Page 138 of Dagger in the Sea

“I’m sure the asshole promised to pay off the loan using Adri’s name as a guarantee,” said Alessio. “Made him a sure thing in their eyes, eh?” he said.

“I’m positive he did,” I replied.

“I’ll find out what I can about these fuckers,” said Luca.

“We have four hours until we get to port,” said Alessio, his gaze darting at Adri then back to me. “I haven’t seen her upset like this in a long time. I don’t like it.”

“I don’t either,” I said.

Alessio’s eyes held mine, and I returned the hard look. He lifted his chin a degree and turned away. He knew she was no longer his.

Luca took his phone out of his jeans and went back inside the yacht along with Alessio.

Settling next to Adri, I pulled the strawberry dish toward us. “Have one.”

“I don’t want it. Don’t want anything, thank you.”

I bit into a berry. Sweet, luscious. Their season was upon us. “All those fucking cigarettes today. It’s good vitamin C, and you need your strength. ”

“I said I don’t want anything.” Her voice was sharp, jaw lean angles.

“Adri.”

“No.”

“No?” I chose another strawberry and sucked on it, chewing. “If we were alone, I’d take this strawberry, nestle it in your pussy and eat it from between your legs. All these little barbs on its flesh would make an excellent tool to make your clit pulse for me, don’t you think? Your ass pucker? Make your nipples harden? Then you’d suck my fingers, all red and sticky from you and the strawberry, and I’d fuck you senseless until all you’d be saying is yes, yes, yes.”

“My indecent gentleman.” She dropped her head forward, her body shaking. She was laughing.

“My question for you is, do you want to sit here like this, mourning for your life for the next few hours, like that first morning we were together on this boat, or would you rather—”

She kissed me, licking the strawberry from my mouth. “Feed me.”

“You say the most indecent things, baby.” I chose a perfect berry. Holding my gaze, she bit into the fruit, and my dick pulsed against my jeans as the juice glistened on those lips.

“Sex isn’t going to change things, Turo.”

I slid my hand around her cold neck, my thumb stroking her drumming pulse there. “We have four hours before we land back in rotten civilization. You need to be relaxed and focused when we get there, not frazzled. So, no more caffeine, no more cigarettes. Only strawberries and Turo for you—” My tongue swiped over her lips. “Strawberries and Adri for me.” I chewed the berry from her fingers, and she let out a hiss.

She stood up and grabbed the shallow white bowl of red fruit. “Andiamo.”

Fuck yes.

She led the way below deck to a cabin and locked the door behind us. “Take my clothes off me.”

I tilted back her chin, kissed her throat, and my hands moved down her body, stripping her naked, leaving kisses behind on her skin, breathing her in. Her bareness was a gift just for me. I held her shining eyes in that moment when I’d tugged her panty off her feet, and my heart swelled.

Afterward, the scent of sweat, musk, and sweet, sweet strawberry filling the cabin, she let out a long sigh which made me raise my head. I wasn’t sure if it was a sign of satisfaction or unsatisfied longing.

And we couldn’t have that.

Her head hung back over the bed, her long throat glazed with sweat. Her hand lingered over a breast marked in bruises, bite marks, and streaks of red. “You know, you’ve spoilt me completely for any other man.”

I wasn’t sure what we’d find in Athens, but we had this between us. This and more. And that piece of me that was on high alert, ready for anything, was now not some professional obligation but a roaring need that would not be quenched until the enemy had been slain. Destroyed, and my goddess would walk over the burning ashes with a triumphant smile on her face.

I pushed her hand away and my tongue flicked over a wet, sweet, very hard nipple. “Oh, I know, baby. I know.”

Athens

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