lips, like he knows he’s driving me completely mad.
When his eyes flicker back open on mine, he gets that same hooded gaze he had during lunch when he made me his meal. I hope he tries to again. When he runs his teeth along the length of my jaw, I think he just might.
