AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Marco’s plan was to take us far enough away from the shore that the lights wouldn’t interfere with me being able to see the stars. After about an hour, he slowed to a stop. I had no idea where we were, though he’d told me we were headed mostly south and a little east. I couldn’t see any lights on the shore. It was pitch black all around us except for the lights on the sides of the yacht.
Marco checked his instruments and turned off the engine. “Wait here while I set the anchor.” He went up the short set of stairs to the outside deck. I heard some noises coming from the back of the yacht and the boat rocked a bit. Then there was silence until I heard Marco’s footsteps on the stairs.
“Bundle up,” he said. “It’s cold out there.”
I let out a short laugh. “I got several layers worth of warm clothes from our team.” I spread my arms to show him my Navy SEAL hoodie underneath my US Navy fleece. “I even brought the blanket Andrea gave me.”
Marco smiled indulgently and held out his hand. “Come on up. Bring the blanket.”
I grabbed the blanket and took hold of Marco’s hand. He was right. It was really cold out in the middle of the ocean. But I forgot all about that when I stopped and looked up at the sky.
“Oh wow,” I breathed. “Look at them all.” The sky was alight with millions of stars. With no city lights to dim them, they shone brightly in the night sky.
Marco put his arm around my shoulders. “Come on. There’s lounge chairs on the back deck. You’ll be able to see better if you’re lying down.”
We both lay on the deck chairs. Marco was right. I could definitely see better lying down. Even though we were mostly out of the wind, it was still cold, so I draped the blanket over myself. “I wish I knew the names of more of the constellations.” I pointed at the ones I knew. “That’s the Big Dipper. And that’s the Little Dipper.”
“Also known as Ursa Major and Ursa Minor,” Marco said.
“I guess you would know all about the constellations since you were in the Navy.”
“Yeah,” he replied. “We had to be able to navigate by the stars in case we lost our instruments or were on our own.”
A gust of wind blew, and I shivered, even under my blanket. Marco made some kind of noise of disapproval and, with one hand, dragged my lounge chair right next to his. Then he draped the blanket over both of us and pulled me close to him. “Better?”
“Much,” I answered. I snuggled close to him, careful not to make the chairs separate. “Show me more constellations.”
Marco pointed to another place in the sky. “That’s Orion. See the three stars in a row? That’s Orion’s Belt.”
“Like fromMen in Black?” I asked.
I heard the amusement in his voice when he answered, “Yes, like fromMen in Black.” His arm moved in another direction. “That’s Leo.”
I squinted. “It doesn’t look much like a lion.”
His shoulder moved in a shrug. “I guess the old astronomers figured it was close enough.”
“I’ll have to tell Sean. He’s a Leo.”
Marco snorted. “Why doesn’t that surprise me? He’s a bossy fucker.”
I shoved him lightly. “Hey. He’s a good big brother.”
“Never said he wasn’t,” Marco replied. “That doesn’t mean he’s not bossy.”
I smiled and shook my head. “You’re not wrong.”
Marco pointed out more stars and planets and taught me how to navigate by the stars. All the while, he kept one arm around me, holding me close. My heart was so full that I finally leaned over and kissed him. “Thank you. This is the best birthday present I’ve ever gotten.”
Marco folded his other arm around me and pulled me on top of him to deepen the kiss. Before long, the lounge chair made noises like it wasn’t handling our combined weight very well. With a growl, he let me go and stood. He held out his hand. “Come on.”
I awkwardly got to my feet. “Where are we going?”
“Stateroom. There’s a king-size bed in there.”
I took his hand, reveling in the warmth of his touch. Marco led me back inside the yacht, down to the bridge, and then down another set of stairs I hadn’t noticed. He flicked on lights as we made our way through a narrow hallway toward an open door. When we reached the doorway, Marco turned on a light, revealing a beautiful stateroom with a king-size bed, a large dresser, and nightstands on either side of the big bed, one of which already had lube and condoms waiting. One side of the windows would no doubt show an amazing view in the daylight hours. Right now, they showed only the pitch-black night.
“Gorgeous,” I said in wonder.
