Bermuda Nights - The Boxed Set (11 page)

I could not think. I could not speak. All I knew is I wanted him, I wanted this, I was totally and helplessly and fully his. I was drowning in a sea of absolute pleasure and I wanted … I wanted …

His lips brushed my ear, and his voice was hoarse, rough with desire. “I’ve got you, my love. I’ve got you.”

His finger thrummed, spun, and then he lifted me up.

I was released.

I was soaring, flying, completely free, lost in a golden sunrise which knew no end. I was suspended in his arms, and I knew he would never drop me, would never let me go. There was a long, ecstatic cry echoing around me, and I ached with the beauty of it.

Time became lost.

At long, long last, he lowered me onto the crisp sheets, and they felt like the softest clouds I had ever nestled within. His hand was still at my breast, his other against my sex, and I radiated heat against those points, connected in a way I’d never thought possible.

It seemed hours before I could lift my head, could turn to look back at where he stood beside me. He was completely naked, a dark god there for my pleasure.

I soaked him in. “I don’t know how I am going to match that for you.”

His gaze was distant, as if he’d been in a far away land. The corner of his mouth turned up, and he drew his hand from my breast, bringing it around to rest possessively on my ass. His other remained cupped around my sex.

“You won’t.”

My eyes lit up. “Is that a challenge?”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “I am going to stay just like this until I come for you in Boston.”

I glanced down to the hard cock throbbing in place. “Like that?”

His eyes sparkled. “It won’t always be that visible, but I am going to be in a constant craving for you. This is to remind me of what I am waiting for. Of why I have to get through what is to come, and get back home to you.”

He slid a finger inside me, and I groaned. His cock jerked in response, and his voice became hoarse. “You make sure to remember me, too.”

I could barely speak. “As if I could possibly forget.”

He slid his finger deeper, and his voice became a low growl. “Good.”

Chapter 10

My dress was sea green, the color of our porgie paradise, and when I walked into the club his gaze drew to me as if by a magnet. He soaked me in for a long moment, as if my presence would sustain him like oxygen. And then his gaze firmed, and he took in a deep breath. He dropped his eyes, his fingers deliberately taking the steps to tune his guitar.

My heart thundered against my chest as I made my way over to the table on the side of the stage. If he could do this, then I could as well. He was mine, I was his, and in a few short months we would be able to begin our life together. Until then, I was blessed by being able to see him – even if at a distance – for our few remaining days.

There were thousands of couples in the military striving daily to maintain long distance relationships while dealing with the stress of battle zones and other disasters. Those pairs had it infinitely worse off than I did. I knew my man was in little peril, and he would come home to me. I was sure we could touch base with email and phone calls … maybe even a Skype session or two.

A smile danced on my lips, and my body warmed at the thought of what those might entail.

Kayla bounced over to me, her electric blue dress practically tattooed on her body. She plunked a flute of Champagne in front of me, then drank down half of her own. “Sven’s going to take me to a club onshore once the gig is over,” she announced. “We’ll finally get to dance together! Not that I mind watching him sing, of course, but sometimes I just want to touch him!”

She grinned at me. “You and Evan should come! I hear sometimes the officers even show up, to let loose some steam.”

I took a sip of my Champagne. Evan needed to keep our relationship low key. He had asked for us to stay distant from this point forward. The last thing he’d want was for me to tag along to party and dance where the ship’s officers were present.

For a moment a flash of envy zapped through me. Kayla didn’t even realize how lucky she was, being able to enjoy Sven so openly. Sven’s years of tenure had earned him privileges that Evan could only dream of.

I pushed the thoughts away. Sven might have that one perk – but when Kayla stepped off the ship, Sven would move on. He would find another groupie, sail another tour, and be lost.

My Evan was coming home to me.

I smiled. I could endure anything, last through any short term loss, to reach that happy ending.

I toasted to Kayla. “You two will have a blast,” I assured her. “I think I’ll sleep in tonight. Tomorrow afternoon we leave Bermuda, and I want to be able to spend as much time as possible snorkeling before we sail for home.”

Her eyes danced. “You and those fish,” she teased. “I think you were a mermaid in another life, with all that swimming you do.”

There was movement on stage, and we both turned. Sven stepped up to the microphone, wearing a Boston Red Sox jersey over jeans. His voice billowed across the club, rich and resonate. “Who’s ready to dance!”

The room shook with the resounding cheers.

The drum kicked in, and Sven’s voice snapped out the lyrics from Maroon 5’s
Love Somebody.

I looked up at the stage, and Evan’s eyes were right on mine. His fingers moved, his left hand pressed in the chords, and through the music he was connected to me. Connected in a way that nothing would sever.

Kayla grabbed my hand. “C’mon!”

We danced, and danced, and I knew in my very core that everything would be all right. Evan’s music moved through me, coursed through my soul. If for now this was all we could have, that would be enough. If it was just his music, his voice, and his connection which sustained me until he came home to me, I would treasure what we had. So many had far less than us.

The evening spun by, wrapped in cotton candy bliss, and by the end I didn’t mind when Kayla ran up to Sven, when he wrapped her in a hug right there for the entire world to see. I turned to Evan and I knew. I knew from the look in his eyes that what we had would stand the test. It would endure the separation, and when he came home to me, it would sustain for a lifetime.

The corner of his mouth turned up in acknowledgement, his gaze holding mine for a long, meaningful moment. Then he looked down, drawing open his case and beginning his take-down.

I turned and left the club, moving quickly back to my room. I was riding the euphoric high, and I wanted to get to safety while I was still firmly within its grips. I didn’t want to tempt myself, not give myself the opportunity to hang around with Evan after their equipment was packed up, to somehow get drawn out by Kayla on her nighttime escapade. I knew this was important to Evan, to maintain our distance, and I would do everything in my power to support him. It was all he asked of me until he came home to me.

Came home to us.

The moment I got into the cabin I put on my pajamas, further buffering me from any temptation. I grabbed up my notebook, climbed into bed, and decided to journal about everything that had happened. Who knew, perhaps in years in the future I would treasure this – the record of our very first days together.

To my surprise the words flowed, expanded, and I was even including short rhyming phrases to go with the images. That first time we talked, above the ship’s wake. The soul-brightening delight of our first encounter with the silver porgies. The rich brilliance of our making love on the beach.

I was swept away by how easily the phrases streamed from the pen. I’d always craved being a poet, but I never had thought the words were in there. I seemed better at carefully noting figures and symbols in a grid. But somehow something had become unlocked, released, and the pages turned …

Brrrrring!

I looked at my phone in surprise. I’d turned it back on when we reached Bermuda, just in case there was some sort of family emergency. My heart pounded against my chest. Was something wrong with my mom or dad?

I snatched up the phone, barely glancing at it. “Yes?”

Kayla’s voice was a long slur. “Ammranda?”

I held the phone back, glancing at the time on it. Four a.m. How had it gotten that late?

I brought the unit back to my ear. “Kayla? Where are you?”

“I’m at the club. I can’t find Sven.” Confusion echoed in every word. “‘Man-dah, I don’t know …”

“All right, all right,” I reassured her. Clearly the woman could barely walk. “I’ll be right there. Where are you?”

“Hammerhead,” she mumbled.

“Stay put. I’ll find you.” I hung up and did a quick search on my phone. Thank God, it was only a short distance from the ship. I tossed on sweats and a t-shirt, then headed on out.

The streets were quiet under the glowing moonlight; it was only a few minutes before I came up to the bar. It was packed with stumbling, loud-talking tourists. I imagined the passengers were getting as much drinking as possible in on this bucolic island before we headed out tomorrow afternoon.

An electric blue shape shone out from the bar, and I made my way through to it.

Kayla’s eyes were barely open. She blinked blearily at me as I approached. “There you are, ‘Mand. Thought you forgot about me.”

“I came as quickly as I could,” I promised. “Let’s get you home and in bed.” The corner of my mouth quirked up into a smile. “You’re going to regret this in the morning, you know.”

She pressed a hand to her head. “I regret it already,” she grumbled. “Can’t believe Sven bailed on me. Phone rang, and he was off.”

I tucked my shoulder under her arm. “Yeah, well, we can worry about that tomorrow, hun. Right now, it’s bed time for you.”

I eased her off the seat, she groaned, and her weight came down on me. I snugged my arm, drawing her up, turning …

Evan.

I blinked. Evan was there, at a back table, sitting with a lanky woman with short, spiky, scarlet hair. She was leaning close to him, her eyes glowing with interest, and her hand stroked along his arm.

I stumbled, and Kayla groaned. “God, ‘Mand, which of us has been drinking?”

My mouth went dry. The woman’s head went next to Evan’s ear, and she whispered something into it. Her hand ruffled through his hair – that thick hair that I knew so well, and when she sat back her body radiated sexuality.

He drew his gaze down her, then nodded.

My stomach lurched, and I turned with Kayla, pushing my way through the noisy crowd to the front door. The cool air of the dark night was crisp and fragrant with the scent from the row of large, crimson hibiscus plants growing along the street. I stood for a moment, breathing it in, fighting to hold back the queasiness.

Kayla groaned as if she were having stomach issues of her own.

I snapped into focus. I had to get her home. I could worry about anything else after I took care of her – but Kayla needed my help.

She had trouble with the one-foot-after-another part of walking, and she faded out on me several times. At long last we were through the customs building, enduring the amused glance of the portly matron who was checking IDs. The ship’s security officer let us go through the checkpoint together, undoubtedly deciding that Kayla might not be able to manage it on her own.

By the time we reached our room, I was simply grateful that Kayla had not retched along the way. Score one point for her bartender-trained constitution. I eased her onto her bed and pulled off her high heels. She burrowed her head into her pillow, and I turned down the lights.