Bossy (40 page)

I
wake up to strong hands rubbing my back. Hard, powerful hands, firmly massaging lotion into my skin. I close my eyes, enjoying the sensation, his touch hot even under the sun bearing down on us. God, that feels good.

My eyes shoot open. Wait a minute. Who the hell is it? I roll off the deck chair with a yelp, landing in an awkward crouch and looking up. Gavin. I should’ve guessed.

He’s got his hands out in a “Who? Me?” gesture, mouth turned up in that infuriating smirk that drives me nuts. “What? You were starting to burn. Just a little sunblock.”

The sun’s moved while I was sleeping. I probably would have turned into a tomato, but still... “You could’ve asked first.”

“How do you know I didn’t? You were asleep.”

“You can’t just start rubbing people in their sleep!”

“Pretty sure I just did.”

“You know what I mean!” So much for peace and quiet.

He shrugs. “Fine. As you wish.” He bends and picks something up from the deck chair. Something white, which he balls up and carries with him. “You have fantastic tits, by the way.”

My mouth drops open as I realize he’s holding my top. Oh shit. He must’ve untied it while he was putting on the lotion. I was so mad I didn’t notice, and now he’s taking off with it. “Come back with that!” Clutching an arm across my chest, I chase after him.

He laughs out loud and takes off, running just fast enough to keep ahead of me. “I’m sorry, are you missing something?” he calls out over his shoulder.

“Stop being an ass, Gavin.” I stop, scowling at his back. He turns around and waves my top in the air. There’s no point in chasing him. I refuse to stoop to his level and play that game. “You’ve had your fun. Come on, give it here before someone sees me.”

He shakes it teasingly. “Giving up already?”

“Oh, cut it out. Hand it over.” I glance around to see if anyone’s watching, but this part of the deck is deserted except for us. At least there’s that.

As I stalk forwards with one arm covering my breasts, he stays put, lifting his arm to keep my top just barely out of reach. “I want to see you jump for it.” He grins broadly, his cheeks dimpling. How did I never notice those dimples before?

I glare at him, up at the annoying slip of white cloth and then back at him. There’s no way I’m giving him the satisfaction of watching me bounce around topless. I need a different plan. Work smarter, not harder.

Stepping right up close, I put my free hand softly onto his tight abs, tracing each ridge with my fingertips as I slide upwards to his chest. My breath catches, and I have to remember why I’m doing this. I’m trying to distract him, but that’s not going to help if I can’t focus. “You know, maybe you’re right.”

He looks down at me, not lowering the top an inch. “I know I’m right. What about?” His eyes sparkle with mischief. The game’s still on his terms.

I walk my fingers across his right pec, stopping to swirl my index finger lazily around his nipple. It hardens up immediately, and I get the urge to lick it. To swirl my tongue around it instead of my finger.
Angie, stay on target.
“Maybe the two of us... you know...”

He laughs, his chest shaking under my touch. “No. I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me, babe?” His voice is teasing, confident. Out of the corner of my eye, I see his arm has come down just a touch.

Sliding my hand up onto his shoulder, I marvel at the powerful muscles underneath. I trace their contours before I continue down his upper arm, following a dark spiral of ink. “I mean, I know you’re going to be my stepbrother and all, but...” I trail off, dragging it out.

“But what, babe?” He’s leaning in just a little, his head coming closer and the arm holding my top lowering.

I go for broke. Pressing my naked torso against his and my cheek against his broad chest, it’s hard to pretend that I’m only doing this to distract him anymore. His nipples aren’t the only ones that are hard, and mine are tight and sensitive as they drag along his stomach. Still, I’ve got my head angled so I can keep an eye on the prize. I just hope he lowers it enough that I can snag it before I throw all my principles overboard and jump him.

I’m not sure if mashing my breasts against him is any better than giving him a quick show, but it definitely feels better to me. I have both hands on him now, playing over his hot skin, down his sides and onto his hips. God, he feels so good against me. I don’t have to pretend to be short of breath. “But maybe, I mean if you don’t think it’s wrong...”

So close now. He looms over me, and I think he’s going to kiss me, but he’s moving slowly. “It’s alright, babe, you can tell me.” Chuckling softly, he puts his free arm at the small of my back, rubbing my skin just above the top of my bikini bottom and holding me in place.

I can’t help it. I nuzzle against his chest, hearing his slow, steady heartbeat. It’s not his arm keeping me trapped. I’m doing a fine job of that myself. Looking for my top, I spot it just within reach. Am I quick enough? I’ll have to be. Otherwise I don’t think I’ll be able to pull away. I put a soft kiss right by his nipple, taking a bit of satisfaction in hearing him draw a sharp breath. I’m getting to him, at least a little. Preparing to leap, I whisper soft words, too quietly for him to hear.

“I can’t hear you, babe.” He leans in so close that I hear his deep voice right in my ear, sending shivers ratcheting down my spine.

“I said...” My whisper trails off, and I go for it. “That you’re an asshole!” I catch him completely off guard, my left hand snagging my top right out of his fingers while my right swings up and leaves a bright red mark on his cheek with a smack, all done in a fancy twirl that puts me facing away from him so he doesn’t get more of a show than necessary. I’ve never put my top on so quickly before.

Behind me, Gavin laughs. “That was so totally worth it. You want me, babe.”

“Fuck you.”

Suddenly he’s behind me, his arms around me and his chest pressing against my back. His voice is a husky whisper right in my ear, “I’d love to.” Something nudges the small of my back. Oh my God, he’s hard.

I tear away from him and spin. The lump in his board shorts is huge, and I miss the feel of it pressing against me. “Not in a million years. No way. Never. Not if my life depended on it.”

His face takes on a mock hurt expression. “Really, Angie? Your very life? I can’t be
that
fucking bad.” Cocking his arm, he flexes. “I know you like my body, at least. That’s what you wanted the first time we met. You know, when you were just looking for a quick... hard... messy...” Each word brings him a step closer, and each word raises more goosebumps. “...fuck.” He nods. “You would’ve gotten it, too. Remember that. But I guess now you’re too
principled
.”

“It’s good one of us is. Just leave me alone, Gavin.” He’s an ass. So why does he make my heart pound and my panties so damn wet?

“You know what? I would, but I had a real reason for coming down before we started playing.” He shrugs. “That thing that they keep reminding us about starts now. We’re running a little late, actually.”

Really, it’s almost six already? I look around, finding the sun getting low on the horizon. Amazing how time flies when you don’t have anything you have to do.

I roll my eyes at him, thinking of a million things I’d rather do than attend some function with him. “Can’t we skip it? Or you go, and tell them I have a headache or something.”

Gavin shakes his head. “I think we better show. The way they’ve been going on about it, Dad must’ve set it up, and it’d be pretty fucking weird if we weren’t there.” He shrugs again. “It’s probably something for you.”

That would only make me feel better if I knew what it was. With a sigh, I make sure my suit’s properly back on, then nod. “Fine. This’d better be good, though.”

He leads the way. Up two flights and we’re back at the heavy door labeled UPPER FRONT DECK. When Gavin opens it effortlessly, I glare at him, but at least he holds it for me.

I step through to a deck covered with decorations. I’d seen the balloons earlier, but now there are flowers everywhere, mostly white, but beautifully accented with bright colors. Soft classical music plays from the speakers, setting a solemn mood.

And the people! The deck is packed with what seems like just about every passenger on the whole ship. What are they all doing here? As soon as we stepped through the door, all conversation stopped, and now they’re all staring at us. I glance at Gavin, but he only shrugs.

A red carpet runner starts at our feet and parts the crowd right down the middle towards the front of the deck. I follow it with my eyes to where it ends at an arch covered in vines and flowers. Standing next to it, still in full dress whites, is Captain Chuck, looking smug and distinguished at the same time.

I swallow. That’s an altar. Those are guests. The captain’s officiating. I start to hyperventilate. I glance back at Gavin and I see from his dropped jaw and wide eyes that he’s realized what I just did.

“Oh shit,” we whisper in chorus.

H
oly fuck.

Seriously.

Holy.

Fuck.

Dad doesn’t fuck around, but I can’t fucking believe he was actually planning on fucking marrying Marie on the fucking cruise ship.

Fuck.

Now what?

Angie looks like she just had a heart attack. I don’t blame her. Pretty sure mine skipped a beat or two just now. It’s still racing like I’ve run a ten-mile. Giving her a nudge with my elbow, I turn on a smile. It’s fake as hell, but nobody cares so long as the mask is in place. I figured that out long ago.

She glances at me anxiously, her eyes flitting around like a wild animal ready to make its escape. I hold out my hand and she takes it hesitantly, swallowing the biggest lump in history. “Gavin!” she whispers with a hiss. “It’s a wedding. A wedding. For us!”

I step closer to her so we can hear each other more easily, whispering out of the corner of my mouth. “It’s for our parents. It won’t count.”

“We
are
our parents. At least as far as they’re concerned. We’re not actually going to do this, are we?” There’s panic in her whisper, and for a little thing, she has a painful grip when she’s freaked out.

“It won’t count.” I think. “We just have to fake our way through the ceremony, and then we’ll have a huge meal and it’s business as usual.” I squeeze her hand back, trying to comfort her and hoping she doesn’t feel how I’m shaking. Fuck, this is some crazy shit.

A steward rushes over to take her things, and we start to walk, still wearing just our swimsuits, and not knowing what else to do. The guests applaud as we walk by them, grinning like fucking idiots. It’s the longest walk of my life.

“Are you sure?” Another hiss from Angie. “I mean, what if it
does
count. What do we do?” She’s wearing a smile as fake as mine now, but in her eyes is pure panic.

“It won’t count. No fucking way. How could it?” Now if only I felt as confident as I’m trying to sound. How does this work? There need to be witnesses and shit, right? Signatures that have to match? Something? Not having any immediate plans of getting married, it’s not something I’ve looked into.

I put an arm around Angie, trying to calm her while I smile and nod to the guests. She’s stiff as a pole, shivering, and there’s not a thing I can do about it. Well, I did want us to spend more time together. Just like Dad to pull a crazy-ass stunt like this.

Fuck you, Dad.

We stop in front of the arch and Captain Chuck takes a step forward. He straightens, and after giving us what I’m sure is supposed to be a reassuring smile, he speaks in a loud voice. “Welcome, everyone. I’m so glad you’re all here to witness this joyful union today.” He looks up at the sky. “And boy did we get some beautiful weather for it, didn’t we? It’s a good thing too, because from the look of them, Herb really went all out keeping it a surprise.”

There’s amused laughter from the crowd and some scattered applause. Angie looks ready to sink through the deck in embarrassment, but he continues like it’s nothing. “Today, I have the pleasure of joining the beautiful Miss Marie Wilson with the love of her life, the handsome Mr. Herbert Caldwell.”

Angie’s hand crushes my fingers. Her whisper is barely audible. “I’m going to faint.”

“You’re going to be fine. Just remember, good food and an open bar, right?” I squeeze her hand back. “We’re going to get through this, and then we’re going to get so shitfaced that we’re going to have to crawl back to our room. Clear?” She nods nervously. For once we seem to be on the same side. It’s a small victory, won under duress, but I’ll take it.

“It’s not often I get to officiate weddings aboard, so this is as exciting for me as it is for the couple, I bet.” Our captain laughs, and the crowd chuckles along.

Laugh it up, Chuck. You have no fucking idea.

He continues, and I hope it won’t be for too long. I think the only reason Angie’s still standing is because her knees are locked. “Did you all know that captains don’t actually have the authority to officiate marriages? It’s a myth, but a so pervasive one that the Navy even has a statute dictating that Naval captains are not allowed to do it.”

I let out a sigh of relief. “I think we’re off the hook. Guess it’s just for show.” Angie nods in response, looking a little less panicked. Fuck, if it’s just for fun, we might as well enjoy it. I pull her closer and place an excited kiss on the top of her head. I half expect her to slap me again, but relief’s a powerful thing. Instead, she puts on a cute little smile. I could get used to that.

“Luckily, I’m retired, and I’m not one to let something silly like statutes stop me anyway. So, in the state of Florida I am a registered public notary. Just in case anyone’s wondering if this is for real, when we’re done, the happy couple will be Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell.” Captain Chuck bows to a smattering of applause.

Fuck.

Angie sags in my arms. Shit, did she faint? I grip hard, supporting her, and whisper to her as loud as I dare. “Angie!”

She steadies, then looks at me. Her eyes shimmer, like she’s about to cry. “We’re getting married.”