“Follow me in, Twila.”
“What’s happened?” she yelled.
“Looks like he’s had a heart attack. I’ve called the Coast Guard. They’ll have an ambulance waiting at the northeast causeway boat ramp. Follow me.”
She waved her hand and followed him around the tip of Hutchinson Island and into the marina. An ambulance waited at the top of the ramp. Drake went alongside first and jumped out, securing the vessel. The ambulance attendants pulled a stretcher down the dock and boarded. Drifting, she waited until they reappeared with the owner of the boat on the stretcher. It had taken a long time, and she imagined they were performing CPR on him. Drake waved to her, and she maneuvered alongside. It was scary being by herself, but she did it. Drake grabbed the edge, and she handed him the lines to secure the boat.
“Is he gone?” she asked, once they both stood on the dock.
He looked down at her and gave her a sad smile. “Hey, for a sailor, that’s the only way to go. His fishing pole was beside him and a half drunken beer.”
“It’s still sad.”
“Twila, I’m so proud of you. You handled that vessel like a pro and you kept calm.”
“Think I’ve had enough excitement for one day,” she said, resting her head against his heart. His steady beat calmed her.
“The rest of your day is booked. I’m taking you somewhere special.”
Drake manned the wheel, and she enjoyed the wide open water. “Where are we going?”
“Bahamas, Freeport to be exact,” he called out.
Drake reduced speed as they entered a bay.
“This is the Old Bahama Bay resort.”
“It’s beautiful.” Colorful buildings lined the shoreline. They tied up at the pier in front of a small red hut behind a large yacht named Swell. The afternoon brought a few cumulus clouds to blot the perfect blue palette. “It’s gorgeous,” she said, surveying the small bay.
Drake led her down the dock and they waved at a few locals working on their skiffs. Bright white smiles appeared from dark faces. They walked along the beach, and she took her shoes off and scuffed through the warm surf.
“What are you doing?” she asked, giving him a warning look as he held his phone up and the tiny click of the camera caught her ear.
“I need something gorgeous on my desktop computer at work.”
“What do you have on there now?”
He cleared his throat and shook his head once.
“Let me guess.”
He put his phone away and raced toward her, scooping her from the ground. “Don’t guess.”
“Your girlfriend.”
He walked out into the sea and threatened to drop her. “Did I not make it clear, she’s not my girlfriend?” He swung her around once. “And didn’t I mention you are. Now, I want to hear it from you.”
“Hear what?” she asked, grinning at him.
“It’s a long swim home, sweetheart.”
“You wouldn’t dare leave me stranded here.”
When they waded back to the beach, he kneeled down in the sand, laying her on it. “No, but I could keep you hostage and my sweet sex slave in that cottage over there until you say it.”
“I’m sure the owner wouldn’t mind you breaking in at all,” she quipped.
“Actually, he wouldn’t, he’s a friend of mine and the key is under the flowerpot.”
“Who hides their key under a flowerpot?” she scoffed.
“Island people. Now, since you’re being argumentative, I guess I’m just going to have to teach you a lesson, little wench.”
Her mouth dropped open in shock, and he kissed it closed. The gentle surf rolled across their legs. His lips ravished her mouth with the receding swell of warm salt water soaking her backside, and in between long, leisurely kisses, he smiled down at her.
“Drake, I’ve got half a bucket of sand up my bum.”
His gorgeous features brightened with a laugh, and he pulled her to her feet. With his arm around her waist, they meandered toward the little waterfront cottage. Gingerbread shingles in Bahama blue and a white picket fence, created a picture perfect place in paradise, but it wasn’t until Drake opened the door to expose the beachy interior and white tiled floor with an open kitchen and a huge king bed draped in sheers, did she really know paradise for the first time.
Drake drew her into his arms and her heart stumbled around in her chest like a drunken sailor.
“The first thing a pirate does is claim his bounty.”
“And the first thing a captive maiden does is resist,” she countered.
His gaze softened. “You’ve already done that. What happens next is the captain takes command and has his way with said fair maiden.”
Excitement pranced in her belly like a Lipizzan stallion. “Drake, why aren’t we getting bored with each other?”
He placed gentle kisses down her throat. “Don’t need to answer that.” He brushed a thumb across her breast. “I want you, Twila, and as long as you keep wanting me…”
Her skin flashed hot when his hand dove beneath her shirt and pulled it over her head. She stood still, a little intimidated by his power over her as she let him peel her clothes off.
His gaze heated as his thumb rubbed her nipple into a hard needy peak.
“I love watching you come. I love being inside you,” he whispered against her cheek, and his mouth met hers, his tongue probing. He laid her on the white sheets and simply stared down at her. “You have no idea how beautiful you are lying there naked and wet.”
His fingers slid down her body until he reached the crease of her sex and used his talented touch to make her sigh.
Parting her legs and gently stroking her clit with his tongue, he teased her by stopping. “You taste so sweet.”
“It’s because I eat a lot of citrus,” she spouted.
He broke out laughing and hovered over her. His brows rose. “Really?”
“No, seriously.” He searched her face thinking she was pulling his leg. “It’s true. You are what you eat,” she said, grinning back. A handsome relaxed smile beamed down at her.
“You really are sweet. In every way.”
Trailing a finger along his stubbled cheek, she sighed. She loved—everything about him. A little rip opened in her heart, reminding her he’d be gone soon. Make the most of it, Twila. Don’t dwell, just make the most of it.
Sitting up, he pulled off his shirt, and she admired his sculpted torso. Her eyes followed the fine trail of hair from his belly button to his waistband that soon revealed a thick shaft standing stiff against his stomach. The ‘V-shaped’ muscle, roping from his hips to between his legs turned her engine from rumble to overheating.
“You’re my exotic dream come true.” He hovered above her with his hands beside her shoulders. “I claim you as my bounty.”
The room took on a seductive glow as the falling sun turned everything golden, including the handsome man who waited for her to say what he wanted to hear. His green eyes gazing down at her, tanned features and dark whiskers lining his sharp jaw, pushed back the future and how lonely she’d be without him. “I still think I’m dreaming,” she said.
“Stop changing the subject, sweetheart. I want to hear you say it. Claim me or I’m going to torture you until you do.”
She pinched her lips together, and he laughed. “You’re sweet demise then,” he warned, and twirled his tongue around her nipple.
He wasn’t kidding about the torture. He had her crying for him to give her release, but he wouldn’t. His long, slow strokes into her wet channel made them both groan. When she begged him to speed up, he chuckled and pulled out. She wanted to slap him and told him so.
“Say it,” he breathed against her clit and then wound his tongue around it with a rhythmic lap that nearly had her there, then he stopped to slide up her body and press a deep kiss against her lips. “Say it, and we’ll come together.” His hips rolled, and he entered her, his fullness pressing against her walls with each delicio
us plunge.
“Okay, okay, I claim you.”
“About time, you were driving me out of my mind.” He sighed and pulled out then slammed into her. The sudden deep thrust nearly made her pass out. He did it again and again, grinding his hip bone against her clit. On the fourth plunge, she lost it, shuddering when his warm sperm filled her. He groaned into her neck and pinned his hips to hers.
With a roll, she lay on top of him and he held her tight. “You are one stubborn woman.”
“It was worth it.” She kissed his cheek and smiled.
His gaze softened and his normally wolfish grin did as well. “You’re always worth it.”
He curled her to his side, and they watched the last of the sun dip beneath the horizon. She wasn’t worried about traveling back in the dark. Trusting Drake was as easy as breathing. “I could stay here forever,” she mused, staring out at the calm sea.
“Don’t tempt me,” he answered, his finger turning lazy circles against her hip.
She loved that Drake never held back his thoughts. Good or bad, he spoke them with honesty. “Do we have to leave soon?”
She turned and his head was perched in his hand. “No, we’re staying here tonight. Sorry to say you’re my hostage.”
“Parle,” she said, quoting a line from Pirates of the Caribbean.
With an awesome pirate accent, he answered, “Those are more like guidelines, my hearty wench.”
Throwing her leg across his hip, she sighed and all the cares of the world fell away. “What about my appointments tomorrow?”
He shook his head. “Twila’s geriatric services are closed due to one very needy patient.”
How could she argue with that? She rested her head on the pillow and surveyed the beautiful bed, but her gaze stopped on the headrail, and she flipped over to take a closer look. Two large metal rings clung to the intricate swirls of iron. “What are those?” Drake’s brow rose. “No way.”
“My friend likes to play.”
She sat up and pulled a knee to her chest. “Have you done that before?”
“Dabbled, I guess.”
“Dabbled how?” It didn’t surprise her. She could imagine Drake in a number of sexy positions, all of them as a Dom.
Drake rolled off the bed, and she couldn’t look away from his strong back and tight rounded ass as he strode across the room. He pulled open a closet door, and she couldn’t believe it when he revealed what was inside. She hopped off the bed to join him.
“My friend is a full-fledged Dom.” He paused. “You’re curious aren’t you? That surprises me.”
“I don’t want to be whipped if that’s what you’re thinking, but I might be a little curious, yes.”
He shook his head and slid his hands around her sides to cup a breast in each of his warm palms. With his firm body pressed to her back, he said, “I could never hurt you, Twila. Not even if it was your fantasy.”
He pulled her away from the closet and backed up to the bed. Her stomach flipped like a pancake. His fingers rolled her nipples gently and the cinching excitement between her thighs intensified. A gentle prod, and she turned onto her hands and knees.
“Your pleasure will always come from my hands or my mouth, but I could never cause you pain.” His hand brushed the curve of her rear. “I’d rather make you cry with passion than throb with agony.” His thumb slipped into her fold and caressed her pearl. “Your body is soft and precious to me.” Drake’s hot breath flamed the fire of need as he breathed the words onto her sex, but when his tongue circled her sensitive nerves, she lost her train of thought.
Excited anticipation crawled up her legs until his shaft entered her. Snapping her eyes closed, her breathing became a pant with each plunge.
“Twila,” his voice sounded raspy but held a note of command as his strong hand pressed down on her back.
His touch played on her nerves like a fine violinist performs on a stage. “Yes,” she whispered into the crisp bed sheets, pushing against his advances.
He brushed his finger back and forth across her button, his voice resonating in her ears. “Always mine, promise you’ll always be mine.”
* * * *
Drake’s wandering palm woke her and the brilliant sun rising brought her the rest of the way from her coma-like sleep. She stretched, and his kisses rained across her breast.
“Wake up, beautiful, it’s time to return to the land of the living,” he said.
She smiled at him. What an unforgettable night. Her body languid and relaxed from his talented hands.
“I need to tell you something.” He cradled her breast in his hand and rested his chin on her shoulder. “Last night will be the night I will take with me to the grave. No matter how old I get, I’ll always remember it as the best night of my life.”
“It was for me too, but…”
“If you’re going to say this all ends soon and we should be careful, don’t.” He gave her a smack on her rear. “Get your beautiful butt in the shower. We’re going out for breakfast.”
Drake joined her, and they messed around laughing and teasing each other, but for her the key word was love. Sweet lingering kisses and sensitive touches from his powerful hands and mouth swept aside reality and took her straight to bliss. Drake had tattooed his essence on her heart.
They wandered into town and along the way he stopped in front of a store. Twila stepped back to read the sign. “Tattoo parlor?”
He motioned across the road. “That’s where we’re headed for breakfast. Why don’t you get us a seat, and I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
She cocked her head at him. “Do you know someone here?” she asked, peering in the window. One of the islanders stood behind the counter.
“Yeah, I’ll join you shortly.”
After a leisurely breakfast, they walked back into the warm sunshine. “Where to now?” She didn’t feel like going home. In fact, she wanted to run away and never go home.
Drake curled his arms around her shoulders. “Explain that look in your eyes?” he asked, peering down at her.
She shrugged, a little embarrassed. “I was just thinking,” she paused. “I’m in no rush and it feels good not to have any responsibilities for a few minutes.”
“Aw, sweetheart.” He drew her closer and hugged her. “Everyone needs a break, you know. That’s includes a saint.”
No moment had ever been so perfect. “Drake, I lo…ve being here.” The air stilled around them. She felt the muscles in his body tense. Oh shoot!
He drew back, but didn’t release her. “That’s not what you were going to say,” he whispered.
“Yes, it was,” she blurted.
He shook his head slowly, his cut jaw lowering. “No, it wasn’t.”
“Sure, it was.” The high squeak of her voice a dead giveaway she was lying her fool head off. “We should head back.” She took two steps back the way they’d come.
“Let’s spend another day here.”
“We can’t.” Scanning the tiny, colorful stores that lined the street, she had the overpowering need to run away before he did, but at the same time she never wanted to leave.
“Would you change your mind, if I said it first?”
Her head popped up, and her heart raced.
“Twila, I’ve fallen in lust plenty of times.” His eyes met hers.
Her chest tightened to the size of a marble. “Lust is fine. We’re good at it,” she said and gave a halfhearted laugh.
“Not exactly.”
“I thought—” Had she been wrong? Maybe her inexperience had turned him off. What the hell did she know about seduction? A sum total of zip. Hadn’t he said this morning that he’d remember last night to the grave? What the hell was going on?
The space between them disappeared. “We’re good at making love. At least I’m good at making love to you.”
A tremble started in her hands, and she hid them behind her back, but it wasn’t fear it was anger. “Sorry if I disappointed you. It would have been n
ice if you’d let me know earlier, instead of ruining a great da—”
He stopped her rant with a powerful kiss. Warm fingers caressed the back of her neck. When he drew back, his eyes had lost their laugher and held a deep warmth. “I’m good at making love to you, because I am in love with you.”
“You’re—” it came out like a chirp.
“Does that scare you?” he asked quietly. “Because I’ll be honest, it scares me. I’ve never told a woman that.”
Then the stupidest word fell off her tongue. “Why?”
“There’s a lot of reasons, but the one that means the most, and can’t be explained is the one in my heart. It’s the one I’m listening to.”
She was on a roll. Why stop now. “But you’re too handsome for me. Too well off. You…you’re the captain of the football team!”
He burst out with deep thunderous laugh, and she flushed with embarrassment. Drake’s shoulders straightened and his gaze rolled toward the heavens. “What I love about Twila. You’re a confident but gentle woman who’s proven herself and is respected by everyone. You’ve got a way hotter car than me. Your ass drives me insane every time I look at it. I want your gorgeous breasts in my hands twenty-four hours a day. I get drunk looking into your whiskey-colored eyes. The first second I saw you, my mouth gaped open and my father caught me doing it. When you kiss me, I forget there’s a universe outside of you and me.” His gaze landed on hers with heart stopping intensity. “I’m almost one hundred percent certain, if you asked me to sell my business and sail away with you, I’d do it this afternoon because there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, or that you don’t deserve.”
All the air leached from her lungs in one word. “Oh.”
He pressed his lips together and his brows popped up desperately trying to stop a laugh from bursting out. “We’re going over to that tattoo shop next because the guy in there should have the design I told him to make almost ready.”
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