The Devil She Knew(20)

"I'm sorry, Nate." She was chewing her lip. "It's not flat, is it?"

"We'll find out in a minute."         

     



 

Her stricken expression wrenched his heart, and he reached out to pull  her close. "Hey," he said gently. "It's okay." He kissed the tip of her  nose, but her mouth was set and he could tell she was beating herself  up.

When she spoke, her voice was flat. "Try the engine and see if it goes."

He kissed her first, long and deep, feeling the stiffness go out of her  as she melted against him. He gave her a last squeeze, went to the  cockpit and put his hand on the key. If the engine started he could run  his tests, but he'd also have to drop Suzie at Port Denarau. Now his  hand was on the key, he was almost hoping it didn't go.

What the hell?

His tests were more important than spending the night with Suzie. Besides, he was getting too close to her as it was.

He turned the ignition key.

The light next to it didn't come on. The battery was flat. He knew the  engine wouldn't start, but he turned the key all the way around anyway.  No engine roar filled the silence. Nothing but a blank click as he  turned the key back to its starting position.

He looked over his shoulder at Suzie. Her expression was bleak.

"It doesn't matter," he said. "The Coast Guard will check on us eventually. Or another boat will come this way."

"It does matter." Her tone was still flat. "I forgot to turn the water  off and now we have to sit here waiting to be rescued, and I'll probably  miss my flight."

"So you made a mistake. It could have happened to anyone."

"I'll bet you'd never have forgotten something so important. Why is it always me who messes up?"

Nate wanted to kiss her and tell her not to be so hard on herself, but  that wasn't what she needed right now. Instead, he sat on the cockpit  seat, arms folded.

"You're right," he said coolly.

Her mouth parted and a hurt expression shadowed her features for a moment. It just about killed him.

"I wouldn't have forgotten," he continued. "I have an exceptional memory and I rarely forget anything."

"Good for you. Jerk." Ah, there it was. A small spark in her eyes, but it was a start.

"But it just so happens there are a few things I can't do," he said.

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

"I've never gutted and cleaned a squid, and I wouldn't know where to  start. Even if I managed to clean it properly, I couldn't have cooked it  the way you did. And I sure as hell couldn't have done it on an  unfamiliar boat without power."

She tried to cut in, but he held up one hand. "I haven't finished yet. I  also wouldn't have had any breakfast, because I wouldn't have imagined  that orange juice poured over cereal would taste good. I mean, who  knew?"

"It's a well-kept secret. Only known to the few million Europeans who eat it that way every morning."

He suppressed a smile at her acid tone. That was more like it. "You had  your own travel consultancy. That shows that you're organized, capable,  and determined."

"Until I went out of business."

He ignored her interruption. "You said your clients loved you, and I  don't doubt it. Despite having Troy as a boyfriend, you were one of the  most popular girls in school."

"Troy was bad enough to cancel out my niceness."

"Not quite. Everyone liked you anyway, and that says a lot."

She grimaced, but at least she was throwing off her dark mood. He only  wished he knew why one small mistake had thrown her into a tailspin.

"And another thing," he added. "Can anyone else cut me down with just a  few snarky words? Does anyone have a glare like yours? Or a famous,  patented, withering look that can shrivel my balls from a distance of  fifty paces?"

That earned him a smile. Success.

He stood and pulled her close, brushed her wet hair away from her  forehead, and kissed her. "And does any woman in the world taste or feel  as good as you do?" he murmured.

"Okay, I feel better." She managed a laugh. "You can stop now."

"Mmm. But I don't want to stop." He proved it by kissing her again,  slowly and lingeringly. He wasn't exaggerating. Her kisses were  addictive, and she felt so good against him that he never wanted to let  her go.

And the strange thing was that he'd been so worried about making her  feel better, he hadn't felt bad about not being able to do his test.

Why was that? He only had until Wednesday to prove to Tristan they could  do things his way, and the clock was ticking. His entire future was  riding on the next couple of days, but right now, all that mattered was  her.
         

     



 
Shit.

That proved how dangerous Suzie was. He was an addict and she was the  drug that could kill him. He knew better than this. He needed to back  away. Now.

With her arms around his neck, she put her mouth against his ear.

"I want you." Her warm breath and low invitation made his body react  instantly. And when she drew back to look at him, the way her eyes were  sparkling made him draw in his breath. That look was pure Suzie. It  reached right into his chest to twist his heart.

She turned so her back was toward him, then leaned forward over the  bench seat that ran along the length of the cockpit. Her short sundress  rode up her thighs as she smiled invitingly over her shoulder at him.

Nate clenched his hands into fists. At least, he tried to. Suddenly his  hands weren't obeying his brain's commands. Instead, they were reaching  for her.

Traitors.





13





Cockpit was a good name. Whoever had decided to call it that must have read Suzie's mind.

She wanted to get naked out here, shaded from the hot sun by the canvas  cockpit cover, but with the warm, tropical breeze tickling her bare  skin.

Putting her hands on the canvas cushion that covered the cockpit seat,  she felt hot, urgent need pooling in the pit of her stomach. Especially  when Nate lifted her dress and tugged down her already-wet panties.

He caressed her bare butt cheeks and gave a low groan.

"You're killing me, Suz."

"Got to fill in the time somehow." She gave him an innocent look over  her shoulder. "If you prefer, I can look for a deck of cards-" She  groaned, unable to finish the thought with his fingers between her legs.

"I need a condom." He started to move off her and she couldn't bear for  him to stop touching her. She didn't normally take risks, but this was  Nate, not one of her bad boys. Surely he'd be safe.

"It's okay," she gasped. "I'm on the pill."

He hesitated, his hand caressing her bare ass. Driving her crazy because  his hand was almost-but-not-quite where she needed it to be. "I'm  clean. But are you sure you want to take my word for it?"

"I'm sure." And if he didn't stroke between her thighs again, she was going to tackle him and force him to do it.

Nate leaned over her and pulled her long wet hair back from her face,  gathering its length behind her head so he could kiss behind her ear.

His body weight pushed her down lower, so she was lying over the seat  cushion. Then she felt his hardness press against her. His leg went over  her thigh, pushing her legs closed over his length. It made her  entrance so tight, she was afraid he might not fit. He braced, his hand  holding her hip. She cried out as his length slid into her and pushed in  deep.

She grabbed the edge of the seat and clung to it. He let go of her hair  and it fell in wet strands over her face as she pushed back against him,  helping him thrust inside her. "Nate," she groaned. "Oh God."

He paused. "Too intense?"

She wanted to laugh. Was he kidding? One more thrust like that and she  was going to either orgasm or die, she wasn't sure which. "I'm okay,"  she gasped. Two words were all she could manage. His hand slid  underneath her, around to her front, and his leg lifted off her thigh.  She lifted her hips and parted her thighs so he could caress her. Oh  yes. Yes. Maybe she'd orgasm, then die. As long as it happened in that  order, she was beyond caring.

He lifted her hips further and his fingers stroked her as he thrust into  her again, hard and fast. She smashed her butt against his pelvis,  matching his rhythm and relishing the sensation of his length filling  her to capacity. It felt like she was the perfect size for him, and if  he was just a fraction of an inch bigger he wouldn't have fit.

Sweet mother of ecstasy, he must have discovered a few hundred new g-spots and he's hitting them all.

Her orgasm swept over her faster than she'd expected, so strong it took  her by surprise. Could he make her come like this every freaking time?  He seemed to know exactly what she needed, and how she needed it.

He pumped her hard, bringing on wave after wave of pleasure as she  surrendered herself to the sensation. Finally, as her own orgasm was  starting to recede, she felt - and heard - his release.

Afterward, he lay over her for a few minutes. They were both breathing  hard and in spite of his weight on her she felt as light as air. As  though if he got off her, she'd go floating off into the upper  atmosphere, never to be seen again.