AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“This isn’t just about sex.”
Her eyebrow quirked. “Oh really?”
He jammed his hands in his pockets, shoulders squared, back rigid. “I meant what I said this afternoon. I want to spend time with you, get to know you, but I’ll be damned if I stand here and lie about wanting to drag you back to my cabin right this very minute and have amazing sex with you all night long.”
Her mouth dropped open, a squeaky ‘oh’ escaping before she shut it.
His eyes flashed blue fire as he fixed her with a steely gaze. “Do I want to have sex with you? Hell, yeah. But I’m not going to beg for it. If you want me half as much as I want you, you’ll have to show me.”
She bit her tongue, biding her time, trying to unscramble her brain long enough to answer, to give him a response half-way decipherable that didn’t consist of another scintillating ‘oh’.
Her hands trembled and her stomach rolled in time with the ship as it headed out to the open sea as she searched for the words to make him understand half of what she was feeling: confused, scared, excited, a mish-mash of emotions that terrified her as much as falling for this incredible man who pulled no punches and spoke the truth without flinching.
Honesty was all important to her, one of her top criteria in her perfect man, courtesy of the elaborate lies Jax had told to manipulate her. She’d never trust a liar again and here was a guy who was dead-set honest about what he wanted. She admired him for it even though the blunt truth of exactly what he wanted from her scared her beyond belief.
After a drawn-out silence, he reached out and she let him take her hand.
“Look, I’m sorry for laying that all on you. But you have to know, you’re driving me crazy.”
“Totally unintentional, I can assure you.”
His mouth kicked up at her wry answer and hers twitched in response. “Do you want me to back off? Slow down? Just say the word.”
It was like being given a choice between a decadent double choc fudge sundae—something wickedly indulgent she knew she’d end up regretting later—and a single scoop of vanilla—plain, boring, knowing exactly what she’d get if she took the safe option.
Did she want him to back off? Her head insisted it was the logical thing to do considering she’d be off the ship shortly, but her heart was giving strange twangs it never had before, quietly urging her to take a risk for once in her sedate life.
Maybe it was her turn for a dose of healthy reality? If he ran, it wasn’t meant to be. If he didn’t…well, she’d face that frightening prospect if it arose.
Taking a deep breath, she went for broke. “I can’t get physical with a guy unless I’m emotionally involved, that’s just me. And I hate to break it to you, but I wouldn’t have let you kiss me just now unless I’m starting to invest some emotion in us.”
Understanding, stark and pure, splintered in his eyes before coalescing into a bright, hard blue. “I’ve kissed you before.”
“Impulsive kisses. You turning on the charm.”
“And tonight?”
After the time they’d spent together, after she’d grown to trust him through his actions—he hadn’t pushed her for sex once despite his admission just now of how much he wanted it—emotion had more than clouded her judgment, it had taken over to the point she didn’t know why she was holding him at bay any more.
She raised her eyes to his, silently imploring him to understand. “Tonight I’ve realized you’ve crept under my guard. And I’m starting to like it.”
The first flicker of awareness in his steady gaze made her want to execute a perfect swan dive into the ocean. “You like it?”
Drawing on a meager reserve of resolve, she placed a tentative hand on his chest. “A lot.”
He caressed her cheek softly, lingering for an exquisite moment. “Then where do we go from here?”
Damned if she knew.
* * *
After Zac walkedLana back to her cabin, he headed for the one place he did his best thinking; the Bridge.
Ever since he’d joined the fleet as a young, eager sailor, he’d loved the control centre of a ship, the hub that drove these monstrous vessels. He loved the quiet efficiency of the staff going about their business, he loved the view, and he loved the gadgets. Hundreds of them that beeped and lit up and made his fingers itch to push them.
He usually popped up here on the pretext of consulting with the captain over something, when in reality he loved the buzz, the feeling of control he got because he owned this baby, and the decisions he made could drive her and the rest of the fleet further than the company had ever been before.
Ironic, considering he had no control over the situation with Lana. Or more precisely, control over his burgeoning feelings.
