Soon, he slid out from under her, sitting her up, pulling her forward—this was more like it, she thought, taking charge, directing operations. All thought fled when he knelt in front of her and made love to her with his mouth.
Too sensitive to bear, she had nowhere to hide. Her hands plunged into his hair. She arched her back, fighting for breath that refused to come and then roller-coasted over her with a low keening sound that went on and on.
When it was over, she attempted to relax her stiff fingers from his hair, but it wasn’t easy. “Yes,” she said and her voice sounded a million miles away. The boat rocked gently on its mooring. “This. This is what I want.”
Nick sat back and pulled his shirt over his head. Sated yet burning for more, she watched him strip and take care of protection. Then he pushed her down on the couch, moving purposefully over her and looked into her eyes.
“No,” he said, matter-of-factly. “It’s not all you want.” He nuzzled her lips before raising his head again, his gaze triumphant.
She felt his tip nudge her, realized he was right.
“You just don’t know it yet,” he said in a voice that told her with certainty that the lesson was about to begin.
Her eyes flew wide as his hands moved up her forearms, pushing her arms above her head, lacing their fingers together.
She was tired of wondering and wanting. She just wanted him inside her. “Nick…”
He obliged. The blistering invasion, slow and strong, deep and relentless, filled her so utterly it forced the air from her lungs. He stilled, tense as a board, his hands pressing hers down into the sofa, forcing her to look at him. They gazed at each other for long seconds while he pulsed inside her, and Jordan understood. Never again could she not take this seriously. Never again could she think it was just sex.
Not just sex. Sex of the mind and body and soul. As he moved, slowly withdrawing and then sliding home again, imprisoning her eyes, she forgot everything but the wonderful warm rush of emotion that accompanied this act, this time.
Countless Fridays, countless orgasms, but never a bond so deep before. It shone from his eyes, so strong she turned her head but he wouldn’t let her. It pumped through his body till she felt it in her womb and in the pulse beating through his fingers as they gripped hers. I want more, his eyes said as he moved, each deep thrust shattering her fears. “More,” she answered him, exhilaration bursting through when he smiled down, warming her heart.
Drunk on it, she wrapped her legs around his waist as he plunged with consuming intent. The pace and intensity got crazy, the flashpoint poised, hissing, and then boiled over in a rush. He choked out her name once as she moaned her satisfaction. And she knew nothing could ever be desired again. The rush slowly ebbed. The thud of their calming breath and the occasional sound of small waves lapping the hull was all she could hear.
Still looking into her eyes, Nick slid his arms around her and held her, for the first time ever.
Ten
Jordan awoke slowly, in her customary manner. It took a few seconds to realize she wasn’t alone, quite a few more to replay the night’s events in her mind and think about how she felt, waking next to Nick.
They’d enjoyed many sexual adventures in the past, but last night easily qualified as the best night of her life. It was almost like a real date, spending the day together, making dinner together, talking. And then, the most emotionally-charged lovemaking she’d ever experienced. How could she even think of holding anything back? He wouldn’t let her.
Nick stirred behind her with a contented growl. Jordan sighed, her erotic memories scattering. Moving an inch at a time, she began to edge toward the side of the bed but hadn’t gotten far when his warm arm clamped around her middle.
“Morning,” he mumbled. Jordan mumbled a similar response.
“Where do you think you’re going?” He shifted closer, his big warm body enfolding her back like a heated cloak.
She half-turned, craning her neck to see him. “Bathroom. I need to clean my teeth.”
Nick lifted up on one elbow, blinking owlishly.
She squeezed her eyes shut. “You’re not allowed to look at me until I’ve got my face on.”
He tapped her on the nose until she looked at him. “I’ve seen you with the green goop, remember?”
Oh, God, how could she forget?
“You, Jordan Lake,” he said gallantly, “don’t need makeup to look beautiful.”
She smiled into his eyes, thinking she could get used to waking up next to a sleepy, unshaven, tousled man whispering sweet nothings in her ear. But within seconds, his gaze sharpened and flared with heat. He shifted his body, imprisoning her under him and she felt his arousal, thick and hot against her thigh. The messages to her brain had nothing to do with vanity now.
How long before this wanes? she wondered, running her hands over his long, broad back and thickly-muscled arms? With one look, like the flick of a switch, he turned her on instantly. Her body responded, quickening, moistening. Would the time come soon when they could look at each other and resist succumbing to the most urgent and primitive desire?
Nick’s hand slid under the small of her back, lifting and angling her hips, then bent and sipped at the corners of her mouth. She kissed back and decided to enjoy it while it lasted. “While we can both still walk,” she murmured against his chin. He pulled back an inch, his eyes questioning. In response, she hugged him tighter, welcoming his advance, his slow, slick invasion. Welcoming him home.
An hour later, she was in the galley making coffee when she heard strange noises outside. Peeking out the porthole window, she saw her runaway sitting on the wooden jetty, hugging her knees to her chest and sniffing loudly.
“Letitia!” Jordan rushed out and sank down beside her. The poor girl sobbed with relief, nearly hysterical with nerves and cold. She wore scruffy dungarees, sneakers with no socks and only a thin hoodie.
Nick responded to her calls and they helped the teen aboard and wrapped her up in a duvet. It may have been late spring, but the sun hadn’t made it over the valley yet and the air was crisp and cool. Nick set about making breakfast while Jordan sat with the girl, rubbing her frozen hands between hers.
Letitia had sneaked under the tarpaulin of a utility as it boarded the inter-island ferry in Wellington. She then walked from Picton to Anakiwa and linked up with the Queen Charlotte Track to get here, which had taken “at least a whole day.” She’d eaten the biscuits and made cups of black tea from the provisions the Working Bee left in the old lodge kitchen. But the cold was her enemy.
“There was nothing to sleep in, not even any old curtains.”
The Working Bee had disposed of all the moldy old drapes that had hung in the lodge for decades.
When Nick and Jordan docked, the girl hid, determined not to be discovered, but another night alone in the cold had changed her mind.
“Why didn’t you answer our calls? You must have heard us.” It occurred to Jordan that while she and Nick were making love here on the boat last night, this poor girl was frozen and alone. “You should have come to the jetty and called me.”
Letitia wolfed down eggs and toast like she hadn’t eaten in a week. Then Jordan tucked her up in the bed in the second cabin. “Poor kid,” she said to Nick as they prepared to set off back to Wellington. “She just wants some attention. She’s the youngest of six. Her older brothers are in and out of jail and her sister has leukemia. Her parents spend all their time either at the hospital or bailing the boys out. No one has time for Letitia.”
Jordan couldn’t comprehend that, coming from a one-child family, the apple of her parents’ eye. She resolved to keep a much closer eye on the girl from now on.
“Told you so,” Nick said lightly.
“What?”
“Sounds to me like that family needs a decent holiday, spend some quality time with their kids…some-where nice and remote with fishing and tramping…”
Jordan felt her face color in pleased embarrassment. He liked her idea after all. That meant a lot, even though it was no longer hers to develop.
They made good time on another amazingly calm day. After a couple of hours, Letitia appeared and helped Jordan cobble together enough leftovers to make some sandwiches. Then they sat out of the sun in the stateroom, leaving Nick on deck. Since neither had gotten much sleep the night before, it wasn’t long before they stretched out on the sofas and their chatting dwindled to sleepy sighs.
Jordan awoke an hour later and the city of Wellington sprawled on the horizon. Letitia was on deck, steering the powerful boat, supervised by Nick. Jordan smiled at the nice picture the two of them made. It was kind of Nick to spend time connecting with the troubled teen.
“Letitia is going to talk to Russ about letting me join the Outreach team,” Nick told her, as if it was something he’d always wanted to do. Jordan grinned, thinking if only he knew what he was getting himself into.
“Nick knows some people at the Marina,” Letitia enthused, “and he’s going to speak to them about teaching us water sports.”
“I believe I said water safety,” Nick cut in, reaching across her to nudge the wheel slightly.
Jordan had never seen him so relaxed and at ease. His teeth gleamed in his tanned face and his eyes shone when they looked at her. He was so breathtakingly handsome. She imagined drawing a frame around him, depicting with fine detail everything a man should look like, should be.