Chapter 3
I woke up to the soft rocking of the ship and the warm weight of Sophie curled tightly against my chest. Her head was tucked under my chin, one arm draped across my stomach, and her leg hooked over mine. The two beds pushed together had become one during the night.
Before I could move, Sophie stirred. She blinked up at me with sleepy eyes and gave me the softest, sweetest little kiss on the lips — like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Morning, Uncle Alex,” she whispered, voice husky with sleep.
She didn’t pull away. Instead, she cuddled closer for a moment, pressing another gentle kiss to my jaw before finally stretching and sitting up. The lacy nightgown had ridden up high on her thighs. She didn’t seem to care.
We moved around the cabin like we’d been doing this for years.
Sophie didn’t bother going to the bathroom to change.
She simply stood up, peeled the nightgown over her head right there in front of me, and dropped it on the bed.
She was completely naked for a few seconds — smooth skin, full breasts, the soft curve of her waist — before she turned and grabbed a bra from her suitcase.
“Can you help me with this?” she asked sweetly, holding the bra out and turning her back to me. “The clasp is tricky.”
I stepped up behind her and fastened it, my fingers brushing the warm skin of her back. She leaned back into me slightly and gave me another quick kiss over her shoulder — just a little peck on the cheek.
“Thanks, Uncle Alex.”
She slipped on a sundress next and turned to me with an innocent smile. “Zip me?”
I pulled the zipper up slowly, my knuckles grazing her spine. When I finished, she spun around and gave me another light kiss on the mouth, like we did this every morning.
In the small bathroom, we brushed our teeth side by side. She kept bumping her hip against mine playfully. When she was done, she rinsed her mouth and gave me yet another quick kiss before heading back out.
She left the bathroom door open when she used the toilet, chatting casually with me while I picked out a shirt.
“I’m so glad you stayed in here,” she said lightly. “It would’ve been lonely by myself.”
I buttoned my shirt while watching her in the mirror. Sophie came over, still in just her sundress and bra, and helped me with the buttons. Her fingers worked slowly, deliberately. When she finished the last one, she rose on her toes and gave me another soft kiss.
“There,” she said with a smile. “All ready for family breakfast.”
She moved around the cabin with easy familiarity — fixing her hair, applying light makeup, chatting about what excursions she wanted to do today. Every few minutes she’d press another little kiss somewhere — my cheek, my jaw, my lips — like it was completely normal. Domestic. Innocent.
By the time we were both dressed and ready to head to the family breakfast, the air between us was thick with everything we weren’t saying.
Sophie gave me one last kiss at the door before we left.
“Ready, Uncle Alex?”
I nodded, my voice lower than usual. “Yeah, sweetheart. Let’s go.”
The main dining hall was bustling with the family reunion crowd when Sophie and I walked in together.
She stayed close to my side, her hand lightly brushing my arm as we found seats near Jenny’s parents.
To everyone else, it looked perfectly normal — the helpful uncle and his sweet niece stepping in while Aunt Jenny was stuck in the cabin.
Sophie pulled out my chair for me with a small smile before sitting down right beside me. “What do you want for breakfast, Uncle Alex? I’ll fix your plate.”
I rested my hand lightly on her lower back for a moment. “Coffee first, sweetheart. Black. And whatever looks good to you.”
She gave me a quick, affectionate kiss on the cheek — the kind she’d given me a thousand times over the years — and headed to the buffet. A few minutes later she returned with two full plates and my coffee, setting everything down in front of me with care. She’d even remembered I liked extra bacon.
“Here you go,” she said softly, brushing a tiny piece of lint off my shoulder before sitting down. Her knee rested lightly against mine under the table.
We chatted easily with the family about the day’s plans — a group excursion to a private island beach in the afternoon, trivia night after dinner, maybe some dancing later. Sophie leaned in close to me when she spoke, her voice warm.
“I think the beach excursion sounds fun. What do you think, Uncle Alex? We could build sandcastles like when I was little.”
I chuckled and reached over to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, letting my fingers linger for just a second. “Sounds perfect, sweetheart. I’ll make sure you have the best sandcastle on the beach.”
To the rest of the table, it all looked completely innocent — sweet, even. The caring uncle and his adoring niece taking care of each other while Jenny was sick. Carla smiled at us fondly across the table.
“You two are so good together,” she said. “It’s nice to see Alex has someone looking out for him while Jenny’s under the weather.”
Sophie beamed and gave me another light kiss on the cheek, her hand resting briefly on my thigh under the table. “He takes good care of me too.”
I squeezed her knee gently under the table in response — a subtle, private touch while I nodded along to the family conversation about the day’s schedule. The domestic rhythm between us felt effortless. Natural. Like we’d been doing this for years instead of one charged night.
Every little thing — the way she fixed my coffee exactly how I liked it, the way I made sure her plate had extra fruit because I knew she liked it, the casual brushes of our hands and light kisses on the cheek — blended seamlessly into the family breakfast. No one suspected a thing.
But under the table, her knee stayed pressed against mine the entire time, and every time she looked at me with those bright eyes, I felt the heat from last night still simmering just beneath the surface.
This was becoming far too comfortable.