Priceless Treasure

by Melody Anne

  He should have had her reassigned to another ship, made sure that the two of them wouldn’t be stuck out at sea together in fairly close quarters, with no possibility of escape. But had he done what his better brain had told him to do? No. He seemed to have lost several million brain cells in the past six weeks.

  He was a moron. That’s what it was. It was either that or he was just a glutton for punishment, and he wasn’t a masochist, was he? Either way, this wasn’t bound to go well. Bound … Hmm … Nope. Not having a thought like that.

  When a knock sounded, he actually felt his heartbeat kick up a few paces. That only served to piss him off more. He moved purposefully to the door and thrust it open. And then she was standing there, and all he wanted to do was pull her into his arms.

  Somehow he managed to stop himself.

  “Thanks, Ricky,” he said in his most controlled voice. “That will be all for the evening.”

  His guard disappeared, and Ashton led Savvy into the room. She wasn’t quite kicking and screaming, but she appeared far from happy.

  “I didn’t realize you were on the ship,” Savvy said, standing uncomfortably in the entranceway of his large suite.

  “I run the boats. Where else would I be?” he asked her.

  “You have more than one boat, Ashton,” she pointed out. “Or should I call you Captain Stubing? Is this your version of the Pacific Princess, the Love Boat?”

  “Are you going to act cranky all night?” he said as he moved over to the dining table, which was set and waiting.

  “I didn’t ask to come here,” she told him. And if her eyes had narrowed before, they were like slits right now.

  “You’ve been invited to dine with the captain. That’s an honor,” he said, knowing that would irritate her further. He was right. Normally, of course, the captain dined in the main room with the passengers, but he was in no mood to subject his guests to his presence on this particular evening. Not good for business.

  “Seriously, Ashton, what in the hell are you doing?” she asked. “I’ve had a long couple of days and I’m exhausted.

  “I wanted to dine with you. Since you’re here and probably hungry after those long days of yours — part of them spent watching the water — why don’t we try to get through the meal with as much civility as possible? Was that phrased properly for a woman of your education?”

  She looked toward the door, and then at the set dining table, and then back at the door, as if trying to decide what to do. As much as it would pain him, he decided that if she turned and left, he wouldn’t chase her. After all, he had nine full days to get her to come to him before the boat got back home.

  “Oddly enough, I am hungry,” she said, and took a tentative step toward the table.

  “Good. The same goes for me.”

  He moved to her chair and held it out. She eyed him warily for a moment, but eventually moved forward and sat down.

  “Still, I can’t be out too long, Captain. I have an early morning.”

  He grinned. “I could probably get you excused. I know the boss.”

  “I’m not asking for special treatment, Ashton. I want to do my job and not tick off my co-workers.”

  “All righty, then,” he said. “Why don’t we just enjoy a nice meal and save the fighting for another day?”

  Her mouth dropped open at that comment. “You are the one who’s been in a bear of a mood for a while now.”

  “You’re absolutely right,” he told her, taking satisfaction in the shock in her eyes. “You’ve turned me down so many times now that I can’t even count them anymore. You’ve done a damn good job of wounding my pride.”

  “What?” she gasped.

  Leaning toward her so she was sure to hear every word he was saying, and to have no doubt about what he wanted, he waited until he had her full attention. “I like you, Savvy. I like you a lot. I no longer have a fiancée — you saw that little melodrama play out. No one is coming between us, and we’re now on this ship for more than a week. I’m going to pursue you, and I’m not going to stop, because I firmly believe that you like me too.”

  After delivering that little speech, he leaned back, feeling pretty good. It was much better to get that out right away. Flirting was great and all, but there was nothing quite like honesty. Up front, up close, and personal.

  Before she was able to reply, one waiter came in and filled their wineglasses while another one set down bread and salad. Then both men disappeared.

  “Why me?” she asked him.

  That floored him. What could she mean by that? But as he looked at her, he started to glimpse the hint of insecurity in her eyes. Did she really not understand how fascinating she was? How incredibly beautiful?

  There was no possible way, he thought. But as he continued to study her, he realized that she really must not know her own value. If he were a complete rogue, he would use that to his advantage. But the mere thought of hurting her in that way disgusted him.

  “I can’t think of anyone or anything other than you, Savvy. Everything about you has my world spinning out of control. I feel that if I don’t spend time with you, I’m never going to be the same again.” Quite a rare admission for him, one that offered up to her a piece of his own well-hidden vulnerability.

  “… Ashton —”

  He interrupted her before she was able to finish that statement. “Are you thirsty?”

  “Well … um … yeah,” she had to admit.

  He stood up from the table and walked behind his bar. He pulled out a couple of different bottles of liquor and enjoyed her smile when he tossed two bottles in the air, caught them perfectly, and then poured a bit of vodka and a bit of tequila in her frosted glass. With a little spin, he then grabbed the gin, and added some of that before taking the glass and scooping ice into it, adding a splash of rum, and some Sprite. Putting a cherry on top, he moved over to her.

  “What is this?” she asked with a frown.

  He grinned as she took a sip and scowled. “It’s called the leg spreader,” he said with a chuckle.

  “Ashton, I prefer wine,” she said, and she pushed the glass away.

  He wasn’t offended at all. With a laugh, he removed her glass and got a nice bottle of wine. He then watched her as she downed an entire glass, and, gentleman that he was, he refilled it for her. Obviously, she needed some liquid courage to get through the evening. Didn’t everybody from time to time? He surely had.

  “Now, let’s get back to talking about the two of us,” he said, feeling more relaxed than he thought he should considering the circumstances.

  “I just really don’t think it would be a good idea for you and me to … well … you know.”

  And right then Ashton decided to change tactics. He was more determined than ever to have this woman, but obviously his strong-arm tactics weren’t working with her. The wheels continued to spin in his head as he sat back and watched this intriguing woman play with her soup — letting the liquid drip from her spoon without taking a bite.

  He was a businessman, and he had to remember that. If one method continued to fail, hit a brick wall — even out at sea, where brick walls weren’t heavy on the ground — it was time to try something new. And Ashton had never been one to give up on anything.

  So he stopped talking about how he felt about her, and instead began quizzing her on how her day had gone. He couldn’t miss the turmoil raging inside her.

  She was his. She just didn’t know it yet.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Would she ever have any sense of balance around this man? She was feeling a bit seasick, and the sea had nothing to do with.

  Ashton was chatting away companionably about captaining the boat, and telling her how one of his crew members had almost fallen into the water when they cast off from the dock, among other topics from the past two days. Who cared? She certainly didn’t. What she cared about was this brand-new attitude of Ashton’s. Who was he now?

  He had gone from brutal Mr. Hyde back to civ
ilized Dr. Jekyll, and he was being far friendlier than he’d ever been. And she was feeling herself give in to him. It seemed impossible to fight both him and herself. And now there wasn’t a fiancée standing between them.

  Even if Savvy knew that she’d be nothing more than a conquest for him, would it be so wrong for her to enjoy the fruits of his labor? After all, she was a twenty-four-year-old virgin. Wasn’t it high time she experienced what everyone else seemed to think was so damn grand? Maybe the earth would really move … except that they were on the ocean. Details, details.

  When Ashton had been trailing his kisses down her body, she’d certainly felt something she’d never felt before. And even when she was angry with the man, her body didn’t seem to get the message.

  “I think I’ve probably had a bit too much wine,” Savvy finally said as she set down her glass and tried to focus in on whatever Ashton was saying.

  It had to be the wine that was sending all these thoughts through her head. It couldn’t be that she wanted to be just another of his one-night stands.

  “You’ve only had a couple of glasses, Savvy,” he pointed out.

  Damn! He was keeping track. She was so nervous right now that her fingers were shaking. She could do her darnedest to blame it on the wine, but she knew the real reason all too well — it was simply being in his presence. And her awareness that he was now available was a heady rush that was shutting down her system.

  Was she going to continue to live with regret? Did she really want to be that girl who always played by the rules? A girl, or even a woman, ruled by her fears? How fun a life was that? Not much fun at all, according to her sister, who was younger but sometimes wiser.

  As she and Ashton chatted about nothing in particular and certainly nothing deep or supercharged, Savvy couldn’t help but let the protective walls that she’d erected around herself come down a little bit more and then a little bit more beyond that. She stopped gulping the wine, and instead took small sips.

  If she decided to share a bed with this man, she refused to make alcohol the villain. She wouldn’t tell herself in the morning that she’d done it because she’d been inebriated. She wanted to own her decision — whatever that decision was going to be.

  Their meal was now finished and Ashton stood up. Maybe she didn’t have to make any decisions, she thought with something bordering on disappointment. Their night appeared to be over.

  But Ash didn’t lead her to the door. He ushered her into another room, a small sitting area with a couch, a recliner, a television, and even a gas fireplace, which was already burning.

  The lighting was turned down low, and Savvy didn’t protest when he grasped her hand gently and led her to the couch. He sat down and tugged her onto his lap. Oh, it felt far too good.

  He said nothing as he leaned her head back so he could look into her eyes. There was a question in his, and she knew what he was asking. This was the big moment. She had to decide whether she was going to do what she wanted — or do what she knew would be smart.

  When she felt his hardness pressing against her backside, a sigh escaped her throat, and she enjoyed the thrill of watching his eyes ignite. Testing this new power, this emerging sexuality surging through her, she wiggled her hips against his arousal, and he responded with a low groan.

  “If you’re going to play with me, Savvy, you should be aware that I always win,” he growled. His hand came up and he clasped her hair, pulling her head back before he bent and kissed her throat — just a light trace of his lips and tongue against her skin.

  She only wiggled her hips again in reply as her core heated and her heart pounded. Yes. She wanted this. But she wasn’t sure how to say that to him. She didn’t want to tell him she’d changed her mind. She just wanted him to kiss her, and for the next step to follow naturally. Spontaneously? She wasn’t sure, but she didn’t care anymore.

  “I’m going to pick you up now and carry you into my room,” Ashton warned her. “If you want this to stop, Savvy, you will have to say so explicitly.”

  And then she whimpered when he scooted out from beneath her, but she wasn’t apart from him long before his arms were sliding beneath her legs and he was lifting her up against the taut contours of his chest.

  He stood there for a moment, doing nothing more than gazing down at her lovely face and those limpid eyes. She felt no desire to use words in this moment. But all too soon, his lids drooped and then he was bending forward as he took her lips. And this time she didn’t even think about not kissing him back.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight as he plundered her mouth, his lips making promises she hoped he would keep.

  It was too soon when he was letting her go, and then Savvy found herself lying on the side of his king-sized mattress as he stood before her. Damn, he was a beautiful man. Anticipation was flowing through her. Not even an ounce of regret or indecision assailed her. She wanted this man, and she was going to have him tonight. All of him.

  “Yes, Ashton,” she finally whispered, barely even aware of doing it.

  He slowly began unbuttoning first his shirt, and then his trousers. Savvy’s mouth dried up as she waited to see him in all his glory, and when he finally stood naked before her, she realized that the wait had well been worth it. He had the type of well-honed body only achieved by a man who wasn’t afraid of physical labor. His shoulders were broad, his chest perfectly muscled, and his abs — oh, those abs — were worthy of an A-list action star.

  The rest of him … wow, the rest of him. His manhood stood out thick and hard, smooth satin over solid steel, and mouthwateringly gorgeous. She wasn’t sure what she wanted more — to taste him or to have him buried inside her — neither of which she’d ever done or felt before.

  “You’re magnificent,” she moaned.

  “Ah, sweet Savvy, you are the one who is magnificent.”

  Making quick work of it, he stripped her clothes away, and then he was the one moaning as he looked at her from head to toe before he began kissing his way down her body, his lips barely touching her skin before he moved to a new part of her.

  “You’re flawless, Savvy, more perfect than I even imagined,” he told her as he slowly made his way back up to face her. “I can’t seem to taste enough of you.”

  “I have many flaws, but I’m grateful you don’t seem to see them,” she said. For only the briefest of moments was she self-conscious about lying beneath this inimitable man. He was looking at her with such adoration that she didn’t have time to develop her standard fears and insecurities.

  He refused to acknowledge the nonsense of what she’d just said, and did the classic thing. He stopped her from even thinking such absurd thoughts by not only kissing her but also pressing his naked body intimately against hers.

  Winding her hands around his back, she clung to him and circled one leg around his back. It all felt so right, so perfect, much more perfect than she’d imagined this moment would be.

  As she arched her hips upward, he broke the kiss, a kiss that was making her go out of her mind. What was he doing now? She found out quite soon. With a small smile he grazed his lips across her jaw and flicked his tongue out to savor her heated skin, and he slid slowly down her neck and over the mounds of her breasts.

  Licking and nipping at each nipple, he didn’t move on until she was groaning beneath him, and then he did some serious navel-gazing. Her belly was rippling at this point, and everything went into overdrive. He was spreading her thighs wide open and nibbling along the inside of each of them.

  Savvy cried out when the first swipe of his tongue touched the hottest part of her body. Sensations she hadn’t known existed traveled through her as he pushed her thighs even farther apart and then ran that amazing tongue along the seam of her heat.

  “Ashton …,” she almost wept. Did she want him to continue or to stop? It was too much. The burning in her core was making her stomach grow tighter and tighter. Her legs were trembling and her head was thrashing against the b
ed as she struggled against such an unfamiliar loss of control.

  “Don’t fight me, Savvy. Just enjoy this,” Ash said before burying two fingers deep inside her while he circled her swollen bud with his tongue and sucked on it.

  And then something happened inside Savvy that she could barely comprehend. Her core heated to boiling and then exploded. Fireworks. Every muscle of hers shook, she arched off the bed, and she screamed in joy.

  As wave after wave of immeasurable pleasure washed through her, she was vaguely aware of Ashton sliding upward on his bed, caressing her all the way. He spoke, but his voice sounded as if it came from a distance, and she couldn’t focus on his words.

  “You are stunning,” he gasped. “I have to take you now while you look like this.”

  There was no more warning than that. Suddenly he was gripping her backside, and he thrust inside her, his hips slapping against hers.

  Sensation after sensation washed through her. If she’d been coming hard and fast before, this was on a new level. Her core gripped him tightly. Yes, she also felt a slight sting of pain as her virgin body tried to adjust to his length and his girth. But the pleasure was so much greater than the pain, and she gave in to the utter ecstasy of it all.

  “Damn, Savvy, you’re so tight,” he groaned as he pulled back and thrust into her again.

  This drew another cry of pleasure from her. And as he began moving, faster and faster, her orgasm never quite ended. Just as she was beginning to feel as if she were touching down on earth again, the heat rebuilt.

  Her eyes widened as she looked up at Ashton’s ravishingly handsome face. And then she shuddered around him again. Though it hardly seemed possible, the pleasure was even more intense than it had been before. Crying out again, she held him close, her nails digging into his back. His voice joined hers as he buried himself deep inside her and they both shook in completion. They were now one in the most intimate way possible.

  They were spent, and it took a long, long time before either of them could even think of moving. Or could even think, period. But he ultimately slid off her, and she whimpered her discontent until he pulled her against his side.