“Good. I have another question. How do we catch the lamia?”
Rennie smiled. “We lure it out.”
WHEN RENNIE STAYED in my cabin for the night, I was more than thrilled to have him. It was also part of the plan. A not so complicated plan. The lamia would find me again. We were simply waiting for the right moment to catch it.
After I changed into my nightgown, Rennie locked the door and sat in his usual spot on the floor. But I wasn’t going to have any of it.
“Rennie?” I said, sitting up on the bed.
He gazed up.
I patted the place on the bed next to me. “Sleep here. I can’t sleep knowing you’re on the cold floor.”
“Monia—”
“Come here.” My voice was low and husky, but commanding. Having regained my memories gave me confidence. “Please. You need to rest properly, and no one has to know. Ever.”
He hesitated, chewing his bottom lip. When he rose and uncoiled his powerful body, a tingle started between my thighs. Which didn’t make any sense. Or maybe it did. I didn’t find him intimidating any longer. I wanted to feel his powerful body against mine. Feel his warmth.
“Are you sure?” he asked, standing next to me, shoulders hunched, as if he wanted to make himself smaller; it wasn’t working.
My reply was to pat the empty side of the bed again. The mattress dipped when he sat on the edge to remove his shoes. He stretched next to me over the quilt, all stiff and rigid.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
He burst out laughing. “I thought we’d already been introduced.”
“I mean your full name.” I thumped him on the shoulder. “I’m pretty sure Rennie is short for something.”
“Can’t you guess what?” He smiled, his body relaxing a little.
“Ronald?”
He scrunched up his face. “Hell, no.”
“Robert?”
“Please.”
“Rodney?”
He curled up his lip. “It’s Lawrence.”
“Lawrence,” I repeated to taste the name on my tongue. “I love it. Classical and noble.”
“Noble my arse. You need to sleep now. You’ve been weak for a while.” He brushed my cheek with his knuckles. “And you need your energy for?—”
I wasn’t sure where my boldness came from, but I grabbed his hand and kissed it before running the tip of my tongue over his thumb. The shock on his face was so striking it made me chuckle. Desire darkened his gaze as he watched me slide his finger into my mouth. I wrapped my lips around it and sucked on it gently, tasting the saltiness of his skin against the softness of my tongue. A strangled moan rumbled out of him. It was a sound dripping with a dark promise. I slipped his finger between my lips, inch by inch.
I smiled. “Well, I?—”
He kissed me hard, pressing his soft, warm mouth against mine. It was a bruising kiss, made of bites and teeth, but it shot heat down to my lower belly and somewhere utterly inappropriate.
His tongue slipped past my lips and explored my mouth with slow strokes. A jolt of desire went through me, causing all of my sensitive spots to pulse with need. I was so focused on him that even the noise of the ship became an indistinct lull. It wasn’t like kissing Sandro. The kiss wasn’t as perfect as Sandro’s kisses. But exactly for that reason, it was raw and wild and filled with crude passion, a battle where we both fought for pleasure, igniting a fierce longing within me. It was real.
Grazing my bottom lip, he broke the kiss and inched away from me. “We shouldn’t.”
“Who cares?”
