Chapter 21
DANI
"What are we going to do? This is such a mess."
The cabin was dark and they'd been lying like this for a while, Dani’s head on Jordan's chest, Jordan's arm around her shoulders, the duvet pulled up over both of them.
Jordan's skin was warm against her cheek and she loved the slow steady rhythm of her breathing.
The bedside clock had said three when she last looked at it.
"I was hoping you'd tell me," Jordan said. "I know how to dock a hundred-and-twenty-foot motor yacht in a sixty-knot crosswind but I don't know what to do with this."
She ran her hand down the length of Dani's arm, from shoulder to elbow, and then back up. The small absent stroke of it was doing something to Dani even now, even with both of them half-dead from exhaustion.
"I'm your boss, Dani," Jordan said, quieter. "This could cause an issue."
Dani tilted her head and looked up at her. "Only if we make it an issue."
"Mm."
"And it's not against the rules unless you make it a rule either."
Jordan's chest moved under her cheek as she breathed in deeply. "I'm sorry. I'm not—I'm not very good at this part. It's been a while since I've had to have a conversation like this and I don't know how to—I mean, I haven't—I—" She trailed off.
"Okay," Dani said. "Just so we're clear, now you're the one rambling."
Jordan let out a quiet laugh as her hand came up to Dani's hair, gathered a strand, let it fall. "I don't quite know what to do with myself around you. I've noticed you before in that way. I just never let myself do anything about it." She sighed. "As I said, I'm not very good at this."
"You're doing all right, Captain."
Jordan's hand stayed in her hair and Dani shifted against her, making herself comfortable along the length of her body. "I noticed you too," she said. "Obviously."
"Obviously?"
"Yeah. The whole crew has noticed me noticing you. They've been teasing me about it. Apparently the first time I openly stared at you was when you hauled in the anchor line by hand because the windlass had jammed. Lindsay still teases me about it."
"That was four years ago. Our first charter." Jordan smiled. "I had no idea you thought of me in that way. Even back then."
"You're so oblivious, Jordan."
"Apparently so." She ran her hand down Dani's back, stopped at the bottom of her spine and rested it there. "Well, everything has changed now and to be honest with you, I don't want to stop."
"We don't have to stop," Dani said. "Nobody needs to know. Well. Lindsay knows."
"Yes, but Lindsay is good with secrets." There was a tiny, very tiny, almost-not-there pause before Jordan replied. "Apparently. I mean, you told me, so I’m going to have to trust you on that."
Dani lifted her head a little higher. "Is there something you're not telling me about Lindsay? Because she said she's got something to tell me. She's not quitting, is she? Is she sick?"
Jordan closed her eyes briefly and when she opened them she was looking at the ceiling, avoiding Dani's gaze. "Whatever Lindsay wants to tell you is between her and you. But don't worry. She's not quitting and she's not sick."
Dani narrowed her eyes at her but there was no point pushing. "Okay. As long as she's fine, I won't bug you about it. I can wait until tomorrow."
"Thank you." Jordan kissed her forehead. "What are you doing in the next few days when we're back?"
"I don't know yet," Dani said. "I haven't made any plans apart from our usual drinks night with the crew tomorrow."
Jordan nodded and was quiet for a beat. "You could stay on the Maiden Voyage with me if you like? We could talk, figure things out and—you know." She grinned. "Other things."
Understanding the weight of the question, Dani lifted up onto her elbow and turned to her. The Maiden Voyage was Jordan’s home, not just where she worked. Inviting Dani to stay after the charter, when they didn't have to be here, was not a small offer.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I'd like that," Jordan said. "But if it's too much or too soon, I understand. The cabin is small, I know, but the whole boat is ours. The sundeck. The jacuzzi. I don't cook but we can order in, or go out—there's a Cuban place on Caroline Street that—"
"Jordan," Dani interrupted her. "You don't have to sell it to me. I just want to see you. And yes, I'd love to stay."
Jordan smiled and pulled her back down against her chest. She pressed her mouth into Dani's hair and let out a sigh of contentment. "Great," she murmured. "I'm looking forward to having some real private time with you."
"In daylight," Dani said with a chuckle.
"Mm. You might not like me in daylight."
"I doubt that very much."
Jordan's hand drifted low on Dani's back, fingers spreading across her skin.
The simple caress was the kind of thing that should not, after the night they'd had, still send heat through her, but it did.
Her breath stuttered and a small low pulse started up between her thighs.
She shifted against her with a quiet moan, and Jordan's thigh slid between hers in answer.
She'd lost any pretense of being subtle about Captain Jordan Hayes.