by Ann Cory
She didn’t know how to say no to him. With his body close her heart skipped one beat after another. Maybe the sparks between them still lingered. A curious thought crossed her mind. “What else should I know about you?”
Reinaldo paused long enough to flash her a sly smile. “That I’m not really the captain.”
* * * * *
As they strolled along the deck, she slipped her hand into his. The day continued to surprise her. When she’d pushed Reinaldo away to focus on her studies, he hadn’t taken it well at all. Because of her, his grades slipped and she thought it best for them both to call it quits, wanting only good things for him. It had been a decision she wished she could’ve done over. Now he stood beside her. All hot and handsome.
“For someone who isn’t a captain, you sure look like one.”
“Not bad for a uniform but way too warm for me. I’m dying here in the heat.” He ran a finger between his neck and the collar. “So tell me, what have you been doing with yourself since graduating from university?”
Madeline looked down at her sandals and wished she’d removed the old chipped polish from her toenails. “Well, certainly not what I’d originally planned.”
She noticed him look her way but she didn’t dare make eye contact.
“How come?”
Her chest tightened. Time didn’t make talking about her mother any easier.
“My mom became ill shortly after graduation so I moved in with her. Basically I worked wherever I could to help bring in money while taking extra classes for a teaching license.”
His fingers nestled tighter around hers. “I bet you make an excellent teacher.”
She shrugged, begging any tears away. “In the beginning I didn’t think so, but students have a way of building you up and now I enjoy it. I see myself in a couple of those girls and it gives me a boost.”
He stopped and closed the distance between them. Breath warm against her face. His musk aftershave danced in the air and swirled around her nose. “And here I thought you’d travel the world and have all sorts of stories to tell.”
Madeline moistened her lips. “I think traveling was your dream.”
He reached out and brushed his knuckle against her cheek. “Actually it was our dream.”
She choked back a sob. “People make too big of a deal about dreams. To me it’s a set-up for failure. If you spend all your time dreaming you won’t get anything done.”
His forehead creased. “Sounds like someone’s bitter.”
“No, but things change and people change,” she explained. “With you I shut out reality. I wanted nothing more than to spend my days in your arms. I didn’t think about bills, money or even a job. Hell, I never thought about how we’d pay for all that travel.” Excuses, she knew, but they were all she had.
Reinaldo pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, starting a spark in her belly. “I guess you lost your adventurous spirit. It’s too bad, I always found it infectious.”
Madeline frowned and took a tentative step back. “I did not lose my adventurous spirit. It’s the reason why I accepted the invitation to this riverboat in the first place. I came here expecting adventure and an escape, not to be hounded with questions or reunited with a man who¾“
In mid-sentence, she paused. After all this time he could still get her adrenaline going. The heated fights they took part in regularly were always followed by equally heated sex.
Again he closed the gap between them. Dangerously close, weakening any reserves of strength she had stored away.
“Go on. A man who what?”
“Oh never mind.” Madeline crossed her arms and looked downward.
His finger caught her chin and tilted her face up to him. “No, by all means, please explain.”
Exasperated, she let it out. “A man who always did infuriate me and was the love of my life.”
Reinaldo looked out at the water, hands on his hips. “I see. Past tense.”
The present tense too, she wanted to say but couldn’t. Not yet. “What did you expect to happen? I mean, you obviously had some sort of agenda inviting me here.”
This time he stepped away, creating a draft between them. “No agenda and no expectations.”
She shifted her weight, wanting to erase the last couple of minutes. “Then what? You were horny and thought why not stick her in the middle of the river knowing full well she can’t swim worth shit and sweet talk her into submission?”
His face turned a deep shade of red. She’d gone too far with her words. Old habits died hard.
“Damn you, Madeline. All I had was hope. I’d hoped you were still crazy about history, adventure, and well, sure, maybe a little crazy about me. But if nothing else I hoped we could at least be friends again. I didn’t realize how much you’d changed. You can call it whatever you want but I call it bitter. You act like you’ve been defeated and nothing will ever get better.”
She turned away, fighting back a flood of tears. Reinaldo always did know her more than she knew herself. When didn’t she feel like nothing good would ever happen to her again? She had changed, into someone almost unrecognizable, and to have him thinking less of her hurt.
Facing him, Madeline put her hands up in defeat. “You’re right. I’m not the same free spirit. Experiences have hardened me. It’s not like I want to be this way. Who the hell ever wants to be miserable?”
He placed his hands on her shoulders, eyes boring into hers. “What changed you? What broke your spirit?”
The words turned sour in her mouth. “My mom’s death.”
Her face scrunched up and the tears started, just boom without any warning. Before she could move he wrapped his arms tight around her. She wanted to push him away, tell him she didn’t need his pity or reassurance, but the closeness, oh god how much she’d missed the closeness of him. With her ear pressed against his shirt, she listened to his heartbeat. Soft pulses, keeping time with the paddlewheel. The shards of ice around her heart melted and a torrent of tears found their way out.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. Let it out. It’s okay.”
His grip tightened, the safe and secure embrace she could always count on, releasing a torrent of emotions. The harder she cried, the more he stroked her head and back, a healing touch she had missed terribly. Madeline tilted her head upward and inhaled his aftershave again, filling her mind with all the good memories they created. She thought of letting her lips wander along his neck, his cheek and his lips. How badly she wanted to taste him.
Embarrassed by her bold thoughts, she slowly moved out of his embrace. “I’m so sorry I soaked your shirt and, oh god, I must look a mess. I think I’ve left mascara stains too.”
He chuckled, a deep-throated one, and wiped at his shirt with a handkerchief. “It’s fine. It’s not even mine. I borrowed it too.”
Madeline laughed, making a big snot bubble come out of her nose. In front of anyone else she would have asked for a lightning bolt to come down and strike her dead from embarrassment but somehow she was okay. Reinaldo held the other side of the handkerchief to her nose, just like he used to do, and she blew into it. The soft cloth was reassuring against her skin.
She knew at the time he was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. Now almost a decade later, he’d aged to absolute perfection. If anything his ass had firmed up and a distinguished maturity shone on his face. All the same tingles spread through her body and the memories of how good they’d been together had her thighs quivering. Time had done nothing to change her true feelings for him.
He stuffed the handkerchief into his pocket and then kissed her forehead, his mouth lingering long enough to make her woozy all over again.
Reinaldo rested his chin on her head. With loving strokes, he smoothed her hair along her back. “For not having any kind of agenda I’d say this went well.”
She wiped away the remnants of tears and made a strange gurgle sound in her throat. “You did all this for me and I’m acting like a big jerk.”
&nb
sp; He stepped away but not too far, never really losing contact. “No, but you’ve obviously been holding a lot in. I’m just used to being yelled at by you.”
Madeline sighed, letting loose fifty pounds of emotions she’d held in. “I haven’t been much of a fighter lately, with people anyway, only myself. Thank you for inviting me here. It’s the nicest thing anyone could have done. I’ve missed you more than you know. More than I even knew.”
“My little spitfire.”
With her fingertips she wiped away the last traces of tears. “Why did you give me that nickname?”
“You going to tell me you don’t like it?” Mischief sparked from his eyes.
She shrugged. “I’m curious.”
He rested his hand on her back, making small circles, making her melt. “Your temper can start a forest fire the way it flares out of nowhere. Our fights were something else but I considered you passionate. I loved watching your eyes glare at me with defiance, your face a sexy shade of crimson, your body trembling. Not to mention that you were wild and unabashed in the bedroom. A real spitfire.”
Madeline laughed. “Who could ever forget our fights? It made for some red-hot sex.”
“I don’t suppose you’re still the same way in the bedroom?” His eyes were hopeful.
Heat fanned her face. “It has been a long time, but you have fueled every fantasy I’ve ever had.”
His hand moved from her back to her belly as he moved to face her. “Care to see a few of those fantasies come to fruition?”
Telling him no would only continue the pattern of self-punishment. “I’d love to.”
He reached for her and this time she dissolved in his arms. The feathery touch of his fingers against her cheek, then chin, tender and loving, tilting her mouth toward his. “I’ve been meaning to do this for some time now.”
Madeline closed her eyes the moment of contact. Lips reunited, picking up where they’d left off so long ago. Sparks shot through her body, rejuvenating, burning away the emptiness and loneliness. His hot breath blazed through her open mouth as their tongues swept alongside one another. Her nipples grew tight beneath her bikini top, aching to rub against his strong chest. If it were possible to melt, she would. She never wanted to be apart from him again. It felt right, their bodies made for each other.
Her breath deepened, mind only on the kiss, wanting more, wanting all of him. Shivers prickled along her skin, nipples pressing against her bikini top. She followed the muscles in his back beneath her palms as she drew him nearer.
Reinaldo withdrew his lips but trailed more kisses along her cheek, jaw and neck. In a whispered breath by her ear, he shared exactly what she felt. “You belong in my arms.”
Heart pounding and lips swollen, her body buzzed with new signs of life. The desire to feel his cock crept into her belly, her bikini bottoms soaked from the moment their lips collided. She didn’t care anymore about proving herself to anyone and everyone. What was real stood before her, offering a gift without strings attached. Even if they couldn’t have a future together, at least she had a couple nights. How many times had she wished for a do-over?
Reinaldo slid his fingers beneath the straps of her bikini. “You won’t mind if I get rid of this suit will you?”
Her body shook so hard she wondered if any seismographs were picking up her tremors. In a playful gesture she parted from him. “One second.”
She turned her back and untied her top, letting it sink to the floor. Teasingly she slid her thumbs under both sides of her bikini bottoms and slid them down, swaying her hips in the process. Madeline turned and brought her finger to her lips, chewing the tip of her nail as provocatively as possible, the other finger lazing around her nipple. “I wish you’d fuck me like there’s no tomorrow.”
“The vixen has spoken.” He picked her up and carried her over his shoulder. She laughed and flailed her legs. “Oh, Tarzan, put me down.”
“I’m taking you somewhere first. Consider this a free tour. Next stop, the paddlewheel.”
Soft flutters of desire flickered between her thighs. “Paddlewheel?”
“Oh yeah. You’re in for a treat, my dear.”
With her interest piqued, she stilled her legs and turned her attention to the nice view of his ass. Even upside down she could appreciate its firmness. She couldn’t wait to strip him naked.
Only they weren’t alone. She kept forgetting. “What about the others on board?”
“Don’t worry, we have complete privacy. Everyone’s on a different level and Marcus isn’t the voyeur type.”
Madeline’s head bobbed as he carried her to the back of the riverboat. “Tell me, big boy, what were you going to do if I told you I’d moved on and didn’t want to resume our relationship?”
“You mean other than be deeply wounded and throw myself overboard? I’d be sad but I’d honor your wishes. If anything I wanted to see if we could start again as friends. I’ve wanted to call but when I went over what I’d say to you in my head, it never sounded right, or genuine for that matter.”
“So you combined all my likes in one, making an offer very difficult to refuse.”
“Hey, I’m good. What can I say? But you can still refuse.”
Madeline snorted and made sure to speak very clearly. “Not a chance.”
Chapter Three
Reinaldo set her down gently and pulled a white towel off the wooden contraption he’d built.
A precocious look crossed her face, eyes wide. “What is this?”
He turned the wheel and watched it go around. “A kinky version of a paddlewheel I made with you in mind.”
“Me?”
“Woman, you fuel my dreams.”
Her cheeks flushed. “I didn’t know you could build things. This is very impressive.”
“I’m a master with my hands, especially when I have the right inspiration to work with.” His gaze swept along her breasts, holding them in his sights. Heat rushed to his face. Awestruck by her beauty, he almost forgot what they were talking about. “I hoped you’d like it.”
She pressed her lips together and twirled a strand of hair around her finger. “I’m flattered, really. How does it work?”
Reinaldo could hardly concentrate. The idea of her bare-assed with the paddles emulating his hand revved him up, his cock twitching. “See how there are varying sizes of wooden boards sticking out? While it goes around, the wooden slabs deliver a sharp sting to your provocative bottom. It works on remote and I control how fast and hard it goes. Ready to test it out?”
When presented with a dare, Madeline generally didn’t turn it down and he counted on that.
Her eyes sparkled as she looked it over. She stroked the wood with her fingers. “You know what, you’re on. I’m going to put all my inhibitions aside for tonight and see where this goes.”
His heart thudded. “My spitfire is back in full force and I’m loving it.”
She returned a coy smile and he drank in her nakedness. The ends of her hair curled suggestively toward her full breasts like little fingers, nipples taut and stained pink.
“So now what will you have me do?”
He swallowed hard, arousal flared. “For starters, you’ll need to address me properly.”
Madeline chuckled. “I miss the days of calling you master.”
He patted a cushioned bench placed in front of the paddlewheel. “I’ll need you on your hands and knees here, legs spread about hip-width apart.”
She knelt on all fours, the toned muscles in her arms and thighs rippling as she assumed the position. He loved to see her vulnerable, eager, her pussy splayed wide. Unable to hide his erection, he undressed and stole up close to her, catching a whiff of coconut, sandalwood and something else, something familiar. Ah, now he remembered. The heady scent of her sex broke into his thoughts and his cock went rock-hard. Reinaldo shook his head, trying to grasp a single thought, preparing to step into his role.
“I’m going to start up the paddlewheel.” On the lowest se
tting it barely tapped her right cheek and still she uttered a hushed moan.
During their time apart, he’d often wondered if his role of master aided in pushing her away. Madeline liked someone else taking the reins. It turned her on but at first the role didn’t come naturally for him. Her pleasure came first, and if it meant a sharp tongue and authority, he’d do it. Madeline deserved full satisfaction.
Golden streaks of the late afternoon sun bathed her body in its glow, illuminating the soft texture of her skin. His cock ached but he didn’t want to rush anything. For too many nights, thoughts of her consumed him and he was sorry for not fighting to keep her.
“I hope you realize this mild setting simply won’t do, master.”
He couldn’t conceal his grin. “Easy there, my little spitfire, we’re just getting started. Your master will take good care of you. I promise.”
With the push of a button, the paddle quickened. A pink tinge started along her ass, and after the third time around glowed a deep scarlet. The shape radiated desire and raised his pulse. The hot breeze succeeded in sending her damp scent into the air, hovering around him, bringing on a violent craving. He could almost taste her sweet cream.
Reinaldo couldn’t quiet his hunger any longer. He lay on the bench and scooted his head between her thighs, beneath her pussy and rolled his tongue across her clit. He pushed the control button again, increasing the weight and speed of the paddlewheel before setting the control down within reach. Her responsive gasps made his head spin.
The steady thwack of the paddles against her ass echoed along the Mississippi. While the paddles made contact, he traced her shaven flesh, eyeing her swollen nub.
Fascinated as always with her body he let a finger slip inside her dewy folds. He groaned at her extreme dampness and pushed a second finger inside, finger-fucking her until a stream of juices dribbled down his mouth and fingers.
“Someone’s enjoying their spanking.”
In a hushed voice she panted, “Yes, master.”
“Good girl, I knew you’d appreciate the paddlewheel.”