Bermuda Nights - The Boxed Set (18 page)

A deft move of his finger, and the tension at my back released. He brought his hands around to cup my breasts, then whispered in my ear, “slide your arms out of the straps.”

I gave my shoulders a wiggle and drew my arms up. He released his hands slightly so the bra fell free, with his fingers remaining as a living shield between me and the mystical crowds beneath. And then he slowly spread his fingers. My nipples, hard and hot, shone through like beacons.

He groaned in my ear. “They are spellbound by you,” he murmured. “They want you; they want to be you. All that you are, they long for it.” He squeezed in and up with his hands, then released them so my breasts hung free in the open air. “You are glorious, Amanda. Let your beauty shine.”

It felt as if my entire body were glowing, were soaking in the attention of hundreds of eyes. I had never felt anything like it before.

“Show them everything, my love. Every inch of you.”

I could almost feel the eyes on me, the heated anticipation, as I brought my hands to my hips. I slid the fabric of my panties down over the curve of my buttocks, and my breasts touched the cool metal of the railing as I eased them to the floor. The sensation caught my breath.

Evan’s groan was louder, and it echoed back from the far walls, making it seem the room was alive, was watching and wanting.

There was a sliding noise behind me, and when Evan’s cock next pressed against me, there was no fabric separating us. His hands came up to my breasts, holding them, pressing them in, and my groan was a wordless cry which filled the room.

“My Juliet, my dearest Juliet, you are beyond compare. When I’m with you, I can barely think straight. When I’m away from you, the only thought reverberating in my brain is that I need to get back to you again. You are my sun, my -”

One hand slid down, delved into my core, and a deep groan of pleasure shuddered out of me, echoing around us.

His voice surrounded me. “Bend over for me, baby. Show your beautiful breasts to every person here.”

My breasts were glowing with heat, full with desire, and I obeyed, arching my hips back into him.

The sound of foil, and then the gentlest pressure against my opening, teasing me. His voice was hoarse. “Tell the audience what you want.”

I could barely get the words out, so thick was the pleasure which pummelled me from every side. “I want you.”

He nudged in slightly. “How much of me do you want?”

“All of you,” I groaned louder, my heart pounding, audible to the furthest seats. “I want every inch of you.”

His hands settled on my hips, his fingers pressing in. “You want all of me?”

I arched back against him. “God, yes, all of you. Every ounce of you. Every cell, every breath, every last moment, I want … I want …”

His voice took on a new note, one of searing honesty, and it nearly ripped me apart. “And you’ll wait for me?”

I was somewhere beyond desire, into a realm I hadn’t known existed. “I’ll wait, I’ll wait, but not now, not … please … please …”

His voice was a half groan, half cry, and it reached the furthest corners of the massive theater. “You’ll wait for this.”

He plunged into me, hard, deep, filling me completely, and my cry billowed around me, surrounding me, encompassing me with its soul-searing sensation. I had no name for it, so lost was I in the moment, in the immediate now of a space between all time. And then he moved and it was a fresh now, one of infinitely more sensation, and then he was even deeper, even more perfectly coalesced with the essence of us.

I was at the top, and yet we climbed higher, and higher, the room echoing our joy, the world witnessing our joining, the completeness of what he and I shared. There was no separation between him and me and the world around us. We were one glowing entity, of pleasure and wholeness and joyful abandon, and –

His hips slammed hard, he exploded with a heart-wrenching cry, and I lost all sense of self. I was twined deep within him.

His strong arms held me up, for I was beyond anything I had ever known. I was a fiery phoenix blazing in the sky, and I was the firmament itself, endless and rich with promise. I was the billowing white of sun-drenched clouds. I was the curling edges of a driving sea. And then the winds slowly, gently eased, and the waves slowed, drifted, and became at last the soft lapping of an ebbing tide against a smooth stretch of sand.

He pressed his lips against my neck, his voice a whisper. “Your audience is struck speechless, my love.”

I could feel it. The sense that every person had participated in our joining, had breathed in that same release and satisfaction.

He looped his arm beneath my legs, then hefted me up against his chest. He took the few steps back to our velvet bench, then he sat on it, draping me across his legs. He drew me in close against his chest, and I snuggled against him, content beyond all measure.

He pressed his lips to my forehead, and his voice was hoarse when he spoke. “I should have gotten you off this ship, Amanda. I should have gotten you to safety.”

I shook my head against him, the bliss of the moment holding me tenderly in its palm. “My place is here, by your side. And, whatever comes, we will face it together.”

He drew me in, and the world faded away.

Chapter 7

The world shimmered around me with the magical glow of pre-dawn as I made my way down the empty hallways to my room. I knew, for the first night in a while, that I would sleep soundly. My body felt completely satiated in a way it’d never known before. I could almost envision the pillow beneath my head, the blankets curling around my shoulders.

I came around the final corner of the hallway.

Jeff was there, standing before my door.

I lurched back in a panic, my heart pounding furiously against my chest. What in the world was he doing here? He’d sworn to Evan that he would stay away from me. What was he intending to do to me?

I forced myself to take in a long, deep breath. Maybe I’d made a mistake. Maybe it was someone else just passing through. I carefully, cautiously, eased my head around the corner again.

It was Jeff.

And he was talking with Kayla.

My brain locked up in confusion, and for a long moment I could barely take it in, as if I had changed the channel on a TV and was suddenly seeing my favorite NCIS:LA characters battling against the Fast and Furious cast in crusader tunics in front of a massive medieval city wall. The character combination didn’t make sense at all. The landscape was out of joint. And yet there it was – him standing there, talking animatedly, her nodding and smiling.

I wanted to ease closer to hear what they were saying – and I didn’t want to be seen. I was caught in a strange limbo where it seemed like moving even the slightest muscle would cause my world to crash down on my head.

At last he nodded to her and patted her on the shoulder. He turned and walked away down the corridor, vanishing from sight.

She pulled her key card from the purse at her side, slipped it into our door, and stepped within.

My breathing started up again.

I stared at the door as if it were a portal to another dimension. Surely I was mistaken about what I had just seen. Or, undoubtedly there was some sort of completely logical explanation for it which simply escaped me in my sleep-deprived state. If I could just talk with Kayla, I was positive I could sort it all out.

I stepped to the door, slid in my card, and opened it.

Kayla turned in surprise, then smiled. “There you are! Wow, you are taking advantage of our remaining days, aren’t you!” Her grin widened. “And, judging by that glow resonating off you, your night went well.”

A tumult of emotions spun through me, making it hard for me to latch onto coherent thought. She stripped off her shimmering white outfit and tossed it on the floor, pulling on a t-shirt and climbing onto her bed. “Usually I’d want to hear all about it, hun, but it’s been a long night.”

I took another step into the room. “Kayla, I saw Jeff.”

A flare of pink lit her cheeks, and she paused a minute before turning to look at me. “What, up on deck?”

I shook my head, coming to stand over her. “Talking to you. Right in front of this room.”

Her face tightened, and she turned to sit on the edge of her bed. “Amanda, I can explain.”

I sat on my own bed, facing her. “I’m listening.”

She ran a hand through her disheveled hair. “Hun, Jeff is worried about you. He’s worried that Evan is a dangerous man.”

I blinked at her. “Jeff is worried that
Evan
is dangerous?”

She eagerly nodded her head. “Apparently Evan beat him up twice in the past few days! For no reason at all! Evan is a violent man, and you could be next!”

I stared at her. “After everything Jeff has done in the past, how could you possibly believe a word he has to say?” I shook my head. “Jeff is the one who attacked us. Repeatedly. Evan tried to warn him off, and when Jeff swung the broken bottle, Evan was forced to defend himself.”

Kayla seemed nonplussed. “Jeff is not violent. Had he ever hit you in the past?”

“Well, no, but –”

She nodded as if her case had been made. “Jeff always cared for you. Sure, it bordered on obsession, but it showed how much you meant to him! When he came back and heard you were coming on this cruise, he just knew it would be perfect to get you two back together again.”

I blinked at her, an idea slowly forming in my head. “You … you told Jeff about our cruise?”

Kayla’s cheeks tinted deeper, but she nodded. “Amanda, he was crazy about you. He realized what a mistake he’d made in breaking up with you, and he wanted you back. I thought it’d be so romantic. The rolling ship, the glistening moonlight, the shimmering waves …”

My throat was tight. “And what about Evan?”

She grinned. “I thought a bit of jealous heat was exactly what Jeff needed to get his motor running. And it sounded like it worked!” She frowned. “But this Evan sounds worse than I’d thought. God, Amanda, he’s a brute. Several of Jeff’s buddies needed stitches! Jeff and I have discussed it at length, and we need to get you away from Evan.”

My brow creased. “You’re having long discussions with Jeff?”

She shrugged. “Well, sure. We’re close. He worked not too far from me, after all. He’d swing by the bar and end up drinking all night with me. After downing shots together our tongues loosened. We got to know each other pretty well.”

My mind was losing its ability to comprehend. “You guys were spending the nights drinking together?”

She sighed. “Sweetie, I’m a bartender. Guys come and drink with me. It’s my job.” She shrugged. “See, this is why I didn’t tell you about any of this. I know you’re fairly sheltered. I didn’t want to upset you.”

A growing sense of trepidation gnawed at me. “Upset me about what? What went on between you and Jeff?”

She made a waving motion with her hands. “Nothing, nothing.” The corner of her mouth tweaked up. “Not that he didn’t try, of course. Had to get those roaming hands off me more than a few times. But that’s just men, you know. A few drinks in them and every woman becomes a target.”

I blinked at her in horror. I could barely keep track of our conversation. It was as if I was watching a movie of a stranger’s life, one which was unraveling faster than a tornado. “Jeff tried to seduce you? While he was dating me?”

She laughed. “I’m not sure I’d use the word ‘seduce’. More like ‘grope’. C’mon, Amanda! He was drunk. He’s a guy. It’s what they do.” Her eyes lit up. “Heck, it’s what all of us do.”