Page 10 of Voyage with Dad's Best Friend
We climb up onto the deck and sprawl on the trampoline for a moment without a word. And then he moves closer. “Elle, are you okay?”
“Yes,” I whisper with my eyes closed. I’m too ashamed to face him. I’ve been a stupid, bad girl.
“What’s the matter?” I hear his whisper the same time I feel his arm wrapping around me and smell his manly scent, despite the salty odor of the ocean. “Don’t worry. You’re safe now.”
He feels so safe and warm, and I never want to leave his embrace. My mind registers fully what I’ve done and the danger I put myself in. I almost got myself drowned and got Dan in big trouble. Tears stream down my face and I can’t stop crying. I press my face against his firm chest so he can’t see me.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” I say in a muffled voice.
“No worries, sweetheart,” he whispers into my ear. “Just don’t do it again.”
“You’re not… mad at me?” I peek up at him.
He gazes at me. “Yes, and no. You are a bad girl and I should punish you, but not now.”
I’m wondering what he means by punishing when his lips crash into mine.
He takes me by surprise. I didn’t see that coming. I was worrying about him being mad at me, after all the stupid things I did. How could his firm lips feel so soft?
I moan. A heat wave course through me and my girly bits become restless. I wriggle against his firm chest to release the tingling in my girly bits, and I roll my pelvis, hitting my aching point against his hard bulge.
Dan groans and grabs my buttock, pulling me closer to him. “You’ve got a knot there again, sweetheart?” he asks.
“Yes,” I say, my cheeks burning. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me today, but it just keeps coming back.” I’ve never felt this way before. It’s so powerful I can’t stop myself from writhing. This is so embarrassing. I’m one step short of begging Dan to help me.
“I’ll take care of it,” he says as if he can read my dirty thoughts. He slips a hand between us to cup my swelling flesh. He feels so good I nearly sob.
I’m already on the precipice when we hear Martha’s voice.
“What happened? Where’s everyone? Dan? Elle?”
We break our kiss, and he bolts upright before Martha materializes.
“Hi Martha!” I wave at her. “Dan and I took a dip in the sea. You should’ve joined us.”
Dan slightly raises an eyebrow as if impressed by my quick wit.
“You did?” Martha blinks. “I thought it was dangerous.”
“It was!” I blurt. “I almost drowned. If it weren’t for Dan, I would be feeding the fish now.”
She shudders. “That’s no fun!”
Dan turns to look at me, suddenly looking stern. “Now, Elle. You’d better go down to shower and dry your hair. I don’t want you to get sick.”
I want to protest because it’s nice and warm and I can just dry myself under the sun. But a look into his eyes tells me it isn’t negotiable. Not wanting to push my luck and make him mad, I obey his order.
Chapter 9
Dan
I keep my eye on Elle when she’s back to the deck, even though I’m sure she’ll behave after what happened. Of course, there’re other reasons I can’t keep my eyes off her. As a result, I have had little work done. But it doesn’t really matter.
I still shudder when I recall the moment when I was chasing her in the sea. I’ve never been so worried. I have seen sharks. I have been in devastating storms. My boat nearly sank more than once… but I’ve never worried. I love the sea even though it could be a monster sometimes, and I’m prepared to die at it. But losing Elle to it is not acceptable. She’s dear to me. I love her… Shit. I guess I can’t lie to myself any longer. I’ve always loved Elle, not just as an uncle as I used to, but as a man. The feelings started two years ago and never went away.
I’ve got to put it under control. But all I can think of is how soft she felt against me earlier, when I held her on the deck. Her lips were sweet and salty, and she tasted like honey. I wanted to take her right there. If it weren’t for Martha, I would’ve. Holy shit. I have to get a grip of myself. I can’t do this to her. I would ruin her life, and John would kill me.
I work out on my foredeck like a maniac for an hour, in order to blow off the steam. We arrive at Santa Cruz Harbor at six o’clock in the evening. The sunset is breath-taking. I was going to drop Martha off at the courtesy dock without lingering long because my plan was to spend the night at Monterey, which is still four hours away. But thinking Elle’s been cooped up on the boat for an entire day and a brief stay ashore might do her good, I moor the boat instead.
