Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
brOGAN
“...and that’s why I believe a merger between Hollister Enterprises and Beaumont Industries could yield a 15% increase in market share within the first fiscal year,” Calvin Beaumont drones on, his voice a monotonous hum in the yacht’s private lounge.
I nod absently, my eyes scanning the room for what feels like the hundredth time before I glance at my watch.
“Don’t you agree, Brogan?” Calvin’s question snaps me back to the conversation.
“Uh, yes. Absolutely,” I mutter, having no idea what I’m agreeing to.
Preston shoots me a warning glance. “What my brother means is that we’d need to see some concrete projections before considering such a move.”
“Brogan is just distracted tonight. Aren’t you, dear?” Mother says. “Perhaps Beatrice could give you a tour of the yacht, clear your head a bit?”
I’m about to protest when movement outside the porthole catches my eye. My heart skips a beat. There, on a tender pulling away from the yacht, is a flash of red. Willy’s dress. She’s leaving.
Without thinking, I stand up abruptly, my chair scraping loudly against the floor. “I have to go.”
“Brogan!” Mother’s voice is indignant. “We’re in the middle of an important discussion.”
But I’m already moving towards the door. “I’m sorry, but this is more important.”
Preston follows me out, catching up as I stride across the deck. “What’s going on?”
“Willy’s leaving,” I say, my eyes scanning the water. I fish the Aston Martin keys out of my pocket and toss them toward him. “Can you take Mother home?”
Preston catches the keys in midair but I don’t wait for him to reply. Hurrying down the hall, I head to the boarding platform.
I shouldn’t have let Mother convince me to join her while leaving Willy behind. Yet I did and I know exactly why: Willy makes me feel things I’ve never felt before. She sees beyond the Hollister name, beyond the SEAL uniform. When she looks at me, I feel like she’s seeing the real me, and that’s both exhilarating… and terrifying.
I spot a crew member preparing a tender and practically leap aboard. “I need to get to the marina. Now.”
The poor guy looks startled but nods, starting the engine. As we pull away from the yacht, I scan the water, hoping to catch a glimpse of Willy’s tender. Behind us, the festivities on the yacht continue but I barely notice. All I can think about is reaching Willy, explaining myself, making things right.
As the lights of the marina grow closer, I rehearse what I’ll say to her. But every practiced speech feels hollow. How do I explain that in just a few days, she’s become more important to me than anyone else? How do I tell her that she makes me want to be a better man, a man worthy of her?
The tender docks and I’m out before it’s fully secured, ignoring the shouts of the crew. My eyes scan the crowd frantically, searching for that flash of red, for Willy’s familiar silhouette.
Then I see her.
A solitary figure in a flowing red dress, walking slowly along the water’s edge. Her shoes dangle from one hand, the long skirt of her dress draped over her other arm.
“Willy!” I call out, my voice barely carrying over the sound of the surf. “Willy, wait!”
She turns, surprise evident even from this distance. I slow to a stop a few feet away from her, suddenly unsure of what to say. We stand there, the sound of the waves filling the silence between us, the moonlight casting a soft glow on her face.
“What are you doing here?” she asks. “You should be with your family.”
“I came to the party with you and I had every intention of leaving it with you.”
She looks away, her gaze fixed on the dark ocean. “I didn’t want to interfere with business. ”
“It was so boring I can’t even tell you what they were talking about,” I say. “I just wanted to get back to you.”
She smiles. “So you have.”
For a few moments, we don’t speak. “So what’s the plan now, Cinderella?” I ask. “Fancy a moonlit stroll back to the beach house?”
Willy laughs. “That was my plan.”
“I like your plan.” I kick off my shoes and peel off my socks, relishing the feel of cool sand between my toes. “There, now we match.”
As we start walking, I can’t help but steal glances at Willy. The moonlight catches in her hair, making her look almost ethereal.
I nudge her gently with my shoulder. “For what it’s worth, I think this beats any stuffy yacht party.”
She looks up at me, her almond eyes twinkling. “You missed your dance with Beatrice.”
“I prefer dancing with you.”
We continue our walk, the sound of the waves crashing against the shore drowning out the lively music on the yacht. I don’t even care what’s happening over there. All I care about is right here, walking next to me and looking stunning in her red dress, the slit parting to reveal a slender leg with every step.
“You didn’t go to our prom,” I say after a few moments. “I would have thought you’d have gone with Crystal.”
“If the quarterback hadn’t asked her, maybe I would have.”
“So why didn’t you? ”
“No one asked me,” Willy replies, her answer snapping me back to the present.
“I’d have taken you.”
She scoffs. “Yeah, right. Crystal told me you took Sandy Hansen–”
“-only because she asked me to in case her crush didn’t,” I say. “And the idiot never did.”
“Who was the idiot?”
“Preston,” I reply as we laugh. “He was already at Stanford by then, so she got the next best thing.”
Willy rolls her eyes. “I doubt anyone could call you the next best thing, Hollister.”
I almost tell Willy I’d searched for her that night. Without him in the same room meant I could talk to Willy without Preston making fun of me. But I don’t.
“Dance with me,” I say instead, turning to face Willy.
“But there’s no music.”
“We don’t need music.” I take her shoes from her hand and set them on the sand next to mine before standing to face her again. “May I have this dance?”
As she laughs, I can see the blush creeping down her cheeks. “You’re crazy.”
Crazy for you , I almost say out loud. “Why do you think I joined the Navy?” I hold out my hand. “What do you say, Genaro. One dance.”
“Let me think.” She squints her eyes as she studies me as if reviewing her options. “Alright. Just one.”
“The trick is not to think too much.” As she takes my hand, I tug her toward me, pulling her close. Her body fits perfectly against mine, and I can feel the warmth of her skin through the fabric of her dress.
“I design interiors for a living, Hollister. It’s part of my job.”
“Just for tonight, let your thoughts take a holiday then.”
As if on cue, the moon peeks out from behind wisps of clouds casting a silver glow on the waves.
“Ready?” I ask as she nods.
I take the lead and Willy follows, her body fitting against mine so perfectly as we sway gently to the rhythm of the waves, our bare feet barely leaving imprints in the cool sand. When I twirl her, she laughs this intoxicating laugh that sends my pulse racing.
“I never would have pegged you as a romantic, Hollister,” Willy teases, her voice trailing off as I suddenly dip her low, our faces inches apart.
“Call me Brogan.”
She pauses, her gaze dropping. “Brogan then.”
“I like hearing you say my name,” I say, slowly bringing her back up, our eyes locked. “A rare occurrence.”
“That’s because our arrangement has an expiration,” she says as I twirl her again, her hair catching the moonlight as it fans out around her.
When she comes back to me, I pull her a little closer. “Maybe I don’t want it to expire.”
Willy’s breath catches, and for a moment, I see a flicker of hope in her eyes before she masks it with a wry smile. “Don’t say things you don’t mean, Brogan.”
The way she says my name sends a shiver down my spine. I lean in, my forehead resting against hers. “Who says I don’t mean it?”
We’ve stopped swaying now, just standing still in the sand, the waves lapping at our feet. I can feel Willy’s heart racing, or maybe it’s mine.
“This isn’t your world,” she whispers. “Just like your world is nothing like mine.”
“Maybe my world is wherever you are.” I cup her face in my hands, my thumbs stroking her cheeks. “I know we started this as a charade, Willy, but somewhere along the way, it became real for me. You became real for me.”
She lets out a shaky breath, leaning into my touch. “We shouldn’t get carried away, Brogan. You, most of all.”
“Aren’t you the least bit carried away?” I ask in a low voice, my gaze drifting down to her full lips. “Curious to see if there’s more than meets the eye between us?”
“Like what?”
“A kiss,” I reply. “One kiss. If you don’t like it, you can leave a review. One over ten. Would not recommend.”
She giggles, then turns serious. “Okay.”
It’s all I need to hear. I pull her to me, one hand behind her neck and the other resting around her waist as I lower my face toward hers. The kiss is tentative at first as if seeking more permission, at least a physical one this time, and I get it. The moment her lips part to give my tongue access, I’m lost in her taste, her scent, her warmth, and I know that from this moment, I’m hers.
I can feel her melting into me, her body giving way beneath my fingers. She moans against my mouth before pulling away to catch her breath .
“Wow,” she whispers, her gaze meeting mine as I catch the scent of jasmine in her hair and the citrusy blend of her perfume, mingling with the salty sea air. Her eyes reflect the moonlight, a mix of wonder and desire that takes my breath away.
“Wow right back at ya,” I murmur, resting my forehead against hers again. “Shall we continue this at the house?”
She swallows, then nods. “If you want.”
“Oh, I want, but only if you do.”
She thinks for a few moments, grinning. “I don’t think I can give a full review if we don’t.”
We stumble into the beach house, giggling and laughing. There’s no need to turn on the lights, the moon doing a good job illuminating our way toward the stairs. We’re a tangle of arms and legs, a trail of sand creating a path from the door to the base of the stairs where I suddenly pick her up.
“Brogan, we’re going to fall!” Willy protests as I laugh.
“Not with me, we aren’t.” All those years lugging fifty pounds of gear on rough terrain make it easy to carry her up the stairs to the loft where Sir Fluffington the Third is summarily pushed to the floor with my leg before I set her down.
“My dress!” she whispers, giggling. “I don’t think it’s designed to be horizontal.”
“We can remedy that.” I spin her around so she’s facing away from me, one arm wrapped around her waist. With my other hand, I bring her hair to one side, exposing a shoulder. My lips brush against her skin, making her shiver. Her head falls back against my shoulder, and I smile .
Slowly, I unzip the zipper that holds her dress together. Willy sighs in pleasure as my hand trails up her thigh, caressing every inch of her skin. Once her dress is open, I push it off her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. Her curves feel so good under my fingers, soft and warm.
“You’re so beautiful,” I murmur into her ear, my breath tickling her skin.
Willy moans softly as my fingertips tease her nipples. Her head rolls against my shoulder again as my other hand slowly makes its way down her stomach, pausing just above her pubis. I hesitate, frowning. “No panties?”
She grins. “I couldn’t risk panty lines in this dress.”
I press my mouth against the back of her neck.”If I’d known that all along, we probably would never have made it onto the yacht.” I groan. “But now that I do...” I slide my fingers down between her legs, teasing her clit with a feather-light touch. “You’re so wet.”
Her breathing deepens as I press my cock against her backside, grinding into her. “You’re so hard.”
“Hard for you. You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do this.” I run my tongue along the skin behind her ear, feeling her shiver, goosebumps dotting her skin where my tongue used to be. She’s so responsive to my every touch, and it only makes me want her more. I turn her around to face me and crush my mouth against hers.
She responds eagerly, wrapping her arms around me and pulling me toward the bed. Our tongues tangle as we tumble onto the mattress, kissing and touching, exploring each other’s bodies. Her hands fumble with my pants, yanking them off before tossing them on the floor. Then, she grabs my boxers and pulls them off. I groan when she runs her palm along the length of my shaft, her skin warm.
“I need to taste you,” I murmur, leaving a trail of kisses down her neck. “All of you.”
Willy moans in response as I make my way down her body, mapping out every curve and contour with reverence. Every inch of space between us diminishes until there’s nothing but us, my tongue tracing circles around her nipples before trailing down her stomach.
I settle between her legs, draping her thighs over my shoulders. “May I?’ I ask, looking up at her.
“Please.”
Keeping my gaze on her face, I run my tongue along her slit, tasting her arousal. Willy gasps, her head falling back onto the pillow. I lap at her clit, making her cry out and thrust her hips forward. Her moans spur me on as I dip my tongue inside her, exploring, tasting, claiming. She tastes sweet, like honey, and I can’t get enough.
Her breathing quickens, and I feel her tense up. She’s close, and I want to watch her come undone. I press my mouth harder against her clit, flicking my tongue in a steady rhythm. Her moans grow louder, and she grips my hair, holding me in place.
“Oh, Brogan!” she cries out, her hips bucking against my face. “Don’t stop!”
I don’t. Not until she’s trembling beneath me, her orgasm washing over her in waves. Slowly, I make my way up her body, kissing and touching her as she comes down from her high, letting her taste her essence on my tongue. She smiles at me, her eyes half-lidded with pleasure .
“You’re incredible,” I murmur. “So beautiful when you come.”
She rests her finger against my lips. “I didn’t bring any protection.”
“I do.” I reach for my nightstand and pull out a condom.
Sitting up, she takes it from me and tears it open with her teeth, rolling it over my shaft. I groan at her touch, her fingers running along my length. Then, she lies back as I kneel between her legs and position myself at her entrance. Slowly, I push inside her, feeling her stretch around me. Willy gasps, her head falling back against the pillow.
“Are you okay?” I ask, pausing.
As she nods, I thrust into her slowly, savoring every inch of her as she clings to me. Her nails dig into my back as I push deeper. She feels so tight and warm, and it’s hard not to lose control. I can’t get enough of her.
“Harder,” she breathes against my ear as I obey, thrusting faster and deeper. Her moans spur me on as I pound into her, filling her over and over again. She’s so responsive, her body arching against me as I fuck her.
“Brogan, I’m so close!” she cries out, her nails dragging down my back.
I grip her hips, pulling her closer as I thrust into her. She cries out, her back arching as she comes. Her pussy clenches around me, and it pushes me over the edge. I come with a roar, filling the condom with my seed.
We collapse together, breathing hard. Willy rests her head on my chest, and I stroke her hair as we try to catch our breath .
“I think I have my review now.”
I groan. “Uh-oh. Did I meet your expectations?”
“Let me think.” Willy’s eyes narrow as she feigns seriousness. “Ten-ten. Highly recommend… but maybe I shouldn’t rate you that high.”
I frown. “Why?”
She touches the tip of my nose with her finger. “That way, the others won’t be beating down your door.”