Through the Maelstrom (15 page)

Her eyes widened. Technically, they had kissed twice—or had two kissing sessions. They
would
have kissed again today had they been alone after the shark incident. But they hadn't. Would a third kiss keep him here? Would it work the way the kiss of true love did in the fairytales?

"Christophe!" Her heart beat rapidly and her stomach plummeted. "Kiss me."

He frowned. Shaking his head, he mouthed something that looked like, "Not ready to say goodbye." Yet he'd been about to jump without doing so? She'd get on to him about that later, if they
had
a later.

"Silly man." She would berate him for that poor decision later. Now, she had to break this...spell or whatever it was trying to take him from her. Serena grabbed his lapels and dragged him to her as she rose on tip-toes, even in the heels. Her ankle smarted, but she ignored it and kissed him hard. Once their lips connected, he was a live wire, pushing his tongue to meet hers and clutching her closer. Did he believe this was the last kiss they would share? Maybe it would be.

As more individual sounds around her started to register, Serena peeked over his shoulder at the vortex. It was growing smaller, paler
.
The roar softening.
Thank God, it's working.
Then her eyes popped open.

True love's kiss was
working!

She threw her arms around his neck and moaned his name against his mouth. He leaned back and stared at her, a dreamy expression over his features, and then he twisted toward the water and gawked.

Calm, dark, silent waves remained. No sign of a danger or the supernatural. She sighed with relief. Others passing around them, but she couldn't let go of Christophe in order to turn around and see what they were doing.
They'll be all right. So will we.

"You figured it out." He pressed his cheek against her forehead, holding so tightly she thought she might snap in half. Seeming to realize this as well, his grip eased.

"Oh, I had some help." Serena glanced up, but Mrs. Baker had moved on and she couldn't find her in the crowd. She'd think of a way to repay the woman. "I think this means I get to keep you." Elation filled her, and she couldn't stop the grin from spreading across her face.

He laughed and twirled around with her lifted in his arms so her feet never touched the ground. Then as he lowered her, so close to his body, the evidence of his desire made itself known against her hip. Her appetite had shifted to something more carnal. The adrenaline of the moment amplifying it, burying her reservations. He wanted her, and she'd almost lost him. She needed a connection that was skin-to-skin, and she needed it now.

"Let's go back to the room. We can order room service." As she spoke, the speaker system came back on assuring everyone to remain calm. Perhaps they would wait a while to place any food orders. The crew had their hands full trying set everything to right and pacifying distressed passengers.

He nodded, his Adam's apple shifting as he swallowed, grasping her meaning. "Are you su—"

"Don't try to change my mind. I..." Her face heated and she glanced at his feet. "I need you." If she didn't have him soon she might make a scene, and she preferred what she wanted to do with him to stay between them alone.

For what seemed like the thousandth time, he lifted her face to catch and hold her gaze. "Tell me, not my feet. Anything you need from me, I will
always
be there." He kissed her lips, gently. "Thanks to you."

She held his stare, those blue eyes of his stormy and sincere. She would work on the eye contact. "I
need
you," she repeated. Christophe didn't speak any further, but lifted her as he had the day before on the beach. Serena's body was on fire. How could one person desire another so strongly without bursting into flames?

As he carried her away, she overheard a man telling his friend, "I told you, dude. I bet it was a space ship. An invisible space ship. That's why we didn't see it when it left its underground base." There was a brief pause, a chuckle, and then, "The Bermuda Triangle, man. Freaking aliens."

***

E
very step Christophe took toward the room seemed to last forever while rushing past at the same time. Serena had anchored him here with her kiss and had invited him to spend the evening with her in her cabin. Alone. He'd been dreaming of this since he first saw her, so why did he feel almost bashful now that it had arrived?

Because now, more than ever, you know what she is to you. You love her. Don't want to disappoint her.
How advanced is lovemaking three hundred years in the future—his new present? Surely
that
had remained the same?

He set her down so she could open the door, excusing herself to wash "mascara" out of her eyes. A look around the room revealed most of the items that had been set on top of the tables had toppled or fallen on the ground from the motions of the ship. When Serena returned, limping slightly, her face was clear and she'd removed her shoes—a pity—and she smiled at him timidly, fidgeting with the hemline of her dress. By doing so, she revealed a subtle hint of her thighs to him, and he had to shift his weight to ease the discomfort of his breeches.

"You don't need to prove anything to me." He crossed the room and stood before her. He could wait to be with her. It would be painful, but he could. "You've saved me from returning, but if you—" Serena covered his mouth with her fingers.

"I made this decision hours ago. If we hadn't been swarmed by people on the beach, I might have taken you up here after lunch." She stared at him and froze, like she wasn't sure how to move on from expressing her desires and taking what she wanted.

He loved how even though she'd been confident enough to tell him she needed him, had kissed him so passionately, she was too timid to act on it. He would ease her shyness, take the lead until she felt comfortable enough to do so herself. Christophe closed the distance with another kiss, and after a brief hesitation, she ran her hands under his jacket, pushing it off his shoulders.

He shrugged the heavy coat off and placed his hands on her hips, bunching the material of her dress in his palms before tugging it over her head and tossing it to the floor. She stood before him in two tiny pieces of black lace. Though the material covered her most private areas, it was completely transparent. Everything could be seen, and it made the lace all the more erotic. Christophe had once thought a sheer chemise seductive in his time; he'd never dreamed of underclothes like these.

Breathing failed him and he sat heavily on the foot of the bed. As if his reaction triggered her confidence level a hundred-fold, she pushed him backward against the mattress and straddled his waist. He sucked in a sharp breath as the movement caused her to rub against his erection, trapped within his breeches. Serena unfastened his sword belt and dropped it to the floor with a heavy
clank
before loosening his shirt and working the ties of his breeches over his arousal.

"What's the hurry, love," he bit out. "Foreplay is half the fun." Truthfully, he could hardly stand the confines of his clothes in that moment.

She shook her head. "I'm not a patient person. My God, did you triple-knot this?" She glared at him like he was withholding his manhood from her on purpose. "Are you
laughing
at me?"

He cleared his throat and resumed a blank expression. "Never would I dream to." And then he snickered when she tugged hard on the cords, only tightening his pants over his arousal.

"You're laughing at me!" She started to slide off him, which wouldn't do at all. He rolled her over and settled between her legs, thrusting just enough to remind her how he felt about her. She gasped.

"Never doubt my attraction to you. I laughed because I found your impatience amusing and attractive. We have all the time in the world." He smoothed his palms over her breasts, and the nipples beaded beneath the lace. "Aye, all the time in the world." He leaned forward and slid his tongue over one, dampening the lace. He would soon have her completely bared, but not yet. Serena trembled and ran her fingers through his hair, loosening it from its tie and combing it free until it was wild like her own soon would be upon the pillow. He was much obliged.

After he'd given equal attention to both breasts he stood and removed his shirt. Propping herself up on her elbows, she watched with rapt attention as he shed his layers one by one. Removing his boots and stockings followed the shirt, and finally the pants. When he freed the knot on the breeches in quick tugs she glowered.

"You could have done that before."

Ah, his impatient one. He didn't hear any more complaints once he lowered the breeches and stepped out of them. Nude except for the rings on his fingers and in his earlobes, he approached her.

"Wait!" She sat up suddenly. "Condoms. Becky Ann left some."

Did people still depend on sheep gut barriers to prevent pregnancy after all this time? Those were not easy to come by in his day. "Where are they?" He didn't enjoy such devices, but saw why she would be concerned. Perhaps she feared swelling with child before he could gain all the proper paperwork from the Bakers to make her his wife in the name of God and the law.

She pointed beside her. "The drawer in the table by the bed." As he slid the drawer open, she gripped his arm. "No, wait! Don't open that!"

There was no need to ask what had caused the outburst. Christophe picked up the paper with the writing on it, read it, and howled with laughter. Serena had covered her face with a pillow by the time he set it down. "
All
seven seas?"

"I'm going to kill her," she said in a muffled voice. "The very next time I see her."

Christophe replaced the paper and collected one of the seven items scattered about the drawer. He held one up, and studied the shiny package. "I have the condom, but it doesn't look like it would be very comfortable for either of us." He turned it over in his hand.

Peeking over the top of the pillow, Serena snorted. "You have to rip open the corner and take it out. It's rolled up in lubrication inside the package." She sat up and reached for it, tearing the edge and pulling out the item within before patting the bed next to her. She pushed him onto his back and rolled it over his length with her delicate hands. Christophe groaned at her touch, biting his tongue and counting backward in his mind. He wasn't going to last very long, he feared.

He leaned forward and kissed her, covering her hand with his so her touch lingered but prevented friction. He groaned against her lips until he felt safe to release her without making a fool of himself before he could see her taken care of properly.

Serena sat up, reaching behind her to unhook the lacy barrier from her breasts. When she tossed it to the floor, he eased her back, trailing kisses down her body. Christophe would never have enough of her. He caressed her curves, pausing when he reached the final strap of lace. She lifted her hips as he pulled it over her thighs, her knees, and then he finally freed her of the lace entirely. It joined its companion on the floor.

Clasping her hands within his, he sat up and shifted between her thighs, and she opened her legs to him willingly, trusting, seeking. Her body was soft, so warm and inviting. What had he ever done to deserve such perfection? Christophe released one of her hands to guide himself to her entrance. She was wet and ready for him. His mouth went dry and he met her gaze. Biting her lip, she nodded. With exquisite slowness, he pushed into her, holding eye contact the entire time.

***

C
hristophe didn't move once he was inside of her, so Serena arched her hips and hoped he'd take the hint. All he did was laugh. "Ever impatient." But he pulled back, pushing in again unhurriedly. The pleasure was maddening.

She didn't know it could be this way with someone. How could anything feel so amazing? Serena threw her head back, gasping as his movements grazed her clit. When he moved his hand between them to brush the spot with his calloused fingertips, her body bucked of its own accord. One of his rings slid against her and she nearly came at the shock of cold metal in contrast to the hot, slick friction of flesh, making her gasp and moan.

"Like that, did you?" He brushed a ringed finger over her again and she shook from it. "I'll have to remember that for later." He released her hand and leaned forward, placing both palms against the mattress, kissing her and thrusting, filling her so completely.

She wrapped her legs around him, wanting to be as close as humanly possible, loving every movement, every deep breath and groan, every kiss. Her hands were in his hair again, and his laughter made her realize she was tugging a little roughly. "Sorry!" she said against his lips while sliding her hands to his waist. He smiled, and his intense gaze was raw and a slightly frightening. Usually this would be her moment to freak out and worry about doing something wrong. Doing something that would make him laugh at her.

But she couldn't look away. He was seeing her, making love to her. Could sex be so amazing every time? Was it because she had fallen unexpectedly and completely in love with him?

The revelation hit her as swiftly as the intense orgasm that racked her body. Of course she loved him. Would the kiss have worked if she didn't? "I love you," she whispered, in awe of the reverence in her own voice.

Christophe's eyes widened, and then the most breathtaking smile lighted his features. He kissed her, hard, closing his eyes as his body shuddered, and then he groaned as he came. His body continued to jerk unsteadily, and he said her name against her lips like a benediction.

Seconds passed as their heartbeats returned to normal. He remained within her, but turned them so he wasn't crushing her with his weight. He lifted her hand, kissing the knuckles. "I fell in love with you the moment I saw you."

Serena smiled. When he hadn't said more than her name at the end, she'd worried maybe she'd spoken too soon, despite his intense reaction to her declaration. "Supposedly we're soulmates, if Mrs. Baker is correct." She owed that amazing woman so much gratitude, for everything.