By Sea (14 page)

Chapter 33

She was sure she was becoming a nymphomaniac, because as she tried to concentrate on all the beautiful fish swimming around her, she shouldn’t have been stealing glances at Brody, only a few feet away. Salacious thoughts ran through her mind, and she pushed them away.

Taking a deep breath through her snorkel, she looked back at the fish. Reds, yellows, and blues . . . it seemed every color of the rainbow was represented on swarm of beauty before her. About ten feet away, Margarita let go of another handful of cat food, and the fish teemed around her as they fed. Rayna found it mildly amusing that the fish seemed to adore the cat food, and cats loved fish.

She glanced over at Brody again, and he motioned her to follow him. She caught up with him, and they swam together, the sun warming her back. When they were out of range from Margarita and Jason, Brody laced his fingers with hers.

Rayna glanced up and saw they were headed for the caves. Katie had said the fish inhabiting them were different, and Rayna looked forward to the exploration.

As they entered the cave, the light waned, but Rayna caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see a long, thin, dark, four-foot long fish emerge from the darkness. She gasped and grabbed Brody’s arm as the fish swam out of the cave.

Rayna lifted her head, and Brody did the same.

“That was a barracuda,” he said after removing his mouthpiece.

“That thing was huge!” Rayna exclaimed, her heart still pounding with fear.

Brody chuckled and pulled her close to him, removing his mask, and then hers. “Is Ms. Hot CIA afraid of a little fish?”

Rayna laced her arms around his neck, thankful the ocean gave them such buoyancy. “Yes,” she murmured, as he peppered her neck with slow kisses.

“Don’t worry about him,” Brody whispered, his voice barely audible over the waves lapping at the rocks in the cave. “Barracudas don’t like humans. He has no desire to nibble on your toes. Now on the other hand, I’m a different story. I want to lick, suck, and nibble every inch of you. If there’s anything you should worry about, it’s me.”

Rayna laughed despite the bolts of heat coursing through her. Her heart still pounded, but she knew it was from Brody’s touch, not fear.  His lips met hers in slow exploration.

“So I should actually be worried about my Captain who has promised to protect me?” she teased.

“Oh, yes, Rayna,” he whispered in her ear. “You should be very worried about what I plan to do with you.”

Brody palmed her butt and pulled her into his thick, hard shaft. She wrapped her legs around his waist, thankful they weren’t wearing fins. He ran his hands up her back and back down to the top her thighs as he claimed her mouth with his, the slow, languid kisses turning into a passionate dueling of tongues. He moved his hands to her ribcage and up to her breasts. A moan escaped her throat as he gently rubbed her hardened nipples through the thin fabric of her suit, sending waves of pleasure throughout her body. She wasn’t worried about what he would do with her in this darkened cave. Instead, anticipation and heat flooded her as she pressed her chest into his, wrapping herself around him tighter.

Brody lit up something within her she’d never experienced before and she couldn’t put a name to that feeling. However, she did know when she was around him she felt different, as if a spark had been lit within her. She wanted more of him both emotionally and physically. She wanted to know him and understand his secrets. However, she had to remind herself there wouldn’t be a future between them. He couldn’t go back to the mainland and live a normal life, and she couldn’t stay here. She needed to return to her own reality. The Caribbean offered a gorgeous break from her real life, but eventually, this magical experience would have to end.

As they kissed, Brody slipped his fingers into her bikini bottom, gently caressing her folds and then finding her swollen nub, teasing her with slow circles. As his soft fingers worked her tender flesh, the passion within her rose to a place where her need for Brody overshadowed everything. She didn’t care she was in a cave, that there could be other fish who did want to nibble on her lurking around, or that Jason and Margarita were only about fifty feet away. All that mattered was being with Brody and reaching that place of sheer ecstasy together.

“You have to stop,” she whispered as she opened her eyes and a brief jolt of reality surged through her.

He looked at her, his hooded, dark eyes smoldering. “Do you really want me to stop, Rayna?” he asked with grin and another soft stroke of her private flesh. “Are you sure that’s what you want? Because right now, you’re so wet and slick, I can’t imagine you really wanting me to stop.” He punctuated his words with a torturous slow circle around her swollen clit, and dipped his finger into her core.

Rayna gasped, and her body trembled, begging for release. Jason and Margarita could find them at any moment, but as Brody caressed her again and her whole body shuddered, it didn’t matter. “No,” she breathed. “No, don’t stop.”

“I didn’t think you wanted that,” he said, determination in his voice as he led her deeper into the darkness.

He trapped her between his body and a rock, and held on to a shelf on the rock above her. “Take off your bottoms,” he ordered, breathing heavily.

Quickly, she slipped out one leg out of the yellow fabric, her body quaking.

“Hold on to my neck,” Brody whispered.

Lacing her hands behind his neck, Brody spread her legs open with his own, and she felt his long, thick cock at her entrance. He pushed his hips forward, and she panted as he filled her. He pressed her into the cool, smooth rock as he grasped it above her, anchoring them in place. As they moved together, Rayna gripped his shoulders and tightened her legs around him, her orgasm quickly building to an almost painful peak. The water around them slapped against the rocks, their breathing echoing against the walls of the cave.

“Good God, Rayna, you feel amazing. Absolutely fucking fantastic. I can’t get enough of you,” Brody whispered as he suckled her earlobe.

Rayna shattered from within, pulses of pleasure rippling throughout her body as she dug her fingernails into Brody’s flesh and bit her lip to keep from crying out.

“Oh, sweet Jesus,” Brody whispered. With one hand he grabbed her lower back, with the other he held on to the rock as he buried himself deeper within her, his hips bucking as he strived for climax. Rayna locked her feet at his back, and looked at him. Wet tendrils of hair stuck to his forehead and neck, and he closed his eyes as he gripped her tighter, each thrust sending another wave of pleasure through her. As he grit his teeth, she placed her hands on his cheeks and slammed her mouth over his. He kissed her deeply, and then a low moan emanated from his throat as he reached completion.

He didn’t relax his grip on her as they caught their breath, their bodies remaining joined for a few minutes while the cold stone pressed against Rayna’s back, sending a shiver down her spine.

Brody pulled out and reached down, fixing her bathing suit so she could slip her leg into the opening. He then let go of the rock and pulled up his own trunks.

“Come here,” he whispered, pulling her to him again.

He kissed her slowly, and Rayna could see a lot of different emotions in his face: confusion being the most prominent.

“I think I could really like you a lot, Ms. Hot CIA agent,” he murmured.

Rayna smiled, despite the sadness she felt. They could never be together. “Hmmm, is it the boobs?” she asked, trying to lighten the mood and not let her melancholy show.

He grinned, but then his face turned serious as he ran his finger over her cheek. “Well, they are incredible tits, but I also like the whole package, Rayna. This could be—“

“Ray-Ray! Where are you? Where did you go? Are you in that cave?” Margarita yelled from outside. “I’m not coming in there to look for you, so you need to come out!”

Brody rolled his eyes. “That damn sister of yours,” he whispered, shaking his head and smiling. “We better go.”

He handed her a mask, and Rayna slipped it on. She followed Brody toward the mouth of the cave, wondering what he was going to say before they were interrupted, but not sure she actually wanted to hear it.

Chapter 34

The afternoon passed in relative quiet, and Brody was insanely envious when Rayna announced she was going to lie down for a nap. How he longed to do some serious snuggling and cuddling with Ms. Hot CIA.

However, that was not meant to be.

There were things to be done, sailing conditions to be checked, and a few maintenance issues. By the time Rayna and Margarita finished dinner, he was exhausted.

Margarita and Rayna sat in the salon for a couple of hours and watched TV, while Brody tried to keep busy. Rayna stretched out on one of the couches and sipped wine. He felt as if he would collapse from fatigue, but at the same time longed to get next to Rayna, naked.

After their interlude in the cave, Rayna became distant, always making sure she was around Margarita or another crewmember. Brody knew his feelings for her were wrong, but the problem was that they felt so right. Somehow, in a short period of time she’d gone from the enemy to someone he wanted close to him. He loved being with her and wanted to get to know her on an intimate, deep level. For instance, he knew very little about her family, only that she had grown up in Virginia in a single parent household. What happened to her father?

He also realized that if he were to reveal the details of her life, he would have to reveal his own, and he still didn’t know if he was comfortable with that. What would anyone, who wasn’t a ten year old, say to someone who could control the sea and had a deep connection with it and it’s inhabitants, specifically, the dolphins?

He didn’t know, and frankly, he wasn’t sure he wanted to find out. It was possible he could enjoy his time with Rayna, and then let her go. Although the thought left a bad clench in his gut, it was preferable to the other option—her shunning him because of his ability.

As he sat in the Bridge late that night logging the day’s activities, he heard soft footsteps on the stairs. Turning, he hoped it was Rayna, and smiled when she appeared at the door.

“Hi,” she said with a hesitant grin.

“Hey.”

She moved into the space and stood next to him, and he swiveled his chair to face her.

“Everything okay up here, Captain?” she asked gazing over the screens.

“Everything here is fine,” he murmured, taking her hand. “What about you? Is everything good?”

She nodded and turned to him. “I’m tired,” she said, leaning into him.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. “Well, maybe you should go to bed.”

“I think I will, but I wanted to say goodnight.”

He ran his fingers through her soft hair, a little disappointed she didn’t say she wanted to make mad, passionate love to him. Even as tired as he was, sleep seemed overrated when Rayna was around.

“You can crash here with me,” he ventured. Yes, he was exhausted, but he was still a man who wanted more of this woman.

“It’s tempting,” she said after a moment, “but I think I better stay in my own bed tonight.”

He’d expected that answer based on her distance after their cave interlude, but it still hurt. “Okay,” he whispered, letting her go. “Have a great sleep.”

She turned to go and stopped in the doorway. “Thanks for everything today,” she said, her grey eyes glittering in the control panel lights.

“It was an amazing day,” he said, grinning.

“You said it would be, and it was.”

“I’m glad you agree,” he murmured.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Margarita said she may sleep downstairs tonight. Something about one of the sleep shades being broken in her room and an annoying sliver of light waking her too early.”

Brody shook his head. “Your sister is something else, Rayna.”

She nodded. “I know she is—always has been and most likely will continue to be.”

Brody chuckled, and Rayna gave him a serious look like she wanted to say something else, but then just smiled. “Goodnight Brody.”

“Goodnight.”

Brody stared at the empty doorway for a moment, and then looked at the clock. It was just after eleven, and he glanced at all the cameras. Margarita was in Rayna’s doorway, and the two sisters hugged. Margarita then opened the door to the other stateroom and slipped in. There wasn’t any movement on the other cameras, so it seemed everyone had turned in.

He stretched out on the bench, pulled the blanket over him and inhaled Rayna’s light scent. He really wished she had stayed with him, but as sleep pulled him over, he knew his body would appreciate the rest.

Chapter 35

The distant hum grew louder, but not loud enough to pull Brody to consciousness. However, the
tap-tap-tap
noise had him on his feet in seconds. The sound of bullets hitting the side of the boat had that effect.

He listened for a moment and realized the hum he had heard was a jet ski. The
tap-tap-tap
sounded again as the jet ski got louder. Some fucker was out there riding around shooting up his boat.

He lifted up the bench and grabbed two handguns, hoping no one was hurt. He doubted it because the hull was reinforced, but he still needed to check the cameras.

Glacial calm came over him as he glanced over at the cameras and saw the rest of the crew spilling out of their quarters. Jason wore a pair of boxers, while Heidi and Katie donned thigh-length nightshirts. Danny slipped on a shirt. All carried handguns.

Rayna’s door flew open and Heidi handed her a gun, then pushed her toward Margarita’s room. There was a brief argument, but Rayna finally relented and slipped through the door to babysit Margarita.

Brody turned and bounded down the stairs, meeting his crew in the Main Salon. “Let’s keep the lights off,” Brody ordered.

“We’re under attack,” Jason whispered, staring out the port side windows into the night. The guy was usually easygoing, but Brody was relieved to see he looked very serious and dangerous, even just standing around in his boxers.

“No shit, Jason,” Heidi muttered, her back against Jason’s, her gaze and gun to the starboard side.

The jet skier came by again, shooting at the Salon windows. Even though the windows were bullet proof, Brody and the crew all hit the ground on instinct. Sweat trickled down Brody’s brow and his heart thudded in his chest. He continued to remain calm, and was happy to see the bulletproof glass held and did its job. Standing, he glanced outside. Clouds hid the moon, making the water around the boat completely black. They couldn’t see the perpetrator out in the dark night, and turning the lights on only made them a bigger, better target as the shooter would be able to see motion inside the boat. They were best to gauge where he was solely by sound, and the low hum indicated that he wasn’t near the boat.

“I’m going out the back deck in case he decides to come back,” Brody said. “Katie, you’re with me.”

She gave him a nod. He’d never had a problem with women in uniform. During his service, he found most of them more than competent and often on their game more than the men as they felt they had more to prove.

Katie and he bent down and slipped out the back, Katie taking the starboard side while he took the port. Both crouched as they listened for the bastard to come closer.

The thick, humid night air clung to Brody’s skin mingling with his own sweat, and he realized he must have slept as a storm came through. He stared out into the inky blackness and clicked off the safety of his gun, taking a deep breath to calm his pounding heart.

The hum of the jet ski’s engine got closer, and Brody realized the perpetrator was coming up his side of the boat. Brody stood slowly as he approached and could make out the outline of the shooter whizzing by on the jet ski. Brody got off two shots, and the jet ski turned sharply. Brody fired again and the man let out a muffled scream and took off out of the bay.

Brody stood in place for a moment, wiped the sweat from his brow while making sure the assailant was truly gone and not coming around for another attempt.

“I think you hit him,” Katie said, coming up behind Brody.

Brody nodded, certain he had. Apparently it wasn’t enough to incapacitate the bastard, though. Letting out a long breath, Brody felt his anger rise at the situation. The whole attack felt very professional. The shooter had great aim and his purpose had obviously been to incapacitate the boat as he shot at the windows, hull and engine. Brody guessed his next move would have been to actually board the boat and make sure everyone was dead. The boat rocked as the ocean registered his anger.

No, this wasn’t some crazed fan out for the love of his life. This was something more, and he could only think of one thing: the attack wasn’t about Margarita; this was about him.

He remembered the way Rayna had been distant all day, and how she seemed almost sad when they said goodnight.

“That felt professional to me,” Katie murmured, mirroring his thoughts.

“I’m going downstairs to make sure our guests are okay. Have Jason do a damage check on the engine room, you, Danny and Heidi check the rest of the boat.”

As he headed inside, he took another deep breath, calming himself. Thankfully, they were all alive, but someone had some explaining to do.