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The boat hums beneath us, soft vibrations thrumming through our bodies. Tingling. The breeze is warm, and the air smells like vegetation and damp soil. Vines dangle from the trees on the riverbank, probing into the dark water like searching fingers, and all the while, the stars throb overhead.
“You could come visit me.” The words blurt out without my permission, but I won’t take them back. Not when Clementine glances up at me, her eyes so wide and hopeful in the moonlight. “If you wanted to.”
Her mouth twists into a rueful smile. “I always want to be around you, Duke.”
She sounds so sad as she says it. So tired and resigned, and I… fuck.
I can’t stand this anymore. Denying myself is one thing, but I can’t bear it if Clem’s lonely too.
And maybe we shouldn’t stand so close to each other, or confess things like that; maybe we shouldn’t spend time alone. We clearly don’t have much restraint left. But right now, tucked away in the shadows of this deck, we’re not hurting anyone but ourselves—becausewe’rethe ones who need to go back to real life after this and act normal.
Clementine lets me turn her so easily, backing up against the rail. She lets me crowd around her, gripping the bar on either side of her body, and I’m out of control. Breathing hard.
Is this happening?
My need for her has me by the throat.
Never had her alone like this, with reality so far away and all bets off. It’s harder than I thought it would be. It slices me deep.
“Say that again,” I grind out. When I duck down to press my face against her throat, Clem quivers. She laughs weakly, gripping my shirt in both hands. “Say you’ll miss me.”
“You know I will. Your beard tickles, Duke.”
It must tickle worse when I kiss her pulse point, the bristles dragging against her sensitive skin. When I press closer, rubbing my face against her neck; when I take hold of her narrow waist and squeeze.
She’s so tiny. So off limits.
Fuck, I’ve wanted her for so long. What is wrong with me?
There’s no excuse for what I’m doing—no chance of misunderstanding here. I’m crowding against my daughter’s best friend like a beast, panting against her bare throat, and the only thing that stops me from throwing myself overboard in pure self-loathing is the way Clem whimpers and yanks me closer.
She wants this.
Hell, shelikesthis.
Even my big belly rubbing up against her? She likes that too?
I’m all in a muddle. But when Clementine turns her face and kisses my earlobe, when she tugs on it with her teeth—
I lose my goddamn mind.
All these years of restraint, of holding myself back; of beingappropriatewith her. They’re all gone in a blink, and I kiss her mouth. Hard.
“Mmph!”
Is there a better sound than this young woman moaning against my lips? Is there a better feeling than her little body arching against mine, rubbing up as shameless as a house cat? Lily pads churn all around us, stirred up by our path, and I’m all tossed up inside too.
We’ve done it now: we’ve set everything on fire. So why not show her how badly I’ve wanted her all these years? Why hold back?
“So fucking sweet,” I tell her between kisses, my hands roaming over her sides, her shoulders, her hair. The music sounds distant, like it’s coming from far away. Water sucks at the side of the boat. “You know how many times I’ve wanted to do this, Clementine? You know how many times I’ve wanted to press you against a wall and kiss you breathless?”
And sheisbreathless. With her eyes glassy, her lips kiss-swollen, she looks as ruined by this as I feel.
Slender hands yank at my collar. “I know. I know. Keep—keep going. Please, Duke.”
As if I could stop. This river cruise is three hours long, and I’m going to spend every remaining second with her body plastered against mine. After that… reality calls.
But for now, she’smine.
