by Wood, Vivian
“Honey, please get these checks out of my mailbox,” he says. “They’ve just been piling up out there. The other employees take theirs home the second they get them.”
He hands me three envelopes. I frown at them, shaking my head a little. “I thought that you guys just dealt with this stuff somehow. I didn’t realize that I had checks waiting for me, I guess.”
“Well, you do. And they should be pretty substantial, especially since you have all your credit card tips on your paycheck.”
I flush a bit. “Right. Thanks.”
He waves, already on his way out of the locker room. “See you in a while!”
I stare at the checks in my hand, then sigh. Ripping open the first one, I scan for the amount listed.
Net pay… $1709.16.
My eyes bulge out. Surely that has to be a mistake! No way in hell did I actually earn that much. Tearing open the other two checks, I find that they’re for even more.
Nineteen hundred dollars and twenty four hundred dollars.
That can’t be right! I mean… I don’t remember talking to Luca about what I would earn hourly, but this is… some kind of charity, surely.
I mean, there is just no way that I’ve earned that much. Bursting out of the locker room, I practically run to the bar. Bradford looks up from a stack of receipts, arching an eyebrow.
“Something wrong with your paychecks, darling?” he drawls.
I shove them at him, my expression grave. “That can’t be right,” I say, pointing at the dollar amount. “There is no way that I have earned that much working less than twenty hours a week.”
Bradford smothers a sigh and takes the checks, looking at my paystubs. “I mean, that looks right to me. I would estimate about that if someone asked me how much a waitress or a bar back makes here.”
My heart thunders. “How much money does the bar make every night?”
He crosses his arms, pressing his lips together. “Way more than you thought, apparently. What is your issue here? Do you feel like you make too much? Because let me tell you something, dear. I guarantee you that other people, people who have to actually pay rent and bills, would kill for that issue. There are a lot of people in the world that are struggling to make ends meet.”
My eyes widen. I didn’t mean to complain at all. “I was just trying—”
Bradford holds up a hand to silence me. “Do you have an actual issue with your paychecks?”
Coloring, I hesitate then shake my head. “No.”
“Good.” He hands me back the checks. “If there isn’t anything else, I am trying to finish up some paperwork before the shift starts.”
I nod meekly. “Of course. I’ll be right back, just let me put these checks in my locker.”
Bradford smiles lightly but his eyes go down to the paperwork before him. I know a dismissal when I see one.
Slinking back to the employee locker room with my checks, I feel a little chastised. I really didn’t mean to make a big deal out of nothing, especially not with one of Luca’s business partners. And doubly so with someone that is essentially a stranger.
I shove the checks in the back of my locker and close the door. It just doesn’t seem right that I should have so much when there are so many people that actually need to earn what I’ve accidentally stumbled into earning.
With that thought now weighing heavily on me, I head out to start my shift.
Chapter Twenty-One
Luca
I pull my SUV into a spot at the marina, turning the engine off. The morning is just getting bright. Even through the car windows, the briny smell of the ocean takes over my senses.
Cate looks at me, her suspicion evident. “What is this?”
I roll my eyes. “See all the boats and the docks? We are at a marina. Not a shabby one, either.”
She gives her head a shake. “That’s not what I mean and you know it. Why did you have me pack for two nights away?”
I wink at her. “You’ll have to grab your bag and come with me to find out.”
She looks out at the yachts bobbing in water, her brow pulling down. But when I get out of the car and grab my bag, she follows suit.
“Come on,” I say, closing the trunk of the Porsche. “It’s a reward for being so helpful the other night. I know my parents can be a handful.”
She looks uncertain, but I lead her down to the docks, weaving around some of the larger yachts until I stop in front of Tonight’s Promise.
It’s more of a schooner than a yacht, but it’s plenty big enough for the two of us. Plus I got it at the last minute, because inspiration for this little trip only struck yesterday morning.
“Surprise!” I say, glancing at her to gauge her reaction. She looks warily up at the ship.
“Please tell me you didn’t buy me a boat.”
I smirk. “You wish. This boat costs more than a normal person makes in five years.” The way she glares at me makes me laugh a little. “Relax, princess. I rented it for the next two days. Come on, let’s head on board.”
I walk up the wobbly plank that leads onto the boat, putting my bag down and helping her on board. She looks around, obviously fretting about something.
“What?” I ask. “Come on, it’s fine. I covered our shifts at work, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
She looks at me, gripping her tote bag and steadying herself on the boat’s railing. “I’ve never been on a ship before,” she confesses. “Or a boat or even a canoe.”
“What??” I say. “We’re in Seattle! The water is so close to us!”
Her cheeks color. “I know. We just grew up very differently, you and I.”
That is undoubtedly true; Luna and I spent whole summers when we were kids navigating the seas and making sure our mom didn’t fall over the railing when she’d had too many glasses of wine.
“Well, that’s okay. It really just takes some getting used to,” I tell her. “Here, let me show you around. Then we can head out to sea.”
I point her toward the staircase that leads down into the sleeping quarters, tiny kitchen, and bathroom. She starts moving toward it like she’s walking on the surface of some new planet and is not sure how gravity works here.
“You can drive this boat?” she asks.
“Yep. I have a license.”
I follow the clatter of her footsteps down the stairs. She stops short when she sees the bedroom. With two round windows spilling bright light into the room, it’s barely large enough to contain a double bed.
“This is it?”
I sling my bag onto the bed. Then I take hers and toss it onto the bed too. “Yeah. There are bigger boats with more room, but I figured if I rented something lavish you would really freak out.”
She looks at me. “But there is only one bed!”
I roll my eyes. “There is a hammock hanging upstairs behind the steering wheel. I’ll sleep there if necessary.”
She exhales and looks at the bed again. “I don’t know, Luca…”
I move a little closer to Cate, looking down at her with a stern look. I wish that I thought she would respond to being kissed or caressed, but something tells me she would be off of this boat so fast my head would spin.
So I just settle for almost touching, here in this confined physical space.
I touch her arm, moving my hand down to her elbow. Not a caress, just resting my hand on her body.
“Just trust me, okay? Give it one day. If you hate it after today, we’ll sail back tomorrow.”
She looks up at me, biting her lip. Her nostrils flare, her pupils dilate a fraction. She licks her lips, blushing.
“Okay,” she says, her voice breathy.
I stare down into her eyes, liking the willingness I find there. “Okay.” There is a moment of real connection there, hanging there between us. A moment that reminds me of just how it felt to have her in my arms, how it felt to hear her quiet moans and throaty pleas. A moment where her gaze dips down to my mouth and I lean closer, sober as a j
udge, ready to take her breath away.
But then that moment stretches a bit too long and grows awkward. Cate glances away and I take a step back, clearing my throat.
“I’ll just go—” she starts.
“I should go—” I say.
We both give each other a bland smile. Turning, I hustle out of the room, climbing the compact staircase to get back to the upper deck.
Why are both of us so damn awkward together? I wonder as I head for the captain’s chair. I guess that some leftover feelings are involved on both our parts, and none of them are good.
It’s all bitterness that is pulling us down, threatening to make us sink. This mini-vacation will act as a test, telling me whether or not we can leave that bitterness in the past or whether we are just stuck in our ways.
I fire up the schooner, carefully guiding it out of the marina. For a while I am alone on the very top of the boat, up inside the steering cabin.
Setting the course for a nice, leisurely cruise on the Pacific Ocean, I hang out in the captain’s chair for a bit. That turns into hours, the sun getting brighter and then starting to slip from its place in the middle of the sky. I hear nothing from belowdecks, not a single peep.
Eventually though I start to worry about Cate, so I head back downstairs.
I find Cate at the top of the stairs, sitting and looking out at the water. “I see you found a shady spot.”
She surveys me, blocking out the sun with a hand. “I did.”
“Do you want to come tour the captain’s chair? Or are you hungry yet?” I ask.
“Why did you bring me out here?” she asks.
I shift my stance. “To thank you for handling my parents so well the other night. I already said that, I think.”
She narrows her eyes. “Anybody would have done the same.”
I smirk. “No, they wouldn’t have. A lot of girls would’ve turned tail and fled.” I glance out over the deck, to the gorgeous blue-green water. “It actually has me thinking that I should make sure to find someone that can handle my parents, when the time comes for me to settle down.”
She frowns, considering my words. “Is that what you’re looking for in a woman?”
I pause. Something tells me I should watch myself here.
“Well… yeah. In the broadest sense.” I cross my arms. “It’s a little like this. Three years ago, my friends and I went crazy and bought the building that would become the bar. So I try to bear that in mind when I’m meeting potential partners. I’m a successful bar owner. I’m rich. I’m handsome. I’m fit. I want someone who is all of that, but more.”
Her eyes narrow. “Oh, is that all?”
I shrug. “When it comes to marriage? Yes. I need someone who challenges me to do more… but at the same time, they have their own things going on. I don’t want somebody that is always waiting around to see what I’m up to. I don’t want to be tied to someone that stagnates.”
“I see.” Her mouth flattens. “What else do you see for your future?”
I furrow my brow. “That’s more uncertain. I know that I would like to own a few more bars. I want to travel a lot, preferably with my wife. I haven’t ever visited Asia or Australia, so they’re on my bucket list.” I pause, thinking. “And if I have children of my own, I’ll treat them a thousand times better than my parents ever treated me.”
Cate nods. “Those are respectable goals.”
I spread my hands wide. “What about you?”
She glances at me. Then her lips quirk. “Can I ask you for a favor?”
I lean against a ballast. “Sure. Shoot.”
She blushes but doesn’t look away. “Will you kiss me again? I just want to test something—”
That quick, I shush her. “Ssh. Come up here.”
She clambers up from where she’s sitting. Cate loses her balance for a second. I step forward and slide one hand around her waist.
“Don’t worry,” I murmur, looking down into her eyes. “I’ve got you.” She stares up at me, her cheeks flushed, her mouth parted.
In her eyes, desire is written as plain as day. She pushes up onto her tiptoes as I growl and press my lips to hers.
She tastes as incredible as I remembered, like mint and honey and a savage sort of lust.
Cate moans into my mouth and I flick my tongue against hers, my whole body tightening.
I need this, I realize. I need her, at this very moment in time.
Breaking off the kiss, I peer down at her, brushing a wisp of her dark hair back from her face. “Does that answer a question for you?”
She doesn’t answer. She just reaches for me again, her lips seeking mine, her curves feeling just right under my hands.
“Let’s go to the bedroom,” she whispers.
I pause, then lift her into my arms.
“Your wish is my command, princess.”
Moving toward the stairs, I kiss her again, stroking her tongue with mine.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Cate
Luca moves back to look at me, and I see the fire raging in his eyes. A fire that I feel too, a fire that could consume us both for all I care. His gaze drops to my lips, and I lean forward, lips parting. He moves to kiss me, his lips firm and demanding.
This is no peck on the lips. His tongue invades my mouth, sweeping and exploring. My tongue dances with his as I sigh and sink into it.
Curling my hand around the back of his neck, I reach out boldly with my free hand and grasp his hip. He allows it for a second, then breaks off the kiss and pushes me back onto the bed.
“Stay there,” he orders me.
He begins to undress, taking off his shoes, pulling his tee shirt off over his head. His torso ripples as he does, and I admire his light dusting of dark chest hair. He’s also got a trail of hair that leads down from his belly button and disappears into his waistband. His arms flex as he unzips his jeans, but he stops there.
I get a tantalizing peek into his unbuttoned pants as he comes closer, just for a second.
He moves onto the bed, kneeling at the end. He considers me for a moment, like he’s trying to decide what to do with me. “Come here.”
I shiver as I move closer, feeling like I’m under a microscope. He narrows his eyes and runs a single fingertip across my collarbone, down under the remaining strap of my slip. He draws the strap off of my shoulder, and then rolls the top of the slip down until my pink nipples are exposed to the air.
“I’ve imagined this a hundred times,” he says absently, his eyes fixed on my nipples. “But there is no comparison to the way you actually taste.”
He leans down, cupping one breast and pulling the nipple to his mouth. I immediately groan at the sensation of his hot, wet mouth on my flesh. He rolls it around with his tongue, then bites it very carefully, almost like he’s testing me.
“Ahh!” I gasp. “You can do it harder.”
He smirks, looking up at me. “Permission noted.”
Then he elbows me aside, lying down. I look at him a little quizzically, but in the next second he lifts me onto his body, so that I’m straddling him. He angles me so that he’s planted face first between my breasts, and my bare ass is in the air. I’m a little shocked at how easily he picked me up, but he clearly has other things on his mind.
He licks the skin between my breasts with his tongue, then pulls one nipple into his mouth. I moan as he bites it and sucks it, alternating pain and pleasure for me. His hands wander down to my hips, bunching up my slip. He runs his hands over my ass, groaning when he finds that I am bare underneath the slip.
He releases my breast with a wet pop, looking up at me. “Fuck. You’re not wearing any panties. Do you know how much that turns me on?”
I blush, slowly shaking my head. “Uh uh.”
He pushes my hips down until my pussy is pressed directly against his cock through his unbuttoned jeans. We both groan as he bucks up against me. He runs his hand through my hair, fisting it, and uses his hand on my hip to guide me just
where he wants me.
I gasp silently as he lifts his hips and bears down on me, his denim-clad cock almost touching my clit. He starts kissing and licking my neck, using my hair as a tool to move my head to his liking. He sucks the spot where my neck meets my shoulder, bucking his hips up, and my eyes roll back into my head.
“Ahh!” I cry. “Luca—”
He’s not satisfied with that, though. He releases me, pushing me off of his lap. I’m left breathing hard. He gets up and starts to peel his jeans off.
“Clothes off,” he commands. I instantly obey, starving for more of what I know he’s going to give me. Lifting my arms over my head, I raise the slip up and over my head.
When I get the slip off, I’m taken aback for a moment by the image of Luca, completely naked. I’ve seen it before, but it’s every bit as stunning to see him nude this time as it was the last. He’s all muscle, his cock juts proudly out… and right now, he’s looking at me like he’s going to consume me.
He climbs onto the bed, dragging me down to lie beneath him, and he starts kissing my neck again. I wrap my arms and legs around him, pulling him closer. I can feel his hardness against my thigh, long and hot and throbbing. He sucks at my neck, my breasts, and then he moves lower.
I don’t know if I can even handle his mouth on my clit, but he passionately kisses my thighs and my knees. His scruff tickles in the best way. I open my legs wide for him, spreading my thighs. He makes a growling sound as he kisses my clit, and my whole body is suddenly alive with electric sensation.
“Oh my god!” I cry out, my hands burying in his hair.
Already, I’m bucking my hips against his mouth, desperate for more. He closes his mouth around my clit and sucks on it in long pulls, each one sending ripples of sensation up my spine. My toes curl as he brings his hand up to my pussy and introduces one thick finger. He ever so slowly pushes his finger inside as he circles my clit with his tongue.