AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Hope they brought earplugs.
When she finally returns, she appears a bit more composed. Towel in hand, she glances around for a place to lay it out where she can get a little sun. I know the perfect spot. Standing up and reaching for her hand, we head toward the bow. We step around the mast to the flat area where the skylights are. “Be careful of those,” I tell her, pointing to the globes that let the sunlight in below deck. “This is the best place to catch some sun.”
I take her towel and spread it out, and before I can run and grab my own and lie beside her, Meghan joins her. She spreads out her own towel and tosses a bottle of sunscreen to her cousin. “Here, you do my back. I’d have Nick, but then he’d think it was an invitation for sex, and frankly, right now, I need a break,” she says to Marissa, a little giggle escaping her lips.
As soon as she applies the lotion to Meghan’s back, she hands the bottle over to her. “Please?”
“I’ll do it,” I say, my voice low and gravelly. I don’t let Marissa argue as I grab the bottle from Meghan’s hands, noting the smug smile on her face, and squirt a glob of sunscreen in my hands.
And then I rub her down.
Her skin is soft.
It’s warm to the touch.
My entire body ignites into flames once more.
Bad idea. Very bad idea. I should not be touching her right now, yet the sadistic asshole in me can’t seem to stop. In fact, I go a little slower just to draw out the torture even more.
“I think you got it there, buddy,” Nick quips behind me, handing each of the girls a bottle of water.
Reluctantly, I move my hands, severing contact with her back. On wooden legs, I slowly move, allowing her room to lie on her stomach beside her cousin. They instantly start talking, completely dismissing both Nick and me. We both watch for a few minutes before returning to the main deck.
Deciding to catch a few rays myself, I toss my T-shirt onto the chair beside me, grab the offered beer, and exhale deeply. The next twenty-four hours is going to be the ultimate test of my willpower. I vowed not to do anything while we have company on board, but I’m finding it harder and harder (pun intended) to give two shits about that anymore.
Marissa. I’m completely consumed, and in this exact moment, I can’t seem to find the strength to worry or care about how much I want her. I sit back, my face turning toward the sun, and listen to the sweet sound of her voice. In the past, when I’ve had guests on the boat, I was all about the party scene. Drinking, sailing, and sex. But suddenly, I find it hard to picture how it used to be. Instead, I revel in her voice and the calm that seems to wash over me while she talks.
“Welcome to the other side,” Nick says.
I want to ask him what he’s talking about, but I already know. “It’s temporary.” Sure, I say it to him, but to myself as well. As natural and good as it feels to have her here, I know that at the end of our two weeks, I’ll be heading home and she’ll be staying. I’ll go back to my old life filled with random women who I barely remember the next day, and she’ll go back to baking her treats and taking care of the bed and breakfast. Our worlds don’t mesh.
It’s temporary, right?
“If you say so.”
* * *
Later that evening, Nick and I are sitting in the living area, watching the girls cook in the galley. We’re drinking a beer, talking about summer plans, but both of us keep returning our eyes to the women across the way. Meghan and Marissa have quickly become friends, not just cousins, and it’s hard to believe they just met for the first time yesterday.
We’ve been kicked out of the kitchen, neither of us allowed to ask what they’re making, but it wasn’t too hard to figure out, since there’s only so much food in the fridge. Meghan is working on a salad, while Marissa switches from manning the portable grill I took upstairs and the range, where I’m pretty sure she’s sautéing onions and mushrooms.
“When do you think you’ll be finished with the job?” Nick asks, instantly making my chest tight.
“Two weeks. I’ve only got a bit left on the upstairs rewire, but then I have to do the downstairs, including rewiring the living room, dining room, office, and back sitting area, but also new wiring in Mary Ann’s living space. It’s pretty extensive, but it needed to be done. The old stuff was original.”
“They’re lucky they didn’t have a fire before now,” Nick says.
“True, but everything was still within code. Now, though, they won’t have to worry about it anymore.”
“I think Marissa is still freaked out,” Nick says quietly, making me stop messing with my beer bottle and turn his way.
“Really?”
He nods before glancing over at the ladies. “She told Meghan she still has nightmares.”
That makes me pause and sit up straighter. I know plenty of people have complained about being afraid, following a house fire, and I don’t know why I didn’t think more about that where Marissa’s concerned. In fact, I wonder if anyone in her family has thought about it. Has she told anyone else about these nightmares? I make note to pry a little deeper into this new development. Why? Because I care and I want to make sure she’s okay.
Gut check.
