“Come on,” Thad says curtly, steering me through the crowd, and putting as much distance between us and Shane as possible.
I expect him to comment about Shane as soon as we’re out of earshot, but Thad is completely silent as he guides me off the main deck and into the interior of the ship. He seems to know where he’s going, so maybe his silence is just due to his concentration, but I’m not very good with silences. Especially not tense, angry silences. It was one of my major failings as a sister, and not in a fun, “How do you solve a problem like Maria” kind of way. At least, I’m pretty sure nobody ever sang a song about how much I annoyed everyone around me during times of silent meditation with my complete and utter inability to shut up.
“This is a big ship,” I hear myself saying, almost like a disembodied voice coming from someone else entirely. “How old do you think it is? Itlookslike the one fromShow Boat, but like it’s been updated? I wonder if there’s a whole market for boat renovators. You know, like the people who flip old houses on HGTV, but boats instead. I’d totally watch that show!”
Thad leads me through a series of hallways that I could definitely not find my way through again on my own, until we wind up in an empty, darkened room. The room opens up onto a balcony that overlooks the water below; some of the lights from elsewhere on the boat make it so the room isn’t pitch black, but it’s dark enough that I have to carefully make my way around so I don’t trip over anything. That proves to be a moot point, though, since there doesn’t seem to be anything inside.
Thad shuts the door behind him and locks it with a heavy click.
Turning in surprise, I swallow. “What are you doing? Is Dean in here?”
I know it’s a stupid question as soon as it leaves my mouth. It’s an empty room, with no closets or cabinets or furniture, so unless Dean is under an invisibility cloak, there’s no one else in here. Thad stands with his back pressed to the door, his eyes following me in the shadows. “Dean isn’t on board. I’ve searched all the decks, every room, twice. He isn’t here.”
I blink in surprise, worrying my lip with my teeth. “Do you think something happened?”
“I hope not. But we can figure it out once we’re off the boat. Not much we can do now.”
I swallow again. “So what is this room, anyway?”
“I think it’s usually used as a private playing room. But not tonight.”
“Oh.” So no one will be coming into this room for the next two and a half hours. It’s just Thad and me, and the door is locked.
Abruptly, I turn, moving to the balcony. There’s an overhang above us, so I can’t see any of the higher decks, but I can hear faint music and laughter trickling down from the top deck, where the pool is. “Do you want to go swimming?” I ask hopefully.
“Don’t have my suit.”
“Oh,” I say again, stupidly. My heart is racing, my mouth dry. I focus on the dark water down below. “That’s the Mississippi River, right? Do you think there are alligators down there?”
Of course it’s the Mississippi River, and of course there are alligators. It’s Louisiana, and it’s a big body of water. But I couldn’t stop the verbal bullet train coming out of my mouth if I tried.
I hear Thad approaching, and I grip the handrail as I feel him press in behind me. Brushing into the softness of my backside, he starts to harden against me, growling a little under his breath. “I honestly haven’t thought about it. At all,” he murmurs, his breath warm against the back of my neck.
“Thad,” I gasp, gripping the handrail more tightly.
“Do you want me to stop?” He reaches up to touch the ends of my ponytail with a surprising gentleness.
“No,” I admit, then shake my head. “Maybe. I…I don’t want you to do this because you feel sorry for me.”
A pause. “Sorry for you?”
“The nun virgin, who’s never done anything.” I take in a shaky breath. “I don’t want to be pitied.”
Another pause, then Thad laughs, just a little. “Are you serious?”
That makes me frown—at the dark water, since I’m caged in by his body and can’t turn to look at him. “Yes.I have some pride, you know?—”
“I don’t pity you,” he cuts me off. “I can’t stop thinking about you. I can’t stop thinking about all the things I want to do to you. That onlyIwouldget to do to you. I want to be touching you all the time. I want to make you feel good.” His lips brush over my shoulder, and I shiver. “Will you let me make you feel good?”
A moment passes, where all I can hear is the rushing water below, and the pounding of my heart in my ears. “O-okay,” I say at last, so quietly I’m afraid that maybe he didn’t hear it.
But he must have, because the next thing I know, his fingers are dipping into the holes at the shoulder of the fishnet dress, finding the ties holding the bikini top together. “This fucking ridiculous bathing suit.” His breath is hot against me. “I wanted to tear it off the moment I saw you.” He sounds completely sure, confident, but I feel his fingers shaking a little bit, and it makes my breath catch in my throat.
“Oh,” I say, stupidly. All night, I haven’t been able to shut up, and now I can’t think of a single thing to say. All the energy in my body is channeled into the feeling of him pressed against me, his hot words against my ear, his fingers tugging at my clothing.
A moment later, I feel the bikini give. He tugs it some more, and it drops to the ground. Except for the flimsy fishnet dress, my breasts are completely bare in the night air. Thad takes one in each hand and groans into my neck as he massages them. The thumb of his left hand works into the fishnet material of the dress, finding my hardened nipple and circling it, circling it.
A jolt of want courses through me, straight down to my core. “Oh,” I breathe, instinctively arching back into his touch. I want more of it, whatever is happening to me. I feel greedy for it, needy for it, in a way that my logical mind is telling me should be embarrassing, but the aching inside of me won’t let me be self-conscious. He’s opened something inside of me that I understand will forever be left wanting if it isn’t seen through to the end.
