Chapter Fourteen
Despite the rough way he picked her up, Ross gently placed her down crossways on his large bed. He then pulled back, going to his knees to take off her slip-on shoes. He came up and kissed her long and hard, leaving her almost gasping for breath, before he eased up, to start a sweet, almost torturous, trail down her body.
Essie thought he’d linger on her collarbone, her breasts maybe, which he teased with his thumb through her dress, but no. He skimmed those spots, going lower, down to her ankles, spending time kissing them, making an anklet of feathery kisses, then working his way until he was behind her knee. When he got a desired response from her, he’d lick and nibble some more. As he was licking behind her knee, and she was distracted by the newfound glory of that particular erogenous zone, Ross’s hand worked its way up to her most private spot, and he pulled her panties down as he brought his head higher.
With his first lick Essie thought she’d break apart. She was biting her lip and balling her fists tight so as not to come completely undone.
Ross was masterful. He licked and she rocked. He sucked and she rode. She was clenching and unclenching her hands until she grasped at his shoulders, letting go as she never had before. And when she finally reached her peak, with his name echoing as breathy gasps on her lips, Ross pulled back, tugging her dress over her head, taking her bra off, and giving her breast a last, long, gentle kiss.
“God, Essie, you are gorgeous,” he rasped out.
Her instinct was to cover up, as gooseflesh suddenly tickled over her body. But something in his hot, admiring gaze made her feel so incredibly beautiful, she could do no more but reach for him. Essie kissed Ross hard and passionately. Undoing his shirt and pulling it out of his pants.
“You have on way too many clothes, Mr. Montgomery.”
“You are so right there,” he said, breathing heavy.
As she freed him, Ross handed her a condom. Essie sucked in an anxious breath. He was glorious. But her awkwardness came out in her ineptitude with slipping on the condom, and she was thankful for Ross’s help. His hand steadied hers as he guided her in easing it down over his hardness.
His first thrust stole her breath away with its power; and when she came once again, looking into the depths of his midnight eyes, he kissed her, sealing their moment with an unspoken promise of the next week of more glorious lovemaking to come.
They spent the next few hours making love in every way and every place in his villa, the bed, the Jacuzzi, his large shower. Somewhere in between, dinner got eaten, and Ross even convinced Essie to take a mad naked dash from his villa to the beach and into the water. Or maybe it was the other way around. Essie laughed so much she couldn’t remember when she’d last enjoyed such a night. In fact, she knew she hadn’t.
Just before dawn she woke with Ross kissing her shoulder. “I’m sorry to wake you so early, but do you mind if we get going to the boat? The captain may have to push it to make it to Miami in time with the delay.”
Essie could feel his tension and didn’t want him to stress. She turned and kissed him lightly. “It’s fine. Just give me a minute to get ready.” She stroked at his hardness playfully. “And stop being so serious. Just because we’re back on the boat and I’ll have you back to your routine, you’ll still have me in your bed. There’s no way I’m giving this up before New York.”
Ross grinned and nipped at her shoulder again. “Whew. That’s a relief.”
* * *
When they arrived back on Serenity, Essie was shocked.
The boat, which had been decorated luxuriously, was now decked out for Christmas with lovely twinkling lights and sprigs of holly and evergreen. And there in the main parlor was a large undecorated Christmas tree. She turned to Ross with shimmering tears she wasn’t capable of hiding. “Ross, it’s beautiful, but why? How?”
“I couldn’t let you not have Christmas,” he said in a matter-of-fact way. “I thought while I was handling the contractor, I’d have the boys pick up a tree, festive the old girl up a bit. I had them save the tree decorating for you though.”
Essie grinned then looked at him with barely restrained hope. “Will you do it with me?”
Ross made a face. “It’s not my thing.”
Essie’s smile widened. “Well, let’s make it your thing. We’ll do it together. After dinner. Please. Decorating a Christmas tree is always better with friends. We’ll invite the crew.”
Ross shook his head, but something in his eyes lit. “Sure. Anything for that smile.”
* * *
Dinner was casual and shared with the crew, once they got under way again. Essie and Chef Scott collaborated on the meal. She was glad they had come to a mutual working relationship, though he was still a bit gruff around the edges. They casually dined on shrimp rolls, haddock, and spicy noodles, since Essie had quickly learned that Ross loved all things with either a touch of sweet or plenty of spice. Plus, a lovely blend of mixed vegetables. There was wine for everyone, and the captain joined them while Ethan took over his duties for a while on the bridge.
When Essie came in with dessert, homemade ice cream with dark chocolate mulled wine sauce, the captain stood and raised his glass in a toast. “To Ms. Bradford. Thank you for gracing us with your beauty and your talent. You are making this maiden voyage a sweet excursion.”
Ross grinned and stood, coming over to kiss Essie lightly on her cheek. But the crew would not be satisfied with that, and they cheerfully started to clink on their wineglasses with their tableware. “Kiss! Kiss!”
Essie gave them a wave of her hand. “You all are incorrigible! Thank you so much. You almost make me not miss New York and the holiday snow. Almost.”
But they would not be mollified. When Ross clinked his glass, too, she relented, taking Ross’s cheeks in both hands. For a moment she enjoyed the feel of his scruff and pulled him in for a big, sloppy kiss. The guys all cheered as she pulled back.
“Okay, enough with you all. Bring your desserts around the tree. Let’s get Christmas started!”
They all took turns adding the pretty gold and silver ornaments. The captain left early, letting Ethan come to take his place. When it was done and the rest of the crew left, Essie sat on the low couch as Ross turned down the lights and flipped the switch on the tree.
“It’s lovely,” she said as he put his arm around her and nuzzled her in close, kissing her behind her ear.
“Why is it I feel there’s a ‘but’ in there?” Ross asked.
“There is no ‘but.’ It is lovely. It’s just so elegant—more elegant than any tree I’ve ever had. Ours at home is jam-packed with mismatched ornaments. My mom made a point of buying or we made a new one every year. Maybe it’s something you could do with your daughter?”
But at the mention of the child, she saw Ross’s eyes go dark and cloud over. She knew instantly she’d made a mistake. Trying hard to bring the moment back, Essie spoke rapidly to cover the awkward moment. “My mom still buys me one, and I’m no spring chicken.”
Ross pulled back then quickly leaned forward, nipping at her lips teasingly. “Get out! You can’t be a day past twenty-two.”
Essie laughed as she rolled her eyes, glad to be back on sure footing. It was fun to sit with him and be playful for a while. “I won’t tell you how many years to add to that. But thanks again. I really do appreciate it. I know you weren’t into the holiday. I just think it should be shared with family and those you love. But this”—Essie paused—“this is really nice. But I didn’t mean to force it on you.”
He looked at her and ran a hand up and down her thigh. “You didn’t. No one forces anything on me.”
Essie snorted. “Now, that I believe!”
“I wanted to make you happy. With you missing your holiday with your mom,” he laughed then, “and the cold New York snow and all. You can’t really be missing that.”
She looked at him seriously. “I sure am. Who doesn’t dream of a white Christmas? You can’t be hardened to that. What’s Christmas without snow?”
Ross shook his head. “You really are a sweet traditionalist, Essie Bradford. I don’t know what you’re doing here in my arms. A man like me would ruin you.”
His last words were low and serious, and something about them made Essie’s heart stop for a moment with a deep fear of loss she knew she had no right to have.
“What are you talking about?”
“Nothing,” he said too quickly. “I guess I’m not used to any downtime. See what you did to me? Went and got me thinking.” He pulled her tighter to him. “And you got me thinking about things with my daughter, too. I don’t know.” He looked down then and let out a sigh. “I guess things need to change.”
She leaned in and kissed him. She didn’t want to see him sad, and she didn’t want to make this moment heavy. Soon enough they’d make it to Miami and before too long her assignment would be over.
Their kiss changed quickly from sweet to deep and passionate; and before long, Essie was breaking apart again, beside herself and feeling out of herself, all at the same time. She took a deep breath and then pushed up from Ross and the couch. She looked into his passion-darkened eyes and took him by the hand. “Your stateroom or mine?”
He stood. Tall and powerful, towering over her. “I’ll let you choose. I always want this to be your choice. Your terms, Essie.”
She smiled. “Yours, then. I want to try out all the beds you can offer me while on the trip, Mr. Montgomery.”
He grinned and gave a quick nod. “Then let’s go. What’s mine is yours, Ms. Bradford.”
* * *
When Serenity pulled into Miami’s Biscayne Bay, Essie steeled herself against her heavy heart. She and Ross had spent a blissful three days together on board, both in bed and out. Their days were unstructured and carefree, and their nights were spent making love in ways she’d only fantasized about.
She cooked for him, and he surprised her by spending quite a bit of time with her in the kitchen, learning what she hoped were lasting lessons about food choices and the benefits of cooking for himself. They also had a lot of fun in the gym, with her giving him the benefits of yoga and meditation, and him giving her the basics of kickboxing. More times than not, their sparring ending up with either Essie or Ross flat on their back, one pinned under the other.
This time spent with him would go down as some of the best days of her life—at least the most fun and carefree. And reluctantly, when she felt him standing strong by her side, his arm draped easily over her shoulder, rubbing her arm in that endearing, absentminded way he’d taken to doing, she had to admit she was going to miss this. No, she was going to miss him, when all was said and done. A knot twisted in Essie’s belly as the butterflies seemed to bunch up in one corner.
Shit. I’m falling for him.
But as Essie saw the stretch limo waiting for them as they departed, flanked by a female driver and two other beautiful women in short skirts and tight blazers, she couldn’t help but stiffen. Normally, she was more confident. Seeing these women, who looked like versions of every woman she’d seen pictured with him, something in her deflated. It brought to mind the fact that it would all be over in days. But Essie forced herself to shake it off as a tall, slim young man stepped forward and came up to them.
“Good to see you, sir,” he said before sparing Essie a glance. “And good to see you, too, Ms. Bradford.”
Though Essie didn’t know him, he did know her, and he seemed unsurprised by the intimacy of her and Ross’s entwined hands. It raked at her and she stiffened.
“Essie, this is my assistant, Andrew Vaughn.”
Essie gave the younger man a nod. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Vaughn.” She let go of Ross and stuck out her hand.
“You too. I hope your trip went well. Please let me know of any supplies you need for the return, and I’ll be sure to have them brought on board.”
“Thank you. I think I’m pretty good. I do prefer to do my own shopping, but I’d appreciate it if you know Miami or have someone else who does, that could point me in the direction of the freshest markets.”
Andrew nodded.
“Is everything all set and ready?” Ross asked.
“Yes, sir. You’ll see these are the types of cars and drivers with the ladies as concierge that we sent to pick up the clients. They should be arriving at Serenity within the next two hours.”
Essie was intently following along. It was a good thing Andrew was explaining because he wasn’t giving out any introductions to the ladies. Essie thought of introducing herself but the women gave off a sort of aloofness that could tag the part of a gorgeous female spy ring or darned good exclusive club bouncers. A small bus pulled up and two more beautiful women got out, along with two men who were just as model gorgeous. They lined up next to Andrew. “These are Lacey, Ana, Marco, and Louis. Additional staff for guest-stew services.”
Essie didn’t miss the hot look Lacey gave Ross. It was an invite, an openness, as Andrew continued his introductions.
“They will be available for the clients for any and all entertainment while on board. Marco and Louis will help with deckhand services and anything else that is needed.”
Essie couldn’t help but bristle. Serenity was about to become quite the party ship, and she couldn’t help but wonder at what type of services and or entertainment Andrew was referring to. But Essie pushed the thoughts back. She and Chef Scott would have plenty of mouths to feed. Playtime, at least for her, was definitely over. Though Chef Scott was a jerk, she would pitch in and help him with so many passengers coming aboard.
“Well,” she said, looking up at Ross, “I guess I’d better get going with supplies so I can get back to help out Simon. We’re about to get really busy.”
Ross bent and gave her a kiss. “Fine, but Simon can handle the bulk of the cooking. You take this car and get what you want him to prepare. I want you by my side tonight. I’ll stay here with Andrew, making a few calls if you don’t mind.”
Ross’s words about being by his side pulled her up short, but Essie tried not to make too much of them. “Not at all.”
But as Ross pulled away, he gave her a long stare. “Don’t worry, I’ll watch out. No buying stew in dodgy neighborhoods. And I won’t be long. I want to be back”—she looked over the leggy woman eyeing Ross like the last crab leg at the all-you-can-eat buffet—“before things get too wild.”