“Dammit, it’s wearing off,” Maelea murmured.
Her hand brushed his side. Heat seeped from her into him, reigniting the arousal he’d experienced before when she touched him. Then her soft and silky fingers grazed his jaw, tipping his face her way. “Here, drink this.”
Something small and glass brushed his lips.
He opened his mouth to tell her he didn’t want anything, that he just wanted to sleep, but sweet liquid flowed across his tongue, and on instinct, he swallowed.
Warmth immediately spread straight down his chest, exploded in his belly, sent wicked flares of electricity through every limb that bounced back and condensed in his groin. His eyes rolled back in his head. Every muscle in his body relaxed, then surged with anticipation, quad-rupling the arousal from before until it was all he could focus on.
He dragged his eyes open, looked up to find Maelea cradling his head in her lap, her shadowed face expectant and worried.
Dark hair fell like a curtain around her face, but he could still see her mesmerizing eyes. And her small nose. And that luscious, kiss-me-crazy mouth.
Gods, he wanted to taste that mouth again.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Ss..fine. Better zan fine.”
Shit. What was wrong with his lips? He knew what he wanted to say, but it was coming out wrong. He frowned. Or tried. The muscles in his face weren’t working either.
Whatever. He didn’t even care. He just wanted her.
“Let’s get you up,” she said.
She pushed up on his shoulders, all but dragged him to his feet, then slid her arm around his waist again, wrapping his around her shoulder like before. Only this time, heat exploded everywhere they touched, drawing him to her like a magnet, making him want to curl around her, slide inside her, lose himself in every inch of her sweetly scented skin.
Gravel turned to wood beneath his feet. And through the haze ahead he saw something moving. Something big.
“Step over,” Maelea said. “Careful.”
The ground rocked, adding confusion to his already messed-up head. She pushed against his chest. His back hit something hard. Water slapped a solid surface nearby.
“Stay here for a second.” She eased her hips against his, using her weight to hold him upright. Heat and electricity flared once more in his groin, tightening his dick where she pressed against him. The door directly to his left opened. Her scintillating voice drifted to his ears. “That was easier than I thought it would be.”
She pulled him into the darkened room before he could ask what she meant, closed the door at his back, and helped him down a set of steps. As the floor rocked again and he tried to make sense of their surroundings, he realized they had to be on a boat.
“Where…we?”
“Someplace no one will see us.” She pulled him forward. A click echoed in the dark, and a steady stream of light illuminated the small cabin. “This way.”
He had trouble seeing, especially the way his vision kept coming and going, but it looked like they passed a small galley off to his left, a U-shaped padded bench and table. Ahead was a door that had to lead to a bedroom, and relief flooded through him at the thought of dropping on a soft, supple mattress. But Maelea turned him before they reached it, and pushed open a different door.
She shined the light around the closet-size bathroom. After pushing him in, she pressed down on his shoulder. He dropped onto the closed toilet lid. “Wait right here. And don’t fall over.”
He didn’t have much of a choice. He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. Gods, he could fall asleep right here, if it weren’t for that damn rocking. And the ruckus from the other room.
Drawers rattled. Shuffling echoed. When footsteps sounded close, he opened his eyes to a watery image of Maelea holding what looked like a handful of first-aid supplies.
She set the flashlight on the small sink ledge so light shone straight up, rippled off the ceiling, and illuminated the small space. Then she flipped on the water and ran a hand towel under the flow. “You’re not going to get sick, are you?”
Sick? No way. Seeing her kneeling in front of him like that, looking up with those wide eyes and that made-for-sin mouth, blood flowed straight into his cock, making him hard as hell all over again.
She squeezed water from the towel, turned toward him, and leaned close. “This might be cold. I’m not trying to hurt you.”
Her stomach brushed his erection as she splayed the cool rag across his abdomen. But it did nothing to cool him down. He closed his eyes, groaned at the wicked sensations running through his body. Fuck, if she touched his dick the way she was touching his chest, he’d let her do whatever she wanted. He wouldn’t stop her, wouldn’t even try.
“Sorry,” she said in a pained voice. “I just need to get the blood off to see how it’s… Oh.”
His eyes fluttered open. She was staring at his stomach. And oh, hell, her breasts hovered right over his cock, close enough to touch. As she wiped his skin, each brush of her fingers sent shards of desire swelling in his groin.
“This is nearly healed,” she said in surprise.
Like he cared about the wounds right now. Like he cared about anything but her skin on his, her mouth, her tongue…any part of her body she wanted to rub against his. He shifted his legs wider to make more room for her. Wished like hell she’d stop talking and fucking touch him again. “Heal fast.”
The words came out slurred, but when she lifted her gaze to his, she either didn’t notice or didn’t care. “I see that. I’m glad. I was afraid…” Emotion passed over her face, but he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. Couldn’t make much sense of anything but his own burning need. Then she shook her head, looked back down at his stomach, and resumed wiping away the blood. “How do you feel?”
“Hot.” He eyed her breasts. Noticed for the first time that her T-shirt was covered in dried blood and that streaks of something green marred the skin of her hands. “And dirty.”
So dirty. Oh, man. Suddenly all he could think about was getting nasty dirty with her, right here on the bathroom floor.
“I brought extra clothes.” She left the washrag on his stomach, pushed to her feet, and was gone before he could stop her. Disappointment flowed, but she returned seconds later. And as she stood in the dim light of the doorway, he realized she was holding a backpack. The backpack he’d picked up at that army surplus store.
She opened the flap, pulled out new clothes for both of them, set them on the counter. Then she knelt in front of him all over again and reached for the button of his pants. “Here, let me help you get these off.”
Holy…hell. She wanted to take off his pants. Something way in the back of his mind warned he should stop her, but he was too far gone to care. All he could think about was her touch. About how it would feel. About where it would lead.
Please let it lead somewhere.
His dick throbbed in anticipation. She freed the button. He lifted his hips as she tugged to pull off the stained cotton. Didn’t even try to stop his boxers from sliding right down with the pants. When she realized she’d stripped him completely naked, her eyes grew wide and a small gasp escaped her lips.
Her hands froze. But he was suddenly wide awake, even with a spinning head. He toed off his boots, pushed his pants the rest of the way down his legs, and kicked them off. And when she only continued to stare, his erection swelled, growing harder and hotter under her watchful eyes.
He sat up. His cock bobbed against his belly as he reached for her shirt and tugged it up and over her head. She didn’t stop him, seemed to be in shock, and he was glad, because he wasn’t sure he could call things quits right now, even if she wanted him to.