Chapter 25
NATALIE
Iwanted to get in the water. I was already on the boat. Why not jump in the water?
If I remembered how to sail, it made sense I would remember how to swim. I could wear the lifejacket. There was a ladder I could hold on to. The rational side of me told me it was fine. I was safe. Hudson was right there. He would keep me safe. I wasn’t in any real danger.
The water would feel so good. I closed my eyes and remembered the feel of being submerged and buoyant.
The feeling of being completely weightless had always been something I loved.
My parents had me swimming from birth. They were firm believers in getting me in the water young.
I had always been so comfortable in the water.
I had never been worried about drowning.
Now, it was one of those things I couldn’t stop thinking about.
I saw the water and I always asked myself what if.
What if there was a storm? What if I got a cramp?
What if I had some freak brain bleed and I couldn’t swim?
That was the anxiety. I knew that but it always seemed to win and I would back away.
Watching Hudson dive and then pop up with a look of pure joy on his face was proving to be too much for me to resist. I wanted to do it. I wanted to shake off the fear and show I could be just as wild and crazy as the next person.
Before I could change my mind, I lost the lifejacket. I stripped down to just my underwear. I considered putting my lifejacket back on. Hudson let out a shrill whistle. I giggled and put my arm over my breasts.
“Come in, the water is great!”
I looked up at the sky and hoped like hell my dad wasn’t actually watching.
I wanted him to know I was getting in the water, but I didn’t want him to know I was doing it naked.
Mostly naked. I said a silent prayer, apologizing to my mom in case I drowned.
It would kill her if I drowned. I didn’t think she would be able to handle losing her husband and daughter to the sea.
Without another thought, I dove over the edge of the boat with my heart in my throat and my stomach in my toes.
The water swallowed me. I had a moment of pure terror.
My body was sinking down, down, down. Panic gripped me for a split second.
Then, he was there. Hudson reached through the water and grabbed my hand.
It was as if a switch in my brain flipped from total panic to calm.
I surfaced with Hudson right beside me. He dropped my hand but stayed close. “I’m here,” he said. “I’m right here. Say the word if you need me.”
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” I whispered. “I’m in the water. I’m in the fucking water!”
He laughed and drifted away another few inches. “You’re in the water, baby.”
I pushed my hair back while my legs kicked through the water. It was such an incredible feeling. The fact I was almost naked was even more intense. I felt free. “Free,” I murmured.
“What?” he asked with his hand reaching out and touching my shoulder.
“I’m free,” I said. “Free. I’m free!”
He swam close and gave me a quick kiss. “It feels good, right?”
“It feels amazing. I feel like I could slay dragons. I feel like I could climb Mount Everest.”
“You can do anything,” he said. “You have managed to overcome something not many people would be able to. You stared your fear straight in the face and kicked its ass.”
“I did,” I said.
“Feel like swimming?” he asked.
“Oh gosh,” I breathed. “I don’t know if I remember how.”
“You’re treading water,” he pointed out. “I would say you remember a little something.”
“I guess so,” I said.
“I’ll give you some space.”
He pushed back and floated on his back. I found myself laughing at the sight of the very naked man floating along like he did it all the time. I dove under and enjoyed the freedom only water could bring. We both kind of splashed around and cooled off after being exposed to the hot sun.
We ended up close together once again. He pulled me against him. We both slowly kicked to keep our heads above water. “Did you ever think you’d be swimming with a naked man?” he asked with a cocky smile.
“Uh, no,” I said, laughing. “And I definitely never imagined I would be naked with said naked man.”
“You’ve got your panties on,” he reminded me.
“It’s a thong,” I said. “Not exactly full coverage.”
“And it’s fucking hot. You’re the sexiest woman in the whole eastern seaboard.”
“Very funny.”
He reached for my ass and squeezed while jerking me against him. “I’m not laughing.”
I sucked in a breath when his erection rubbed against my belly. To know he was turned on by me in the bright light of day was a heady feeling. I wasn’t used to feeling sexy, especially naked. Hudson was this hot hunk of a man and I was, well, me.
He kissed me, erasing all thoughts of self-consciousness.
His hands roamed over my body, setting off a flurry of excitement.
I was riding high on the rush of adrenaline that came with the events of the day.
Passion and lust created a cloud around us.
It was hard to remember to kick while kissing and touching.
“Why don’t we take this on the boat?” he murmured against my lips.
“Okay.”
He released me and swam behind me. I reached for the ladder with him gently pushing me up with his hand firmly on my ass.
I laughed as he swatted once. I hopped onto the deck with him right behind me.
He pulled me against him, my boobs bouncing off his chest before smashing against the hard wall of muscle.
One of his strong hands gripped my hip, and the other pulled at my hair. I groaned and leaned against him. His kiss was melting me. Heat washed over me in powerful waves. I felt him jerking my panties off. I wiggled and used one foot to pull them off me.
He stopped kissing me with his forehead resting against mine. “There’s one little problem,” he whispered.
“What?” I said with desperation. I kissed his jaw.
My hands slid down his sides. “What’s wrong?
” I couldn’t resist checking out the man.
I dropped my eyes and got a good look at the man’s beautiful cock.
It was fabulous. I reached for it, wrapping my fingers around the shaft and gently squeezing.
“Everything seems to be in good working order.”
“Oh, trust me, everything is functioning just fine.”
“Did you see someone?” I asked. I looked around. I saw the sails of another boat way off in the distance. So far, they looked like pinpoints. We were in no danger of them coming up on us anytime soon.
“I wasn’t planning on something like this happening,” he said. He sounded like a man in pain. “I didn’t bring a condom. Are you on the pill?”
“I am,” I said, nodding.
“Do you trust me?” he asked with his hands cupping my cheeks.
“I do,” I answered with confusion.
“Trust me not to give you anything gross,” he said, laughing.
“I do,” I said, nodding.
His mouth slammed against mine. My head jerked back with the force of it.
We fell to the deck. There was a moment I thought we might make it to the bedroom downstairs.
But now that I was lying on my back with the sun over me and the sound of the water lapping against the hull, I didn’t want to leave where we were.
I had been stepping outside my normal wheelhouse all day. Why start being normal now?
His mouth was moving over my neck, sucking on my flesh. There was a ravenousness about him that had me matching his fervor. I mauled him with my hands and mouth. We were both frantic. He reached down and jerked my knee up like he had not too many hours earlier.
“I have to fucking have you,” he hissed. “I need to be inside you.”
“Fuck me,” I demanded. “Now, Hudson. Fuck me now!”
He pushed my leg up higher and a moment later he was pushing inside me.
I cried out as the man stretched me and filled me completely.
I closed my eyes and dropped my head back.
The feelings coursing through my body overwhelmed me.
I couldn’t think straight. I could only feel.
My nerves felt raw. His hot skin rubbed against mine.
Every thrust was like getting zapped by electricity. It was one pleasurable burst after another. My nails scraped across his back. There was a feeling of euphoria that just continued to build.
“I’m so close,” he grunted. “I can’t hold back.”
“Not yet,” I begged. “Not yet.”
I shifted my body, opening my legs wider and bouncing against him. We grunted and groaned with the sound of our bodies slapping together. I had never had sex outside. I had definitely never done it quite like this.
“I feel you,” he whispered. “You’re so wet. So, fucking tight and good. I want to be inside you for the rest of my days.”
I heard the words, but I was too caught up in the pleasure to do any more than moan in response.
It was almost like a song. I moaned, he grunted. He cursed and I cried out. It was sweet, sweet music. I felt the spiraling start in my toes and knew the orgasm was coming. It was going to hit hard. It felt different from any other orgasm I had ever had.
“Oh, sweet mercy,” he groaned. “Oh shit. Oh fuck. Oh shit!”
He hit the orgasm a moment before mine steamrolled over me.
I slapped at his back before giving over to the euphoria.
I was certain I blacked out for several seconds.
His body jerked and spasmed inside me. Every twitch set off another series of shocks deep inside my womb.
I could feel my pussy squeezing his cock.
Every squeeze resulted in him twitching and jerking.
The aftershocks went on for several minutes.
“Damn, woman,” he groaned and rolled off me. “You rocked my fucking world.”
I had to laugh. It seemed so ridiculous. “I think you rocked mine as well. I think I might have visited the gates of heaven.”
“I hope you know, I didn’t drag you out here with the intention of this happening,” he said.
“I don’t think you did,” I said. “It happened. It was amazing. And I’m not sorry.”
He kissed me once again. “We should probably get dressed. I don’t want to risk someone coming up on us.”
“And we don’t want to get busted on a borrowed boat,” I replied.
“We’re going to have to do this again sometime,” he said. “Soon.”
“Maybe we don’t tell Hux we took the boat out,” I said. We both got up and started to dress. “I’m not sure he would appreciate me testing my limits on a boat I don’t know. There are so many things that could have gone wrong.”
“Don’t start thinking that way,” he said. “Nothing went wrong.”
Once again, he pulled me against his body. His strength gave me so much strength. I felt like I could do just about anything with him supporting me.
“I should pull up anchor,” I said.
Once the boat was moving, I pulled his hand and put it on the wheel. “Why don’t you drive?”
“That’s a really bad idea,” he said, laughing.
“Come on,” I teased. “You’re a frogman. You’ve never sailed before?”
“Nope. I’m the guy that rides. I’m the guy that jumps in the water.”
I stepped behind him and reached around to put his hands on the wheel. “Doesn’t that feel good?”
“Something feels good, but it has nothing to do with this wheel.”
I nibbled on his shoulder. “Pay attention, mister. This is not a cheap boat.”
“No pressure,” he said dryly.