The sea wind coming in from the open windows ruffled her curls, and Sapphire found herself staring up at both men's strong profiles. Joel reminded her of a kid in a toy shop given free rein. Standing at the helm, he guided the large wheel through the maze of boats dotting the busy bay across the sparkling water to the deeper blue sea. There was a rawness to him as he stood there, feet braced apart, mirroring Hayden's stance. An unending restlessness flowed through his tall, muscular body that exuded off of him in sparks of contagious charisma and excitement.
Flicking her gaze to Hayden, her smile faded into an all over awareness that left her feeling tingling and alert. Last night Hayden had been particularly gentle with her.
Still tired from the night before, he and Joel had come home last night and found her asleep in Hayden's bed despite her efforts to wait for them. She had woken to the feeling of Joel's lips tracing a trail of kisses down her back. Ever so gently, so very thoroughly, they made love to her. Long, slow strokes that left her breathless and desperate. They took their time worshiping her. One watching the other as the other man rocked into her body, heightening the pleasure just by knowing the other one was watching her fall apart in the other's arms. Sapphire couldn't remember falling asleep. All she could recall was Hayden's nuzzling kiss on her neck at some point deep into the night as he slipped on her forgotten bonnet on and over her hair.
That simple act might have been amusing from the outside perspective or just a thoughtful gesture to him, but to her, for some reason, it left her feeling shattered and rebuilt whole.
Reaching out to him, Sapphire grazed her fingertips along the taut skin on the back of his arm. "Hayden?"
Turning from the window, Hayden looked down at her, his eyes hidden by the dark sunglasses, but she could feel his gaze nevertheless. "Mmm?" he made a low questioning sound.
A little self-conscious suddenly, she swiped a hand over her wild windblown curls. "Can you kiss me?" she asked, unable to stop the hitch of hesitation in her voice.
She couldn't see his eyes, but she knew from the way his shoulders relaxed, and his body gravitated toward her that he wanted her just as badly. In seconds he was there, covering her field of sight as he leaned over her. Sapphire shivered at the glorious feeling of his fingers pressing into the exposed skin of her back as he pulled her into him. She sighed into the kiss, her body melding and softening into his as his arms hardened and formed around her like thick impenetrable armor.
After a few minutes, Hayden finally pulled away from her just as Joel spoke. "Here we are."
Still a little dazed from the kiss, Sapphire swung her gaze around to where Joel was looking. She saw nothing but more dazzling blue water glimmering from the high sun and the curving terrain that formed the bay in the distance. No, actually, that was wrong. She saw a white beach ball bobbing amongst the undulating waves. Taking in a deep breath, she savored the salt air and drank in the details around them. In the distance, beyond the tip of craggy rocks and sand jutting from the land, she could see where the bright turquoise waters met the dark blue ones of the rest of the ocean.
Sapphire stood up next to Joel at the helm station. "Are you going to drop the anchor?" she asked excitedly.
Joel tossed her a grin over his shoulder as he turned the boat smoothly in the water. The muscles in his back and shoulders rippled as he turned the wheel. "No, not today, goldilocks. Anchoring out here in the bay is illegal, for starters, due to the impact on the environment. And secondly, we'll be mooring it instead." Joel pointed to a bright white beach ball-looking thing floating in the water next to them. "It's connected to the sea bed and can be reserved ahead of time. That's what we'll be connecting to, to keep us from floating into other standing boats."
Taking a step back, she folded her arms and gave him a considering look. "You know, I had no idea you would be so…so…swash-buckley."
"Swash buckley?!" he repeated with a laugh that made his eyes positively sparkle like the water around them.
Her chest tightened at the sight of that smile. He was so handsome it hurt sometimes. "You know what I mean," she said, looking away. "So knowledgeable about boats and sailing and whatnot. You don't seem the type. Motorcycles, cars, grease, and power tools seem more your speed."
"Because that is his speed," Hayden informed her, his dry tone making her smile. Standing next to her, Hayden waved his hand outward. "This," he announced, "is because a certain someone bet Rosebank, a rich, mean bastard who lives in Stardust, damn near a third of our commercial properties in a poker game for a goddamn boat."
Shocked, she nearly stumbled back into her chair as she looked to Joel in confirmation. "You won this boat?!"
With a smug smile, Joel stretched his arms over his head, letting his shirt ride purposely up, flashing her that little carved V at his waist. "I sure did," he said proudly. "It used to be calledThe Rose, but as you can see…" he let the words hang meaningfully in the air as he swept his hand toward the side of the boat where she saw the name of it earlier.
When they first boarded, she had noted the boat's odd name but had been quickly overwhelmed by the grandeur of the boat to remember to ask them about it. The whole name readMy The Rose Now, but the wordThewas crossed out with a big red X—making it readMy Rose Now.
With a deadpan stare, she looked at Joel. "Wow, that is massively petty."
"I know," Joel practically sang in delight as he backed the boat up near the floating buoy. "It fucking kills Rosebank. I know it does."
Walking back out through the open glass doors, Hayden stopped and pulled out a different rope from another compartment on the side of the boat before giving Joel a tired look. "Yeah, ok, keep thinking that. That rich son-of-a-bitch could care less now that he has his new, even bigger boat. Which is without a doubt a yacht."
"Ooh, what did he call that one?" Sapphire couldn't help but ask. She was beyond intrigued by this petty rivalry.
After finishing tying the boat to the bobbing anchor, Hayden came back inside. "Officially, it’s just calledThe Rose, but this time Rosebank had a big black rose painted between the wordTheand the wordRose. Everyone is pretty sure its real title isThe Ebony Rose, named after his stepdaughter."
"Oh, that's sweet," she cooed, imagining the pretty rose he would have painted.
"Creepy if you ask me," Joel muttered.
Hayden gave a short bark of a laugh. "You're just mad Rosebank could care less about your littlefuck youstunt with the name of the boat."
"Oh, he cares. I know he does," Joel assured, and Hayden just gave her a knowing look that made her laugh.
Standing up, Sapphire surveyed the little kitchenette before looking at the two towering men. When they got up that morning, they didn't have time to eat. Between showering, packing their overnight bags, and filling up the cooler with food and drinks, there wasn't any time. "Who's hungry?" she asked.
Killing the boat's engine, Joel turned to her, giving her his full bright-eyed attention that only screamed trouble. Slapping his hands, he rubbed them together. "What exactly are we talking about? Eating food, or your juicy little-"
