Eleven
Fray
Time was moving far too quickly. We’d spent almost our entire day at sea in bed, even going so far as to have Marco bring all of our meals into the room and leave them in the sitting area. Now that I’d claimed Emerson as mine, I couldn’t handle the thought of letting her go.
The ship would be docking in Grand Cayman today, and as much as I wanted to show her the world, I couldn’t help wishing I could just continue showing her pleasure instead.
Emerson stirred next to me, her hand sliding over my chest before she’d even opened her eyes, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
“Good morning,” I whispered, placing a soft kiss to her forehead. “How are you feeling?”
“Happy,” she answered. “And maybe a little sore.”
“Was I too rough with you last night?” I asked, my hand skimming along her bare hip. We were always vigorous, but on a few occasions, I knew I’d been harder than I probably should be. Her body just responded so well to mine. It was so natural between us that it was easy to forget she didn’t have much experience, something she’d confessed in the dark the night we’d first had sex. It was easy enough to remember I’d be her last, though.
“No! You weren’t!” Her eyes flew open, her gaze searching for mine. “You were perfect. You are perfect.”
I leaned down to capture her mouth, my tongue sliding over the seam of her lips until they parted to allow me access. Like every time I’d tasted her sweet kiss, my cock grew hard against her thigh.
“You’re insatiable,” she said, running her fingers through my hair.
“I can’t help how my body responds to yours. I can only swear I won’t pounce on you without permission.”
“That’s the problem.” She giggled. “Every time I feel you hard against me, my body wants you, as well. How could I turn down the pleasure you give me? I need a shower though after last night.”
“Let me draw you a bath, then.” Making love in the tub sounded like an adventure I was down for. We were lucky. Though most cruise cabins had tiny bathrooms you could barely move in, luxury suites had been designed for just that—luxury. And we had a nice tub for soaking.
“That sounds heavenly,” she admitted with a small sigh.
Suppressing my groan, I released her and stood. I pulled a robe from one of the chairs, covering my erection. Em probably needed a rest, too. I’d claimed her so many times the past thirty-six or so hours, we were running low on protection. And I’d meant what I said to her, I wanted to put my baby inside her so badly it hurt, but we had our whole lives ahead of us, and I wanted some time with her as just us. While our children would be the only people I’d ever share her with, they could wait.
After taking care of my morning rituals, I started the bath, ensuring the perfect water temperature and adding bubbles before returning to the bedroom.
“Bath’s ready. Go soak and I’ll order breakfast.”
“You’re too good to me,” she said as she climbed out of bed.
The moment I saw her standing there in all of her naked glory, I couldn’t help but pull her into my arms and kiss her again. I couldn’t wait to spend the rest of my life doing this, every single morning. In fact, it had taken every ounce of my willpower to keep that damn engagement ring hidden in the tree yesterday. Several times, I’d considered pulling it out and demanding she be my wife. Immediately. Jacob could marry us while at sea, right?
But I wanted my proposal and our wedding to be special. I wanted everything, always, to be special for her.
Emerson pulled out of my arms, and I was pleased to see the reluctance to part plainly on her beautiful face. But I released her, catching her hand and giving it a quick squeeze before letting go. She hurried into the bathroom, closing the door between us with a soft click.
I blew out a breath then headed for the phone in the sitting room.
After calling Marco to order breakfast, I got dressed, figuring I could shower later. I wanted Em to relax in the tub as long as she wanted. Her body needed the break, and if I were being completely honest with myself, I needed a breather, as well.
The food was delivered as Emerson came out of the bedroom. She was dressed in shorts and a tank top, her hair pulled up into a ponytail. She looked good enough to eat, and part of me really wanted to take her right back to bed. She was right. I was insatiable.
With iron will, I settled for a deep kiss before leading her to her seat at the table. I couldn’t sidetrack back to bed. I had outside plans for us, and I knew how much she would enjoy the day I’d set up for us. As enjoyable as the sex was, she needed to know we were compatible, friends even, outside the bedroom.
“So what do you have in store for me today, Mr. Cassel?” she asked before taking a sip of her coffee.
“I thought we’d do a little scuba diving,” I answered innocently.
“What?” she gasped, and I instantly regretted teasing her.
“I’m sorry,” I said quickly, reaching over to pull her free hand into mine. “I shouldn’t joke like that.”
“No, I’m sorry,” she said. She shook her head. “I’m such a baby. I know you’d never let anything happen to me.”
I stood and circled to her. I knelt, wrapping my arms around her and resting my head on her chest.
“Emerson,” I said firmly. “You’re not a baby. Everyone has fears, and yours are completely warranted. I shouldn’t tease about that. I already dragged you onto a cruise ship without any regard to how you’d feel about it. I don’t need to make the situation worse by making light of the situation.”
“You’re too good to me,” she whispered, threading her fingers through my hair. She leaned down and kissed the top of my head. “All is forgiven. Now, what are we really doing today?”
“I thought we’d go to the Turtle Farm,” I said while I went back to my chair. “There are all kinds of animals to see and birds to feed. Would that be alright?”
She grinned at me and nodded. The childlike excitement on her face filled my heart to bursting. I wanted that exuberant look in her eyes for the rest of our lives together. Once again, I thought to grab the ring. Maybe, I should take it with us and propose at the sanctuary. When else would a woman be able to play with sea turtles and get engaged all in one swoop?
No, I reminded myself. Christmas was just a couple days away. We could both wait. I wanted her completely under my spell and unable to say no by the time I asked her. Not that I believed she’d decline. As much as I knew we were destined for each other, I was becoming sure she felt the same. She hadn’t said as much, but whenever I spoke of forever with her, she never showed an ounce of hesitation or disbelief.
“What time do we have to leave?” she asked.
“Soon,” I answered. “We’ll have to catch a bus to get to the farm, so we’d better eat then finish getting ready for our day.”
* * * *
The bus ride was a harrowing experience, and as we stepped off the death machine, I seriously considered calling the cruise line to demand alternate transportation back to the ship.
“That driver was a fucking menace,” I hissed, pulling Emerson into my arms as if to assure myself she was unharmed.
“It was fun,” she argued, laughing softly as she untangled herself from me.
“Yes, in the way skydiving and swimming with sharks is fun. If you have a death wish.” I shook my head, blowing out a heavy sigh. “I thought he was about to hit people on four different occasions.”
“Aw, were you scared, baby?” Emerson asked, patting my arm. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you on the way back.”
I’d certainly earned her teasing, having acted like a jumpy, startled child during the ride. At one point, we’d turned a corner so fast, the bus felt as if it had tipped to one side, and I grabbed on to her leg so hard I feared I may have left bruises on her beautiful, milky white thigh.
“Enough of that,” I warned. “If you insist on making fun of my concern, I’ll have to take you over my knee when we get back to the ship.”
“And that’s going to discourage me how?”
My gaze snapped to her, and the heat in her eyes warred with the innocent look she tried to give me. A growl escaped my throat, and I pulled her into me again.
“You’re going to be the death of me,” I groaned.
“Not today,” she assured me. “Come on. I want to see some turtles.”
And we certainly did see turtles. The farm had small pools with baby turtles we were allowed to hold as we were told all about them. There was an option to swim with the larger sea turtles, which we declined, but they were so beautiful, Emerson had even been willing to go ankle deep into the water to be nearer to them.
As we walked through the sanctuary, it seemed as if we found something new and amazing at every turn. Lizards ran free throughout, occasionally startling us as they darted across the path in front of us. Gorgeous tropical birds swooped low, practically dive bombing the tourists in search of free food.
Emerson allowed me to leave her momentarily to wander out into the sea to witness the beauty of a shark in its natural habitat. I didn’t stay long, wanting to be with her as much as possible, but I appreciated the opportunity to see something so majestic.
When I came back to her, she had an odd look on her face. It wasn’t worry or fear, but I couldn’t decipher it.
“What is it?” I asked, taking her hand and bringing it to my lips, kissing softly over her knuckles.
“There’s a butterfly on your shoulder,” she whispered. “You have to make a wish.”
“I don’t need one,” I said. “I have everything I could ever want standing in front of me. You take my wish.”
She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply before letting out the breath on a soft sigh. I watched as the butterfly took flight, and Emerson smiled softly, her gaze locked on me.
“What did you wish for?” I asked.
“Oh, I can’t tell you that,” she insisted. “Otherwise, it won’t come true.”
“Love, I’ll spend the rest of my life making sure every dream you imagine comes true. I don’t need a bug to do that for you.”
She laughed before hooking her arm through mine. She steered us back to the baby turtles, saying she wanted to hold them once more before it was time to leave. I was able to snap a few pictures of her as she cooed over one particularly tiny specimen. She looked so happy, and again, I was struck by how lucky I was to have this beautiful woman as mine.
“Are you ready?” she asked as the guide announced it was time to head back to the bus.
“Not in the slightest,” I admitted, eyeing the deathtrap.
“Well, I’ll just have to keep you distracted for the ride back to the ship.”
“And how exactly do you plan to do that?” I raised an eyebrow at her.
“By telling you all the things I’d like to do once we get back to our room,” she whispered, before her vixen tongue ran over my earlobe.
“You are itching for that spanking, aren’t you, Ms. Blake?”
“Well, that was the first thing I was going to talk about,” she said, before turning and leading me toward the crowd getting on the bus.