Chapter 32 Daniel
Chapter 32
Daniel
‘I’d better be getting back to the wheelhouse.’ In truth, he knew Dudley had taken over by now, but he was beginning to feel like he couldn’t trust himself in this small space with Ore standing so close to him.
Moments before he had almost lost control. Her dark eyes, doe-like and almost liquid with feeling, had pierced through something. It had felt like the lulling of the boat and gravity itself were conspiring to test his resolve. And then when he stepped away he thought he saw disappointment on her face and it made his heart beat even faster.
‘How far away are we from the reef now? I’d almost forgotten that’s where we were headed?’ Ore was making her way out of the cupboard, throwing the question back over her shoulder nonchalantly. Daniel tried not to fixate on how much he yearned for them to be closer again, close enough for him to feel the heat radiating off her body.
‘Umm—’ he checked his watch ‘—about twelve hours. I was supposed to rest up until I relieved Dudley for the night shift.’ He shrugged. ‘But I guess I … got distracted.’ As Daniel said the words it occurred to him that they were more flirtatious than he’d anticipated. He had been referring to the interview with Carlos, but from the way Ore suddenly looked down and smiled shyly, he guessed she had taken it differently.
‘Sorry about that,’ she said quietly, peering up at him through lashes. Just as that heaviness began to settle between them again, Ore turned suddenly and threw the door open. The blinding midday sunlight flooded in. The smoggy gatherings of their intimate huddle dispersed into the wind.
‘I’m heading this way.’ Ore pointed vaguely in the direction of the lower deck.
‘Right well I’m heading up to the top deck to check in on Dudley …’ Daniel pointed up, and then felt self-conscious about mimicking her gestures. Ore giggled and they both stood there for a moment. Daniel felt like a kid again, at a loss around a pretty girl.
Eventually it was Ore who turned on her heel, offering him a salute and a wink before heading below deck. Daniel didn’t move and when she disappeared down the stairs he let out a big sigh.
‘What the hell is wrong with you, man?’ he said to himself, out loud, before looking around to check no one was there to witness his descent into madness. He shook his head forcefully, as though that might dislodge the growing sense that he already couldn’t wait to see her again.
He hoped that he had regained her trust, but he was worried about where this story was going. The stuff with Claude, it was fishy for sure, but he found himself hoping that Ore would let it go and focus on Chuck. Claude was not a man you wanted to get on the wrong side of. He determined that the best thing to do would be to make sure he was up to date with Ore’s investigation, and keep an eye on Claude and Chuck. If he knew that Ore was digging into this mysterious Klauparten and he could keep an eye on Claude to make sure he wasn’t getting wind of anything, maybe he could keep her safe.
He didn’t particularly feel up to reflecting on exactly why he was so compelled to do so, because then he’d also have to face the fact that her touch made his blood run hot, and that earlier in the cupboard he’d felt a stirring. He hadn’t gotten inappropriately hard since he was a teenager, and it felt embarrassing that he couldn’t control himself.
He’d try and catch up with her after his afternoon shift, see if she’d discovered anything else, and hopefully try and gently persuade her to stick to the profile, and forget about Claude, for her own good. In the meantime, he needed some rest before he took over from Dudley.
Back in his room, Daniel slipped on his tracksuit bottoms and an old T-shirt, before sliding into bed. With his eyes closed, he found it impossible to fight the urge to relive the moment in the kit cupboard. And as it had at the time, it made him hard.
He imagined her hands, slender fingers and soft palms, curling around him, coaxing him and stroking him. He wished he could bottle the smell of her, and inhale it now as his hand pumped faster and the ache in his groin intensified. Jasmine and peppermint and something indescribably heady, like ripe flesh. He thought about the crease between her thigh and hip that he’d spied when she was on Carlos’ shoulders in the shallows. He thought about the glimmer of her collarbone peeking out of her linen shirt. He thought about her mouth, slightly agape as she gazed at him in that cupboard. And then he was tumbling, shuddering, thundering back into his bed. His breath heaving, and his hand wet.
He laughed to himself as he cleaned himself up in the bathroom. He didn’t think of himself as a horny person. He had enjoyed sex with his ex, but since they had broken up, he had found himself surprisingly satisfied with celibacy. The odd hook-up in his home town on the rare occasions that he went back were enough to sustain the months on board. He rarely even touched himself, and when he did, it was, as with everything else in his life, efficient, more a way to get himself to sleep than something he took pleasure from. This was something different. He looked in the mirror, and found himself smiling – he looked younger.
Conveniently it did also have the effect of sending him to sleep, and when his alarm went off, he was once again dragged from an unusually deep slumber.
Daniel put on his uniform and headed up to the wheelhouse to relieve Dudley.
‘I’m glad you’re here, Captain. Take a look at this.’ Dudley pointed to the whirl of dark grey hovering over the map on the screen in front of him. ‘I think we need to go around it …’
Daniel leant in to take a closer look, and sighed heavily. The last thing he needed on his plate was a cyclone. ‘I’ll talk to Chuck.’ It was one of his least favourite parts of this job, but needs must.