I take in the man’s silver hair and note that he’s always quick with a smile. When we met a few months ago, I instantly liked him. He’s around my dad’s age and is like a father figure to everyone.
“Nate.” Jeremy, the deckhand, greets me as he unties the boat. Albert heads off to pilot the craft. I stand portside, and as we head deeper out to sea, my thoughts go to Kira. I wasn’t lying when I said I didn’t do sleepovers, but it was late when she came to me, and we are living under the same roof. Yeah, that’s the only reason. I’m sure of it.
Fuck, maybe if I keep telling myself that I’ll start to believe it.
When the boat comes to a stop, I get straight to work gathering the traps. Albert takes measure of the lobsters, while a couple of the deckhands and I refill the mesh bait bags with herring. We continue to check traps, talk about work concerns, and soon enough the day is gone and my muscles are aching. I love being on the water, but I don’t get out enough, and by the end of the day, my body always feels the strain. The sun is close to setting by the time we get back to the dock.
“Great catches today, eh?” Alberts says as he looks over his haul.
“You bet.” I put my hand on his shoulder. “Thanks for letting me come along.”
“Listen, Faith is having a Halloween party on the thirtieth. Lots of food and drinks. Why don’t you come along?”
He’s talked about his wife Faith on numerous occasions, and I’ve yet to meet her. “Do I have to dress up?”
“Only if you want to.”
“I don’t want to,” I say, and he laughs. “What time?”
“Seven good?”
“Perfect. See you then,” I say. My body is too sore and far too tired to head back to the office to change, so I drive straight to the B&B. The kitchen is empty when I get there, but lingering aromas of dinner reach my nostrils. Had Kira eaten with the others? Had she eaten at all?
“Hey,” she says quietly, coming around the corner, and I ignore the way my pulse jackhammers in my throat at the mere sight of her. It’s insane how much I thought about her today, how I couldn’t wait for the hours to pass so I could be back here with her.
My gaze drops from her pretty face to take in her baggy jeans and loose-fitting AC/DC T-shirt. How can she make that look sexy? I suppose she could wear a burlap bag and I’d still want her.
“Hey, yourself.” She leans against the doorjamb, her face relaxed, her eyes soft, and for one awkward moment, I’m not sure whether to kiss her or not. I want to, there is no doubt there. I want to cross the room, drag her sweet body against mine, and kiss the hell out of her. But I’m in my gear, reek of fish, and I pretty much stick to one-night stands, so this is all new to me.
“Where is everyone?” I ask.
“I think they’re all gone to the Anchor.”
I don’t tell her it’s probably to put together some insane plan to save the B&B. “Did you eat?” I ask.
She nods and her eyes widen in delight. “Sam made shrimp pasta. It was delicious. You’re all good cooks.” The sudden image of her helping Sam in the kitchen, stirring sauce together, fills me with an insane amount of jealousy. Ridiculous, right?
She sticks out her flat stomach. “I’m going to be ten pounds heavier when I finally leave here. There’s a plate in the fridge for you.”
I roll my heavy fishing coat off my shoulder and wince when the muscles in my neck tighten.
“You okay?” she asks.
“Just a lot of heavy lifting today. I was on McMurtry’s boat.”
“McMurtry. That’s Amber’s last name. Are they related?”
“Everyone in this town is related,” I say, and she laughs.
“I met Amber’s mother today. She stopped by after the realtor left and invited me to her Halloween party. That was nice of her.”
“Albert invited me today, too.”
Her eyes light. “Looks like I’ll be seeing you there.”
“Or we go together. Do you have any idea how bald your tires are?”
She glances out the window and frowns. “I guess it’s pointless to hope for no snow in the next month?”
“Most likely.” I unhook my suspenders and peel off my pants.
“Are you going to dress up for the party?” she asks.
“My days of dressing up are over.”
“Oh.” She looks down, a crease in her forehead.
“What?”
“We never really celebrated Halloween when I was young. Mom didn’t want me eating all the sugar.”
Jesus, what kind of upbringing did she have? My father was absent, and my brothers were douchebags, but we ran around the neighborhood, collecting our fair share of candy. Her folks kind of piss me off.
“You should dress up,” I say. “They open a Halloween store in town this time of year. You might have seen it?”
She nods. “I have. I’ll think about it.”
“I’m going to need a shower. Let me just hang these in the laundry room. No one needs to smell them all night.” I kick off my boots and carry my gear to the back room. “How did you make out with the realtor?” I call out.
“I’ll tell you about it over dinner. How about I heat your plate for you while you go get cleaned up?” she says.
My stomach tightens at her thoughtfulness. “Domestic now, are you?” I tease, but it’s strange to think how easily I could get used to this setup. I poke my head back into the kitchen and get a perfect, unobstructed view of her sweet ass when she bends to take my plate of food from the fridge. She turns, but I’m far too slow to react. My head lifts, and I catch the small grin on her face, the spark of fire in her eyes.
“Like what you see, Nate?”
“Yeah, I fucking do.” I take a step toward her. “I want to kiss you.”
Heat moves into her cheeks, and her lips part in invitation. I brush my lips over hers, and a small sigh escapes her mouth. “I promise you a better one, once I’m cleaned up. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Don’t go anywhere.”
“Bossy-pants,” she says quietly, and I hurry up the stairs. I strip down fast and get into a hot shower, soaping every inch of my skin and taking my hard cock into my hand. I give a few good tugs and rinse off. I dress and resist the urge to ride the bannister to the bottom to get there as quickly as I can.
In the kitchen, Kira is standing by the microwave. Her appreciative gaze rakes the length of me, and from her smile it’s easy to tell she likes what she sees, too.