Sarah pulled a pair of shorts over the bottoms of the black string bikini she’d purchased in town. The only bathing suits left on the rack had been skimpy. If not for Maddie, she might not have even bought one. Her sister had only been gone a few days, but Sarah already missed her. At least the boat trip would take her mind off it. She waited for Bruce in front of the house.
He drove up and hopped out of the truck. She lowered her gaze to his muscular thighs under red swim trunks. Her blood surged to lower parts.
“What are you looking at?” He stopped in front of her.
“Nothing. I’ve just never seen you without pants.”
He grinned, and her face heated.
“That didn’t come out right. I—”
“I know what you meant.” He stroked her arm. “Try to relax. We’re going to have fun today.”
Fun. With a hot guy. On a boat. She could do this.
They drove to the marina with the windows open. Sarah let the wind push her hand up and down as she held it out the window. Beach music from Bruce’s iPod played through the speakers. She sighed and leaned her head back against the rest.
“This is the first time I’ve seen you relaxed like this.” He squeezed her leg. “It looks good on you.”
“I’m actually excited. I’ve never been on a boat. Have you always had one?” She glanced at him as a shadow crossed his face.
“No. I bought it a few years ago. It’s my getaway from the world. I sleep overnight on it sometimes.” He kept his gaze on the road.
“Do you take a lot of people out?”
He shrugged. “Not really. Everyone’s always busy. Scott and Joe have gone fishing with me a couple of times. That’s kinda it.”
“Oh, just guys.” Good. He’d never slept with anyone on the boat. Warmth spread up her neck.
He glanced at her and hitched an eyebrow. “Why are you blushing?”
Shit. He knew exactly what she’d been thinking. She shifted in her seat.
“There’s a first time for everything.” His mouth curved.
He pulled into the marina and grabbed the cooler. “Can you bring those bags?”
“Sure.”
Seagulls screeched and dove to the water, snatching out crabs and fighting over them in midair. The cool breeze blew her hair and tickled her toes in flip-flops.
She followed Bruce down the long pier. People waved and said hi as they passed. Some were loading their boats while others sat in chairs drinking coffee and chatting. A couple of kids and a man at the end of the dock cast fishing lines into the water and reeled them back.
“We’re here.” Bruce set the cooler down next to a big, white-lidded box with the name Escape on top in big, black letters.
She eyed the large, shiny boat. With sinks, lounges, and carpet, they wouldn’t be roughing it. A door led to what had to be a cabin beneath a long expanse of a bow with a window in the middle that popped up. Kind of like a mini-house.
“Wow. How big is this?”
“Twenty-eight feet.” He jumped onto the swim platform and unsnapped the cover.
“What can I do to help?” Sarah glanced around.
He reached up to graze his hand along her ankle. “Just stand there and look gorgeous.”
She smiled down at him. Not a bad view from her vantage point.
His biceps flexed as he pulled off the cover. He’d donned shades. The man screamed cool and sexy. After tossing the cover on the dock, he hopped out and stuffed the canvas into the white, hinged box. He leaped back onto the platform. “Ready?”
“You’re like a Mexican jumping bean. All over the place.” She laughed.
He held a hand out. She took it and stepped onto the boat.
“Ah. The first place for a kiss.” He tapped a foot on the deck.
His lips brushed hers, and they tingled.
“We’re going to work our way around the boat,” he said in a throaty voice against her mouth.
Confetti exploded in her stomach.
He stepped aside. “Go ahead.”
She went through a half-door, passed the seating area, and stood by the steering wheel, out of the way. He reached up and grabbed the cooler from the dock. Bulging muscles. So hot.
The engines fired to life. After checking some gauges, he pointed to steps leading to the front of the boat.
“Can you climb up there and undo the ropes when I tell you to?”
“Sure.” She kicked off her flip-flops and stepped up the stairs.
“Mostly, I just wanted to watch you do that,” he said loud enough for her to hear.
She smirked and untied the ropes. After she climbed down from the top, he backed the boat away from the dock.
“Where are we going?”
“Out into the Chesapeake. I know a place we can anchor and swim.” He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it onto the seat next to her.
Oh God. Ripped. As if she’d expected anything less. From his well-defined pecs to the six-pack abs and the dark trail of hair that led farther south, he was sex on a stick. She bit her lip as Maddie’s words came to mind.
Then she spotted the bullet wound, inches from his heart.
She caught her breath. Multiple jagged scars hid beneath his curly chest hair. Something terrible must have happened, like torture. Her eyes blurred.
He fiddled with the GPS before turning to her. “Once we pass the marker we can...”
His gaze followed hers, and he stiffened. In a matter-of-fact voice, he said, “Some souvenirs from my tour. Sorry. Didn’t mean to—”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Deep inside, she ached for whatever he must have gone through and thanked God he’d come back. A tear trickled down her cheek.
He pulled back and ran a hand down the side of her face. “Don’t. It’s okay.”
“No. It’s not. What if you’d—”
“But I didn’t.” He cupped her chin and looked into her eyes. “Let it go. Please, I brought you out to have some fun today.”
She nodded. He must be fighting his own demons, and her sympathy probably only added to the pain. Talking about it might cause him to relive things he’d rather forget. To lighten the mood, she waved a hand at the gauges. “Can this thing go fast?”
“Hell yeah, but we need to pass the no-wake buoy first. If you’re warm, you can take that off.” He tugged at her T-shirt. A slow, predatory smile formed.
Her pulse raced. Bruce, in his element on the water, was seductive. Sexy, bold, and unreserved, he defined smoking-hot. Not another boat in sight. No wonder he liked it. And she didn’t have to worry about the stalker or anyone else seeing her. She leaned up and kissed his cheek, running her hand over his broad shoulders.
He lowered his head and found her lips. “That’s three places. Next kiss on top.”
When he wrapped an arm around her, she pressed her cheek against his bare chest. She resisted the strong urge to slip her tongue out for a taste of his hot skin. A lollipop she’d like to lick. Damn that Maddie. This was what she was talking about.
They passed a marker and Bruce said, “Ready to go?”
She nodded.
He pushed two levers forward, and the engines roared. The front of the boat rose out of the water, and they picked up speed. Wind whipped at her face as they bounced over the waves. Holding on to the back of his seat, she quickly learned to keep her knees soft and roll with the bumps. “This is amazing.”
Bruce grinned and cranked the levers farther to send them flying across the water. She glanced back at the white foamy trail they made as the power and energy of the boat coursed through her body. What a rush. He brought his mouth close to her ear to yell over the noise of the engines as he pointed out places along the shore. Her body shivered in response.
They reached a point where he slowed the boat and steered into a narrower path of water.
“This inlet has a cove. It’s not too shallow for my boat. I anchor overnight here sometimes.”
Trees lined both sides of the deserted shore and blocked the view from the bay. Sarah glanced around. “It’s certainly private here.”
“That’s what I was shooting for.” He climbed up the steps and went forward to drop the anchor. When he came back down, he shut off the engines. He flicked a switch, and music played through the speakers.
“Cool. You have a stereo?”
“Yup. Want to see the cabin?” He pointed down a set of steps.
“Sure.” She descended, glancing around. “Holy crap. You have a full kitchen down here?”
“Yes.”
She stopped in front of a large V-shaped bed. Complete privacy. In the mirror above it, she met his gaze, and her cheeks blazed.
“You wanna swim?” he asked.
“Sure.” But not really. She was in a room with a bed and a half-naked man who made her blood hot.
“I’ll be up top if you want to change and leave your clothes down here. Remember what I said about kissing you in every part of this boat?” He leaned down, bringing his mouth close to hers.
She held her breath and parted her lips in anticipation, but he moved to whisper in her ear, “Later. That’s a promise.” He climbed the steps. “Don’t linger.”
She took a deep breath. Time to dive in.