Page 48 of Capitally Unexpected

“Darius, Ms. Hannigan is stuck on gangway C again convinced she’s going to fall in. You know you’re the only one who can talk her down.” A woman in her twenties joins our group. “Sorry for the interruption, folks.”

Darius sighs. “I don’t know why they keep letting that woman back on the boat. She causes trouble the whole trip.”

“Maybe she’s a con artist too,” I say. Hunter looks at me curiously, and Darius and the new woman give me blank stares. “You know, Mrs. Hannigan? Annie? The musical? Jamie Foxx did a remake, but the one from the ’80s is way better ...” Still nothing. “Isn’t there a woman in distress somewhere?” Better to take my losses.

Darius takes off without another word, and the woman looks at us. “Enjoy your trip, y’all. Make sure you sign up for the shuffleboard tournament. Hear it’s a hoot.”

She turns to the next people in line to scan their tickets. Hunter snorts beside me.

“Oh, you think that’s funny, huh? Just because I quote a movie from the ’80s doesn’t mean I want to enter a shuffleboard tournament.” We move onto the boat and follow directions toward our room.

“I know, babe. But let me know if I should move our dinner reservations earlier before we lose cell service, okay?” His shoulders are shaking with laughter.

“See if I put sunscreen on your back at all, mister.” Hunter laughs in earnest. “Keep on walking.” I push him ahead of me, smiling so he knows I’m not mad.

We find our room a short time later. It’s cozy, but I expected it to be. Hunter mentioned looking into an upgrade last week, but I shut him down. I’m okay with cozy.

Hunter tucks our luggage out of the way as I flop onto the bed, sending the swan towels flying before rolling onto my side. I might regret not bringing the new pregnancy pillow I finally caved and bought a couple weeks ago, but I worried about there being enough room for me, the pillow, and Hunter on the bed. Hunter said I could use him as a pillow instead.

“Ready for a nap before pinochle, Mich?” His jab loses its edge when he sits on the bed next to me, running his fingers through my hair in the way he knows relaxes me.

“I am ready for a nap. Thank you very much. And besides, didn’t anyone ever tell you to respect your elders?” I don’t bother to open my eyes, letting his fingers and the slight rocking of the boat lull me toward relaxation.

“Some of my thoughts for later are anything but respectful.” His lips ghost along the shell of my ear as he talks, voice husky and low. My eyes fly open and heat runs through me.

By the time I get myself rolled over and propped up, he’s standing at the door, eyes mischievous and tracing over me.

“You’re going to use that voice and leave?”

He laughs, still using the low tenor of his range. “We’re stillat port, babe. Plus, I think you’re going to need that nap. I’m going to go get the lay of the land and let you sleep. I’ll be back.” He blows me a kiss and slips out the door.

I throw my limbs down on the mattress and let out a gust of breath. Guess maybe I’m not the only one who thought a cruise might be a good place for sex. Well game on, Brandt. I steal a pillow from his side of the bed and arrange it under my hip to give me a bit more support and lay back down. A quick nap, and then I’ll be ready.

“Michelle. Babe. Dinner’s in thirty minutes. It’s time to get up.”

My eyes slowly open before the meaning of his words kick in. “Thirty minutes?! That means it’s ...” I try to remember what time Hunter said dinner was tonight.

“It’s six thirty. Dinner’s at seven.” Hunter’s lying next to me, dress pants on, but shirtless.

“This is a look.” I nod at all the ink on display.

He laughs. “I didn’t want to wrinkle my shirt, but wanted to watch you sleep for a bit.”

“You do it every day. You’re always awake before me.” I try to hide it in my tone, but I actually love his blue eyes being one of the first things I see every day now. Hunter never went back to his bed after the first sleepover a few weeks ago.

The soft smile on his face tells me he sees right through me. “Plus, I tried to wake you up earlier, and you were having none of it.”

I do remember telling him five more minutes. The light is lower, so it must have been a while ago.

“Okay, well, good thing all my dresses are low maintenance and sea water makes the waves extra wavy.” I gesture to my hair, hoping I’ll be able to salvage it since there’s no time to shower.

“You’re beautiful,” he says, pressing a kiss to the tip of mynose before pushing himself up. That’s sweet and all, but where’s the disrespectful guy from before?

He holds out a hand to help me sit up. “Besides. Every minute we’re late for dinner is another minute I’ll make you wait before I let you come.”

There he is.

“I’m not sure if that makes me want to hurry up or slow down,” I say, reaching out to trace down Hunter’s chest. He tries to move out of my reach, but the small quarters close him in, and he ends up thrusting his crotch toward me. My hand grazes a semi-hard cock before he manages to pull that away too. I raise an eyebrow at him.

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