Page 39 of The Hitchhiker in Panama
He pulled back a little bit. “Protection?”
“Condoms.”
He smirked at me. “Yes, I have condoms.”
“Enoughcondoms?”
He chuckled and pulled me close, his erection pressing against my thigh. “I have enough condoms to tire us both out. I promise.”
Our Uber pulled up and we climbed in. Eivind snuggled with me in the back, touching and caressing my skin, heating me up even more. Respectful of our Uber driver, and aware we didn’t have the cover of darkness yet, we kept our mouths to ourselves.
My brain had approached its limit, though, and I couldn’t think of a proper conversation for the life of me.
We arrived at the dinghy dock and Eivind hopped into the little boat and put the cord in place.
“What can I do?” I asked.
He pulled the cord to start the engine and it fired to life.
“Untie the painter and hold it while you step in,” he said, pointing at the line attaching the dinghy to the dock.
“The painter? Seriously? Fucking nautical words. Just call it another goddamn line.” I untied while I grumbled. Eivind held out his hand and I awkwardly stepped down onto the tube of the dinghy. It bucked under me, a little less stable than I remembered, and I stumbled the rest of the way down. Eivind caught me before I went over the edge, but with the force of me falling and the weight of both of us on one side, it tipped dangerously low to the water.
“Whoa. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, sorry. I almost went swimming.”
“Hold on to the painter—otherwise the water will pull it down under the boat and into the propeller.”
Most. Complicated. Hookup. Of my life. Boat stuff still intimidated me, and feeling clumsy in addition to being intimidated put a damper on the sexy mood.
Eivind pushed away from the dock and put the engine in gear. We puttered towardEik.
When the dinghy pulled up next to the boat, Eivind grabbed the railing on the deck and held us in place. I had to balance on the tube and take a big step to put my foot on the rail. Eivind put a hand under my butt to help me hoist myself up.
“If we give up now, at least my ass enjoyed some action.”
Eivind handed me the line and I held it while he killed the engine and climbed on. He grabbed the painter from me and with his other hand pulled me close.
Between kisses on my neck and shoulder, he said, “I did not even try. Do not give up on me yet. I want a taste.”
I shivered. “Yes, okay. I’m not giving up yet.”
Eivind gave me a grin of victory. I waited in the cockpit while he led the dinghy back to the stern and secured her. He unlocked the companionway, slid the doors open, and disappeared into the dark.
I stepped carefully down. After having been up and down so many times, I’d gotten the hang of these stairs, like the rest of the crew. Enough light came in through the windows to illuminate Eivind waiting for me.
He didn’t move as I stepped down further. I put my hands on his shoulders, intending to push him away so I could get off the stairs, but instead he grabbed my hips and pulled my body into his. I wrapped around him like an octopus and kicked my sandals off behind his back.
We stared at each other for a few moments. I pressed my forehead to his. “I think I should kiss you.”
“You are not worried about getting kicked off the boat anymore?”
“Nope, now my greatest fear is exploding.”
“Exploding?”
I nodded. “With lust.”
