Vicky let out a huge sigh and for a terrible moment Ore worried she might cry. She didn’t. Instead she turned to Daniel and Ore, hands on hips.
‘Well that was an absolute nightmare. You two look terrible. I suggest we all get a little bit of shut-eye before we have to be at breakfast.’ Ore couldn’t tell if she was joking; surely the crew wouldn’t be expected to carry on the day as normal after this?
‘Agreed,’ said Daniel. Vicky turned and left without another word.
Ore felt shell-shocked. Daniel leant back against the wall.They were sitting shoulder to shoulder and Ore was suddenly extremely aware of that. They didn’t speak and after a while their breathing matched pace.
‘I’m so sorry,’ Daniel said finally, quietly.
‘About what? You couldn’t have known about the storm.’
Daniel didn’t reply straight away and then: ‘Actually I did, but I let Chuck talk me into going through it. He’s completely obsessed with getting to the reef as quickly as possible, God knows why. I swear I’ll never listen to him again.’
He looked so determined and serious that Ore snorted at the earnestness of it all. ‘Well, that seems unlikely, but yeah, maybe when it comes to risking the lives of everybody on board …’
Ore had meant it to sound teasing, but when Daniel turned to look at her his eyes were brimming with pain and remorse.
‘Oh, Daniel, sorry, I was just kidding. Too soon I guess?’ She smiled, trying to lift the mood, but he dropped his head.
Now her heart was aching for him. She lifted his chin up to meet her gaze. ‘Daniel, it’s not your job to protect everyone, but for what it’s worth, without you here, and your insane ability to keep your cool in the midst of chaos tonight, this could all have ended very badly …’
‘I’ve put you in danger, Ore … I need to tell you something …’ Daniel looked up at her, his eyes full of sorrow, and something inside of her snapped. She pressed a finger to his mouth to stop him saying any more.
There was a split second where she knew that she had the chance to lean back, to choose an awkward apology over the crossing of a line, but she didn’t. His lips met hers softly, and she melted into him, her hands moving to cup his face, to pullhim in closer. He let out a sound like a whimper and the pressure of his mouth on hers deepened. She felt a jolt deep in the pit of her stomach, and the warmth of his breath felt as though it was enveloping her whole body.
He pulled away suddenly, and in the soundproofed room, their jagged breathing was the only thing she could hear. She had a sense that his better judgement might be kicking in, but she wanted one last taste before it took over.
She reached out, and pulled him back to her, pressing her body against his and sighing with something like relief when his arms snaked around her waist. She realised that she had been waiting for this, maybe not consciously, but now that they were here, it felt inevitable and somehow fated. She had never felt this way before, a combination of desire and total serenity, something both foreign and divine.
Her arms encircled his neck and she found herself suddenly horizontal, her back arching against the plush, dark-carpeted floor. Daniel’s hands glided down her side, hooking around her thigh as he settled his weight on top of her. They were entangled with writhing limbs and hot breaths. Ore had lost sense of where hers ended and his began. Time became languid, her thoughts crystallising into simple desire. As he trailed kisses down her neck, she found herself thinking about how new this feeling was. Her body was excited, she was turned on, but she was also calm, comfortable, unrushed, able to fully indulge in the tingles of pleasures that were erupting all over her body. She felt safe.
She nestled her face into his neck and inhaled the sweet mix of him: hints of cocoa, musk and something like sea salt; it was dizzying and startlingly familiar.
She heard herself moan as his fingers began fumbling with the buttons on her shirt. Her head tilted back, to give him better access. And then his hands retreated. For a moment she thought maybe she was about to wake up from a dream, that this was a fantasy her own brain had concocted and was now overwhelmed by. She kept her eyes closed, wanting to hold on to this moment for a few seconds more. Her breathing slowed and she felt the weight of him disappear.
As she floated back into the confusion of reality, she realised what was happening. Finally she worked up the courage to open her eyes. Daniel was kneeling, just out of arm’s reach, his gaze trained to the floor in front of him. She got the sense he was trying very hard not to look at her. Sheepishly, she sat up, curling her knees under her chin. She felt mortified.
After what felt like an eternity of silence he said softly, ‘Sorry, Ore, I’m not sure what came over me. I think it’s been an … intense night … maybe we should try and get some sleep.’
His words echoed around her head, but they felt meaningless. He might as well have been speaking in ancient Greek. She was aware that she was nodding, and though they were resolutely avoiding eye contact he must have sensed the movement because he stood up and awkwardly laid a lumpen palm on her shoulder before walking out of the room.
Ore didn’t know how long she stayed in that room. The stillness of the soundproofed air was a safe haven away from what she assumed was the chaos above deck. It was the furious buzz in her back pocket that finally roused her from her dazed state.
‘Henry, hi.’ She tried to hide the exhaustion in her voice.She realised with a jolt of terror that she had promised Henry a first draft today.
‘Ore, how’s it going?’ He was also trying to hide something, but his thinning patience was obvious in those few words.
‘Well actually we had a pretty mad night, a cyclone.’
‘Christ, are you OK?’ Henry’s voice was momentarily tinged with concern and Ore was grateful that the drama of the previous day might buy her some sympathy – and some time.
‘Listen I just wanted to check in, in case you wanted to talk anything through before you send over the first draft … tonight.’ Ore was feeling overwhelmed. She took a deep breath and managed to reason that if she went to bed now she could probably sleep for a few hours and still have time to send something a little rough over to Henry later.
‘Sure, Henry, tonight.’
‘Great.’ Ore could hear the relief in his voice. She hung up without saying goodbye and dragged herself back to her cabin.
