Page 66 of Forget Me Not

I chuckle, grabbing the wheel and looking out ahead of us. “Wherever those whales were going.”

“Let’s stick to the coast for now. I don’t think Hope’s Grace would look good at the bottom of the Atlantic.”

“What’s the matter?” I taunt, leaning back into him. I’m being really daring right now, but something about it feels right when his arms wrap around my stomach. “Worried your ship will sink?”

“Faster than the fucking Titanic. She’s not made for deep water,” he says, reaching up and tugging the brim of my hat down. He falls quiet, searching my face. “If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?”

Your bed, I think immediately, then I scold myself.

“I don’t know . . .”

“Money’s not an issue. Travel’s not an issue. Where would you go? There has to be some place.”

I struggle for a moment, unable to think of a tourist attraction, world wonder or country that would interest me more than being right here, with him, right now. If I can’t think of anything, that must mean no one knows about it, right? “Something secret. A place no one’s ever been.”

“How would you get there?” he asks, placing his hand on my stomach. I can feel the warmth radiating from his palm through my shirt and it makes my skin tingle. Heat gathers between my legs and I shift uncomfortably on his lap. He growls, low and quiet and his hand grips my hip to still me. A small voice in my head urges me to keep doing it. Keep pushing him until he breaks and takes me, right here in his old lobster boat.

The other half is screaming at me that I’m a disgusting cheater. A disgrace that doesn’t deserve Jack or Reid.

Stop thinking, I order myself, desperately trying to shove the thoughts to the back of my mind. It’s been years since I’ve enjoyed the touch of another person. Years since I’ve felt anyone’s body against mine. Something in me is begging for this. Something deranged.

“My captain, of course,” I smile.

“Oh,” he taunts, voice husky. “So, I’m taking you?”

“Well, yes. In this fine ship of yours.”

“Might need a couple weeks on that.”

“What about you?” I ask. He’s so close I can taste the mint of his toothpaste on his breath, feel the warmth fanning across my face. I lay my head back against his shoulder, allowing myself to relax into him.

I’m finding I like this more carefree side of Reid. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still the same rough fisherman he was before, but I’m finding I would say just about anything to make him laugh and that’s a dangerous thing.

“What about me?”

“Where would you go?”

His hand slides up my side, teasing at the bare skin where my tank top’s ridden up. His fingers against my skin set a fire in my blood, warming me from the inside out until all thoughts of betrayal and guilt slowly start to slip from my mind.

If I kiss him right now, I’ll be breaking a promise I made to Jack. If I don’t, I’ll be losing out on something that could pull me back from those dark depths of the Mississippi.

“Right here,” he murmurs, his lips brushing against mine.

Heat explodes through my body from the single kiss he placed on my lips and I realize . . . I want more.

“Right here, in this shitty little boat, with a girl who paints and rescues every fucking animal she sees and drives me so damned crazy I can’t think straight.”

My stomach clenches, my breath catching in my throat.

Slowly, I lean into him, pressing my lips to his and an explosion of fireworks dance across my skin.

Reid kisses me back, gently, at first, but when my mouth opens up for him and his tongue slips against mine, he groans. The deep sound reverberates through my body and straight down to my core.

I want to fuck you, Nova. Hard.

His hand is in my hair and he fists the blonde curls to angle my head, granting him more access to my lips. I don’t know what to do with my own hands, so I rest one over his on my stomach and reach behind me with the other to cup his face. The scratchiness of his stubble feels good against my palm, grounding me in the moment.

When the kiss burns hotter, Reid pulls back, just enough to press his forehead against mine. His breathing is ragged, matching my own and my heart feels like it’s going to beat its way out of my chest.

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