A gust of wind tugged her hair before she enclosed herself. Why did the weather have to be so nasty today of all days? The storm should pass soon. If not, she’d ask him to take her back to shore. After all, he could go to Crisfield anytime.
Several minutes later, his footsteps passed her hiding place. Her hands clenched when the engine started, rumbling the floor. She had only minutes to cancel her crazy plan. The familiar mantle of seasickness settled around her shoulders, but she shook it off.
The boat lurched forward, slapping against each wave and pushing her seasickness to a new dimension. She’d meant to hide longer, but her stomach refused to wait. Gritting her teeth, she reached over her head to push up the lid. It must have latched into place because she couldn’t move it.
Heaven help her. She was locked inside!
This had to be the dumbest thing she’d ever done. She pounded her fists overhead, hoping Henry would hear her over the engine. At last, the lid flipped open, revealing his surprised face.
“Sadie! What the heck are you doing in there?”
“I’ll answer later. Get me out of here. Quick!”
He pulled her out with strong arms, but she had no time to admire the muscles under his jacket. Or how fine his lower half looked in denim jeans. Instead, she rushed to the side of the boat and got sick in front of the man she’d hoped would desire her. Fat chance of that now. When she was done, tears leaked from her closed eyes.
From what Pearl had told her, she and Caleb had had such a romantic boat trip. This was hell at sea.
Henry handed her a rag and a canteen of water. “Will you please tell me what you’re doing here?”
“I wanted to get away.” She wiped her mouth and sipped a bit of water. “Spend time with you.”
“We could have done that on land. You’re the one who insisted on keeping things strictly business.”
Her head lightened, and the raindrops swirled before her eyes. Oh God. She felt sick again.
“Come up to the bow with me and watch the horizon. It’ll help.”
When he took her arm, she stumbled along after him on the slick deck until they arrived at the wheel. Unlike his cottage and desk at work, his boat was surprisingly tidy.
As she gripped the wet railing, the sky lightened with sunrise to a gunmetal gray, but why didn’t the heavy, dark clouds go away? Henry slipped a waterproof poncho over her head and shoulders. He wore one, too. Her lower lip quivered with cold and nerves.
“I-I needed to see what it was like out here, outside the Johnson rowboat. See why the sea m-makes you so happy.”
Sickly heat prickled across her back despite the cold rain. The sea was definitely not making her happy right now.
“If you wanted a boat ride, I could have taken you out for a short one on a nicer day. I’m going to Crisfield.”
“I know.”
He slapped the wheel. “Damn it, Sadie. Because I have to take you back to Oyster Island, I won’t make it there in time to beat the nor’easter.”
Nor’easter?
“I’ll lose the whole deal on those seed oysters.”
She clenched the railing hard enough to bend it. “Don’t cancel your trip because of me.”
“Sadie, your face is grayer than the sky.”
Well, at least she’d get him and the sea out of her system, literally. After this, if she survived, she planned to move to Iowa, miles away from water.
“I’m going to tough it out,” she said.
“All right. How about some tips for getting your sea legs?”
She tried to nod, but it made her head swim.
When he gripped her hips, good tingles replaced the bad.
“Move with the water. Accept it and don’t fight it.”
Like our attraction?
“What else?” she asked, still feeling sicker than a dog.
“Hang your wrist over the railing.” He gripped her hand and arranged her arm. “If it doesn’t work, I’ll have you drive.”
Then he stroked her forehead and fed her some crackers from a pouch in his shirt pocket. “A little something in your stomach will help.”
What a caring man. Buck had never been this tender with her. It almost didn’t matter whether he desired her or not. She could bask in this gentle companionship forever. Just being near him made her breathe slower, more at peace.
Even though his advice did make her feel a little better, he still let her drive the boat. He stood behind her and placed his hands over hers on the wheel. She could hardly believe it when warm desire filled her body.
When they reached the Chesapeake Bay, he let go of the wheel. Was she actually driving? The sea opened up before her like the shell of a giant oyster. She could steer this thing anywhere she pleased. It was the same thrill she’d experienced when Henry had let her run Rockfield’s for the first time.
The rain had even let up. Her excitement level accelerated when he rested his hands on her hips. Through Leroy’s old clothes, a hard ridge of erection grazed her backside. Her core clenched with need. It had been much too long since they’d touched each other.
She was starting to like the sea…
“By the way,” he said in her ear, “there are no rules out here on the water.”
“What does that mean?” she asked, steering around a buoy.
His fingers drifted to the front of her trousers, probing and stroking.
“It means your rule about
strictly business
doesn’t apply here.”
Like a lightning bolt, a thrill shot from the top of her head to the ends of her toes. She didn’t answer. Couldn’t, as he massaged her cleft through the fabric of her trousers. Scalding juices eased from her cunt, competing with the rain-slick deck.
“Are these your brother’s clothes?” he asked.
“Mmm-hmm.”
“Well, you fill them out a damn sight better than he did.”
“Why are you doing this, Henry?” The boat gyrated as she squirmed, wrenching the wheel.
“Because I want you, Sadie. I’ve wanted you since the day I met you.”
“I find that hard to believe. You’ve been away from the office so much, I barely see you anymore.”
He moved his hand to her shoulder and squeezed. “How else was I supposed to keep things strictly business? If we’d spent more time with each other after hours, I would have been on you, over you, and in you. The last thing I meant to do was risk hurting you again.”
“I appreciate that.”
She had a feeling he’d do just about anything she asked of him. Even though she was a sick nuisance at the beginning of the trip, he’d let her stay. Taken care of her.
She was falling in love with Henry Rockfield.
Unable to wait, she pulled his fingers back to her cleft. He growled in response, massaging her with quicker, deeper strokes. She gripped the wheel harder. If he kept doing that, they might end up in Maine.
“Someone could see us,” she protested.
“Who else is out here in this miserable weather?”
He stepped to her side and then faced her, taking the wheel. His forelock of hair danced over his forehead in the breeze. It mesmerized her so much, she didn’t realize what he planned to do to her until his mouth seized hers.
His lips were hard and soft at the same time. They tasted salty, hot, and male. Nothing had ever felt so good. His beard stubble scraped her chin, stoking a fire in her belly. Even the raindrops dripping off his cap filled her with tingles.
He broke away periodically to steer, but in between he kissed her, long and hard. Each swipe of his tongue across hers wiped away the painful memory of their ruined date and Natalie’s ghost.
Because one of them had to drive the boat, their passion couldn’t go any further. It was enough. Henry kissed and caressed her like he truly desired her. Anything more would complicate their lives.
His fingers dug into her backside, hungry and possessive. Her hips danced with the waves, pulling her hot, wet panties across her aching folds. The throb of the engine vibrated up each leg, straight to her clitoris. Her thighs trembled, desperate to spread and guide him into her soaked depths.
“I can smell your musk through the salt air.” He ground against her. “Do you have any idea how much I want to fuck you right now?”
She moaned into the wind. Her nipples hardened, stiff enough to bore holes through Leroy’s old shirt.
“We have to drive the boat. Besides, I’m sure you can find someone prettier and smaller when you decide to be with a woman again.”
“If you belittle yourself one more time, I’ll throw you overboard.” He grabbed her hand and placed it over his erection. “Besides, I’m not exactly small myself.”
Both her fingers and belly clenched as the craft crested a wave. A wild look burned from his dark-blue eyes. With his wind-tossed, damp hair, he resembled a sea god. He definitely wasn’t small. His tall, muscular frame must weigh at least two hundred pounds, and the bulge in her hand wasn’t tiny, either. It would fill her up and then some.
She needed to see him completely nude someday, as he’d seen her.
To her surprise, he unbuttoned his trousers, releasing his rigid cock. When he rubbed it on her thigh, she trapped it under her palm. The pink flesh burned away the cold in her fingers. Hot fluid leaked down the shaft, lubricating her strokes.
“Oh, Sadie. God, Sadie,” he moaned, thrusting harder. “I’ve got to have you.”
His entire body bucked so hard, she feared they’d capsize.
Next, he unbuttoned her trousers and tugged them down. Her skin tingled with goose bumps in the cool air. She felt even more naked here than she had lying on his bed. Dare she surrender a second time?
“Henry, what are you doing?”
Instead of answering, he peeled off his poncho and draped it around their waists. Her pulse sped up. The man was out of control, and she loved it. Gasping, she gripped the steering wheel. He’d distracted her so much, they zigzagged toward the shore instead of staying in the middle of the channel.
He palmed her buttocks and dragged the scorching head of his gorgeous cock across her. She figured he planned to rub himself against her again. Fine with her. His arousal excited her so much, she was a breath away from climaxing, too.
She moaned when the round head of his bare shaft slid across her folds.
“I think you’d better stop now, Henry!”
“Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted this?” He groaned, his voice throbbing through her bones like the boat engine. “How long we’ve both wanted it?”
The head nudged her clitoris, massaging it back and forth.
“Henry!” Sobbing, she clenched the wheel. “You have to stop. For one thing, you’re not wearing a—”
He slid all the way home before she got out the rest of her sentence. For several long, exquisite moments, neither of them uttered a word. His body felt so perfect inside of hers, she could die from pleasure. Her core swelled, cradling him, conforming to his shape.
She could hardly believe she’d felt so horrible at the beginning of the trip.
“We shouldn’t—” She gasped when a rolling wave pulled his penis out and drove it back inside her again.
“Henry,” she whimpered.
“Hang onto the wheel, Sadie,” he ground out.
She gripped it until the metal nearly sliced her palm open. Because he’d just gone wild inside her, pummeling her with quick, forceful strokes. The deck beneath her feet bucked up and down, driving him harder and deeper inside her.
He wants me. He wants me…
The words flew through her mind while excruciating pleasure filled her limbs with more tension than a power line.
Never let this end.
They hit a large swell. While the deck and her stomach dropped, his cock lunged upward, impaling her. He’d hooked her like a prize fish. She couldn’t get loose and had no desire to.
He bit down on the lobe of her ear. “Come with me.”
Gasping for breath, she bore down, hard enough for him to pierce her soul and every barrier she’d ever put up in front of him and the world. His strong fingers nestled in her nether hairs, massaging her clitoris. He brushed the tip then its length, and finally squeezed the entire bundle between his thumb and forefinger.
The boat jerked as her grip slipped on the wheel. Deep, dark waves seemed to rise from the deck, pulling her into their passionate depths. Her womb contracted, and she cried. Behind her, Henry jerked with a hoarse cry as he pulled out of her.
They looked down at the pearly puddle beside their feet at the same time. He inhaled deeply and arranged his trousers.
“I didn’t bring any condoms,” he said, taking the wheel from her. “I didn’t think I’d need them.”
She pulled her trousers up and fastened them, too. “I tried to stop you.”
“But I was unstoppable.” The fear she’d seen in his eyes that night in his cottage returned. “How could I have done something so careless?”
“It’ll be all right.” She touched his face. “Just don’t regret it. Please.”
He kissed her. When he pulled away, his blue eyes were clear and peaceful, not glazed with wildness.
“I don’t regret it.”
Her shoulders sagged with relief. Even if he rejected her later, their encounter was worth it. She would remember this day for the rest of her life. Against the backdrop of a scary, stormy sea, a man had wanted her. Really wanted her.
“Of course, Pearl and Caleb went to a nice, sunny beach, and I’m sure she didn’t throw up.”
He grasped her chin. “We’re not Pearl and Caleb. We’re Sadie and Henry.”
She smiled, liking the sound of that.
“You may not look the way you’d like.” He kissed her again. “Though I think you’re beautiful. And I’m not too smart. Can’t ever seem to do anything right.”
“Now who’s putting himself down?” She glared at him. “Maybe I should throw
you
overboard.”
“That might be a bit drastic.” He pulled her hand across his firm buttocks. “I wouldn’t mind a spanking, though.”
A spanking?
For some reason, the thought of it sent an aftershock through her core.
“Henry, watch out!”
She barely saw the oncoming boat they headed toward. Luckily, it hadn’t come upon them earlier. Once he’d righted their course, she felt the need to right their course, too. They needed a plan to navigate them out of this frightening quicksand of pleasure and emotion.