Page 10 of Bear's Midlife Bridesmaid
A bear and a bobcat, sitting in the bow of a boat. Nothing had gone the way he’d thought it would on this trip, but Jace didn’t mind.
5
Erin finishedher whiskey and set it to the side. She’d decided to grab herself a drink before heading out there, hoping it might help her feel better about what’d happened. Alcohol wouldn’t fix her problems, but it would at least let her relax a little. The whiskey wasn’t nearly as intoxicating as Jace.
He sat there next to her on the deck without a care in the world about ruining his crisp white uniform. He’d found her out there, and Erin didn’t know if he’d been looking for her or if he’d just stumbled across her in his duties as he ran the ship. She wondered, but she also knew it didn’t really matter. Fate had somehow put them together, and she wanted to soak up every second of it.
“How do you stand it?”
Jace had tipped his head back to look at the stars, but now he brought it down to look at her. “What?”
“Working around people like them? You told me before that I’m not like your typical guest, but you don’t seem to be in the same category they are, either. I mean that in a good way,” she added quickly.
He laughed. “I know. Honestly, it was never really about the passengers for me. I grew up on the coast in Truro. From the beginning, the water was a part of my life, and I knew I wanted to be out on it. I had a knack for driving our little jon boats, and my parents encouraged me. I decided to make a life out of it.”
“And being on the water is enough to make up for these jerks?” Erin sneered.
“Not really, but like I said before, I don’t usually do these kinds of trips anymore.”
“You don’t get the same kind of people on the day charters?” Erin had to admire the fact that he’d modified his career to take care of his son. That was a dedicated man. If Jace was close enough to his son that they could work together, he’d obviously done a few things right.
Jace shook his head. “Not at all, really. Tourists. Sure, a few of them have money, but it’s a different scenario. Yachts like this are about looking flashy infront of your friends and enemies. The people who come see me now are looking for adventure. They want to know what it’s like to be on a real sailboat, to experience the sea the way people did before we relied on motors. They want to see what kind of fish they can reel in or try to catch sight of a whale. They want to hold hands with their loved ones while they watch the sunset. Some of them even want to learn how to sail for themselves.”
“That sounds beautiful.” The way he described it made her want to get a ticket for a day.
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“What do you do for a living?” he asked. “For that matter, where do you live? You’re here right now, but you’ve come for a wedding. You could be from anywhere.”
“Just up in Salem,” she replied. It wasn’t all that far from the tip of the Cape, where he was from. The more she got to know him, though, the further away it seemed. Her body and soul yearned for him, reinforcing the connection she’d felt with him right away. Erin knew this was more than being attracted to a guy who was both pleasant to talk to and good-looking, but she wanted to explore it more. It wasimpossible to say how that could happen once this trip was over.
It wasn’t the time to work out all the logistics of some future between them that might never happen. She returned to the question at hand. “I’m an herbalist.”
Jace nodded. “I imagine that goes over well in a place like Salem.”
He had no idea. Most people didn’t. They came to Salem because they liked the history. There was a romantic notion about the persecuted witches and some hope that magic still lingered in the town. It did, but perhaps not in the ways they imagined. “I do all right. I enjoy helping people, and I think a lot of them benefit from a combination of traditional and modern medicines. Other folks just want a nice hot cup of tea to make them feel better, and I can give them that, too.”
“You just have to make sure not to get any fur in it, right?” He jostled her shoulder with his own. His smile dazzled, even in the darkness.
She nudged him back. “I have at least a modicum of self-control.”
“I’m not sure I do, sometimes. Especially lately.” His voice had changed, growing deeper and moreserious. When she looked up, she saw that his eyes had narrowed in on her lips.
Her chest fluttered. Her blood surged too quickly through her body, creating a pleasant dizziness that the alcohol could never achieve. Had they somehow managed to scoot closer together? There was only just enough distance between them that they weren’t touching, but it wouldn’t take much to change that.
“No?” she asked softly. “Are you saying that sometimes this boat is captained by a bear? That I might find some claw marks on the helm, or an open can of salmon in the galley?”
When he laughed this time, his breath brushed her cheek. “I won’t say I’ve never shifted on a boat before, but my human form is much more useful.”
“I’m sure.” The boat was lifting to one side now. No, wait. It wasn’t the boat at all. They were coming together, two shifters who’d been kept apart their entire lives but had finally found each other. Erin’s breath had evaporated from her lungs, but she hardly found she needed it. “I bet it could be useful for a lot of things.”
Their lips met, and the world stabilized beneath her as they leaned into each other. His kiss was warm and gentle, a subtle experiment at first. His handcupped her jawline, his thumb grazing softly over her cheek as he explored her mouth. As his kisses grew in intensity, she parted her lips. The tip of his tongue slipped between them, and she angled her head a little further. Her fingertips brushed the short hair at the nape of his neck. Surges of electricity ran through her tongue as it touched and danced with his. Erin felt herself falling into him, encapsulated by his presence.
After a few minutes, Jace pulled back slightly. He pressed his forehead against hers as he caught his breath. “We could continue this conversation in my quarters,” he suggested.
They’d somehow become entangled. Her leg was over his, and her arms were around his shoulders. Erin didn’t want to be anywhere he wasn’t. She needed him, and it was a need that went well beyond the physical. “Lead the way.”
