Letting Go!

“I think you should try to stand by yourself or else you’ll miss the cocktail party.” His voice sounded gravelly.

She could feel him trembling. It made her bold as she’d never been before. “No, I set the alarm twenty minutes ahead.”

He laughed hoarsely. “Passionate and organized. You’re an incredible woman. I’ll get you to the ship. I know you’re looking forward to the party.” He pulled away from her slowly as if afraid she might topple over.

Her legs held her, barely. She almost lost it when he bent down and picked up her thong out of the sand between her legs. She stepped out of it, he looked at her, and then he put the thong in his pants pocket.

Emma opened her mouth to protest. The little bulge of her thong rested next to another, larger bulge. What could she say? How arousing it was that he wanted to keep the thong, even if it meant going back to the ship with the breeze tantalizing her already sensitized flesh under that tiny skirt? Had she honestly let this stranger touch her intimately with his fingers?

Not only had she allowed that to happen, she intended it to happen again. She began untangling the problem.

“Can you hand me my shirt, please?” The please reminded her of her outrageous behavior and she smiled happily. She’d done it. She’d had a fling. And what an amazing fling.

Andres held up her shirt. As she leaned forward to take it from him, his hand skimmed over her nipples.

“I don’t know. I like you bare. You’re truly beautiful illuminated by moonlight.”

Emma barely managed not to drag him down on the sand and have her way with him.

“I want you to come back to the ship with me.” It came out in a rush. “Please.”

“But locals are not allowed on board.”

“The hell with it. We’ll think of something.”

“And your fancy reception?”

“My roommate won’t miss me and she’s not coming back to the room tonight.” One problem solved. One more to go.

“Are you sure?”

“Hmm, let me think. Do I want to have you alone in my room or go to a reception? For once I’m going to do exactly what I want. And I want you to make me feel like you just did, and more. We’ll only be on your island for a few more hours and I want you with me, all the way with me.” She reached out and brushed the front of his shorts.

He was definitely taken with the idea. If anything he was harder than before.

Still, for a moment she held her breath, frightened he would refuse her outrageous offer. But his smile said it all. He took her hand and they hurried silently along the beach, rapidly approaching the lights of the harbor.

Emma caught her breath and tried to regain her composure. I should feel ashamed of myself. But all she could feel was the throbbing between her legs and her heart stammering. A sexy, outrageous woman had been born on that beach and she wasn’t ready to let go of that, at least for a few hours—unless, of course, they put her in the brig for trying to smuggle Andres on board.

As they arrived at the harbor Emma caught her breath at the sight of the huge ship, strung with lights like a giant Christmas tree. “It still feels a bit unreal to be on a cruise,” she murmured. “Like being in a movie or something.”

“As long as it’s not Titanic,” he teased.

She laughed. “I think we’re safe. I don’t see Leonardo DiCaprio anywhere,” she said pretending to look around.

“No Kate Winslet either,” he said, then turned those dark eyes her way. They gleamed at her with obvious appreciation and he stroked her face. “Just you.”

She shivered. “Now we have to get you aboard.”

“Just how do you intend to get me aboard?”

“Distraction. I’m thinking I’m going to have to distract the guy looking at the identification. I’ll scratch my leg and lift my skirt or something.” She tried to imagine what Tina would do in her situation.

Andres looked pensive. “Do you know who your chef is? The main one? They advertise it. Is it the British guy, Jonathan Sparks?”

“I think so. It sounds familiar. How do you know?”

“He, uh, comes into the bar where you met me, occasionally. He’s cool. He might help me or it might be okay if I go up to the staff entrance. I’ll just say I’m going to visit him. Guys I know do it all the time to get on board to visit women.”

“And you don’t?”

“I hadn’t found you.”

She leaned against his arm, wanting to be convinced. “If you can get on the ship I’ll be so grateful. But it doesn’t make any sense…”

He very discreetly ran the fingers of one hand over her nipples where her breasts were pressed against his other arm. “I’ll be very convincing. I really want to be with you, querida.”

“Okay.” She sighed, unable to breathe, let alone think, with him playing with her body, and again so glad she hadn’t worn a bra. “I’m in cabin F55.” She leaned closer to give him better access. Luckily there were only a few people around them. Probably most had gone to the captain’s reception already, or they were still exploring in town.

He tugged on one beaded nipple through her shirt. “I’m going to suckle you until you scream. I want to see how a drink tastes when I lap it off of your skin. When you get to your room, order one of those milkshakes from room service and I’ll show you what cocoa and cream are for.”

Nodding dumbly, she could feel her eyes almost crossing with desire while her normally practical brain seemed to have gone on permanent vacation.

Andres leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Chula, you wait here for fifteen minutes. If I don’t come back, you’ll know I made it onto the ship.”

She nodded.

He grinned and then gave her breasts one last pat before untangling himself from her side.

Emma felt as though she was floating while she waited to see if he’d come back. Everything seemed distant and just a little unreal. The thought of him meeting her at her room had her almost dizzy with delight. This was the adventure of a lifetime.

Her watch timer interrupted her musings and she looked around one last time to make sure Andres wasn’t coming before she boarded the ship. The man who took her ship’s identification gave her a warm smile. “Miss, the captain’s reception has just begun if you’d like to attend.” He handed her back her identification.

“Thank you. But I’m a little tired. I think I’ll just go back to my room.”

“As you wish.” He was cute, probably Italian. There seemed to be a lot of Italian men among the crew.

“Thank you.” Emma smiled to herself.

He grinned back flirtatiously.

Her feet barely touched the ground as she headed to her cabin.

Emma avoided the beautiful, sculpted center staircase with its lighted banister winding like a Christmas ribbon up and down the ship levels. It would be packed with people in sparkling gowns and tuxedos on their way to and from the reception. Normally she wouldn’t have missed such an exciting experience, but she had a very hot date. She took the elevator without a shred of remorse.

Usually, Emma handled anything mechanical with ease, but tonight her hands trembled, so she had trouble sliding the key card for her room into the door slot. Her flesh tingled and her heart fluttered.

She got into the room and then paused as the door sealed shut behind her. What to do now? She remembered Andres’s promise to sip the drink off her flesh, and her nipples hardened into knots. Emma grabbed the room-service menu off the desk. She ran her finger down the drink selections and found a Mocha Meltdown, the description almost fitting the drink she’d just had in the bar on the beach.