Page 55 of Hooked on a Feeling

“Any kind of business venture with my parents sounds like a nightmare. I wouldn’t wish that upon my worst enemy.”

Deanne laughed. “Well, okay then. I stopped by to check on you. Let me know if you need me for anything. Text me.”

“I will. Thanks for checking in.”

After Deanne was gone, Starr made her way into her grandfather’s office. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for, but something was drawing her. Maybe she could find the answer in his office. Of course, she wouldn’t know what that was even if it bit her on the leg, but she was desperate.

“Come on, Grandpa. What do you have for me?” Starr opened the first drawer of his filing cabinet. It contained lots of folders laden with old receipts and papers that were no longer relevant. What was it with the older generation thinking they needed to keep every receipt they’d ever gotten? Starr side-eyed a receipt for a Hershey’s candy bar and a Coca-Cola. She crumpled it up and threw it into the trash bin.

An hour later Starr was no closer to finding anything that could help her than she was when she started. Defeated, she threw herself on the office couch and closed her eyes. Memories of her and John sitting in this same spot flitted through her mind. There was something niggling at her brain though. Not about their hot sex but something about their grandparents.

She couldn’t come up with it, and she didn’t know if it would help her turn a profit, but it was a fleeting thought that was just beyond her grasp. Something she couldn’t quite remember. “Please, God, just give me the answers. What is it?”

She stood and paced, her gaze landing on every single one of the blueprints her grandfather and John’s grandfather had created together. The designs had meant enough to her grandfather to keep even though they had the old Starboard Ships logo that both grandfathers had owned together.

Light bulb.

That was it. She raced back to his desk and pulled open the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet. Inside were papers on limited liability companies, and she specifically remembered seeing one that bore the Starboard Ships name that was on the blueprints that hung on the wall. The file folder was thick. Sure enough, the papers were the same, and after she sorted through some forms, she had confirmation that there had been a joint partnership between John Davenport and Harold Young.

No surprise. Not really.

It made sense that the two of them had a partnership and made even more sense that her grandfather had kept all the documents, detailing everything from the beginning of the partnership to its end. But even after sifting through the papers, something was still bothering her. She just couldn’t put her finger on it.

The doorbell rang, causing her to jump. “Calm down, Starr. You still act like you shouldn’t be in here.”

She could see John’s outline on the other side of the door via the side windows, and her heart rate sped up. He was dressed in black shorts and another one of his standard polo shirts with a collar. This one had a little emblem of a golf club on the front. Once she opened the door, he pulled her into his arms.

“Hello to you too,” she murmured against his lips.

“Tomorrow is my first day back on the job. As CEO.” His tongue danced along the seam of her mouth, prying it apart and then sucking in her bottom lip between his teeth.

“I know. I was there last night, remember?”

He slid his hands down her sides and tugged her closer to him. His erection pressed against her belly. “Yes. Which is why you should know that I need you now. And for all of tonight. For all of forever.”

His mouth moved to her neck, and she swallowed the bad news that she wasn’t going to be able to hang on to the marina.

“Make love to me.” He slid his hands through her hair and tipped her face up, exposing the length of her neck.

She didn’t need the marina. All she needed was him. With him, anything was possible. “Always. Come on.”

He let go of her leg, and she got as far as the living room before John’s arms were around her waist and he was squeezing her from behind. His mouth was hot against her ear, and she welcomed his hand sliding down the front of her shorts. She arched against him the second his fingers came into contact with her clit. “I can’t wait long enough to get to your room.”

He slid down her backside and pressed his face along her thigh while he expertly undid her shorts and pulled them down along with her panties. She turned in his arms. She was beyond ready for him. His tongue soothed the heat along her seam, and he buried his fingers deep inside her.

“John.” She crumpled to the floor, and his deep chuckle against her legs and thighs made her laugh with him.

“I literally just knocked you off your feet with my tongue.”

“Now that I’m down here, make me see stars.”

“Oh, kitten. It’s gonna be me seeing stars. With the way you’ve managed to upend my world and my soul, I’ll be seeing stars the rest of my life.”

* * *

“Never thought I’d see the day. How does it feel being the big dog?” Jersey plopped down in the seat across from John.

First day on the job at Blue Horizons as president and he was already considering workdays starting on Tuesdays instead of Mondays. “Feels fan-fucking-tastic.” John stretched his arms behind his head. “But that was only because today was the first day. I suspect the rest of the week is going to suck.”

---