Chapter 18
Chapter
Eighteen
Michelle
Twenty-four weeks pregnant
“ D id you know cruise ships were this big?” I say, looking up the side of the massive boat we’re about to board.
“Well, I think it’s perspective. We’re standing right under it. And compared to the sea, it’s tiny?”
“Not helpful, Hunter.” I smack his chest lightly. Anyone listening in would think he’s being an ass, but this is the third time we’ve done this since parking the car in the long-term garage fifteen minutes ago. His first two answers were more supportive. And every time ...
“It’s still over an hour to departure. We can go home.” He puts his arm around my shoulder and pulls me into him.
“No, I’ll be okay once we get on board and can’t see the boat anymore. Nothing to compare it to size-wise then.” I hope. I’m really excited to get away, but the floating boat thing is sort of freaking me out a bit. But, with lots of new things, I’m nervous until I get started and then it gets better. Cruises will be another one of those things .
“That’s the spirit.” Hunter lets go of my shoulder to grab our luggage and rolls it forward as the line to board inches ahead.
That’s another thing I didn’t realize. How long it takes to board a cruise. It’s not like a train, where you can show up five minutes before and still have time for a vending machine snack. Or an airport, even if you don’t have PreCheck. I’m very ready for our cabin, a bed, and a nap.
We people watch, murmuring to each other things we see from those outside our ear shot. Soon enough, it’s our turn to board.
“Tickets and waivers, please?” The cruise staffer looks at us expectantly.
Hunter shows him something on his phone. “And I submitted the waivers this morning.”
Waivers? I guess it makes sense we would need to sign something. I stand there and smile, not wanting to look clueless and hold anything up.
“Hmm, I don’t see them marked as completed when I scanned your ticket. You’ll need to?—”
“Darius, Ms. Hannigan is stuck on gangway C again convinced she’s going to fall in. You know you’re the only one who can talk her down.” A woman in her twenties joins our group. “Sorry for the interruption, folks.”
Darius sighs. “I don’t know why they keep letting that woman back on the boat. She causes trouble the whole trip.”
“Maybe she’s a con artist too,” I say. Hunter looks at me curiously, and Darius and the new woman give me blank stares. “You know, Mrs. Hannigan? Annie? The musical? Jamie Foxx did a remake, but the one from the ’80s is way better ...” Still nothing. “Isn’t there a woman in distress somewhere?” Better to take my losses.
Darius takes off without another word, and the woman looks at us. “Enjoy your trip, y’all. Make sure you sign up for the shuffleboard tournament. Hear it’s a hoot. ”
She turns to the next people in line to scan their tickets. Hunter snorts beside me.
“Oh, you think that’s funny, huh? Just because I quote a movie from the ’80s doesn’t mean I want to enter a shuffleboard tournament.” We move onto the boat and follow directions toward our room.
“I know, babe. But let me know if I should move our dinner reservations earlier before we lose cell service, okay?” His shoulders are shaking with laughter.
“See if I put sunscreen on your back at all, mister.” Hunter laughs in earnest. “Keep on walking.” I push him ahead of me, smiling so he knows I’m not mad.
We find our room a short time later. It’s cozy, but I expected it to be. Hunter mentioned looking into an upgrade last week, but I shut him down. I’m okay with cozy.
Hunter tucks our luggage out of the way as I flop onto the bed, sending the swan towels flying before rolling onto my side. I might regret not bringing the new pregnancy pillow I finally caved and bought a couple weeks ago, but I worried about there being enough room for me, the pillow, and Hunter on the bed. Hunter said I could use him as a pillow instead.
“Ready for a nap before pinochle, Mich?” His jab loses its edge when he sits on the bed next to me, running his fingers through my hair in the way he knows relaxes me.
“I am ready for a nap. Thank you very much. And besides, didn’t anyone ever tell you to respect your elders?” I don’t bother to open my eyes, letting his fingers and the slight rocking of the boat lull me toward relaxation.
“Some of my thoughts for later are anything but respectful.” His lips ghost along the shell of my ear as he talks, voice husky and low. My eyes fly open and heat runs through me.
By the time I get myself rolled over and propped up, he’s standing at the door, eyes mischievous and tracing over me.
“You’re going to use that voice and leave?”
He laughs, still using the low tenor of his range. “We’re still at port, babe. Plus, I think you’re going to need that nap. I’m going to go get the lay of the land and let you sleep. I’ll be back.” He blows me a kiss and slips out the door.
I throw my limbs down on the mattress and let out a gust of breath. Guess maybe I’m not the only one who thought a cruise might be a good place for sex. Well game on, Brandt. I steal a pillow from his side of the bed and arrange it under my hip to give me a bit more support and lay back down. A quick nap, and then I’ll be ready.
“ M ichelle. Babe. Dinner’s in thirty minutes. It’s time to get up.”
My eyes slowly open before the meaning of his words kick in. “Thirty minutes?! That means it’s ...” I try to remember what time Hunter said dinner was tonight.
“It’s six thirty. Dinner’s at seven.” Hunter’s lying next to me, dress pants on, but shirtless.
“This is a look.” I nod at all the ink on display.
He laughs. “I didn’t want to wrinkle my shirt, but wanted to watch you sleep for a bit.”
“You do it every day. You’re always awake before me.” I try to hide it in my tone, but I actually love his blue eyes being one of the first things I see every day now. Hunter never went back to his bed after the first sleepover a few weeks ago.
The soft smile on his face tells me he sees right through me. “Plus, I tried to wake you up earlier, and you were having none of it.”
I do remember telling him five more minutes. The light is lower, so it must have been a while ago.
“Okay, well, good thing all my dresses are low maintenance and sea water makes the waves extra wavy.” I gesture to my hair, hoping I’ll be able to salvage it since there’s no time to shower.
“You’re beautiful,” he says, pressing a kiss to the tip of my nose before pushing himself up. That’s sweet and all, but where’s the disrespectful guy from before?
He holds out a hand to help me sit up. “Besides. Every minute we’re late for dinner is another minute I’ll make you wait before I let you come.”
There he is.
“I’m not sure if that makes me want to hurry up or slow down,” I say, reaching out to trace down Hunter’s chest. He tries to move out of my reach, but the small quarters close him in, and he ends up thrusting his crotch toward me. My hand grazes a semi-hard cock before he manages to pull that away too. I raise an eyebrow at him.
“Dinner. Star gazing on the upper deck. Then you can touch all you want.”
I shove off the bed and head into the tiny bathroom.
“Unless we’re late.”
I look over my shoulder. “Promises, promises,” I say, before shutting the bathroom door.
T ry as I might, I can’t convince Hunter to skip the star gazing portion of the evening. His hand inched up my thigh all through dinner. Higher and higher until his fingertips grazed my mound, and then he’d remove it to take a sip of the one glass of wine he nursed all dinner before starting the path again at my knee. My underwear would be soaked—if I were wearing any. Thank God for light, patterned fabric.
Hunter leads me to the railing at the far end of the deck, bracketing me with his arms. His front presses in against my back. “Five minutes,” he says into my ear, and I let out a frustrated breath, knowing I’m not going to win my quest to shorten this part of the evening. We stand there for a moment as our eyes adjust to the lower light on this part of the ship. The next time I look up, there are stars everywhere. So many stars, like I’ve never seen before.
I must make a noise, because Hunter runs his nose down the back of my ear before saying, “Told you.” He retreats into silence as we stand there, taking in the expanse of the sky afforded by pitch darkness out at sea.
“Five minutes is up,” he says after what could have been thirty seconds or two hours.
“Maybe five more.” A breeze brushes across the deck and I shiver. Hunter gathers me closer and rests his chin on top of my head. For a moment, we’re the only two people on the planet and I’m glad he’s the only other one. I’ll have to remember to tell him later I’m glad he didn’t let me skip this.
The breeze picks up and cuts right through my thin dress. Hunter’s heat is doing its best to fight it, but my shivering picks up.
“C’mon. We can come back up tomorrow night. We’ll bring more layers.” He holds out his hand and laces our fingers together as we walk to the cabin.
Given my eagerness to skip to this part of the evening earlier, I’m surprised to find my stomach full of butterflies as we make our way down the final hallway before it’s just the two of us. Behind a closed door. With every intention of having sex.
Once we’re in our closet of a room, the butterflies have had babies and multiplied. Hunter flashes me a knowing smile. “C’mere,” he says, opening his arms. I walk right into them. Inhaling his cedar scent, his arms wrap around me, the kiss he presses to the top of my head, every worry I had calms. This is Hunter, the one who made me come alive in the bedroom in a way no one ever has. And we didn’t even know each other then.
He opens his mouth, presumably to tell me there’s no pressure. I cover his lips with my hand, cutting him off, before pulling his head down, replacing my hand with my lips. My tongue traces the seam of his mouth, asking for entry as my hands clutch at his broad, strong shoulders .
He groans as he opens for me, his hands moving down to my ass, pulling me as tightly to him as he can with my pregnant belly between us. His fingers curve, cupping a cheek in each hand as our mouths move against each other, tongues dancing.
“Where’s your underwear, baby?” He mutters against my lips.
“Looks like I left it in the suitcase,” I say, speaking the words against his skin, kissing my way down his neck.
He growls, pulling my dress up my legs until he can slip his hands under fabric. One circles back to resume its grip on my ass, while the other seeks my center. I widen my legs slightly to let his fingers slide through where I’m slick, inviting him in.
With his mouth on my ear, he says, “All this wetness, one layer away all night. It’s a good thing I didn’t know, or I may have dropped under the tablecloth and had you for dinner.” His fingers sweep across my clit, once, twice before he brings his hand from under my dress. Leaning back, he brings his fingers to his lips and tastes me on it. “Even sweeter than I remember.”
A shudder racks through my body and I step back before I get too lost in the moment. His hands follow, reaching for me, but he lets me take my space.
“Hold that thought. I’m going to go freshen up and slip into something more comfortable.” I snag a black bundle from my bag and walk to the bathroom, taking a peek over my shoulder. Hunter looks wrecked, his lips swollen and red, hair standing up from my hands running through it.
“As long as you promise not to add any underwear,” he says as I reach the door to the bathroom.
“As long as I come out here to find you in only your underwear, you’ve got yourself a deal.” Hunter’s fingers immediately start working on the buttons on his shirt.
Alone in the bathroom, I catch myself in the mirror, my lips as well used as Hunter’s, with a hint of red on my cheeks from his stubble. The anxious woman from before is long gone.
After I freshen up, I slip the long dress over my head and replace it with a sheer black nighty. It’s no green lace bodysuit, but the silkiness of the fabric lights up my nerve endings. Deciding there’s no reason to hide how bad I want it. I rush out to the bedroom. The sight of Hunter stops me short. Lying on the bed, he did as I asked and removed all his clothes except for his boxer briefs. What I didn’t expect was for him to pull his cock out above the waist band, leisurely stroking it up and down while waiting for me.
“Starting without me?” I ask, lifting an eyebrow.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he says, his eyes roving over my body, taking in the way the fabric skims the top of my thighs and the sheer fabric allows the rose color of my nipples to show through. “Fuck, Michelle. You look . . . Well, your tits?—”
“Look insane, right?” I cut him off, both of us grinning at the echo from our night together in March. Little did we know they’d look even more insane thanks to a little Cumulus growing inside me.
“Get over here so I can taste them,” he says, his voice pulling me to him like a magnet. I climb up on the bed and straddle his lap. His cock lays forgotten against his stomach, still above the waistband of his briefs. We both hiss as my bare skin meets the hard thickness. Hunter digs his hands into my hips, pulling them back slightly as he bends to take one of my nipples into his mouth. The stinging bite, following by soothing licks, sends a bolt of heat to my pussy, and my hips rock up on their own, seeking friction. My clit glides along his cock, and I groan as I continue to rock back and forth, overwhelmed by the sensation at my breasts and the bundle of nerves at my core.
Another groan vibrates from Hunter’s chest, this one vibrating against the nipple he’s tending through the fabric. His hands help guide me along his cock before squeezing tight and holding me still. His eyes clamp shut, and he breathes deep, searching for his control. When they open, they find mine immediately, and my breath catches at the hunger I see in them.
“I wanted to take this slow, make it last, but if I don’t get inside your cunt in the next few seconds, I might die. ”
Not wanting my pussy to be responsible for any deaths, I reach between us and with his help work his underwear further down his thighs before he manages to kick them off. Gripping his cock tight in my fist, I move my hand up and down once before holding it up and lowering myself onto him.
“Fuck, Clyde. Michelle,” Hunter groans against my shoulder as he inches into my tightness. “You feel so good bare around my dick.” I start to lift my hips, following the urge to move, but he tightens his grip once more. “You’re going to need to give me a minute.”
He tilts his head back, eyes closed. I lean forward to graze his lips. One hand leaves my side to tangle in my hair, tilting my head right where he wants it. “Baby, I’m going to need you to move,” I mutter against his mouth, feeling I might come apart at the seams if he doesn’t.
“Anything for you,” he answers as the hand at my hips guides me upward before his hips piston up, thrusting deeper than before.
“Fuck yes,” I say, using my knees to meet his tempo. “Just like that.” Sweat breaks out on my brow, a drop running down my back under the fabric that suddenly feels restrictive instead of luxurious.
Like he’s reading my mind, Hunter pulls the offending garment up over my head and throws it to the side. His mouth latches immediately to my bare breast, biting down hard enough to leave a mark on the underside. My channel constricts in time with the pain and his gasp heats against my skin.
“Harder, please,” I manage to ask, even as my rhythm falters. Hunter takes over, moving me up and down on his cock, plunging hard and deep with each thrust. I lean back slightly, changing the angle, and then he’s hitting that spot every time.
“Yes, right there.”
Through gritted teeth, he says, “I’m going to need you to get there, Michelle. Can you come for me? ”
Like my body was simply waiting for him to ask, I shatter, yelling out.
“Beautiful,” Hunter mutters, before pounding up once, twice, more before holding me tightly on his cock. It’s my turn to open my eyes as his warmth fills me, unable to look away from this man falling off the cliff into his orgasm. The visual and the pulses inside me spur an aftershock to run through my body.
No longer able to hold my body upright, I collapse forward onto Hunter’s chest, pushing him against the headboard. We stay like that, sweat cooling on our bodies as our breathing slows. All the while, Hunter’s hand strokes up and down my back.
After a while, Hunter softens enough he slips out of me, and I wince as the gush of liquid spills onto the bed.
“Don’t worry,” he says, pushing his lips against my temple. “I’ll sleep in the wet spot.” He helps me off his lap and onto my side. “I’ll be right back,” he says, slipping off to the bathroom. My eyes stay closed longer and longer with each blink, and I’m asleep before Hunter returns.