She Shouldnt, But She Will (8 page)

Was she ever, but not from the sunlight.

He stopped dancing and stepped back enough to strip down to his swim trunks. Thia watched with some intrigue as Derek exposed his chest and legs. The bulge in his trunks showed his mind wasn’t entirely on knots per hour or how soon they’d reach Monterey.

He pressed Replay on the CD player, and the same slow song started again. She let him step up and pull her close. She couldn’t help running her hands up and down his back, feeling his muscles ripple and flex as they moved across the deck.

He leaned to nip at her neck where it joined her shoulder. Thia’s breathing quickened, and her nipples peaked. When he slowly moved his hand down her back to pull her closer yet, excitement built in her belly. Fire pooled in her center, accentuated by the pulsing of the engines as they crossed the waves.

When the music ended for the second time, Derek turned off the player then faced Thia with expectation in his eyes. She swept her T-shirt over her head and tossed it aside. Derek’s eyes dropped to her breasts, barely covered by the bikini top. Letting him drink in the view, she paused for several seconds while the uncertainty of anticipation consumed her.

As his eyes lowered, Thia removed her shorts. His gaze moved across her tight stomach pausing slightly at the small triangle of cloth and then down her legs, then back up to her eyes. Her heart pounded with anticipation as she stepped back into his powerful arms. When he held her this time, his large hands touched skin, generating a hot craving deep in her very being.

“I’m in trouble now,” she said in a low voice.

“Yes?” His tone was soft, seductive.

“If I stop us from going any farther you’ll think I’m a tease. And I have
never
been a tease. On the other hand, what will happen if I don’t prevent us from going farther? What can I do?”

“You could trust me.”

It was said with such sincerity, Thia had little choice. She lowered her head to his shoulder and surrendered to his embrace.

One of his hands pressed her hips to his while the other released the bows on the straps of her bikini top. Looking into his eyes, she simply leaned back, pulled the strip of material from between them and dropped it to the deck. Her naked breasts rubbed his chest, sending spears of desire through her.

Running his fingers through her hair, he caught a fistful in his hands and guided her mouth to his. When his tongue pressed her lips she hesitated, then welcomed him, sucking as he thrust in and drew out, teasing her lips. She slipped shaky hands under the waistband of his swimsuit. He broke the kiss then stepped back. She pushed down his trunks so he could step out of them.

His penis pulsed and bobbed in front of her. Amazed, she cradled him in the palm of her hand, and then caressed his length. She licked long strokes from the base to the crown, which she nuzzled with her lips. He moaned, pulling her to her feet.

With sure hands, he pushed her bikini bottom to the floor. Skimming his hands up her legs, he gently prodded her thighs apart and dipped his head between them. Using his tongue to probe her nether lips, he caressed her with his lips and tongue. She braced herself, and surrendered to sensation.

Her breathing grew ragged and her muscles tensed. The scent of her arousal overpowered even the salty tang of the ocean in which they were a tiny moving island. Her anticipation grew when he tucked a finger inside her, rubbing and thrusting. His tongue swirled around her clit and she whimpered. Tension wound tighter. Her fingers grasped the railing in preparation for the explosion she knew would strike at any moment.

Closer, closer, and then—just when she couldn’t stand any more—he pulled back.

“
No!
” she gasped, not above begging. “Don’t stop! Please don’t stop.”

Ignoring her, he stood then turned her away from him. He massaged her breasts until they ached from the attention, while rubbing his shaft between her butt cheeks. She almost cried with need.

“Stand still.”

The heat that had engulfed her cooled with his absence, but the fire he’d generated within smoldered. When he stepped up and continued caressing her breasts, latex pressed insistently against her butt. Her mind was awash with excitement.

Thia was about to turn and climb on Derek when he forced her to bend over. He placed his penis at the opening of her channel, and then stopped. “Are you sure you want this?”

Was she sure?
Was he
crazy
? She pushed against him, forcing the bulbous crown of his penis into her pussy.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he said, sounding amused. He pulled out.

Her knuckles whitened where she grasped the chair. Blood roared in her ears and her heart hammered. She had to have him.

With each ram, Derek entered a little deeper. Thia was out of control. Each thrust forced her open a little farther, stretching her and making her ache for more. Her breath hung in her throat. She turned her head, trying to see the man driving her out of her mind, rocking in rhythm with each assault.

On the edge of oblivion, she became aware of a finger moving between her butt cheeks. It penetrated.
He wouldn’t.

Even as her instinct was to pull away, the intensity of their lovemaking kept her pushing back, not escaping. She moaned through a particularly deep move, and at the same time something accessed her ass.

Ohgod. Ohgod!

Derek’s arm was wrapped around her stomach, a reminder she was safe and supported on this planet at the same time his body drove her to other wild, sensory places. Then he moved his hand down and placed a finger—one finger—on her clit. He pressed hard and she bucked back against him. Hard, satisfied grunts came from behind her.

He thrust harder, faster, until Thia’s mind blanked. Sensation overpowered everything and she let herself go, being pounded in her pussy, prodded in the ass, her clit held so tightly until she couldn’t think—

Lights flashed behind her eyelids. With her whole body in spasm, her breathing stopped, and she might have passed out. She wasn’t aware of anything except the explosion that started in that secret, inner place and followed the paths of nerves to overpower her senses.

Finally, when the fog began to clear, Derek drove her into the chair, taut and rigid against her. When he sucked in a breath they fell back onto the pilot’s bench seat, Thia on his lap where she sat until they both were in control again.

She collapsed on his chest, boneless and sated. No one had ever made her feel this good.

“Oh, baby. That was
good
. ” He nibbled her earlobe.

“If I had an ounce of energy, I’d say, do that again.”

“If I had an ounce of energy, you wouldn’t be able to stop me.”

Her gaze drifted to the shoreline dotted with homes. “Someone might have seen us if we hadn’t been in here.”

“Mm-hm. With binoculars they might have had quite a show.” He leaned forward to see her face, a hint of amusement shining in his eyes. “Why you little exhibitionist. You
want
that!” Heat brushed her face and he smiled. “We can do it outside or anywhere you like on the way back. If we come after dark and leave the lights on, we’d be even more visible.”

“When do we leave?” She stopped, thinking of what she’d said. “Wait, that’s not what I meant.”

“Liar!” he said with a laugh.

They sat quietly for a long time, her head on his shoulder, his hands lightly caressing her breasts. When they rose, Derek put on his bathing suit to run a check of the yacht, but when she picked up hers, he stopped her.

“You don’t need that yet.”

For the rest of the trip, she enjoyed the luxury of going naked. To her surprise, she was comfortable. For the first time since the end of her marriage, which had started long before Henry died, Thia was more than comfortable—she lost herself in warmth and safety.

* * * *

She had just started to doze when a loud buzzer startled her. “What’s that?”

“We’re getting close to Monterey.”

She laughed. “I’d almost forgotten we were going there.”

Gathering her clothes, she headed to her stateroom to freshen up. When she returned, Derek was also dressed and had taken control of the boat.

“Are you ready to go ashore?” he asked, sweeping an approving look over her red, white, and blue patriotic look.

Shielding her eyes, she judged the distance from the marina. “Yes, but I don’t want to swim. Aren’t we a long way from the dock?”

“We’ll secure a line to a buoy and go the rest of the way in the dinghy. Do you want to crew again?”

“Okay, what do you need me to do?”

Directing her as they worked, they quickly tied off to the buoy. Derek’s dexterity and skill in handling the boat amazed her. His talent in handling other things—sensual things—sent a surge of heat to her pussy, and suddenly she wished they weren’t going ashore.

“What are we going to do in town?” With his help, she climbed into the dinghy Derek had launched from the back of the yacht.

“I don’t know. What do you want to do?”

“Shopping at the Cannery.”

He laughed. “I should have known. There’s a good restaurant there with a view of the bay, so it suits. Are you ready to eat?” Derek helped Thia onto the dock.

“Quite ready.”

“Good. I’ve made reservations at a restaurant I like when I’m here.”

“Somehow, I didn’t expect to work up an appetite while lazily cruising south—” she cast him a look and quirked her brows, “—but someone gave me a real workout.”

“You loved it as much as I did,” he said in a lowered voice.

“I did, indeed.”
But I shouldn’t have
, she reminded herself with a mental finger shaking.

“Now, while we’re here, I expect you to walk several steps ahead of me so I can watch your long legs moving your beautiful body. I’m glad you’re wearing just your shorts and top. It makes it easier to fantasize about what I’m going to do to you when we get back on board.”

She looked at him with a smile. “You’re such a tease.” But she thrilled to his words.

He maneuvered the smaller boat into the marina and found a berth. Tossing a line to the attendant on the dock, he climbed up and then helped Thia. As Derek spoke with the attendant, Thia walked away, knowing his eyes followed her every move.

She stopped several yards away and waited for him. “Will that do?”

Laughing, Derek hugged her. “It’ll do just fine.”

After perusing the shops, they found a table in Tony’s Bar and Grill, a small, unassuming place that overlooked the bay, providing a breathtaking view.

Later, satisfied and finishing a second cup of coffee, Derek stood up as a man approached, “Peter, how are you doing?”

“Just fine, Derek, and you?” He spoke to Derek but looked at Thia with a glint in his eyes. “And who might you be?”

She opened her mouth to introduce herself but Derek nudged her knee to stop her. Smiling he said, “This is a friend of mine. Thanks for coming into town to meet with me.”

“No problem,” Peter murmured.

Derek gestured to a vacant chair opposite him and Peter sat. “Peter is an interior decorator and the reason I came down today,” he told Thia. “He has a special job he might want to commission some work for. You want to do some shopping you talked about?”

Peter looked at her with heat in his eyes. “A beautiful lady is always welcome to stay, of course.”

The brazen lusty appraisal and smooth note in his voice made Thia uncomfortable rather than complimented. “I’ll look through some of the shops,” she told Derek.

“I’ll find you when we’re finished.” Derek’s eyes held as much heat as Peter’s, but his warmed her instead of leaving her cold.

“I won’t be far,” she promised. With a nod toward Peter, she left the men to their business.

* * * *

“She’s quite lovely,” Peter commented. His gaze followed Thia out of the restaurant.

Though Derek hardly knew her, she was with him, and he didn’t appreciate another man being so open with his interest. “She is beautiful.”

Peter opened the portfolio he carried. “Is she yours?”

“She’s her own woman,” Derek said brusquely.

Peter quirked his brows then changed the subject. “I showed your work to my clients and they like what you do. In fact, your particular style and uh, shall we say, subject matter intrigues them. They’ve given me permission to reveal who they are and to invite you to visit their home for further discussion. In that regard, the invitation I mentioned will suit.”

“Who are your clients? If they like my work, I can’t believe I haven’t met them before. After all, there are few artists who deal in this area of erotic art.” Derek’s pulse raced. At last he was catching a break.

He’d been an agent with the Drug Enforcement Agency for twenty years before starting his own business, Hawk Investigations, five years ago. For months he had devoted most of his energies, and a big chunk of his investigative agency’s, into making contact with Lilly and Sylvester Oglethorpe. He could swear Peter was about to give him access to them.

When his former boss approached him about consulting on a job, he’d hesitated, wondering why the government needed him when they had far greater resources at their disposal. Experience and non-accountability, Jim Taylor told him with a smile. The smile was what convinced Derek to take on the contract.

That, and a chance to end one of the largest influxes of heroine and other opiates in the Bay area. Being undercover again had been fun, but now the real reason he’d hired back on with his previous employers was at hand, his introduction to the Oglethorpes.

“They live as recluses when they’re in the States,” Peter explained. “They have an amazing but remote mansion north of the Bay. In fact, you get there by boat or helicopter or not at all. Sylvester Oglethorpe and his wife Lilly are my clients. As you will see when you get there, the décor in the house has a bit of erotic effect but the owner wants to enhance it.”

Peter seemed to study him to see if the names meant anything, so Derek kept a neutral expression. Shaking his head he said, “I’m sure I’ve never met them.”

Peter looked satisfied with his answer. “Not surprising. As I said, they aren’t social and they’re gone a good bit of the time.”