The Mariner's Gift (5 page)

“I’m glad she did.” He had to lean close to be heard over the music. “You look nice.”

It was hard to tell under the crazy disco lights, but he thought she was blushing.

“Thanks.”

They stared at each other for a long, awkward moment, the music thumping through the gym and the cups getting warm in Oliver’s hands.

“Well, I’d better—”

“I see you’re here—”

They both laughed.

“You go ahead,” she said.

“Ladies first.”

“I was just going to say that you’re here with Allison?”

Oliver looked across the gym to see his date staring back. She didn’t look happy either. She had her arms crossed over her cleavage and was shooting daggers in Zola’s direction.

“Yeah. I was just getting her some punch.”

Zola nodded and smiled. Her aqua blue dress was just a little loose and gapped on her slender frame. As if reading his mind, she tugged at it self-consciously.

All of a sudden, Oliver felt a surge of affection for this girl with the impossibly thick glasses and long, gangly limbs. She was different. Special. For a fleeting second, he let himself imagine… What if—

“Olly! What are you doing? I was getting worried.”

He turned to Allison, who’d obviously decided that waiting was not going to be her strong suit. She looked Zola up and down without trying to hide it.

“Oh. Sorry. Allison, this is my friend Zola. Zola, Allison.”

Zola stuck her hand out and pumped Allison’s enthusiastically. “I know who you are. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Wish I could say the same,” Allison mumbled, pulling her hand away.

Oliver shot her a look and she grimaced. “I mean, I haven’t seen you around before. You go to Bay Side?”

Oliver wanted to reach out and strangle Allison with her own hair. Only it was so stiff it’d probably snap in half before he could make a proper rope out of it. “Zola’s a senior here. She’s the editor of the school paper.”

Allison shrugged and made a show of inspecting her nails.

Zola swallowed noticeably. She was hurt, he could tell. But there was something else there too. And he suddenly wondered if she might reach out and choke Allison herself.

“Well, have a nice evening, you two,” she said.

“Mmm-hmm.” Allison took Oliver’s arm and gave it a pouty tug just as there was a lull in the music. “Ready?”

Zola cleared her throat. “Oh, Allison?”

“Yeah?”

“Be careful in the girls’ bathroom.” She patted her own bangs. “The clearance in the doorway is crap.”

Allison looked confused, her glossy pink lips parting slightly. Oliver guided her away before she could figure it out. But not before looking over his shoulder to wink at a smirking Zola.

He sighed and glanced at his phone, which had remained quiet most of the evening. Overall, it had been an uneventful Christmas Eve. He’d gone back to his folks’ to tuck Lauren into bed a half hour ago, and to promise he’d be there when she woke in the morning.

He’d been hoping for a visit from Zola, or even a message back, but she’d been decidedly distant since coming back into town for the holidays. He couldn’t quite decide how he felt about that. It wasn’t usually his style to obsess about much, especially women. He’d been married for a while, single for a while, but he’d never found himself wanting in that department. Until now.

He looked out the small window to his right. A thick, gray fog had rolled in from the bay and settled itself over the marina, making it hard to see the lights of the bridge in the distance. It was cold, but the boat was toasty, and he stretched, trying to put Zola out of his mind.

He looked back down at the paperwork spread across the compact desk. If he could just get through the next page or so, he could put it away until after Christmas, knowing the worst of it wasn’t hanging over his head. Going in on this business was a dream come true in so many ways, but dealing with the insurance companies wasn’t one of them.

Outside, the motion-activated light came on and he looked out the window again. A female figure was heading toward his boat in heels and a long jacket. A long, form-fitting jacket. She was carrying a plate of something, and stepped carefully over the gaps in the dock, her short, dark hair hanging in her eyes.

Oliver stood.
Well, I’ll be damned
, he thought.
Merry Christmas to me.

Chapter 6

Zola put the plate of chocolate chip cookies in her other hand and got ready to throw her leg over the bow, hoping she wouldn’t fall flat on her face in the process. But before she could, Oliver opened his cabin door and stepped up onto the deck.

“Zo?”

She smiled, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks. She hadn’t told him she was coming and hoped he wouldn’t be irritated. A little surprise had seemed romantic and fun when her mother had been staring her down earlier. Now, with him actually standing there, wearing nothing but a pair of loose-fitting jeans and a sexy white t-shirt that left little to the imagination, she wondered if she should have given him some notice.

“Oliver! Hey.” She took his hand and let him help her over the side. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything. I know you’re working.”

His skin felt delicious on hers. He held on just a second longer than he needed to before stepping back to take her in.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You know I wanted to see you.”

He looked fantastic. And very much in shape. The old Coast Guard t-shirt fit just right across his chest, and was snug enough that his nipples, hard from the cold night air, could be seen under the fabric.

Zola caught herself looking and shoved the cookies at him, flustered. “Hope you like chocolate chip. They’re kind of a Mitchell tradition.”

“Thank you.”

A string of white lights hung behind him in the window, illuminating him like some kind of angel. But unlike any angel she’d ever imagined before. This angel made her want to discard her undergarments in the bay and tackle him headfirst.

Touching her elbow, he guided her toward the cabin. “You must be cold.”

“I really shouldn’t stay. I just wanted to say hello.”

He grinned without taking his hand off her arm. “I think you can probably come inside for five minutes, can’t you? I promise I won’t bite.”

Really?
At this point all she could think about was
when
he’d end up biting and where that might be.

She took the first step down, careful not to twist her ankle in the heels. They were too much for a casual visit, but who was she kidding anyway? She could feel him behind her and something about stepping into the cabin of the boat, which was so secluded and sexy, made her ovaries twitch. She had to bend slightly so as not to bump her head through the doorframe, then straightened to look around.

The small area was bathed in warm, yellow light from a miniature lamp in the corner. A table top tree under one of the circular windows smelled of pine and boasted shining glass balls of green, red, and blue. Dark, cherry wood cabinets rose from floor to ceiling on either side of her. There was a small bed and a tiny kitchen area, and next to that a workspace where a pile of papers was spread out. The boat was beautiful. It rocked seductively on the water, and even that didn’t bother Zola, thanks to the magic of Dramamine.

Something else was working its magic on her too. Maybe it was the temperature inside the cabin, warm and cozy enough that she felt the need to start unbuttoning her jacket. Or maybe it was the way Oliver stood leaning against the doorway looking at her. Like he wanted to be the one to work the buttons loose. His short, blond hair was messy and soft looking. His eyes not holding much back.

Zola laid her jacket on the bunk, trying her best to look composed and confident. When in reality, big, clumsy butterflies were bumping around in her belly. The air between them was charged. Their texts hadn’t quite reached the smoldering point, but they’d been close. She knew he wanted more than just the kiss they’d shared the last time they saw each other. She did too. Which was why she’d been so unsure about coming tonight. And was also why she felt the heat of his gaze now go straight to her head.

“I’m glad you came,” he said.

“Me too.”

“I wasn’t sure you would.”

“Me neither.”

“What made you change your mind?” His slight accent was just as sexy tonight as it had been all those years ago. It still had the ability to curl her toes and make her legs go mushy. Only this time, he wasn’t talking to some busty cheerleader in that tone. He was talking to her.

She fidgeted with her sweater sleeves, pulling them down over her hands like a kid waiting for the school bus. “My mother.”

His brows rose at that.

“Well, not really my
mother
.”
Stupid.
“She wanted me to bring you cookies. I would have eventually come anyway.”

“Eventually?”

She was really massacring this conversation. And in only a few short seconds too. That had to be some kind of record. “You know what I mean.”

He shook his head and stepped closer. “No, I don’t. Why don’t you tell me?”

She was finding it hard not to stare at the Coast Guard emblem over his heart. And his chest in general. “You knew I was nervous about seeing you again.”

“I got that, yes.”

“I’ve been thinking about what would happen if we were to…you know.”

“No. If we were to what?”

“Oliver...” The boat had gone from pleasantly cozy to downright warm in just a matter of seconds. She wanted to strip her sweater off.

“I’m just trying to get a clear reading on you, Zo. You can be honest with me. Just say it.”

She swallowed hard. “If we were to have sex.”

His eyes actually seemed to get darker when she said it. His pupils were huge, black orbs. “Okay,” he said evenly. “It’s good to think things through. But be careful you don’t think them to death.”

She ran her fingers along the wood grain to her right, then looked down and realized it was the bed she was touching. She snatched her hand away and crossed her arms over her chest.

“I’m just thinking about the obvious things,” she said.

“Like what?”

“Like the fact that I live four hundred miles away.”

He stepped closer. There was stubble on his chin. Fine lines around his eyes. “Are you saying you’d want it to be more than just one night?”

She nodded slowly, hating how honest he was making her be, but liking it at the same time. There was something liberating about coming out with it all in person, something she hadn’t been able to do through texts.

“Me too,” he said, taking her hand. He stared down at it, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb. Her stomach tightened immediately.

She opened her mouth to speak, but found her tongue wouldn’t cooperate. He was only touching her hand, but it felt like he was stroking every inch of her body. Her nipples had grown hard and were pushing against the light padding of her bra. They tingled with some kind of adolescent anticipation.

He stood over her, tall and gorgeous. He smelled like soap and fabric softener. Still, he wasn’t making a move to touch her anywhere else. She felt herself leaning in shamelessly. Wasn’t she the one who was supposed to be concerned about the implications of sex tonight? Damn her mother and those cookies.

She looked up and his eyes locked on hers. “Luckily,” he said, “there’s this great invention called the airplane. I’d come see you, Zola. We could take it slow, see what happens. But you don’t have to worry about it being just one night. For me, it wouldn’t be.”

She was having trouble remembering what prompted this response from him in the first place. He was pushing the sleeves of her sweater away and moving his hands up her wrists. …Oh, yes. Getting her heart broken. That was it.

“What about…” she managed. He was leaning in toward her neck. “What about your daughter?”

That stopped him. And immediately she wished she could take the words back. But at the same time, it was an important question. She’d never dated a man with kids before and it was a responsibility she didn’t want to take lightly for Lauren’s sake.

“What about her?”

“Will you tell her about me?”

His jaw twitched. “Would you want me to?”

“Yes. If things progressed between us, of course.”

“She’s very special to me, Zo.”

“She’s your daughter. Of course she is.”

“It’s important that things with her stay…reliable.”

Zola’s heart ached at the look on his face. She didn’t think she could have found him any more attractive than she had five minutes ago, but she’d been wrong. “Is that why you don’t talk about her to me?”

“You have to understand that it’s not just you. It’s everyone. I’ve been trying to protect her since she was born. A lot of good that’s done us.”

Without thinking about it, Zola stepped closer and put her arms around his waist. “You’re a good dad. I wouldn’t hurt her, Oliver.”

He looked down, his lips only inches from her face. “I don’t believe you would.”

“We’re going to take it slow, right?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“So when the time is right, you can introduce me as your friend. That part will always be true.”

The words seemed to ease something in him, and his face relaxed. Surprising herself, Zola stood on her tiptoes and kissed his neck. She’d been wanting to do that for weeks. His skin was warm and textured. Musky.

Before she could pull away, he brought her closer. He was lean and solid. She felt so feminine pressed against him that a sound escaped her throat before she could help it. She didn’t think she’d ever been so turned on in her life.

Leaning down, he put his mouth to her ear. “I want you, Zola.”

The area between her legs began to pulse. She exhaled slowly, shakily. “I want you too.”