Page 69 of Forget Me Not

I intend to get to the bottom of all of it before I ever sink inside her.

Pulling back, I press a kiss to the tip of her nose and when she reaches for me, palming me through my jeans, I bite back on the growl that threatens to tear from my throat.

“Nova,” I growl, but a flash up the dock stops me.

Flashlights.

“Shit,” I curse under my breath, watching the lights as they come down the dock—

—And straight fucking for us.

“What?” Nova asks, jumping up like she’s seen a ghost. After what just happened, I certainly feel like I did.

“Someone’s coming.” I pull her off my lap and practically drag her toward the lower cabin and into total darkness.

It’s small, though for a lobster boat, it’s bigger than most. It’s got a wet bath to the left—not much, but enough to take a shower while you’re sitting on the toilet if you really wanted to. To the right is the full-sized mattress that takes up the rest of the room.

When I bought Hope’s Grace, it had bunks, but I sail alone, so I ripped them out and replaced them with a bed. It’s enough for me and I’ve never been the sentimental type, so I don’t need much space.

But right now, with Nova standing in the space, filling the air with the honey-coated scent of her perfume and my cock aching in my jeans, it’s incredibly fucking crowded in here.

I lead Nova to the bed and shut the door quietly behind us. She sits down, following the light drifting in through the small window I installed right over the bed, while I crack the door to watch the lights stop at the end of the dock.

“Fuck,” I murmur, shutting the door with a quiet click.

“What are they doing?” Nova whispers.

“Fishing.”

“Right now?”

I step back to the bed and sink down beside her. “Right fucking now.”

Laying back, I stare up at the night sky and try to think about how I went from deciding I would tell Nova she’s just too fucking good for me to laying in a bed with her. Sex is one thing. This . . . I don’t know what it is, but I know it’s too far. For both of us.

“Is this where you sleep?” Nova asks, looking around at the small room. I can barely see her in the dark and I would kill just to see her face. Her gaze is a peek inside her head. She can master a poker face to beat the best, but she’d still bare her soul in those eyes.

“This is where I live.”

Something about her silence doesn’t sit right with me.

“Nova, I choose this. Everyday.”

She nods, and I can feel the apprehension winding in her gut. She shivers, smoothing her hand over the mattress.

“I just . . . don’t you get cold?”

That would be her concern.

Reaching out, I let my finger trail up the center of her back, stopping to grip the nape of her neck.

“Come here.”

She lets me pull her down and into the swell of my arm, a small shiver rolling through her. I’m not sure if it’s how hard I just made her come or the chill on the night air, but I reach for the blanket at the end of the bed, tossing it over us in the most impromptu sleepover I’ve ever fucking had.

In fact, the only sleepover I’ve ever had.

Slowly, so as not to rock the boat, Nova rolls towards me, her eyes dark in the pale moonlight above us. In the darkness, she looks like an angel, studying me like I’m some mystery.

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