by Ellie Pond
"Yes." Shit, she didn't mean to say it out loud. Colette would have her ass.
"Then it is a shame." Ming crossed his foot over his knee, pushing into Phin’s space.
Phin stood up, shifted, and padded into the water. Ming roared with laughter as soon as Phin dove under the water. "He's too easy to bait. He wears his pain on the outside."
Huh? Her boss confused the heck out of her. She hadn’t picked up on Phin being mopey. Until now, she thought he'd been the one to do the hurting. As far as she saw, he was his normal happy-go-lucky self. It made her think about what else she wasn't seeing.
Zach poked the fire with a long stick, and the captain joined them. He squatted.
“The boat’s on its way now, thirty minutes. I'll meet with each of you individually throughout the day. I want to know what you saw and how you felt about each area as you moved around the island. And what your animal felt.”
Phin came out of the ocean; the tail of a fish hung out his mouth. He swallowed it down and shifted at the same time.
"Carter, I want a report as soon as we are back."
"Copy, Captain."
The boat floated close to the rocks, and Edvard tossed Zach a line. He tied it to the rocks, and they all got in. Naomi carried her boots and trudged to the boat.
Ida, the boat pilot, gave her a nod. "Have fun with all the testosterone?"
She shrugged and bit her lip. "How's the other boat?"
Romie stood next to Ida in the wheelhouse.
"Broken, again." Ida gave a coy head nod. She obviously didn’t mind spending time with Romie.
The captain clasped Zach’s hand and tugged him into the boat. "Let's get going as fast as you can. I don't want to delay the passengers any if we don't have to."
Naomi took a seat. This boat had individual seats instead of a bench, and only the wheelhouse had a partial roof. The wind blew her hair around. She pulled her hood over her head and tied it, not caring what she looked like.
Daniel sat down next to her, dropping his punctured and sandy jacket on the ground by her boots.
The engine of the boat didn't let you hear much other than its roar. The sun nudged towards the sky, colors radiating out from it. Beautiful to watch if she could keep her eyes open. She started regretting not taking Phin up on the offer of a fish. Her eyes closed.
A loud click sounded, and the boat shook. She startled upright. Daniel cocked a smile at her, and it radiated through her. She'd been asleep on his shoulder, like a wayward stranger on a plane. Only, this was a boat and he was far from a stranger. The boat clicked into the harness, and it was yanked into the air to the sixth deck. The water rushed away from the boat as it zipped up the side of the ship.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep on your shoulder."
He glanced at his lap. Her hand was on his leg, close to the large bulge in his pants. She pulled away. Edvard snapped the docking pin in place near Daniel's leg. His eyes burned at her. Shit. What the heck was it with these guys? She wanted unattached sex. How hard could that be for a guy? It was what most guys said they wanted, right? Guess all the magazines were wrong about them too.
Naomi stood and stretched as soon as the boat was locked in place.
The first officer, Luca Laurit, greeted them as they stepped off the boat. "I'd ask how it went, but you look like you've been run over by a bus. All but you, Ming. You seem especially cheerful this morning."
He nodded to Laurit. "Yes. Ideas get me going. And I've got lots of them. Naomi—a minute?"
She scurried away from the others, catching up with Ming as his long legs pulled away from the boat crane.
"I've got some superb ideas,” he said. “I hope you do too. I'll get the footage from the captain. It's 6:00 now. Let's meet at 10:00."
She blinked at him. She'd helped in the dining room and been asleep two hours when he woke her up.
"They still have you doing that server thing. Okay. How about 3:00?"
"Thanks. I need to get some sleep."
"I imagine you didn't get much." He nodded and sauntered away.
She turned around and took one step towards the stairs and her bed.
Edvard popped up behind her. "Hey."
"I'm heading off to go get some sleep."
"I saw your nap on the boat."
"Don't make a big deal about this."
"You have multiple arrangements?"
"You." She held her hand out in a stop motion. "I told you the terms. You liked the idea. So don't go all weird on me."
"That thing with Patton needs to stop."
“Excuse me? You want out? You've got out."
"Naomi, that's not what I said."
"Maybe not. But that's what you got." She stared at his hand resting on her arm.
Edvard squinted at her and removed it.
She stormed off down the stairs.
Daniel
Daniel had watched as Edvard talked to Naomi. He didn’t hear what Edvard said, but he imagined it had something to do with her falling asleep on his shoulder. Or maybe her hand that had rested inches from his crotch. She had waved her hands around before she stormed down the stairs. Naomi pushed through the door to the crew stairs with as much vigor as Edvard put into his steps toward Daniel.
Daniel’s lips turned up in a closed smile; he’d won.
“If you’re just standing around, Patton, grab the bowline,” Edvard barked at him. He gave instructions to Phin and Zach on how to secure the boat to the ship.
Phin did what needed to be done, almost following orders, while Zach looked like a giant obedient pup. Daniel leaned on the wall of the ship and waited.
Down the deck, the captain grilled Romie about the mechanical problems on the first boat, while smoke twirled above their heads. Daniel was security, not a deckhand or bridge crew. While he had to take orders from Edvard, they weren’t in the same department. He waited for Laurit and the captain. Daniel crossed his legs, still leaning against the wall. In theory, he was off duty until tonight, but with the video camera in his hand still, he couldn’t leave. There hadn't been a moment to pass it off. The captain tore right over to the malfunctioning boat with Romie from engineering.
The boat secure, Edvard turned to him. "I’m not giving up, Patton."
"Good to know." He nodded. He wanted to hate the guy. Daniel hadn't been around him much, but he had heard nothing bad about him. As much as he'd tried to dig up some dirt on him a month ago, he'd come up empty.
“Don’t lean on things while on duty, Patton.” The captain turned and put his hand out for the camera. The implied don't tell anyone what you saw or I'll roast you like the fire on the beach was in the undercurrent of his expression.
Daniel raced down the stairs. He had half a mind to go and see if he could help Naomi fall asleep faster, maybe by relaxing her with his tongue. He was delirious. He hopped in the shower and, when he got out, Zach was sitting on the edge of his bed, waiting for his turn. Daniel ducked under the metal beam that bisected their room and fell asleep on his bed.
#
"God damn, Patton—wake up. Captain wants to see you now." Phin shook him.
Right. "What time is it?" he said, unable to peel his eyelids open.
"Eleven. Get up." Phin thundered out of the room. How did he get in?
Daniel buzzed the captain’s bell on the spiral staircase from the bridge. He'd been in the captain's quarters a couple times when he worked at the front desk. He’d brought up a room service cart when Marilyn didn't have anyone else to bring the captain a late-night snack. The captain's butler was particular about who he wanted delivering the captain’s food. Daniel had been warned to get on the old guy’s good side when he came aboard.
But he'd never come up the spiral stairs. The door buzzed open, and he jogged around the stairs, popping out in the middle of the captain’s living room. Twin sofas mirrored each other and a gigantic screen was paused on the footage he'd shot from the island. The captain sat at his desk, his nose in his compute
r. Daniel swiped his hand through his hair.
"Captain."
"Patton." No intonation hinted at the captain’s state.
Daniel stood near the staircase.
"Have a seat."
Daniel perched on the edge of the sofa. The captain didn't raise his head from his computer, but the footage started: the things he’d filmed while the captain was underwater.
The camera focused on the flower. He heard himself say, "Watch." And Naomi said "that’s crazy" and then she moaned.
Fuck, he was kissing her neck. The tape stopped.
"I asked you to follow directions. And I got Earland moaning on the tape. Get your ass over here."
Daniel raced to the other side of the room.
"You're going to edit the sound out of this section. If the stupid plant wasn’t so interesting, I'd have you cut it out. But I want to show it to Cottage and Larsen, and I don't want Earland moaning in the background. I have half a mind to over dub the flight with you screaming like a baby." The captain jumped from his chair and paused at the stairs.
Daniel sat at the desk. He didn't have a clue how to remove the sound.
"You've got half an hour. And if you don't know how to do it, you can use the internet and learn how." The captain raised his chin at him.
"Fuck."
"That's exactly what got you into this mess. I thought Edvard was with her?"
"She's not with anyone. Her choice, not ours."
The captain descended the stairs, leaving Daniel alone behind the massive oak desk. What the fuck was he going to do without messing it up?
#
Twenty minutes later, despite the shaky internet the ship had, he'd figured it out.
The stairwell shook as the captain emerged from the bridge. "You're done?" The captain stood with his fists at his waist, his elbows bent.
"I believe so."
"You believe so, or you are?"
"I am."
"Play it. On the wall screen."
He backed up the clip he'd now watched thirty times and played it with the sound removed. The moth turned from white to orange, this time not moaning.
"Good. Now tell me what you thought about the island, that is, if you weren't too distracted to be focusing on your job."
"Captain. I want to apologize for my lack of indiscretion."
"It's not me you need to apologize to."
"Yes." He lowered his head.
"Your thoughts on the island."
"The waterfall is beautiful. The beach is deep. But what would the guests do at high tide? There is the jetty on the other side of the island, but that would be far away from the ship. The plants and insects are like nothing I've ever seen."
"Indeed. Did you get any other feeling from it?"
"No. I don't think so."
"Alright."
He wanted to ask the captain again what had been in the pool. But when he'd asked that on the island, the captain told him not to mention it to anyone. Daniel said that Zach and Naomi knew, to which the captain nodded but volunteered nothing. Asking now would only get him in deeper water, and not the good anchoring kind.
"Before you go, it was brought to my attention that my talon pierced your jacket. Are you okay?"
"It will heal." Who told the captain about his injury? Everyone at the beach saw his jacket.
"I apologize. It's been a long time since I've carried anyone in my claw. My sister made a harness a long time ago; I've used those before. But I didn't think to bring one along. May I see it?"
Daniel grimaced. He didn’t want to show the captain. He untucked his white uniform shirt, exposing the angry red line to the captain. The initial healing had progressed quickly, but it hadn't changed much since he'd fallen asleep.
"If it doesn't heal in the next day, go to the seer, Violet. She'll give you a tincture."
The captain proceeded to the wall near his desk. He put his hand on the oak panel, and it popped open. He reached inside, snatched something, and tossed it to Daniel. "This is yours for the injury. Use it or return it to me for a favor at a later time. Dragons pay their debts, but we are always happy to have our hoard returned to us."
Daniel caught the gold coin. He held it between two fingers. The middle had a dragon stamped on it; the reverse had flames. It was a dull gold and pliable in his hand.
"Don't bite it. You'll leave teeth marks. It has a higher concentration of gold than jewelry."
Daniel nodded.
"You can go out the side door if you want."
"Thank you."
He went out the side door to avoid Edvard's glare and keep from running into the FO. Daniel had officially had enough of everyone for one day. His shift didn't start for another four hours, and he planned on being asleep for all of them.
He stumbled down all the decks to his new room. Almost all the decks—there were several decks of engineering below the highway and his room. With great concentration, he remembered to duck under the beam and saved his head from a near permanent bruise. Zach was gone. He fell asleep instantly.
#
A knock came from his door.
"Go the fuck away."
"Okay." It was Naomi.
He jumped up, hit his head on the beam and fell over a pair of Zach's shoes, skidding forward across the room. What the fuck? He let out a loud oof.
"Naomi, wait." He crawled to the door and popped the lever, opening it.
She beamed down at him, her platinum hair backlit by the light in the hallway.
"Oh God, Daniel, are you okay?" She kneeled down next to him, the weighted door closing by itself behind her.
"The fucking beam got me again."
Naomi pulled the icepack out of the freezer a few steps away from him. He didn't get off the floor, his knees bent. He wanted to get off the floor, but couldn't.
"Where did you get hit this time?"
He pointed to the spot in his hairline above his right eye. It was always the same place and never a gentle tap, as he ran into the damn thing full force each time. This time he couldn't blame himself; he'd been sound asleep since his head hit the pillow.
She held the pack to his forehead. "Can you get up?"
"Not sure I want to."
"I know the feeling."
She offered him a hand, and he stood. He swayed them backwards to his bed. Carefully, he ducked his head and sat on his bed. She followed, holding the icepack to his forehead, and sat down next to him.
"I’m so tired."
"Me too. I’ll let you get some sleep. I only have a few hours before Ming wants me to do the drawings. I’m not sure how I will focus on drawing anything. I haven't run that much since I've been on the ship, and all my lynx wants to do is sleep."
"Me too."
He fell backwards onto his bed and pulled her to his chest. The ice pack fell to the floor. He ran his hand up and down her back, and her thin shirt rode up and exposed her soft skin. Shit, he was instantly hard. Her head lay on his other arm. His fingers moved to her hair. Naomi leaned into him. Her lips brushed his, and he nibbled on her lower lip. The touch of her sent shock waves through him to his cock. The bump on his head forgotten, he rolled them. He held himself above her, hovering. Her eyes were dilated; her scent of apple blooms fueled his need. She wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled the full weight of him onto her.
He let out a breath. Shit, he wanted her. But he couldn’t . . .
She rose up from the mattress, and her lips hit his again. She pulled at his neck and ground her core against his length. His penis was visible in the waist band of his gym shorts. He forgot his objections. His hand worked its way up her shirt to her breast.
Naomi rolled him against the wall. She yanked her shirt and tank top over her head. His shirt joined hers on the floor. In the dim afternoon light of the cabin, Naomi’s eyes were more blue than hazel. The pounding of his heart threatened to break through his chest. He steadied himself.
Naomi’s thumbs tugged on her shorts, pulling them off, le
aving her bare to him. Her pussy shaved bare, he couldn’t wait to taste her honey. Her scent pulled him in. He wanted her for himself.
Shit. He tucked himself back into his shorts as he kissed her lips. Naomi reached for his shorts, but he picked her up and her legs encircled his hips. Their lips crashed together, and his tongue rolled around her mouth, like he wanted it to around her nub. He lay her down on the edge of his bed and kneeled next to it, one hand on her stomach, her legs thrown over his shoulders. With one finger in her core, he flicked his tongue around her clit. He lapped up her juices while his other hand rolled her nipple. She moaned and her hips bucked. A second finger in her core, he thrust deeper, grazing her rough spot. She bucked as her pussy clenched his hand. He flicked his tongue at her and thrust until she pulled on his hand to stop and join her on the bed.
Daniel crawled up the bed, kissing her warm taut flesh as he did. He kissed her, and she trilled as her hand reached for his crotch. An arm around her back, he held their chests together, pinning her hand. A moan escaped her lips, and he smiled into the kiss.
“Let me.” She moved her hand.
“What is this to you?” He bit down. The last time he told himself he wouldn’t be able to resist her again. And he damn near might explode. But he had to resist. Giving in to an arrangement with her wasn’t what he wanted. Fuck, he wished it was.
Her eyes deepened into hazel, and the moment of ecstasy left her lips. “Sex. Pretty darn amazing sex. That’s what it is.” She struggled to get her hand free, grazing the side of his cock.
Reflexively, he leaned in, and her eyes squinted at the possibility of victory.
He held in a sigh. “No.”
“I can’t give you more.” She pushed at his chest, and he let her go.
Her perfect ass mooned him as she searched through Zach’s dirty clothes on the floor for her own.
Daniel rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling as the door bounced shut. She was coming around. He licked his finger.
Thanks for reading and joining my mailing list, the Koi Pond. This is episode 1. Episodes 2 and 3 can be accessed though the bonus material link on my newsletter. Koi Pond comes out every Friday. Episode 4 in early September.
