Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Elliot
“Where are we going?” Seraphine asks as we pull into the Elliot Bay Marina. “I thought we were getting lunch?”
“We are getting lunch, sweetness. Just not at a restaurant.”
She looks at me suspiciously, but I pull into a parking spot and get out to open the door for her.
Taking her hand, I lead her down to the docks.
She looks around, as if she’s never seen a marina before.
There are boats all lined up, the sun bright in the sky even though it’s chilly out.
It’s going to be cold out on the bay, but I have plenty of blankets and jackets on the boat to keep her warm.
“You have a boat,” she says matter-of-factly when we stop in front of it.
“Boat, yacht. To-may-to, to-mah-to,” I say with a wink and step on board.
“Permission to come aboard?” she asks—so damn adorable.
“Permission granted.” I offer her my hand and help her onto the deck.
The yacht is sleek and luxurious, with an elegant white hull.
It has four levels: the main deck for lounging, a lower deck with a kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom, and two upper decks.
The top deck is reserved for the captain's control station which gives panoramic views, while the second upper deck is a sunbathing area with plush seating and a small bar.
I can’t wait to bring her aboard during the summer, when I can see her laying beneath the sun in a tiny bathing suit. Or better—naked.
“This is… wow. I’ve never been on a boat before.”
“Never?” I ask.
“Nope. Well, maybe in elementary school for a field trip, but I hardly remember that.”
“Those boats are trash anyway. This is much better.” I gesture for her to move into the cabin and down the sts. It’s already warm because I asked the dock manager to get things situated for me. “Let me give you the grand tour.”
She gasps once we reach the kitchen. “There’s a bed in here?” She moves into the bedroom.
It’s big enough for us to fit comfortably. Along with the king-sized bed, there is a TV mounted to the wall, and drawers built into the walls.
“And a bathroom!” she swipes the wall, looking for the light. The room brightens when she finds it, and I catch her excited look in the mirror. She turns back to me. “This is so cool.”
“I’m glad you approve.”
“Mr. Caldwell?” My name is called from above deck, pulling my attention.
“I’ll be right back. Keep looking around.”
I head up the stairs, and find Teddy, one of the workers, standing on the dock, holding a few bags.
“Right on time,” I say as I take the bags from him. “Thank you for this.”
“Of course, sir. Any time.”
Bringing the bags downstairs, I leave them on the countertop in the kitchen.
“What’s that?” Seraphine asks, leaning against the door jamb.
“Lunch.”
“It smells amazing.”
“Should we head out, then eat, or would you like to eat first?”
She looks out the small window. All we can see right now is the boat next to mine.
“Let’s go out first. Eating on the water will be amazing.”
I don’t point out that we’re already on the water because I know what she means.
“Come on then,” I tell her. I pull off the ties holding us to the dock on the way up. And as we make our way to the Captain’s quarters, she takes in the rest of what this boat has to offer.
“Do you want to drive it?” I ask.
“Me? No way.” She shakes her head.
“Suit yourself.”
I start it up and off we go.
The bay isn’t big. Not enough where we won’t see buildings, but it’s still nice to be surrounded by nothing but water with no distractions. I anchor the boat once I hit an area we can relax in.
“Let’s go eat,” I say.
We go below deck and I get the food sorted. Before heading back up top, I grab a blanket, thinking Seraphine may end up wanting it. I toss it over my shoulder to have my hands free, to carry my plate of food and the bottle of wine. We get comfortable in our seats, resting our plates on the table.
“Hopefully it’s still warm enough,” I say.
Seraphine twirls her fork into the pasta that’s steaming and takes the bite. She nods, and after swallowing says, “It’s perfect.”
We eat in silence. She stares around in awe at our surroundings. I can’t pull my gaze from her.
“I could stay out here all day,” she says, pushing her plate away.
“Then we will.”
“Don’t you have things to do?” she asks me.
I lean back, shaking my head. “No.”
“Oh, come on. Your weekends are always busy. I see your schedule. Did you forget who I am?”
How could I ever?
“I cleared the day for you.”
The happiness falls from her face, but it doesn’t turn into sadness. Something more like shock. Maybe concern? I can’t be sure.
“What should we do?” I ask, reaching for my glass of wine.
“I’m content to lay on the front of the boat over there and stare at the sky.”
I get to my feet. “Then that’s what we’ll do.”
After cleaning up the mess from lunch, I gather as many blankets as I can and carry them to the front lounging deck, where I told Seraphine to wait for me. She argued, of course, demanded to help, but I wouldn’t see any part of that. Eventually she agreed.
She does help me lay the blankets out though, since it’s windy and they keep flying all over the place. The last thing I want is one to fly overboard. Fishing a wet blanket out of the water won’t be an easy task.
“Lie down on it,” I tell her, when the blankets swoop up again.
Giggling, she pounces onto the blankets and turns onto her back.
I’ve got three on top of each other, hopefully making it soft enough that she won’t be uncomfortable.
Once I get the other side of them flattened, I get on and lie beside her.
Wrangling the last blanket, I pull it over us to contain our body heat.
The sun is behind us, the upper cabin deck blocking what would cause us to need to shield our eyes. The sky is blue with a good number of clouds. It’s a beautiful day, despite the chill in the air.
“That one looks like an alligator.” She points up and to the left. It takes a moment, but I find the one she’s talking about.
“The ones below it looks like a face. See the two smaller ones on top and then the half circle beneath it?”
We continue this for a little while, pointing out the clouds and what they look like until she falls silent, the mood shifting.
“Is everything okay?” I ask, not sure what I could have done to sour the mood. Was it something I said? Not even directly, but something triggering something?
Seraphine has been dealing with so much lately; I can imagine she has many triggers to bad moods. I want to learn them all and avoid them all. Or better, learn them all and fix them. Turn them into something positive. I wish I knew why I felt this way, but I’m at the point where I no longer care.
“What is she like?” Her words aren’t much louder than a whisper. I know who she’s speaking about immediately, and as much as I don’t want to dive into this conversation, it may help her. And that’s all I want to do.
“Angela is a force to be reckoned with.” I huff out a humorless laugh. “She’s outgoing, takes what she wants, and doesn’t care who gets hurt on the way. She’s smart but cares more about her looks than brains. Always has.”
“She’s prettier than me,” she whispers.
“No,” I respond immediately. “Not even close.”
“You’re just being nice.”
“I’m being honest, Seraphine. Angela is beautiful, yes, but her selfish nature ruins it. You are stunning on the outside, and your innocent and good-natured heart makes you even more so.”
She turns on her side to face me, pulling up the blankets to her chin, and I turn my head so I can see her better.
“I hate that I’m not over this.”
I run my thumb over her cheek and her eyes fall closed.
“Pain can last a lifetime,” I say. “I’m sure that’s not what you want to hear, but it’s the truth.”
Her eyes open again, those bright emerald orbs staring at me with such intensity.
“I bet you wouldn’t cause me pain.”
I give the slightest shake of my head, best as I can with the way I’m facing her. “Never.”
And that’s the truth. How or why, I don’t know.
“What would people think?”
“It doesn’t matter what people think.”
She chews on the inside of her cheek, my hand still resting on her face. She puts hers over mine, curling her fingers under my palm.
“I like the way you make me feel. When I’m with you, I think I can do anything.”
“You can. Even on your own. It has nothing to do with me.”
“It has everything to do with you. The way you talk about me, the way you stick up for me. No one has ever done that for me. Not even my own father.”
“He was ill.”
“It doesn’t matter if he had a reason or not. It still never happened. I’ve never had anyone in my life on my side. Even with hardly knowing you, I feel like you are on my side.”
“I am.”
“I just wish… I knew why.”
I smile, running my thumb along her soft skin. “Some of the best things in life are unexplainable, Seraphine. Does the reasoning behind things really matter?”
“It does when the people around you have always done things that don’t make sense.”
I sigh, nodding. “I suppose that makes sense.”
“Can you try? To explain it. Tell me why you are so kind to me, why you make me feel like this.”
I pull my hand from her face and shift on my side, resting my head on my hand, my arm bent at the elbow. I think over how I want to say this, and when I get a good enough idea, I speak.
“It’s something primal. Protective. Deep within me, there is this urge to have you, to see you smile.
When I think of your smile, my body reacts positively.
Serotonin, I suppose. When I think of you hurting, I want to tear someone’s head off.
The only way I can explain this to you is in how I feel, the way my body reacts.
Because even when I think about it, I can’t come up with anything other than the obvious. ”
“Obvious?”
“How adorable you are. Beautiful. Smart. Ambitious. Even your pain is beautiful, Seraphine. The way you wear it, the way you deal with it. You’re so strong, even if you don’t think you are. I see it. I see you.”
This is something I have already said to her, but sometimes words don’t matter until you are ready to hear them. Maybe she’s ready to hear them now.
Her lips part, and I wait for her to say something in response. Ask me to go on or argue with me. Either is a possibility. Though she does neither of those. Instead, she pushes herself toward me and presses her lips to mine.
There aren’t many things in life that stun me, but this does.
It isn’t what I expected her to do. Not even close.
Not here, not now. She was so sure just the other night she needed more time, and even then…
it was sex. For many people, sex is easier than kissing.
Kissing is intimate, while sex can be distant.
I’ve spent hours thinking of all the things I would enjoy doing to Seraphine, and though kissing was on that list, I hadn’t intended it to be the first. Well, second, I guess, since she’s already jerked me off and made me cover myself in cum.
Combing my fingers through her hair, I grasp the back of her head and pull her closer to me.
Then she’s on top of me, the warmth between her legs heating my cock and making me stiff.
My free hand goes to her ass, pushing her into me to grind my erection against her.
She moans into my mouth, pressing down harder on me, and grasping the front of my shirt.
The cool chill of air from the bay is the only thing stopping me from combusting—I’m certain of it. My body hasn’t been this alive in years.
I gather her hair and pull it to one side, moving my mouth down her jaw and to her neck, kissing and nipping at her skin. She pants, still grinding against my dick, making me wish I could snap my fingers to make our clothes disappear.
“Please tell me I can have you now,” I rasp out, my lips pressed to her neck.
Half word, half moan, she says, “Yes.”
I roll us over so she’s beneath me, and hope like hell it isn’t going to be too cold once I get her pants off.