Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 99607 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 498(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99607 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 498(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
“You’re so beautiful.” He dove toward my neck, sucking and biting, sending off buzzes and pops across my skin.
Threading my fingers through his hair, encouraging the press of his skin against mine, I arched into him, wanting more, more, more.
At that moment I didn’t care if the rest of the crew filed past us or Captain Moss tried to interrupt. All I wanted was Hayden Wolf’s mouth on mine, his hands roaming my body, his erection pressed against my stomach.
Suddenly, he jerked away and took a step back. “I won’t be able to stop if I touch you any longer,” he said and blew out a breath.
I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth, feeling a little wanton at being able to drive such a self-controlled man to the edge.
He steadied his breathing, shook his head and took my hand, pulling me under the archway again and resuming our walk back up the hill.
His pace was quicker than before, as if we were no longer wandering and now had a purpose or a destination.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“To my hotel. We’re going to have dinner. You’re going to need your strength.”
“I am?” I asked, jogging a couple of steps to keep up with him.
“You most certainly are, Avery Walker, because I’m going to be keeping you up all night.”
A warm shiver ran down my spine. He wanted me just as much as I wanted him. There was no point in pretending. No longer any chance of holding back with this man.
I was off duty, the crew was miles away and I just wanted some time free of worrying about the consequences of anything. A few hours of Hayden before he went back to being forbidden fruit. A few moments that were about me and my wants, needs and desires.
Twenty-Two
Hayden
I didn’t usually do this—take a woman to dinner, flirt, imagine her naked and clamped around my cock. But I was enjoying this buildup, the talking, the way she looked at me as if I were more fascinating than this beautiful place we were in. Of course, I’d noticed how attractive Avery was as soon as we’d met on the main deck a month ago, but the pull toward her had grown almost without me noticing. She was clever, good at her job, and perceptive. She was funny, feisty and vulnerable, and clearly devoted to her family. She also had an incredible arse, the tiniest waist and a killer smile.
I liked her inside and out. I wasn’t sure I’d ever thought that about a woman before.
My non-professional relationships with women were usually a lot simpler. I’d meet them in a bar, on the tube, or coming out of a building—it didn’t matter—and then the clock started ticking. How long would it take before we fucked? It was usually less than an hour, it rarely involved dinner and never included handholding. Then there were the two or three women I had established relationships with—they’d call me or I’d call them when I just needed to fuck. In either case, for me, it was all about the physical.
There was no doubt that every part of my body wanted every part of Avery’s, but I was enjoying her mind too. Her laugh, the stories of the rich and famous on the yachts she worked on, the look of hope in her eyes when she told me her father was doing well.
“How’s your brother doing with your dad being sick?” I asked as we sat opposite each other on the dining terrace of my hotel.
She glanced away from me and out at the darkening sky. “Good, I think. He has a new physical therapist and he’s made progress with her.”
“You said he had an accident. Was it a sporting injury?”
She blinked slowly. “Not really. We were stupid.” She paused, and I didn’t fill the silence. “We were swimming in the river. All the neighborhood kids would go every summer. You’d get all ages, from all different friendship groups, the cool kids mixing with the geeks, you know?” Her gaze flitted back to me for a second before resting on the sky.
“We did it every year. Every now and then we’d get chased away by the landowner, but we always went back—it was too much fun.” She shrugged. “Anyway, one afternoon we went down to the river; we’d swing on this rope attached to a tree and jump off into the river. I fought to go before Michael. I played the older sister card.” She shook her head. “I should have been looking out for him, not competing with him.”
Her eyes didn’t leave the sky, not because she was transfixed by the darkening view, but because she was remembering, or trying not to.
“Then it was his turn and . . . he let go in the right place, just like all the times before. We all ignored the no-swimming signs. But I was older. I should have followed the rules. Kept him safe.” Her words came out fast and desperate and then stopped abruptly.