Page 129 of Falling Overboard

It was shocking that those kinds of lines apparently worked for the exterior crew. Following the lead of his friends, François went off to talk to some unsuspecting woman and I wondered whether I had a moral obligation as a fellow woman to warn her.

Emilie stared at us for a bit longer and then stood up dramatically, making her way over to the bar. A handsome man immediately sat down next to her and I let out a sigh. “She’s going to make some unlucky guy very uncomfortable tonight.”

Hunter chuckled next to me while I realized that the rest of the crew had abandoned us and we were now alone.

The waitress returned with the check, handing it to Hunter. “I guess it’s my treat,” he said.

“Yes, well, when people find out your parents own a yacht, they’ll expect you to cover dinner.”

He smiled, pulling out his card, and the waitress immediately returned to run it for him. She came back quickly with the receipt. He signed it and then pulled my chair closer. “Do you want to get out of here?”

I did, which was going to become an issue. But I still said, “Please.”

In an apparent hurry to be alone with me back on the ship, he called for a ride instead of walking.

“You don’t want to gamble?” I asked. We were in a casino in Monte Carlo. It seemed like we should.

“Everything we’ve been doing has been a calculated risk,” he said. “I don’t need to push my luck at the tables.”

I thought about his statement as we made our way back to theMio Tesoro. We were putting ourselves at risk, but it was like we couldn’t stay away from each other. I loved him so much and all I wanted to do was be as close to him as I possibly could.

A sentiment he shared, as he kissed me on my neck the entire way back.

By the time we got to our cabin, I was so fired up that I was ready to burn this entire ship down. My blood pulsated, blocking out other sounds.

He locked the door. “You told me once that you have to anticipate the needs of the guests. And the crew.”

It was easy to see where he was going with this. “I did say that.”

“You haven’t been anticipating my needs.”

“I haven’t?” I said innocently.

He fixed me with that hungry gaze of his. “No. You’ve been very remiss in your duties.”

“And what is it you need?”

A lazy, wicked smile lit up his features. “A kiss.”

“I live to be of service,” I said, stepping forward. He met me halfway, crashing into me. His lips were hot and insistent on mine, and I was immediately plunged into that hazy world of pleasure where nothing mattered except his kiss.

And I didn’t know how we were going to keep things PG if he kept kissing me like the world would end if he didn’t. He completely overloaded my entire system and it was so difficult to think.

I did finally manage to break away from him, and it was like I was tearing off a piece of myself.

“I love you,” he breathed, making my decision to pull back feel like a not particularly smart one.

“And I love you. But we are playing with fire here.” We needed to be more careful.

He leaned his forehead against mine, his chest moving up and down quickly. “I’m not just playing with it. I’m like one of those stuntmen in a flame-retardant suit, running around on fire.”

I knew exactly what he meant. “What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know,” he said ruefully. “Maybe we should call it a night before I ravish you.”

Yes, please.“Good idea,” I breathed out. “The going-to-sleep part. Not the, you know, other one.”

He gave me a knowing grin. He kissed me briefly and then went over to the closet, taking off his shirt. I reached for the zipper on my dress and realized that I couldn’t quite get to it.

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