Chapter 3
Haunting Harper – Jack
“ B ryant?” I call after arriving at my docked yacht. He says he sleeps best on water, so when we aren’t traveling, I let him stay on it.
“Oh, hey boss!”
It’s nighttime, and he’s sitting on the main deck. He isn’t in his uniform, but he’s wearing a gray V-neck, black pants, a dark handkerchief around his neck, and a brown newsboy hat on his head.
When I climb aboard, I notice there’s a young woman on his screen.
“Bryant!” I whisper while slapping his chest. I’ve been hounding him about getting back in the dating pool after his divorce. And with a younger woman? You dirty dog.
He looks confused and then glances back at the laptop. “Oh! God no.” He runs his fingers through his auburn hair before facing me again. Then, he says, “I’m interviewing stewards for the upcoming trip, sir.”
Oh. “I thought we talked about this.” After everything that happened with Harper, my ex-fiancée, I was very clear that I wanted a male crew going forward.
“I know, I know.” Now he’s twiddling with his mustache. “But her application was so genuine. The least you can do is say hello.”
I give him a look, but he waves me over.
“Kayla, this is Jack Shelley. The owner of The Marina .”
“Hi.” I say without really looking.
“Hi. Um, it’s nice to meet you, Mr. Shelley,” the young woman responds.
“Yep. You too.” I then look at my captain. “Are you almost finished here?”
“Just about.”
“Good. I need to speak with you later.”
He nods.
With that, I go into my almost all white cabin.
It’s lined with large windows, but since it is dark out, I don’t need to pull the shades down.
I’ve run myself close to empty planning for this trip, and I’m exhausted, so it is relieving when my body flops down onto the fluffy bed.
But when I fall asleep, there’s even more torment in my mind.
Harper and I are in this very cabin, and I’m just watching her sleep. She had the cutest way of moving her mouth as she slept.
Her dark hair is strewn across her pillow, and I graze some of it.
When she finally wakes up, her brown eyes pierce my soul. She sits up and smiles at me.
“What were you doing?”
Grinning back, I say, “Just watching.”
She lightly tickles my stomach. “You’re such a weirdo. Do you know that?”
I shrug. “You looked so peaceful; I couldn’t help it.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She flips the sheets off, stands up, and offers her hand out to me. “Care for a morning swim?”
“You don’t have to ask me twice.”
With that, her chin buries into her shoulder, and she giggles before sauntering away. I follow her.
Then, when we’re outside, I take my eyes off of her for one minute, and when I look back, she’s completely naked. Her tank-top and shorts are on the floor next to her.
“Harp—” I glance around to make sure there aren’t any nearby boats.
“Don’t be such a fuddy duddy,” she says before diving into the water.
I stand closer to the back and watch as she swims—her alabaster skin glowing in the reflection of the sun.
She suddenly pops her head up. “Aren’t you going to join me?”
I’m already shirtless, so all I need to discard is my underwear and pants. I hesitate when it’s time for me to be completely naked.
“Come on, baby! The water is fine!” she coaxes.
Fuck it. I pull off the last stitch of clothing I have on, and then I jump in with her.
“Woo!” She wraps her arms around my neck and shoulders when I swim closer. “See? Isn’t that better?”
I look down and see her large breasts bob up and down, a sight which makes me hard. “Absolutely.” Bending down slightly, I kiss each one.
Now that all I can concentrate is having sex with her, I look around for something—anything—to prop her up against. There’s a small ladder connecting from my boat and the water, so I gesture to it with my head, and we both swim over to it.
I get her in position on a rung, stand with one foot on a lower one, and then kiss her deeply. She tastes like saltwater.
“Ooh, baby,” she coos as I nibble at her neck.
Then, I spread her legs open.
“Seriously? Here?”
I pull away slightly. “Oh, I’m sorry. No, not if you don’t want—”
She grabs my face and brings me closer. “No, I love it.”
I kiss her again before using my hand to plunge inside of her. And as I do just that, I feel like the king of the world.
Harper gasps and moans as I thrust against her body.
“You okay?” I just want to make sure I’m not hurting her or anything.
“Never been better,” she answers with a smile.
So, I continue moving up and down.
“I’m going to come soon,” I announce a few moments later because I’m not sure if I need to pull out or not.
“Okay,” she says breathlessly. And she claws into my back tighter, so I take that as an indication that we’re good just as we are.
I’m breathing heavily by the time it’s done.
“How was that?” I whisper in her ear.
“Wonderful. I love it when you’re spontaneous.”
We give each other one more peck before climbing back on board.
She puts her pajama set back on, and after rubbing a towel against my wet hair, I use it to drape over my bottom half.
“Breakfast?” I ask before kissing her on top of the head. She’s now sitting down and reading a magazine.
“Yes please.”
I go into the gallery and start making her favorite—French toast with raspberries and maple syrup.
It’s the dish that made her fall in love with me, after all. She was still new, and she obviously didn’t know that I do most of the cooking on the yacht.
“Oh, my god. Who made these?” she asked one morning.
“I did,” I answered with pride.
Her eyes opened wide. “You, Mr. Shelley?”
I nodded. “Indeed.”
“They’re so good!” she exclaimed before taking another bite.
“I’m glad you like them.” One of the ways I show love and appreciation is through cooking, and when someone likes my food that much, it’s an added bonus.
But when I go to present the latest batch to her, she isn’t on the deck anymore.
“Harper?” I call after her as I search.
I finally find her in our room. She’s kneeling by my closet.
“Wha—” I move closer and see she’s trying on my mother’s ring.
The rage I felt in that dream wakes me.
I exhale loudly before sitting straight. Then, I look around and remind myself of the reality that she isn’t on the boat or even in my life anymore.
Next, I get up and walk over to the closet and pull out mother’s ring.
Still here. I sigh in relief. It’s one of the last things I have of hers.
Bryant soon comes in and alerts me to his presence with a loud clearing of his throat.
“Sir.”
“Oh, Bryant. Hello. Please come in.”
With raised eyebrows, he asks, “Are you sure? You look preoccupied.”
I put the ring back in the box. “I’m sure.”
He walks closer to me and has his hands behind his back. “You wanted to speak to me?”
“I did. How did that interview end up going?”
“Very well. With your permission, I’d like to hire her.”
“Bryant—”
He puts his hand up with the palm facing me. “I know. But I have a good feeling about her. Will you trust me?”
I cross my arms. “Hm.”
“Hey, I didn’t hire Harper. That was all you.”
That’s true. I thought she was hot, so I hired her on the spot.
“Well?” he says when I fail to say something.
I stare at him for a second. “Fine.”
He smirks. “Thank you, sir.”
I rub above my lip with one of my hands. “What about everything else? Are we on schedule to depart by the week’s end?”
“Indeed.”
Good. As evidenced by the dream I just had, I really need a vacation.