Page 47 of Never Been Shipped

“John, you can come anywhere you want to on me.”

He groaned, his hands tightening on her breasts. He pinched her nipple, pressing her back against the wall with a kiss that made her sag a little in his arms, until he slid his hands around her shoulders to hold her up.

“You can’t say shit like that,” he said.

“Why not?”

Because it makes me lose control.But who was he fooling? He hadn’t been in control from the moment she’d told him she’d beg if he asked her to.

He reached down to cup her ass in his hands, shifting her up a bit against the wall. The alcove was private enough that theyfeltalone, but of course he was conscious of the fact that they were still technically on the deck of a cruise ship, that therewere doors marked Staff Only right next to them that someone might go into or come out of at any second. But from the way Micah’s breath hitched as his fingers slid into the waistband of her leggings, barely less than an inch, he knew that this was all part of what got her off.

“You’d have to be quick,” he said.

“I can be quick.”

His hand skimmed over that smooth skin below her waist, pausing for a moment before he went any further. “You’d have to be quiet.”

“I can be quiet,” she whispered.

He bit her earlobe. “You’d have to beg.”

She shifted under his hand, tilting toward him like she was trying to urge him to touch her where she wanted it. “Please,” she said. “I want to come so bad.”

“How bad?”

“It’s all I’ve been able to think about,” she said. “John, please. Touch me.”

He slid a finger inside her, and she leaned her head back against the wall, her mouth open slightly as she panted her need. He could’ve watched her like that all night, the play of emotions over her face as he curled his finger, as she let a little more of her weight sink down onto him. But they did need to be quick, and so he brought his thumb up to press against her clit, giving it a hard rub.

“Fuck,” she breathed, clutching his forearm with a grip so strong it almost hurt. “Yes.I’m so close already, please.”

He could tell. She was so wet, and he could feel her clenching around him, could hear her breath quickening. He rubbed circles over her clit, his fingers patient and already slick with her.

“Inside me,” she said. “I want to feel—”

He used two fingers this time, pumping them inside her while continuing to rub her clit with his thumb, and he felt her tense up just in time to bring his other hand up to cover her mouth.

“Shhh,” he said into her ear. “You promised to be quiet.”

When she did cry out, the sound was muffled, her breath hot on his palm. Her eyes were squeezed shut, a sheen of sweat on her forehead even though there was a chill in the night air. She gripped his biceps, and he realized she was partially holding herself up that way. He removed his hand from her mouth to brace her at the waist, bringing his other hand up to suck her off his fingers.

She opened her eyes. There was something so vulnerable and unguarded in Micah’s expression, post-orgasm, that made John’s stomach flip. When she looked at him like that, he thought there was nothing easier than being together, the two of them, just like this.

“You have very dexterous hands,” she said.

“Do I?”

She smiled, biting her lip. “I’ve been watching them a lot,” she said, stretching hers into an F chord shape on his forearm like it was the neck of a guitar. “The way your fingers move. It’s been a little hard to focus.”

He’d taught her guitar, back in high school. That chord had been her biggest struggle—it required the most stretch, and she’d flatly refused to learn any song that used it until one day it had just clicked. He remembered having her eyes on him even then, but he’d known not to read anything into it. She was just trying to learn. But now he wanted to askSince when?, wantedto know if she’d ever looked at him in those days the way he’d looked at her.

But maybe it didn’t matter. She was twining her fingers in his now, and it felt good just to hold her hand.

“Especially after I slept in your bed,” she said, “and woke up this morning with you touching my boob.”

He groaned, leaning his forehead against hers. “Oh god,” he said. “I thought that was a dream.”

“Not a dream,” she said. “And don’t you dare apologize. I was into it.”

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