“You don’t want to do this.”
“What makes you think that?” His voice sounded firmer, somehow, and less like he wanted to run.
“You’re scared of me and you’re nice to try.” Disappointed, I swung quickly down the ladder and landed easily at his side. “I’m sorry I yelled. You really didn’t deserve it.”
He stood stock still, and I was worried until he took a deep breath and flashed me a smile, along with that lone dimple. “I’m not like other guys. I’m sorry. I have… issues.” He glanced toward theSerendipityand gave it a squint. “Idowant to see your toy.”
My breath caught.
He gave me a small curve of his lips that seemed like it might be forced, but it mellowed to something closer to that first smile he’d given me tonight.
“Do you like toys?”
Angel shrugged and chuckled, glancing away. With all the boat lights bright and shining, I could see how his cheeks blushed rosier than could be blamed on the cold. “Who doesn’t?”
“You’re really not afraid of me?”
“Maybe a little.”
“How can I fix that?”
Angel shook his head and lifted a shoulder. “Thank you for apologizing to me.” We shared a long look, and then he promptly buried his face in my coat’s collar again.
I puzzled over his answer and decided I had no idea how to take it. Instead of saying anything, I leaned down and pressed a fast kiss to the warm, soft skin on his temple. “There. I don’t bite.”
Ever so slowly, he raised his eyes up until he was staring into my face. His cheeks popped pinker and his nose wrinkled slightly. “Okay. Okay, show me. I do like toys. Never had many. And this is just a big one, right?” He rubbed his cheek against the collar of my coat and eased his way toward the ladder like he was afraid it would come alive and toss him off the second he put his foot on the rung. He’d barely started up when I noticed he was trying to climb one-handed in order to baby his bad wrist, while also holding my coat, and I went up behind him to grip his waist and help until he was at the top and could pull himself over onto the deck.
I easily climbed aboard after him, and he glanced around with bright interest, totally different from what I’d seen of him so far. “Does it have a computer navigation system? Can I see it?”
“Would you like to blow the horn, too?”
He gasped and turned toward me, and I was hooked by his excited bounce. “Yes!”
5
Angel
“Come on,” Casey said as he took off along the deck toward what I thought might be the cabin, though I wasn’t exactly up on nautical terminology. The last time I’d been on a boat was never o’clock. We went through a door into a glass-enclosed room with glossy wooden floors and cream leather seats along the back wall. In the middle of the space facing a glass wall, with a view of the dock, were two leather chairs that matched the rest of the furniture and had a wooden terminal between them. The dark screens sunk into the navigational panel reflected us and the sparkle of overhead lights. Casey took one of the seats and waved me over. As I got closer to him, he pointed at a red button to the left of a keyboard in front of the screens.
“There you are. Horn.”
“This is the most satisfying experience of my life,” I said as I dropped his coat from around my shoulders and wiggled the fingers on my uninjured hand. “It’s literally abig redbuttonI can push to make a horn blast. You’re sure it’s okay for me to do this?” My chest squeezed and for a few seconds I felt like a little boy sitting in the front seat of Mom’s car while she laughed with me. The unexpected memory was nice and had me smiling.
Casey laughed and the expression transformed him. His mouth became softer and… kissable. His body relaxed and his shoulders went back like maybe I could crawl onto his lap. He wasn’t scary this way. Sure, he was large and could probably bench press me, but he seemed… friendly. I sucked in a deep breath and stepped closer to him. He swiveled the chair to face the terminal, and there was barely room for his legs and me, but I was able to step into the small vee between his thighs. His large body made the air near him slightly warmer. Or maybe I was just having a stroke and imagining things. Either way, being so close to him was intimate and the air supercharged and tingled between us.
His smile fell, but I knew what he looked like happy now, and I could imagine that instead of him yelling at me. My stomach ran warm.
“You’re sure it’s not a problem if I, uh, blow the horn?”
His lips twisted into a crooked grin. “You can blow anything I own.”
Snorting, I was surprised as a snicker burst out of me. Something good made my chest light inside. “No, really. Can I?”
He reached forward and patted my back. I sucked in a breath because he didn’t have far to go in order to touch me. “I wouldn’t have said you could and then change my mind. I promise. I wouldn’t mention playing with something if you couldn’t.”
Nodding, I grinned and crept my wiggling pointer finger toward the big red button. I glanced at him again, and he smiled. My belly superheated.
“Go on.”
