Letting Go!

He looked so intense. Those dark eyes were especially intriguing because a golden band circled his pupils like a little halo of light in the dark.

“That sounds incredibly intriguing.”

She reached out to stroke his bare fingers. “I’m not feeling inhibited right now,” she told him truthfully.

He reached up to rub a piece of her hair between his fingers, brushing her sensitive ear as he did so.

Her heart paused mid-beat, and she couldn’t seem to breathe. Why couldn’t he have been a passenger on the cruise?

“What were we talking about?” she muttered.

This pickup thing had been so natural, but what did she do now? She wanted so badly for him to kiss her. How did she signal him? And where would he touch her?

And then what?

This stuff was harder than a job interview, even if what she wanted to do had nothing to do with talking.

“We were discussing how a person shouldn’t become complacent, that they should, well, rock their world.”

“That’s a nice thing to say but I’m not very good at that.” Emma’s brows furrowed as she concentrated. “Just ask my friend Tina. I’m too low-key for that.”

“You seem like a woman capable of doing anything she wants, Emma.”

To hide the way her lips trembled at his compliment she took another sip of the milkshake. The rum slid down so easily, warming her from the inside, while his words warmed her from the outside. She was getting so hot. Had she ever wanted a man to touch her this badly? Her nipples were so sensitized that she could feel every brush of the material of her blouse.

“I wish you were on the cruise, too…I mean it’s going to be great.” She desperately needed him to kiss her. Surely she’d come to her senses once he kissed her.

“I’ve never wanted anything so much.” He stroked her hand and smiled. A smile she just wanted to dive into. What if I love it when he touches me? What if I don’t want him to stop?

“Are you okay?” he asked solicitously.

Sometimes he sounded so American. Were those alarm bells going off in the distance? “Where are you from?”

“I didn’t tell you where I was from, querida.”

Now that sounded exotic. Did she honestly care where he was from?

She sighed. Touched his hand.

He smiled at her as if she were dear to him, as if she could confide in him. “Why the sigh, querida?”

“Lost opportunities.” She tilted her head. “Did you ever want to be someone else?” The question hung between them. More honesty. If she didn’t quit the sappy stuff, he’d probably walk away. She bit her lower lip nervously.

His gaze clung. “Tonight I want most of all to be able to tell you that I’m a passenger on the cruise.”

“Wouldn’t that be nice.” She sighed again. “Don’t even tease me about that.”

He looked thoughtful for a moment and then he grinned. “I know, I’ll be a pirate, kidnap you and sail away. I’d tie you up in silken bonds and make you very, very happy.”

Now that was an image. She leaned towards him again. He did resemble a pirate; she’d thought so from the beginning. “Role-playing never occurred to me.” Except in my fantasies. “Do you do much role-playing?”

“All the time. I find it enjoyable to add an element of fantasy to life and…love.”

Was he blushing? It was hard to tell in the flickering light. She eyed him over her glass. “I’d really like you to kidnap me but I’ve got to get back to the ship.”

“Ah, the cruise ship, an excellent place to find adventure.”

“It’s the captain’s cocktail party tonight,” she said, then added before she could take it back, “but I’ll be thinking about you.”

His eyes gleamed and he put her at ease by saying, “I hope so, because I won’t be able to stop thinking about you.”

“It’s very flattering of you to say so.”

“I’m not flattering you. I find you fascinating. You have a cool blond beauty, but I see flickers of fire in those mysterious eyes. I find the contradiction exciting.”

Her eyes were mysterious? Probably because they were crossing from too much alcohol. How many shots were in these drinks anyway? Obviously enough to liberate the licentious lady inside. Or was it the way Andres looked at her?

He picked up her hand and held it.

Her stomach flip-flopped and then an ache settled a little lower than her stomach. She rubbed her legs together. She wanted him fiercely.

“What are you thinking?” he asked.

But he knew. His look was equally ravenous.

Emma leaned in. It didn’t matter that they were in public. She just wanted a taste—

“Hey, Em?”

Tina approached the table with her long-legged stride and her beautiful confident smile, and Emma’s heart sank.

3

“EM, WE SHOULD get going. We have to get ready for the captain’s reception.” She held out an elegant hand, “Hi, I’m Emma’s friend, Tina.”

“I know we have to be back and I’ve been watching the time.” Emma looked at her watch. Then she introduced them. “This is Andres.”

Andres gave Tina a very casual look that allowed Emma to breathe again. Tina usually got the attention. Not that she could help it. But tonight it mattered to Emma.

Tina gave Andres a quizzical look.

“Don’t I know you?”

“Where would you know me from? Do you come here often?”

“I don’t know. You just look familiar. And I’m good at faces.”

He grinned. “Maybe I just have one of those faces.”

“Maybe.”

“What happened to the guy you were with?” Emma asked.

Tina shook her head. “We’re going to meet up after the reception. So I won’t be in the room tonight. But I thought we would go back to the ship together and get ready. Are you sure you’re okay to come alone?”

The old Emma would have hesitated; in fact she probably would have been back at the boat an hour ago, feeling deflated that Tina would be gone their first night on the ship.

But tonight she was definitely different. “I just want to stay a little longer. I won’t be late.”

“I’ll take good care of her.” Andres tipped his head at Tina in a very old-style way that must have caught her interest because she hesitated and started to pull out one of the chairs as if she intended to join them.

Abruptly Andres rose to his feet, pulling Emma up with him. “There’s a way to go along the beach. I’d like to take Emma that way to show her some of the beauty of our island before she sails away.”

“Okay.” Did Tina actually look stunned? She just stood there as they left the bar. Emma tried to turn around and say goodbye, but Andres grabbed both of her hands and pulled her along.

“If you give her any encouragement, she’ll offer to walk along with us and that’s not what I had in mind.”

“What do you have in mind?” Alarm bells were going off. She knew she shouldn’t go anywhere with a total stranger.

“There’s a full moon tonight and I wanted to be with you on the beach.”

She just nodded. The thought of walking on the beach sounded too enticing to resist. Like the exotic bar and those drinks. And now the pale sand stretched endlessly before them. Restless, dark water rumbled on the horizon, while lacy froth teased the sand at their feet.

Andres’s shoulder felt warm beneath her hands as she let him steady her while she took off her high-heeled sandals. He offered to carry them for her. His sandals appeared to be waterproof.

Emma’s mind filled with exhilarating images of tasting the cocoa concoction on his perfectly shaped lips. She floated along at his side with the warm water sucking gently at her toes.

“It’s nice of you to escort me to the docks.”

He pulled her around to face him. They’d already left the bar behind. They were totally alone. Shadows lent urgency to his features. “It’s not nice at all. It’s a matter of need.” He ran his fingers through her hair. “I’ve been dying to touch you. Your hair’s like moonlight. And your eyes are like the midnight sky.”

His words caressed her. How could such a masculine man say such tender things? “I love the way you talk to me.”

“Come on.” He pulled her along to the edge of the plunging surf, his eyes more on her than the beautiful view.

“What are you looking at?”

He looked down at her. “You’re like some mystical creature from the sea sent to ensnare the poor fisherman. How can I resist you?”

Was that a little grimace of embarrassment on his face? Was it hard for a man to speak in such tender terms? “How romantic you are in the moonlight.”

“I’m glad you think so, chula.”

The foreign word reverberated through her, “And if I were to ensnare you, then what would happen next?”

“I’d follow you wherever you went.”

He sounded so sure of himself. It made her nervous and she shivered with anticipation at the same time. “Oh, but you can’t follow me onto the ship.”

“What if I were to surprise you? Would you be angry or glad? Would you forgive me for wanting to be with you no matter what the cost?”

“I don’t know. I think I’d be glad to see you again under any circumstances.”

Had he really meant what he’d said about the role-playing fantasy? The image of him taking her as his captive had her tightening her hold on his arm.

“We could explore our fantasies,” she said tentatively.

“I would like very much to do so.”

Tonight, Emma wondered if she could be bold enough to grab his hands and bring them to her aching breasts. Then she’d step in close enough to press her body against his, to discover if he was also aroused.

When she looked at Andres he was looking at her with a hunger she recognized.

He said something in urgent Spanish.

Though she couldn’t understand the words, she understood the tone, and she pushed closer to him, wishing she had the courage to ask for what she wanted, to beg for it. “Please.” It came out as a whisper.

He must have heard because he put his head down and rubbed his rough face gently against the side of hers. The need rose inside her, an appetite she’d never had before.

He nibbled on her ear.

She sucked in a breath. Her breasts ached and her nipples tingled.

“Please,” she breathed louder.

He bent to touch her lips, giving her a taste of what she hungered for. She felt the sweetness of those soft lips nibbling her skin, and the heat of his tongue tasting her mouth. As the kiss deepened, it fueled her appetite for more of him.

His hands slid down the neckline of her top. His fingers explored the mounds of her breasts, stopping to tease her erect nipples through the thin material.

It was the first time she’d ever gone braless in public and she felt vindicated. Let him dive in and touch her aching flesh. She might never wear a bra again if it felt so good to invite a stranger’s touch.

He kissed her again, dragging her down with him in a relentless undertow of heady pleasure. When she surfaced his hands were under her top caressing her breasts. She panted. It was happening so fast and so fiercely. She needed him to touch her everywhere.

“Will you take off your top for me? I want to see your breasts in the moonlight.”

“Someone will see.” The idea seemed so outrageous and yet she longed to be naked, caressed by his hand and the moonlight.

“There’s no one around, chulita.”

The exotic word sent shivers through her, though she could only guess what it meant.

He urged her top up and Emma pulled one arm out of her sleeve and then the other. She dropped it carelessly onto the sand as Andres lowered his face to her breasts. He used both hands to caress her nipples and then he took one of them into his mouth and suckled her. She curled her toes in the sand, while clinging to his shoulders, his shirt buttons hard against her naked stomach. When he laved the other nipple the breeze teased her and she shuddered.

Sensation lapped her in waves. She held on tighter.

“You taste so good, chula. Do you taste this good everywhere?”

She didn’t know how to answer him. How far did they dare to go? What did he want? As if in answer to her question he ran his hands down her naked abdomen, briefly teasing the sensitive skin at her navel, and then slid them around her hips, to cup her bottom. Pressed against his erection, Emma nestled closer. The little short skirt was hiked up between them and his hand stroked her cheeks, exposed by her thong.

“Ah, this is nice. I like the thong. I’d like to move it aside and tease the sweet flesh beneath it.”

Emma gasped the word this time. “Please.”

Andres took her mouth even more deeply and she melted against him. She would give him everything if he just slid his fingers closer to where she needed them to be.

Please just touch me there.

Those clever fingers must have read her mind because he ran them over the silk of her thong.

Once. Then again. Until the material was thoroughly saturated.

“You like this, chulita. I can feel you shudder sweetly beneath my hand.”

Unable even to nod, knees barely supporting her, arms wrapped around his shoulders, Emma held on for dear life. And when his fingers finally pushed the thong aside and teased her clitoris, she almost sobbed.

He stroked her, murmuring Spanish words in her ear, holding her securely as she approached the edge.

And then pulling back.

The thong slid into place, now a very sensitive place, and her hips twitched. She would have protested but he teased her nipple with clever fingers, pulling gently, then kneading.

She tried to gasp and catch her breath at the same time. Could she protest that he hadn’t satisfied her? She certainly wanted him to.

“You’re so sweet, chulita. So seductive. Like the cream on those sweet drinks you like so well.” He lowered his head to take her nipple into his mouth, and at the same time he slid his hand back down to nestle on top of the thong.

Emma couldn’t resist. She ran her hand over the front of his shorts. His erection was huge and she pushed against it, rubbing him, wishing there were somewhere that they could have sex, the kind of sex where he was deep inside her.

He groaned, then pushed the thong all the way down until it caught on the bend of one of her knees.

Emma’s breath swooshed out of her as she realized they needed a condom. How could she have left the room without one? She just hadn’t thought…“I don’t have any protection with me,” she whispered, wanting to cry at the thought of him dumping her on the sand to find a woman that would satisfy him.

That huge erection, those exotic love words…all she wanted was to lie down in the sand and have him for herself. But the risks lined up like bullets in her head.

“Shh, chula. I’ll take care of you.”

She held her breath, afraid, intrigued and hoping he meant that he had a condom and not that she would have to fend him off.

His fingers brushed against the surface of her clit, teasing.

Emma forgot the condom problem. She arched against his fingers, whimpering, begging with her body language for something she’d never be able to ask for with words.

He pushed his fingers inside of her, deeper. She pushed back, wanting him. She rubbed his cock beneath his shorts with short hard strokes, imagining it inside her.

He stroked her in an uneven, thrusting rhythm that was somehow just right. Deep, hard and yet she felt secure enough in his grasp to let go to the point where she couldn’t think, could only push back with her hips against that incredible pressure.

He said something more in what she assumed was Spanish. She begged, almost sobbing with need and on the verge of something miraculous.

“Come for me, amorsito.”

She crested with a little scream.

Emma could barely lift her head. Her thong had fallen to the sand, her body throbbed, and her breasts burned, with the breeze still teasing them.

He held her close, petting her butt cheeks, pulling her skirt down, caressing her quivering belly.

Breathing hard, she tried to orient herself. She was on a beach with a stranger who’d just given her a mind-blowing orgasm. Surprisingly, Emma didn’t want to waste time examining anything. What she did wonder was if it had to be over or could they…

Her watch beeped.

“I think you should try to stand by yourself or else you’ll miss the cocktail party.” His voice sounded gravelly.

She could feel him trembling. It made her bold as she’d never been before. “No, I set the alarm twenty minutes ahead.”

He laughed hoarsely. “Passionate and organized. You’re an incredible woman. I’ll get you to the ship. I know you’re looking forward to the party.” He pulled away from her slowly as if afraid she might topple over.

Her legs held her, barely. She almost lost it when he bent down and picked up her thong out of the sand between her legs. She stepped out of it, he looked at her, and then he put the thong in his pants pocket.

Emma opened her mouth to protest. The little bulge of her thong rested next to another, larger bulge. What could she say? How arousing it was that he wanted to keep the thong, even if it meant going back to the ship with the breeze tantalizing her already sensitized flesh under that tiny skirt? Had she honestly let this stranger touch her intimately with his fingers?

Not only had she allowed that to happen, she intended it to happen again. She began untangling the problem.

“Can you hand me my shirt, please?” The please reminded her of her outrageous behavior and she smiled happily. She’d done it. She’d had a fling. And what an amazing fling.

Andres held up her shirt. As she leaned forward to take it from him, his hand skimmed over her nipples.

“I don’t know. I like you bare. You’re truly beautiful illuminated by moonlight.”

Emma barely managed not to drag him down on the sand and have her way with him.

“I want you to come back to the ship with me.” It came out in a rush. “Please.”

“But locals are not allowed on board.”

“The hell with it. We’ll think of something.”

“And your fancy reception?”

“My roommate won’t miss me and she’s not coming back to the room tonight.” One problem solved. One more to go.

“Are you sure?”

“Hmm, let me think. Do I want to have you alone in my room or go to a reception? For once I’m going to do exactly what I want. And I want you to make me feel like you just did, and more. We’ll only be on your island for a few more hours and I want you with me, all the way with me.” She reached out and brushed the front of his shorts.

He was definitely taken with the idea. If anything he was harder than before.

Still, for a moment she held her breath, frightened he would refuse her outrageous offer. But his smile said it all. He took her hand and they hurried silently along the beach, rapidly approaching the lights of the harbor.

Emma caught her breath and tried to regain her composure. I should feel ashamed of myself. But all she could feel was the throbbing between her legs and her heart stammering. A sexy, outrageous woman had been born on that beach and she wasn’t ready to let go of that, at least for a few hours—unless, of course, they put her in the brig for trying to smuggle Andres on board.

As they arrived at the harbor Emma caught her breath at the sight of the huge ship, strung with lights like a giant Christmas tree. “It still feels a bit unreal to be on a cruise,” she murmured. “Like being in a movie or something.”

“As long as it’s not Titanic,” he teased.

She laughed. “I think we’re safe. I don’t see Leonardo DiCaprio anywhere,” she said pretending to look around.

“No Kate Winslet either,” he said, then turned those dark eyes her way. They gleamed at her with obvious appreciation and he stroked her face. “Just you.”

She shivered. “Now we have to get you aboard.”

“Just how do you intend to get me aboard?”

“Distraction. I’m thinking I’m going to have to distract the guy looking at the identification. I’ll scratch my leg and lift my skirt or something.” She tried to imagine what Tina would do in her situation.

Andres looked pensive. “Do you know who your chef is? The main one? They advertise it. Is it the British guy, Jonathan Sparks?”

“I think so. It sounds familiar. How do you know?”

“He, uh, comes into the bar where you met me, occasionally. He’s cool. He might help me or it might be okay if I go up to the staff entrance. I’ll just say I’m going to visit him. Guys I know do it all the time to get on board to visit women.”

“And you don’t?”

“I hadn’t found you.”

She leaned against his arm, wanting to be convinced. “If you can get on the ship I’ll be so grateful. But it doesn’t make any sense…”

He very discreetly ran the fingers of one hand over her nipples where her breasts were pressed against his other arm. “I’ll be very convincing. I really want to be with you, querida.”

“Okay.” She sighed, unable to breathe, let alone think, with him playing with her body, and again so glad she hadn’t worn a bra. “I’m in cabin F55.” She leaned closer to give him better access. Luckily there were only a few people around them. Probably most had gone to the captain’s reception already, or they were still exploring in town.

He tugged on one beaded nipple through her shirt. “I’m going to suckle you until you scream. I want to see how a drink tastes when I lap it off of your skin. When you get to your room, order one of those milkshakes from room service and I’ll show you what cocoa and cream are for.”

Nodding dumbly, she could feel her eyes almost crossing with desire while her normally practical brain seemed to have gone on permanent vacation.

Andres leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Chula, you wait here for fifteen minutes. If I don’t come back, you’ll know I made it onto the ship.”

She nodded.

He grinned and then gave her breasts one last pat before untangling himself from her side.

Emma felt as though she was floating while she waited to see if he’d come back. Everything seemed distant and just a little unreal. The thought of him meeting her at her room had her almost dizzy with delight. This was the adventure of a lifetime.

Her watch timer interrupted her musings and she looked around one last time to make sure Andres wasn’t coming before she boarded the ship. The man who took her ship’s identification gave her a warm smile. “Miss, the captain’s reception has just begun if you’d like to attend.” He handed her back her identification.

“Thank you. But I’m a little tired. I think I’ll just go back to my room.”

“As you wish.” He was cute, probably Italian. There seemed to be a lot of Italian men among the crew.

“Thank you.” Emma smiled to herself.

He grinned back flirtatiously.

Her feet barely touched the ground as she headed to her cabin.

Emma avoided the beautiful, sculpted center staircase with its lighted banister winding like a Christmas ribbon up and down the ship levels. It would be packed with people in sparkling gowns and tuxedos on their way to and from the reception. Normally she wouldn’t have missed such an exciting experience, but she had a very hot date. She took the elevator without a shred of remorse.

Usually, Emma handled anything mechanical with ease, but tonight her hands trembled, so she had trouble sliding the key card for her room into the door slot. Her flesh tingled and her heart fluttered.

She got into the room and then paused as the door sealed shut behind her. What to do now? She remembered Andres’s promise to sip the drink off her flesh, and her nipples hardened into knots. Emma grabbed the room-service menu off the desk. She ran her finger down the drink selections and found a Mocha Meltdown, the description almost fitting the drink she’d just had in the bar on the beach.

She picked up the phone and ordered two of them in a voice that quavered; they probably thought she was already tipsy, but what the hell. She put the phone down and sank onto her bunk. How would the cold concoction feel on her flesh, and where exactly did Andres plan to put it?