AllFreeNovel
Share Us
As long as I go into this with my eyes wide open and no expectations that go beyond this holiday, I should be okay. Right?
Decision made, I reply to Tiero’s text message.
Me: I’m all yours for the day. But I have to be back in time for dinner with Rhia.
An hour later, Tiero and I walk hand in hand through the marina towards his boat.
He’s the most casually dressed since I’ve met him. And oh my, does it suit him.
He looks sinful in his navy board shorts that hug his fine ass and show off his tanned, muscular legs. His cream-colored shirt gives enough of a hint of his muscle lying underneath to make my mouth water. I can’t wait to see it in the flesh.
But this will have to wait. Like always, we’re not alone.
Thankfully, only Santino is following us close by, and I can spot another guard stationed at the end of the dock.
My stomach is in knots with the anticipation of what’s coming. If his greeting when he picked me up is anything to go by, this is going to be one hot and steamy day.
As soon as I opened the door, he took one look at me in my navy-blue sundress, stepped inside, and had me pushed up against the wall, devouring my mouth in one long and boiling hot hello kiss. My knees went weak, and we both were breathless by the time he let go of me.
The car ride to the marina also did nothing to calm my swirling emotions. He placed a hand on my thigh, gently stroking up and down, igniting my nerve endings in the process.
I had the urge to repay the favor, but that seemed way too forward. So I settled for letting my fingers trace circles over his wrist. If my touch had a similar effect on him, he didn’t show… so maybe not.
I stop in my tracks when we get closer to what I assume is Tiero’s boat.
“That’s yours?” I ask, my mouth falling open.
Tiero looks at me with a smirk. “She’s a beauty, isn’t she?”
He looks back at his boat with pride written all over his face. “I knew she was right for me when I first looked at her. Originally, I had my sight set on a different boat, larger and faster, but something drew me to this one,” Tiero says, his voice gone soft.
He had wanted something bigger and faster?
In my books, the boat before me is enormous—definitely the biggest I’ve seen. Then again, I haven’t seen that many. But it’s by far the biggest one in this marina.
I know little about boats or yachts, but I figure if they have several stories, it’s expensive. If you count the hull space, which has many little windows, there are three stories. Then my gaze lands on the name prominently displayed between the upper and second decks.
And I freeze.
My jaw goes slack, and I blink a few times before I look at Tiero, a million questions running through my mind. His steady gaze is focused on me, waiting for my reaction.
Thump, thump, thump, goes my heart.
I don’t speak. I don’t know what to say.
Chapter Seventeen
It’snotoftenIfind myself lost for words. But it’s happening right now.
I stare at the boat, my mind trying to make sense of what I’m seeing. After a long moment, I turn to Tiero, who has been carefully watching me.
He finally breaks the silence. “I bought this boat a few years ago when I first took over from my father. Going out to sea helps me relax and think clearer.”
“So you didn’t name this boat just yesterday?” I say, only half-joking. Surely he wouldn’t go that far with his wooing?
He laughs, “No, angel. It had this name when I bought it.”
Wow! What are the chances?
