By Sea (12 page)

Chapter 28

Rayna tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep as she recounted the day’s events.

After paddle boarding, they had lunch, and then spent the rest of the afternoon up on the deck sitting in the sun. Rayna dozed briefly while Margarita read, only to be woken by a dream of Brody peppering kisses down her bare back.

Surprisingly, a day of lying around in the sun and trying not to think about Brody was exhausting.

After dinner, Rayna had barely been able to keep her eyes open, and headed to bed where she watched a little television. Despite her fatigue, she wasn’t able to sleep, and Brody seemed to be the reason. She simply couldn’t stop thinking about him, about how much he affected her.

She’d been with five men in her life. A couple of flings in college, one night stands here and there, but she’d never grown close to any of them. It had been simple sex, period. With Brody, she had the clear feeling the sex would be anything but simple, and her thoughts tantalized her while her curiosity grew.

Remembering the first time she saw him at his apartment, she’d thought of him as sexy then, even when he was a complete bastard to her. Now, they had established some level of trust, and he wasn’t being nasty to her. She recognized the way he looked at her: it was a man who saw something he wanted. Brody wanted her.

It was a bad idea on so many levels for them to get together. First, he most certainly was a wanted man by the government, and she worked for said government. If she were to sleep with him, it seemed like she would be breaking the law twice: first, she knew she wouldn’t say anything to anyone once they got off the boat. Second, the intimacy just made her omission seem so much worse. It was as though she was cavorting with the enemy, and she already felt like that when she was with her father. If the government ever found out about her father, she’d be in big trouble. If they ever found out that she knew of Brody’s whereabouts and didn’t say anything, the trouble would be tantamount. He may very well be more of a wanted man than her father.

However, the fact of the matter was that the man made her blood boil.

Throwing back the covers, she sat up, realizing she wouldn’t be sleeping anytime soon. At 2 a.m., she guessed everyone on the boat would be snoozing, so she didn’t bother pulling on a robe over her white nightshirt.

Quietly, she opened her door and tiptoed up the steps to the Main Salon. Dim lights cast shadows around the room. The opened bottle of Merlot sat on the bar, and Rayna helped herself to a glass. She ascended the stairs to the Sky Lounge, glancing over at the caramel-colored leather couches. She debated turning on the television, but then decided against it. The silence was what she needed, and she walked to the sliding glass door, the light brown carpet muffling her footsteps. The moon sat high in the sky, gleaming over the dark water, the once pristine, green hills of the island now ominous black masses.

As someone who kept to herself, she enjoyed her “alone time.” It was difficult for her to always be “on,” as she needed to be surrounded by her sister, Brody, and the crew. At times like this, when everyone was asleep and her only company was her thoughts, it felt good.

No matter how much she tried to think of other things, her mind always wandered back to Brody. He seemed in his element on the boat, and given his childhood, she could understand why. In all honesty, this was the perfect job for him.

She thought of his accident in Guatemala and wondered what he’d think if he knew he was protecting the daughter of a head of one of the biggest drug Cartels in South America, the Cartel that owned the warehouse where the explosion had changed his life.

Again she wondered if her father had participated in the accident willingly, or if the government had used something that wasn’t theirs. She longed to ask her father about it, but they never discussed his business. In the past, that was the way she wanted it. Now, she wasn’t so sure. What if her father had participated and Brody found out? What if he discovered who their father was? Certainly, he would hate both Rayna and Margarita, and she wouldn’t blame him.

Rayna sighed, happy that her father’s Cartel life had nothing to do with Margarita needing protection, and Rayna made a mental note to talk to Margarita about setting up some privacy and boundaries so that she wasn’t so accessible to her fan base. Hopefully, if Margarita made herself less available, she could avoid problems like this in the future.

She’d been looking for some signs of the so-called supernatural abilities the file on Brody claimed he had, but she hadn’t noticed anything that indicated he was anything but a normal guy.

“You’re up late, or early, depending on how you look at the clock,” a deep voice rumbled from behind her. She jumped, thankful she had almost finished all her wine and it hadn’t sloshed out of the glass.

Spinning around, she was surprised to see Brody standing in the Bridge doorway wearing nothing but a pair of white shorts, his arms crossed over his big chest, and his biceps rolled into tight knots as he leaned against the doorframe.

“You startled me,” she said, feeling exposed in her short t-shirt. She wanted to run, but something held her there as he stared at her.

Pushing himself off the doorframe, he strolled over to her. “Why aren’t you in bed?”

“Why aren’t you?” she asked.

Now he stood mere inches from her, looming over her. His breath had a slight tint of whiskey.

“I was. You woke me up.”

Confused, she continued to stare up at him. How did she wake him when he slept downstairs in the crew quarters?

“I sleep on the Bridge when we’re out at sea,” he murmured. “I heard you when you were downstairs in the Main Salon.”

She drained her glass, very much aware of how little space and clothing separated their bodies.

“Why are you up, Rayna?” he asked, his voice just above a whisper. “What’s keeping you awake? Is your bed uncomfortable?”

“No, it’s fine,” she said, finally breaking the stare and gazing out to the moonlight again. “I just have a lot on my mind.”

“Like what?”

You.

“Nothing,” she murmured. “Just . . . just my sister.”

He placed his hand on her shoulder, and she turned her head at his touch.

“And what if I thought something different was keeping you awake?” 

“Like what?” she swallowed, her voice tight.

“Like you and me. Us. Together.”

She shut her eyes and turned her head back toward the window. Never would she admit it as she’d already been over all the reasons getting together with Brody was a bad idea.

“Maybe I’m wrong, but I’d thought I’d ask because that’s what’s been keeping me up tonight,” he said, his hand kneading her shoulder before it slipped away.

Rayna knew that if she said yes, things would go into a place anyone in their right mind would deem not advisable. However, the brief contact of his skin on hers brought out a deep, visceral ache that needed to be sated.

“You weren’t wrong,” she whispered, staring out into the night.

“Then look at me,” he growled.

She shut her eyes while gathering her nerve, reminding herself she wanted this as well. However, in her bones, she also felt this could be the biggest mistake of her life.

“Look at me, Rayna.”

She turned.

Chapter 29

When her grey eyes met his, Brody’s breath caught in his chest. Gone was the last bit of the CIA façade she carefully erected. Ms. Hot CIA Agent was gone, and in her place was Rayna Lopez, the woman. However, instead of fun and enjoyment in her eyes like he witnessed as she watched the dolphins, he saw something different: longing and desire.

He’d taken a chance telling her about his feelings for her, and he’d been truthful as he told her about his lust keeping him up into the early morning hours. As he laid on the bench of the Bridge, he’d thought of nothing else but Rayna’s smile as she watched the dolphins, the relief in her face when he told her they had come to a mutual trust, and her sinewy body as she lay on the cushions with her sister, laughing and drinking Rum Punch. Not to mention their jet ski ride. Man, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close made his heart thump in his chest, his yearning for her causing his body to literally ache. It took everything in his power not to kiss her after she’d dumped them into the water, both floating there surrounded by the warm water, so close together.

She’d gotten under his skin, and he needed to sate the physical demands she conjured within him.

“Why do you sleep on the Bridge?” she asked, her voice just above a whisper as she looked back out the window.

“Safety,” he said. “I can see all the instruments and watch all the cameras on the boat. I have a bird’s eye view of everything around us. I don’t like surprises.”

“It sounds as if you sleep with one eye open,” Rayna commented.

Brody shrugged. “Sometimes it feels that way.”

They stood in silence for a moment, gazing out the back window. He was aware of their closeness, of how little effort it would take to reach out and pull her to him.

He turned to her. “Look at me, Rayna,” he whispered.

She shut her eyes for a brief moment and then gazed up at him.

He took her wine glass and set it down on the bar behind him, and then he placed his hands on the sides of her face, her skin silky beneath his touch. Slowly, he lowered his mouth to hers, and he was surprised at the energy rocketing through his body.

Her soft lips were firm, yet pliable as they moved beneath his. She laid her hand on his chest, the delicate touch scorching his skin. Urging her mouth open with his tongue, she obliged, and he explored her, tasting the wine she had finished.

The soft kiss turned heated, and Rayna wrapped her arms around his neck pressing her body into his. He longed to feel her skin on his, and he found the hem of the T-shirt. Hesitantly, he touched her thigh, his fingers tracing over her ass and settling on her waist as he prayed she wouldn’t stop him.

God, he wanted this. He wanted her.

He pulled away and gazed down into her glittering eyes, his breathing coming in short spurts, his cock painfully hard.

“I want you,” he whispered.

Rayna said nothing as she studied his face, but nodded. He reached down to her butt and lifted her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and their mouths met in fiery passion again.

Brody marched to the Bridge and sat down on the bench seat, his cock pressing into her panties. She ran her fingers through his hair as their tongues dueled, and he traced the bumps of her spine, moving down to her legs. He wanted to feel every inch of her body.

Whipping the shirt over her head, he gazed at her small breasts for a moment.

“Perfect,” he whispered and palmed them before taking one in his mouth, swirling the hardened nipple with his tongue while lightly brushing the other with his thumb.

Rayna groaned and arched her back as she fisted his hair, rocking slowly in his lap, the friction on his cock just about sending him into a frenzy.

He reached up and pulled her head down to his again as she pressed her chest into his, her hardened nipples sending little bolts of energy throughout his body.

Standing them both up, he broke the kiss and dropped to his knees. He pulled down her underwear, peppering kisses all over her stomach and the area just above her patch of black curls, inhaling her scent. He slipped one finger into her folds, finding her sex wet. Rayna grabbed his shoulders as he explored her slick, private flesh, finally sliding a finger into her tight core.

“Yes,” she whispered, her eyes closed and her short fingernails digging into his shoulders. Slowly, he slid his finger in and out as he watched her face. Her cheeks reddened as she bit her lower lip, her breath hitching as he stroked her. As her walls began to contract at his touch, he gently disengaged.

“No!” she cried as he stood and chuckled. He sucked his finger, tasting her essence, and he moaned with approval.

“Delicious,” he murmured, wanting more. He wanted to take his time with Rayna, but the urgency rushing within him made it impossible. Perhaps another time he could watch her squirm as he licked and suckled her slick folds.

Rayna reached for his shorts, her nimble fingers quickly undoing the button. The shorts fell to the floor, and she fisted his cock, leisurely moving her hand up and down, giving him exquisite torture. He shut his eyes and gritted his teeth, each stroke bringing him closer to orgasm.

“You’re killing me, Ray,” he whispered after a few moments, gazing down at her.

She stopped and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body into his. “We wouldn’t want that now, would we,” she murmured, smiling.

“No, we wouldn’t,” he said, picking her up. “Right now, I’ve got way too much to live for.”

He sat down on the bench again and Rayna straddled him, sliding down his length, her hot, slick core enveloping him.

As she rocked in his lap, their bodies found the perfect rhythm. Brody grasped her hips as she threaded her fingers through his hair, their tongues dueling passionately. Brody ground his hips into her, wanting to go deeper, to feel more of her, to lose himself within her. A short while later, Rayna threw her head back and cried out, while her walls pulsated around him. The tremors through her body sent him over the edge, and he gritted his teeth as his orgasm slammed into Rayna.

As she slumped against him and rested her head on his shoulder, Brody felt an inner peace that hadn’t been there before; he was totally content. He wrapped his arms around her, both of their bodies damp with sweat. As their breathing evened out and Brody once again became aware of his surroundings, he realized the normal light sway of the boat had disappeared. He glanced out the window, the dark waters looking like a sheet of glass, the dolphins lazily swimming just off the bow.