“Are you truly nervous?”
“A little,” she admitted.
I was happy she could admit her fear. The first two encounters with her made me feel a little less than. She seemed to have it all together. She had a very confident air about her. She wasn’t perfect. “It’s going to be okay. I’m good at what I do. I’ve been out on the boat a hundred times.”
“Okay, I trust you,” she said.
“Great. Would you like the grand tour now or when we are out on the water?”
I shrugged. “Now is good.”
I thought so as well. I wanted her to be comfortable. “All right, we’ll start up here.”
I showed her around the boat before taking her below. There was a small kitchen, living area, and a single bedroom. By the time we made our way back upstairs, she seemed a little more relaxed. I was curious as to why she wanted to go on the boat if she was afraid of the open water.
“Go ahead and have a seat,” I told her. “Get comfy.”
I started the engine and sat down. I navigated out of the marina and headed for the open water. Thankfully, the water wasn’t too clogged with other boats. Once we were out at a comfortable distance from the shore, I set the anchor and moved to sit down with her.
“This is nice,” she said.
“Are you feeling okay?” I asked her.
She smiled. “I am. I was a little apprehensive, but this isn’t bad at all. And you showed me the lifejackets, so I’m good. I can float.”
“Good to know. I’m going to grab a drink. Would you like a glass of wine? Water? Something else?”
“A glass of wine would be very nice.”
“I’ll be right back.”
I went downstairs and quickly opened one of the bottles of wine I had brought along for the trip. I poured two glasses, grabbed the cheese tray I’d picked up from the deli, and walked back upstairs. I handed her one of the glasses and put the tray on the small table.
“This is so relaxing,” she commented.
“It is, especially when there aren’t a lot of other boats out here. Sometimes, it can get really packed. Other boaters think it’s a great place to party out here. They blast their music, scream, and just kind of ruin the tranquility for the rest of us.”
She sipped her wine. “It sucks when a few bad apples ruin it for everyone.”
“I agree. And it is just stupid. Unsafe. Reckless.”
“Gee, tell me how you really feel,” she said with a laugh.
I crossed one leg over the other and relaxed into the comfortable couch. I did enjoy a nice evening out on the boat. I realized in that moment, it was even better with a little company. “Are you busy planning another party?”
I smiled. “Always. There is always another one.”
“Any more shipping parties?”
“No. If I do another with a ship theme, it is going to be all in and it will not be for a shipping company.”
“I hope you didn’t take what I said seriously. I’m the last person you want to take party advice from.”
She pushed up her sunglasses. I did the same. “It was true. You were being honest. Brutally honest.”
I cringed. “I tend to be a little tactless.”
“It’s okay,” she assured me. “It was deserved.”
“How come you have never been out on a boat?” I asked. “You said you lived in the area all your life. It’s kind of hard to avoid the water.”
She shrugged. “We didn’t have a boat when I was growing up and it really never appealed to me. I like the sand beneath my feet. I like solid footing.”
I slowly nodded. “I understand. I’m sorry if I pressured you into coming out.”
“No!” she said, sitting forward. “Absolutely not. I wanted to come out. I think I kind of pushed my way onto the boat.”
“I’m glad to have you aboard.”
“I’m happy to be aboard,” she said with a smile.
A cool ocean breeze lifted her hair. I wanted to know if it felt as silky as it looked. I turned my gaze away before she could see what I was thinking about. The tank she wore was tight, hugging her ample breasts. It was hard not to be that guy. The guy that stared at a woman’s breasts instead of her eyes.
“Do you work in an office or do you work from home?” she asked.
“I do have an office,” I answered. “I have a staff that runs things.”
“Do you work out of it?”
“Sometimes,” I answered truthfully. “I don’t get involved with much of the actual business side of things. I have a finance guy, an assistant, and a handful of other employees that take care of all that. Mostly, I take meetings, I design, and I decide how much a design is worth. I can do that from my office at home. I get a lot more work done at home than in the office.”
“I get that,” she said. “I like to do a lot of work from home or a restaurant or my friend’s bar.”
“A bar?” I questioned. “I didn’t take you for a barfly.”
She softly giggled. “I’m not a barfly. It’s about the only time I can talk to my friend, Nelle. She works nights. I work days.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Why don’t you show me how to drive this thing?” she asked.
“You don’t just drive a man’s boat,” I told her.
She burst into laughter. “I won’t drive it. How about I steer?”
“It’s like driving a car without pedals.”
She got to her feet. “Show me.”
I got up and walked to the driver’s seat. I sat down and patted my leg. She raised one eyebrow before smiling and taking a seat on my leg. Her perfect, round ass settled against my thigh. It was hard to focus on what I was actually supposed to be doing.
I grabbed her hand and put it on the wheel before taking her other hand and putting it on the throttle. “Ready?”
I pushed the button to pull up the anchor. Once ready, I showed her how to apply the throttle and we slowly started to move forward. She squealed with delight once we started moving. We headed farther out to sea before she decided she had enough.
“Why don’t we settle here for a bit?” I told her.
She stood up from my lap. “That was amazing. I feel so alive.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. Would you like another glass of wine?”
She smiled and nodded. “Absolutely.”
I moved to grab our empty glasses and headed downstairs. She followed me down into the kitchen. I opened the wine and began to pour. The entire time, she stared at me. Her heated gaze was going to be my undoing. I truly never meant to take Charlie’s advice, but if she kept looking at me like she wanted to eat me, I was going to push her up against that wall and pound myself into her.
I put down the wine bottle and looked at her, really looked at her. I didn’t hide my desire. Her lips parted, her pink tongue darting out to lick them as if she suddenly had a very dry mouth. I could fix that. I took a step toward her. She made no move to escape.
I paused, inches from her, giving her the chance to move. She didn’t. Her chin went up and she stared directly into my eyes. I saw the same heat reflected there. The tension between us was thick with need. There was no fighting what was happening between us. I waited a single breath before I reached for the back of her head.