by Lori Wilde
Haley licked her lips.
His arms tightened around her.
The boat pitched, tossing them against the furnishings. “We need to sit,” he said, “or lie down so that we don’t get beat up.”
“Yes,” she croaked.
“C’mon, I’ll guide you to the bedroom.”
He took her hand and moved in the darkness. He whacked into something, mumbled a sharp curse. “Didn’t need that shin anyway.”
His fingers gripped hers gently. “Hold on. Let me take the brunt of the licking.”
Licking. Hmm. She’d like to lick him from head to toe.
Haley Jean French! Bite your tongue.
Why did wanting him have to be so wrong? Why couldn’t she have met him before he’d taken a vow of celibacy in his attempt to win Jackie? Why couldn’t they have met before St. Michael’s?
Because before then she would never have considered a torrid affair. She’d been trying to live down her past, trod the straight and narrow, avoid temptation at all costs. And here she’d ended up stuck at sea with the biggest temptation of all.
The rolling and thrusting of the ocean didn’t help their progress to the bedroom. The Second Chance tossed and floundered one way, then the other. Haley had to admit it was pretty frightening, being out in the ocean with nothing between them and wreckage but a few pieces of wood, fiberglass and metal. She tightened her fingers around his. “Have you ever been in a storm this fierce while on the boat?”
“Yes,” he said. “Don’t be scared. It’ll pass and the sun will come out and everything will be all right.”
His optimistic, glass-half-full philosophy was comforting and she wanted to buy it. Oh, how she wanted to buy it. But even if the sun did come out tomorrow and they made it through the night safe and sound, there was always the knowledge that something special had passed her by.
“This way, angel,” he crooned.
Angel.
He’d started calling her that the night she’d told him about Trey Goss. The night she’d completely broken down. She’d never told another soul on the face of the earth about what had happened that night, until Jeb. She still didn’t know why she’d told him.
After a good five minutes of halting steps, they made it to the cabin. The boat was pitching like a gasoline-powered rocking chair jerking back and forth, back and forth. The rigging creaked and groaned under the onslaught. Lightning flashed. Thunder smashed. She cringed.
“Scared of storms?”
“Not normally, but being out here on the ocean in one makes me feel so vulnerable.”
“But it’s sort of exhilarating, right?”
In truth, it was.
“More fun than a roller coaster.”
“And not nearly as safe,” she said.
“Safety is overrated. It keeps you from seizing the day.”
“Seize a live wire and you can end up electrocuted.”
“Touché.”
Wasn’t that exactly what she’d done with Jeb? Seized a live wire?
A flash of lightning through the porthole lit up the cabin in a momentary flash of brilliant white light. In a freeze-frame strobe, she saw Jeb’s face and on it was an expression of total male desire combined with a sweet sense of awe and wonder as he looked at her.
“Here are your accommodations for the night, angel,” he said, putting a hand around her waist and guiding her to the bed.
She stood beside him, her fingers laced through his. They were breathing in tandem. The storm shook, shouted.
The waves smacked against the boat with even more force than before. The Second Chance listed hard starboard, throwing Haley down onto the bed and Jeb on top of her.
His pelvis was pressed against her, his erection hard against her thigh.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized.
“Hey,” she whispered, “it happens.”
“Not like this. Not like it does with you.”
Her face flushed and she was grateful for the darkness.
He moved to get up, but the boat pitched again, throwing him right back down on top of her.
“Hang on,” he said. “I’ll make my getaway in the lull of the next wave.”
It sounded good, but when he tried to get up again, the same thing happened.
“Looks like you’re stuck here until the storm calms down.”
“Just until the worst of it passes,” he said.
“I’ll just lie right here against the wall.” She scooted over. “And you can stay right there on the outside.”
“Good plan.”
“Let’s imagine an invisible line running right down the middle of the bed.”
“Me on my side, you on yours.”
“Exactly.”
“No crossing.”
“None.”
“You don’t touch me, I won’t touch you.”
“Deal.”
“This won’t be a problem. None at all.”
“Nope. Easy peasy. We can share a bed without anything happening.”
“We’re adults.”
“Fully in control of ourselves.”
“Absolutely.”
The silence lasted for almost a minute.
“Haley,” he breathed in the darkness.
That was all it took. That husky whisper and she crossed that invisible line of restraint she’d had a tenuous hold on since the beginning of the trip. He was waiting for her, arms outstretched. His lips captured hers and he was kissing her with a hunger that stole all the air from her lungs.
The muscles deep in her feminine core clenched and released in a startlingly strong rhythm—aching, begging, craving. In a mad frenzy, they ripped off each other’s clothing as the ship bucked and rolled. Thunder and lightning set the mood, rough and electric.
Jeb’s mouth was hot against her breast, his wicked tongue challenging her nerve endings, a scrumptious threat. His body was stretched the length of hers, Haley’s back pressed into the mattress. His erection a steel rod between them.
Her heart pounded so loudly in her ears she couldn’t hear anything else. She was lost at sea, storm-tossed and loving it.
Supporting his weight on his forearms, he hovered above her, his palms pressed on either side of her face. A flash of lightning illuminated his dear face. He stared into her eyes, his expression one of pure awe, pinning her to the spot.
A lump of emotion clogged her throat. She shouldn’t be doing this. It couldn’t lead anywhere, but maybe that was exactly why she should do it. Just throw out the rule book and let nature take its course. She was a nurse. She understood biological needs. It didn’t have to mean anything more than that.
Sure. That was her plan. Just enjoy the physical and block out the mental and emotional. So what if her heart gave a wistful twist when the corner of his mouth lifted in a boyish quirk? A special smile meant just for her.
He moved his hands from her face; inquisitive fingers explored her body. At his touch, her breasts swelled and her nipples stood erect. His mouth played with her nipples, teased first one and then the other.
She moaned and threaded her fingers through his hair, encouraging him to keep doing the lovely things he was doing. Losing control, she tightened her grip on his hair.
A ragged chuckle rolled from his throat. “Let’s see if we can make you do more of that,” he murmured against her navel, the sound vibrating clear to her spine.
Yes.
Up they went on the ocean swells, the boat lurching, the waves pummeling an onslaught of sensation through their bodies.
He kissed her cheeks, her neck, and she came completely unraveled, her body clenching and releasing in widening waves. She drew in short, rapid breaths of air, savored the smell of this masculine man doing wondrous things to her.
As fun as it was to let him steer the course, Haley believed in an equal partnership. While his mouth and tongue did crazy things to her, she reached a hand down and stroked the velvet tip of his manhood poking against her thigh.
He
let loose an appreciative groan and slid down the flat of her belly, his tongue licking and swirling, stoking her arousal. Finally, he raised his head, hair sticking every which way from where she’d mussed it, and he flashed her the most beguiling grin.
She smiled back at him, enchanted.
Gracefully, he leaned forward, his chest puffing up like a spinnaker filling with wind. “Hang on, angel, we’re going body sailing.”
“What?” she asked, a bit confused, but he answered her question with his body instead of words.
His fingers trailed from her waist, down the flat of her belly to the curve of her hip, and then traveled around her thigh until he found her most intimate spot. She exhaled on a sigh, every muscle in her body liquefied.
“I want to make love to you so badly I can taste it.”
His declaration stirred her. She wanted him, too. She touched him again, letting him know it was full speed ahead, cupping the weight of his masculinity in her palm.
“You’re so sexy,” he crooned. “Haley, I can’t believe you’re even here with me.”
She couldn’t believe it, either.
He paused a moment, looked down into her face again. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
“Yes.” She whimpered, unable to bear the thought of not having his body joined with hers. Only he could quench the fire burning inside her. Only he had the key to her lock. “More than anything!”
He reached for something in the overhead compartment and pulled out a condom. Ever ready for a sea adventure. Some nurse she was. So overcome by desire she’d forgotten about protection. Thankfully, Jeb was thinking. He tore open the packet with his teeth.
“Let me,” she said, taking the condom from him and rolling it on the length of his throbbing, hot erection. When she finished, they were both breathing hard and desperate.
“Put your legs on my shoulders,” he urged.
She obeyed. The position raised her hips up off the mattress. He was between her legs, the head of his shaft poised at her entrance. He was quivering, as excited as she.
Haley arched her back, tipped her butt down and stared up into his eyes. “I want you.”
“I want you,” he whispered.
Unable to resist another second, she brought his head down to hers for a long, heartfelt kiss.
He eased his body into hers—tender and loving. How good it felt. She closed her eyes, floating on the absolute bliss of the moment.
The timbers were shivering, along with everything else on the boat. While the storm raged fiercely outside, their passion raged even fiercer inside the cabin.
Jeb moved slowly, letting her get accustomed to him and she whispered her approval, used her legs to draw him more deeply inside of her.
“You are so tight,” he murmured. “Beautiful.”
She squeezed him with her internal muscles and he groaned. She slipped her hands around his forearms, holding on for the thrill ride of her life. How was it she’d lived so long without knowing sex could feel like this? Innocent. She felt like an innocent experiencing sex for the first time.
“I feel like a virgin,” she whispered, “with you.”
“Me, too,” he said with such sincerity that she almost believed him.
Over the course of the past few days, he’d taught her a lot about taking life as it came instead of always fighting against the current.
Certainly being with him was light, easy. All she had to do was relax into him. Have fun. He was so much fun to be with. He made everything a game. He opened her eyes to so many possibilities. In his presence, life was an exciting adventure waiting to be explored.
And right now, all kinds of heady feelings were flowing through her.
“Everything about you is intense, isn’t it?” he crooned.
It was true. She came at life as if it was a battle to be won.
“Okay, that’s the way we’ll do this. Here we go, angel,” he murmured, his voice raw and strained. “Overboard.”
She thrust upward just as he thrust down, meeting him halfway, pushing and rubbing, caressing and stroking, until their bodies beaded with perspiration. Friction.
They were a craze of arms and legs, mouths and teeth and tongues. After a few desperate minutes, he changed the tempo, slowing down, dragging it out.
Haley whimpered with frustration.
“Let’s make it last,” he explained.
Oh.
He tightened his buttocks, eased out of her.
She whimpered louder.
He gave a self-satisfied laugh.
“Tease,” she mumbled.
“A good tease never hurt anyone.”
She rolled over onto her hands and knees, wriggled her fanny, and he let out a groan. “Ha, not so cocky now, huh?”
“I’m plenty cocky. We’re just getting started.”
“Promises, promises.”
“Now who’s being cocky?” He lightly swatted her fanny.
“Punishing me?”
“Never. This is all about your pleasure.”
Her insides clenched hard and she was panting. “Do it again,” she whispered.
“This?” His palm cupped her fanny again, gave her a short little smack.
Blood shot through her veins, rushing adrenaline to her heart.
“You like this?”
Mutely, she nodded. She wasn’t sure how far she wanted it to go, but right now, her pulse sprinted like a racehorse and her entire body hammered with excitement.
Another quick swat.
They were all alone out here. Just her and Jeb and the ocean and the storm, but she trusted him completely. That surprised her most of all. She didn’t trust easily, but somehow, she knew deep down inside that Jeb would never hurt her. Maybe that was why she felt so free to whisper her secret spanking fantasy into his ear. She wanted him more than she’d ever wanted anything in her life.
“Please,” she whispered, without even knowing for sure what she was begging for. “Please.”
He cupped her buttocks in his palms.
She buried her face into the pillow and he gently entered her again. Overjoyed, she wanted to sing.
“Haley,” he called her name, and the sound of it pouring from his lips did strange and wondrous things to her.
Playful. Their coupling was playful and lighthearted, and in this sweet game, they found their release together, as their ecstatic cries were drowned out by the snarling storm.
12
Ebb—A tidal current flowing out to sea
“NOW,” JEB SAID, “we’re going to do it my way.”
“Mmm,” Haley murmured, reached up to trace an index finger over his bottom lip. “How is that?”
“Slow and sweet and I want you on your back so I can see your face.”
“Why, Jeb Whitcomb, you’re a traditionalist at heart. Who knew?”
Outside, the storm was ebbing, the lightning a weak flutter from distant clouds, thunder a muted grumble, but inside, Jeb was in tumult. He couldn’t keep his hands off Haley. Couldn’t think of anything but making love to her again, but in just a few hours, weather willing, they’d be hitting land in Florida.
And then what?
His chest tightened and his skin prickled.
Haley tangled her fingers in the hairs at his chest and her gentle tickling drove him wild. He closed his eyes, took in a deep breath, tried to grasp some small shred of control.
Haley.
She kissed from his chest to his belly, going to a place he longed for her to go, but didn’t want to ask. A groan, half pleasure, half despair, slipped past his lips. There was no stopping now. He’d already sped past the point of no return. The woman had reduced him to rubble.
Her sweet lips touched the head of his shaft and it was all he could do not to lose it instantly. She took charge, closing her mouth around him.
Ah, hell, he’d wanted to make love to her face-to-face, look deeply into her eyes, but if she kept going the way she was going, he’d be spent before they got t
hat far.
He tried to pull her back up, but she resisted, her tongue doing startling things to him. He grasped her hair in his fists, tugging gently. “Angel, I want to be inside you.”
She give a wicked laugh and did a little maneuver that sent him over the edge. Without warning the orgasm overtook him.
Haley.
Clenching his jaw, he shuddered as he climaxed, shaking and chanting her name.
When it was over, she collapsed onto the bed beside him. “Turnabout is fair play.” She laughed.
He could hear his own heart beat, taste the black, mysterious shadows of the darkened room. He inhaled it—the night—smelling thickly of their lovemaking and the ozone scent from discharged lightning.
Haley.
The sexy woman who challenged him to be a better man. The woman who’d captured his heart. He gathered her to him, hugged her close and kissed the top of her head.
They slumbered like that for a while, then he woke her sometime later with more kisses, got another condom from the cabinet and finally made love to her the way he’d ached to make love to her for months.
Face-to-face. Eye to eye. Just the two of them, in the quiet, reverent lull left by the vanishing storm.
*
WHAT HAD SHE DONE?
Haley lay in bed beside a sleeping Jeb, the sheet wrapped around her waist, staring up at the ceiling as tendrils of dawn blushed pink about the porthole. She looked over at him. The man was so handsome and for a second she forgot everything except how glorious it felt to be next to him.
Wonder how many other women have been in this same spot.
That made her stomach hurt.
She hitched in her breath, returned her gaze to the ceiling. See. That was what was wrong with this scenario, as nice—oh, who was she kidding, it had been incredible—as last night had been, he pined for this Jackie woman.
That was the thing. She would not romanticize what had happened between her and Jeb. The storm has tossed them into bed together and they simply hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other. Proximity and sexual chemistry equaled heady lust, not true love.
So why did it hurt so much?
She couldn’t stop herself from peeping over at him again. His generous mouth was relaxed, welcoming. His square jaw was scruffy with a sandy-colored beard, and a lock of hair flopped boyishly over his forehead. Even when he was asleep, he was fun-loving. Really, it was better that they were going their separate ways. They didn’t fit together. Honestly, what did they have in common?