31
Helen
I’ve tried everything to keep a cool head, to force myself not to dwell on the Maika situation and to enjoy one of the last free nights we’ll have before we hit the chaos of the port.
But it’s impossible. My body is on the beach and my mind is locked up on the ship, reliving over and over the way she ran off after that damn call.
I’ve spent the whole time mulling over the same thing: the solution to her problems doesn’t involve me dropping out of the race and letting her have that damn spot.
Maika needs money now, urgently; she can’t just sit back and wait for a promotion to go through and her first paycheck to arrive in a month.
“Guys, I’m outta here. I’m going to the ship to check on Maika,” I blurt out, cutting off one of Nico’s long-winded speeches. I stand up, brushing the sand off my legs. “Have fun and don’t end up getting arrested.”
“Go on, go,” Lara encourages me with a knowing wink. “I’ll make sure these two don’t end up swimming naked and get us in trouble with the local police.”
With a half-smile, I leave the group’s commotion behind and head briskly toward the dock, my heart pounding hard against my ribs. As soon as I reach the Marine IV, I cross the crew gangway in three-step strides and disappear into the labyrinth of corridors leading to the cabins.
Maika’s cabin is barely four steps from mine.
I could walk right past it, crawl into my bed, call it a day, and try to forget that broken look that left me frozen on the beach.
But that would be lying to myself. I stand in front of her door, take a deep breath to steady my pulse, and knock softly with my knuckles.
I get no answer, but when I push, the door gives way.
It’s open, like a silent invitation to discover the disaster hiding on the other side.
Maika is sitting on the edge of the mattress, completely hunched over, her elbows buried in her knees and her face hidden in her hands.
She’s wearing only a pair of gray cotton shorts that hug her hips.
Her bare back, tanned by the Mediterranean sun of these days at sea, rises and falls to the rhythm of erratic, ragged breathing.
“Maika…”
She lifts her head very slowly. Her eyes are red and swollen from crying.
The tear tracks still glisten on her cheeks, and her lower lip trembles in a way that breaks my heart.
She doesn’t say a single word to me, but her face is a desperate cry for help.
I approach silently and kneel between her legs.
My hands, still cold from the harbor breeze, cradle her face with infinite tenderness while my thumbs wipe away the wet trail from her cheekbones.
“What are you doing here, crying all alone?” I ask, holding her gaze.
A broken moan, almost a sob, escapes her throat.
She leans forward and seeks the support of my forehead against hers.
The heat radiating from her skin hits me full force, intoxicating me with her scent—so damn uniquely hers.
Our breaths mingle in the split second it takes for us to find each other.
The first kiss is clumsy, anxious, with the salty taste of her tears permeating everything.
I try to pull away to say something, but she beats me to it, devouring my mouth, seeking out my tongue with such brutal urgency that it draws a muffled moan from me against her lips.
The kiss grows deep, possessive. Our tongues entwine without haste, but without pause.
My hands begin to wander over the warmth of her bare back, tracing every vertebra, as I caress the taut muscles beneath that skin that drives me wild.
I sit up just enough to gain some ground and straddle her thighs, our bodies fitting together perfectly.
I can feel the frantic pounding of her heart against mine.
Without breaking the contact between our lips, I pull my T-shirt up with one hand and toss it straight to the floor.
When our bare skin meets completely, Maika lets out a muffled moan and her hands climb up my back, digging her nails in hard, as if she needs to cling to the only solid rock in the middle of her storm.
“Helen…” she gasps against my lips, her voice in tatters. “I need you. Fuck, I need you now.”
Those words hit me right in the chest. It’s not a whim, it’s not just lust; it’s a plea to feel good.
I pull her closer, biting her lower lip before starting to trace a path of fiery kisses down her neck.
I savor the pulse racing beneath the skin of her throat, licking that perfect curve as I feel her swallow hard.
I go down a little further, leaving a wet trail that makes her tremble, until I focus on one of her breasts.
I trap her nipple between my lips and play with it, wrapping my tongue around it in slow circles.
Maika arches her back forward, seeking more, and tangles her fingers in my hair to guide my movements.
I pick up the pace, sucking harder while my free hand takes care of the other breast, kneading it and pinching her nipple.
Her moans, deep and hoarse, begin to fill the four walls of the cabin.
My right hand begins to slide down her belly, savoring how her abs contract with every stroke of my fingers.
I slide my hand under the waistband of her shorts until I find her center.
It’s burning, swollen, and drenched with desire for me.
I take my time exploring her folds, gently parting them before I begin to caress her clitoris.
Maika spreads her legs wide, matching my movements with a long moan that breaks off halfway out of her mouth.
Gently, I push her back until she’s lying on the bed, our legs tangled in the dim light. I strip off her shorts with her impatient help and take off my own in a second. I position myself on top of her and press my thigh right between her legs.
I start moving against her, seeking the constant friction of our sexes. And with every thrust, I feel an electric shock run down my spine. Maika lifts her hips so she doesn’t miss a moment of the contact, clinging to my waist to close any possible distance.
“More… closer, please,” she asks me, on the verge of tears.
I make my way down her body with slow, almost religious kisses.
I linger in the cleft between her breasts, on the ribs that rise and fall with each breath, on her navel, on her belly…
When I reach her sex, I slide my tongue in a long, firm, wet caress from her entrance to her clitoris. Damn, she still tastes incredible.
Maika moans loudly, spreading her legs wider.
I plunge my tongue inside her without hesitation, running it around inside while pressing my nose against her clitoris. At the same time, I penetrate her, unable to hold back any longer, and Maika jerks violently on the mattress.
“Helen… fuck… right there… don’t stop, don’t stop…”
No way am I stopping. My fingers slide in and out faster and faster, lubricated by her own juices.
I suck and lick her clitoris without giving her a second’s respite.
I feel her inner walls hugging my fingers, her whole body tensing.
And then, the orgasm hits. Maika comes with a guttural moan, a cry that carries both release and tears; her legs tremble and her hips shake against my mouth.
I crawl up her body and plant a kiss on her that will go down in history. She tastes her own juices on my tongue and moans again inside my mouth. Her eyes are glassy, covered by a new layer of tears, but this time they shine with a wild, raw gratitude.
Now it’s my turn to lie on my back on the mattress.
Maika settles between my legs without wasting a second and fixes me with a fiery gaze before descending.
Her mouth is hot and hungry for me. She licks me with a devotion that makes my hair stand on end, exploring every corner, devouring me with her tongue, and sucking my clitoris with such ease that I see stars on the cabin ceiling.
The pleasure shoots through me in a matter of seconds, becoming almost unbearable. I tangle my hands in her hair, pushing her against my sex to merge with her.
The climax washes over me like a giant, beautiful wave. I come, screaming her name. Maika stays down there, licking me until I’m spent, trembling and gasping for air.
Afterward, Maika buries her face in the crook of my neck, breathing in my scent deeply, and I stroke her back gently.
“You’re wonderful, did you know that?” I murmur.
“You’re even more so.”
After a while, our hands spontaneously entwine again.
This time the rhythm is slower. My fingers travel down her side, descend to her hip, and return to touch her sensitive spot, which still throbs timidly.
I caress her with extreme delicacy, drawing almost imperceptible circles over her clitoris.
Maika sighs against my mouth and opens her legs again, handing me the map of her skin without reservation.
We make love a second time with a tenderness that almost hurts, and when pleasure claims us again, we come almost at the same time, staring deeply into each other’s eyes, baring our souls.
In the end, we stay curled up under the thin sheet.
My leg is tangled between hers, her arm wrapped around my waist, and her breasts pressed against mine.
I feel the steady beat of her heart against my own skin.
It’s impossible not to think about her grandmother, the panic she must be feeling, and the one looming over us tomorrow with the promotion decision.
But tonight, screw the world. Tonight, only this matters: her warmth, her scent, and her vulnerability laid bare before me.
“Thanks for coming…” Maika murmurs, almost overcome by sleep, curling up closer to my neck.
“I couldn’t be anywhere else in the world.”