Page 79 of A Girl and HER Prince
His head popped up over the water. “Livvy!” he shouted up at her. “Throw down a rope!”
Her knees landed into the hull of the boat as she collapsed in relief, then she scrambled back up, searching for the thing that would get Venice on this boat where he belonged.
They were leaving Scheria Island behind like a bad dream.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Livvy’s hands landed over his arms and Venice winced at the pain scorching down his forearm as he scrambled up and over the boat. His stomach screamed out in protest as his knees hit the hard wood of the hull. The galley rode low in the water. At least that made it easier to get aboard, but he was more than ready to camp out on a hospital bed for days.
But first he had to somehow get his muscles to work a little longer to get them to Crete.
“Venice, I was so afraid that you wouldn’t make it!” Livvy still clung to him. Her long hair swept over his face as she covered him with kisses.
Well, that was certainly giving him some energy. He took a deep breath and reached out to gather her closer. She had no idea how much having her around was helping him survive this.
“You didn’t do so bad yourself,” he said and then started returning every one of those kisses—it took some doing, and they certainly didn’t have the time, but what better way to spend his moments while he caught his breath… or not, because he wasn’t catching his breath. At all! This girl was happy to see him!
His shoulder knocked up against the windlass. They wouldn’t be going anywhere if they didn’t get that anchor up. He reached back, interrupting her “welcome back party” to correct that little problem.
Her hands joined his on the barrel as they cranked it. “That anchor took some doing to get in the water,” she said. “I think it was pure adrenaline because”—she rubbed at her shoulder—“I think I broke my weightlifting record… which wasn’t super hard, seeing I don’t lift that many weights.”
He smiled as they got the anchor up together, and he celebrated with another victory kiss. His spirits went even higher as the sail easily caught the wind with only minimal urging on his part.
Apparently they hadn’t angered the great Poseidon yet. The wind was clearly on their side. They’d be in Crete in no time… maybe it might take a little longer on a vessel that was literally stitched together, but they were making steady progress. So far, they weren’t taking in any water. It seemed too good to be true.
He sat next to Livvy where she did her best to navigate that antiquated rudder. His hand went over hers as he moved them farther starboard. They passed the breaker into the open sea.
Her eyes shifted to his and the passion in those blue depths set his blood to boiling. Livvy really had no idea what she was doing to his blood pressure when she watched him like that. “My own Captain Blackbeard…” She reached up to touch his jaw. “Well, not quite a beard yet,” she mused. “Hmm, my Captain Five O’clock Shadow.”
That was horrible, and he knew exactly how to tease her in return. “Huh… I like that,Luvvy.”
“Ha, that means you hate it.” She draped her legs across his lap, swinging her ankle. “Good! I can finally get you back.”
“For what?” This was his favorite way to get her riled up. “Luvvy’s nice… it shows you have my heart.” His throat turned thick as the truth poured from his mouth without inhibition. “From the moment I saw you, you had it. You’remyLuvvy now.”
Her legs stilled. Everything they’d gone through together had somehow made him comfortable enough to admit exactly how he felt about her. He must be insane with exhaustion. Would he scare her off? The warmth in her expression showed it was okay.
He reached back for the rudder, to straighten their course. He was ready to leave this island behind, but strangely, most of the memories he made here, he never wanted to let go.
A compass showed him the direction they were headed. Someone had the sense to put in a good nautical system in the dashboard, which was hidden discreetly in the boards so that the boat still looked authentic. The Greeks had used a system of stars and their knowledge of the area to get around… probably why Odysseus got lost for ten to thirty years trying to sail home on a voyage that should’ve taken less than a few weeks.
Then again, that didn’t make for good fiction.
Livvy knocked his leg with her foot. “Tell me about these donkeys you want to adopt.”
He leaned back against the railing with a smile. “Yes, what do you want to name them? I think I’m partial to human names now, aren’t you?”
“Sure,” she said. “I’m thinking a Charlie or a Miles would be cute.”
“Sounds good to me. What do you want to name our kids?”
She burst out laughing as they skimmed over the water. What an adventure they’d have to tell once they returned home. He couldn’t keep his own smile back from his lips. They were free!
Without a clock it was hard to tell how many daylight hours were left, but moving the galley ship to launch it out to sea had taken the better part of the afternoon. They’d better have enough light to get them to Crete or they’d be in more trouble.
He got up to move the sail manually. “I think we’ll need a vineyard too.” He did his best to keep things light. “But you know, that’s only so I can peek at your ankles while you dance on the grapes at harvest. I can see you in Tirreoy, holding up your skirt and covered in sticky, purple juice.”
“Sounds romantic.” She bit her lip. “Tirreoy?”
