25
Helen
The night wind lashes the bow of the Marine IV as if to remind me that I’ve just told every single one of the shipping company’s protocols to go to hell.
My uniform is ruined, stained with lemon and sugar.
I feel the sticky residue of the mixture clinging to my skin, irrefutable proof that, no matter how hard I try to maintain control of my life, when Maika is near, my defenses short-circuit.
The cool Mediterranean air clashes violently with the heat radiating from my body.
Just below the bridge, in this crew-only area, the small hot tub bubbles, giving off a thick steam that clouds my ability to think straight.
The lights on the upper decks are dim, almost conspiratorial.
All around us is nothing but steel, coiled ropes, and the imposing darkness of the sea. No one can see us here. No one should.
Maika is standing beside me, still wearing her contest apron and a mischievous spark in her eyes that immediately quickens my pulse.
“Helen. Do me a favor and turn off that little brain of yours for five minutes.”
I try to cling to logic, desperately searching for a phrase to bring order to my thoughts, but it’s a lost cause.
“Maika, this is downright reckless. There’s a chance security might come by here. And my uniform…”
She doesn’t let me finish. She takes a step forward, closing the distance, and her fingers rest directly on the top button.
She doesn’t take her eyes off mine, holding my gaze with a boldness that makes me tremble.
I feel the precise pressure of her touch, the warmth of her skin against mine, and that faint blush on her cheeks that betrays how desperately she’s dying to devour me.
“The uniform is already ruined…” she murmurs, beginning to unbutton the garment with an exasperating slowness that forces me to hold my breath. “Just like your precious self-control.”
The first button gives way. The second one too. The icy night air kisses the exposed skin of my neck and collarbone, contrasting wildly with the fire that begins to rush toward my pelvis. I smell lemon, sugar, the sea… and her.
My mind tries to play one last trick on me, trying to label the situation as a simple slipup, a truce after victory. But that’s a lie. Maika is no longer my rival on this ship. Maika is my absolute downfall.
Before I can say anything, she slips my jacket off my shoulders and lets it fall without a second thought.
My arms are exposed, as is my white undershirt.
Maika takes a step back, unties her apron, and tosses it to the floor.
Underneath, she’s wearing a tight T-shirt that accentuates her curves and chef’s pants.
The soft glow spilling from the hot tub outlines her silhouette in a way that takes my breath away.
“Come here,” she orders in a whisper, reaching out a hand toward me.
I don’t think twice. I shed the rest of my clothes with a haste I don’t recognize in myself, piling them in a corner. She does exactly the same, undressing with an innate sensuality that sets my blood ablaze. When she takes my hand again, she guides me straight to the water’s edge.
The steam envelops us completely.
I sink into the hot tub up to my waist. The hot water embraces my hips, dissolving the sticky sugar residue, the tension, and the exhaustion of the day, but intensifying that citrus scent I’m carrying.
Maika steps in right behind me. I feel the ripples of the water, and immediately, her warm body presses completely against my back.
I feel the firmness of her breasts against my shoulder blades and her hands, determined and possessive, wrapping around my waist beneath the water.
“Maika, really…” I try again, though my voice sounds much weaker and more defeated than I intended. “We shouldn’t… If someone from the deck peeks in and sees us…”
Her lips brush the nape of my neck, cutting me off. She gives me a light, tender kiss, followed by another that makes me arch my back. Her teeth gently bite my skin, and an electric shiver runs down my spine, sending any logical argument packing.
“Shut up already, Helen,” she whispers against my ear, brushing my earlobe with her lips as her hot breath burns me. “Tonight, I’m the one giving the orders.”
Her hands travel up my torso. Her nails gently scrape my ribs above the water, drawing a heavy sigh from me as I enjoy the contrast in temperature on my bare shoulders.
Without giving me time to react, Maika covers my breasts with her palms, kneading them with an urgency that drives me wild and making my nipples harden instantly beneath her fingers.
A wave of pleasure washes over my belly, and a muffled moan escapes my throat before I can stop it.
“Well, well… looks like the security officer knows how to moan,” she murmurs playfully, pinching a nipple between her thumb and index finger. “Where did that strict demeanor go?”
Her words act like gasoline on a fire. I feel my analytical mind slip away completely.
Maika forces me to turn in the water so I’m facing her, leaning against the edge of the hot tub.
As I look into those eyes of hers, bright, filled with a wild need, I forget the risks, the crew, and the consequences.
I lunge straight for her mouth. At first she’s taken aback, but it takes Maika barely a second to take control.
Her tongue invades my mouth, claiming it, exploring every corner with an authority that fascinates me.
It tastes of lemon and victory. My hands, desperate to touch her, cling to her bare shoulders, slide down her back, and pull her forcefully toward me, wanting to meld our skin together.
Maika uses the momentum to wrap her legs around my waist, straddling my lap.
With her in that position, I lean forward and take one of her breasts into my mouth, sucking her nipple with a hunger I didn’t know I possessed.
Maika lets out a sharp moan and arches her back toward me as she tangles her fingers tightly in my hair, pulling me closer while panting into my ear.
“Like that… please,” she moans, losing her breath as well.
Hearing that plea on her lips, broken by desire, makes me feel more alive than ever. I’m no longer in transit; I’m no longer thinking about the shipping company’s future. I’m here. With her.
We slide a little further down into the water, letting the bubbling waves wash over us.
Our bodies rub together inevitably, creating friction that sends sparks through me.
My hands explore the curves of her body: her narrow waist, her generous hips, and that firm ass that I squeeze tightly to press her intimacy against mine.
Maika pushes me back against the edge of the hot tub. And then, her hands travel down my belly, submerging beneath the hot water, following a burning path that leads straight to my crotch. The water laps at my exposed sex, but it’s the anticipation of her fingers that makes me tremble completely.
“Look at me, Helen,” she commands, breathless.
I lock my eyes on hers. Maika spreads my legs a little wider and slides her fingers between my lips, finding me completely soaked for her.
My head falls back instantly. The night sky is a dark blanket over us, and the only sound accompanying us is the roar of the sea. Maika begins to move, sinking into me.
“Maika…” I gasp. And my facade crumbles. “This is too much… oh, God…”
She doesn’t respond with words. Her fingers curve inside me, making me thrust my hips against her hand involuntarily. The water churns around us.
“Don’t stop… please, don’t stop,” I beg, completely lost in the moment.
Maika picks up the pace. Her tongue finds my neck, while her fingers mercilessly work inside me.
The contrast is fucking insane: the hot water, the cool wind on my skin, her fiery mouth…
I feel the pressure building in my core until I explode.
The orgasm washes over me like a shock wave on the high seas.
But I don’t even have time to catch my breath, because Maika moves quickly and, before I can process it, she sits on the edge, spreading her legs wide open in front of me, offering herself unreservedly.
“What’s up? Still hungry?” she asks with that mischievous, defiant smile.
I kneel in the water between her thighs.
Her sex is swollen, glistening, and tempting.
The scent of her arousal hits me, and I don’t wait a second longer.
I taste her. God, she tastes like heaven, completely addictive.
I lick her pussy from bottom to top, savoring every fold slowly before focusing on her clit.
Maika lets out a loud moan that fades into the night, and her hands dig into my hair, guiding my movements, before I enter her without a second thought.
She’s so incredibly wet that my fingers slide right in.
And when she asks for more, I’m only too happy to oblige.
I feel her hips pressing against my face with desperation.
Her moans grow higher-pitched, more broken, and completely out of control.
When she reaches orgasm, her inner walls squeeze my fingers with incredible force, and she moans my name into the wind at the bow.
It’s the most fucking beautiful sight I’ve ever seen in my life: Maika coming, agitated, burning… and mine. Yes, mine.
We let ourselves fall back into the water, holding each other tightly as we gasp for air, letting the silence of the night envelop us.
I feel the wind cool the droplets of water on my shoulders, but the heat radiating from us makes up for everything.
I kiss her neck and the line of her jaw.
She caresses my back, sliding her hands down to my buttocks to squeeze them tightly, pressing her hip against mine again.
“Who said we’re done?” Maika whispers with a dangerous edge to her voice.
She turns me easily, positioning me with my back to her, pressed against the edge.
Her breasts press against my bare back, and one of her hands slides down between my legs from behind, rubbing my still-sensitive sex.
I moan loudly, but the sound turns into a scream that I stifle against my arm when she thrusts into me suddenly, fucking me with a wild, steady rhythm, while the water rocks us.
“Tell me if you feel me, Helen… tell me,” she murmurs, biting my earlobe.
“Yes… fuck, yes,” I say, losing all sense of reality. There are no more to-do lists, no more order. There are only her fingers, her body, and her voice commanding me.
A second orgasm, far more intense and devastating than the first, hits me in the gut, making me tremble from head to toe.
From there on, we lose count. We change positions countless times.
Maika sits me on her lap, face to face, and we never stop touching each other.
We move together in perfect rhythm, kissing with relentless hunger, biting each other’s lips and tangling our tongues.
The fingers of my free hand dig into her breasts.
The pleasure builds in sync, like two forces of nature finding perfect harmony in the midst of chaos.
When we come together this time, the jolt is brutal. For the first time in many, many years, I feel like I belong somewhere. To her. To her chaos. I’ve found solid ground in the middle of the ocean. No matter how fleeting this journey may be.
Minutes later, we float there, embracing each other, letting the warm water lull us. My mind, exhausted and floating on a cloud of endorphins, begins to process what this means for the evaluation.
“Whatever happens with the job…” I murmur against her neck. “It’s impossible for me to see you as my rival anymore, Maika.”
She plants a tender kiss on my forehead, and I smile against her wet skin. Maika’s chaos has torn down all my structures, and I no longer have the slightest desire to rebuild them.