Sailor Proof (Shore Leave 1)

“Don’t tempt me.” His eyes flared dark before he too laughed and pointed at my coffee cup, which was damp with condensation. “Darn it. We took so long your coffee melted.”

“Trust me, your hands are more than worth slushy coffee. And it’s still good. Exactly what I was craving.” I took a watered-down sip. I’d drink three-day-old swill if it meant more kissing with Derrick. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. Taking care of you is fun.”

Fun. There were a lot of things I wanted to be for Derrick, but fun wasn’t a bad start. Like he’d said, maybe he didn’t have enough fun in his life, and if he found doing nice things for me that enjoyable, I wasn’t going to stop him. “Maybe I should let you do it more.”

“Maybe you should.” Voice light and teasing, he winked at me, but something far more serious unfurled in my chest as I pulled on some fresh clothes. With every encounter, this felt less and less like a game, but no way was I pulling back now. Instead, I matched his laugh. “To volleyball and beyond!”

Derrick wasn’t the only one who could make promises for later, and I was damn sure going to make his wait memorable.

Chapter Twenty-One

Derrick

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.” Arthur broke off another piece of brownie and handed it to me as we walked to the sand volleyball court beyond some of the larger cabins. “The last time I played, I’m pretty sure I narrowly avoided a concussion.”

“I’m sure you’re not that bad.” I smiled at him, both to be encouraging and because something about sharing the treat was so sweet that I wanted to savor the moment. I hadn’t been kidding about enjoying taking care of him. Watching him enjoy his coffee and brownie was deeply satisfying in a way that made my muscles warm and loose and my smiles that much easier.

“I’m hopeless at all sports involving balls.” After eating the last bite, Arthur licked a stray chocolate crumb off his thumb, and I nearly groaned with wanting his mouth on me instead.

“Not all.” Watching his tongue swipe at his fingers, I seriously regretted turning down an orgasm earlier. I hadn’t wanted him to feel obligated, but my body was still protesting my noble impulse and was ready to haul Arthur back to the cabin, prove what exactly we were both good at.

“Point.” He met my gaze, faint blush saying we were on the same page there. “But whatever the game, I do my best work solo and one-on-one. I suck at team sports.”

Right as I was about to make a joke about sucking, a pack of kids greeted us, and I stowed away the flirting for later.

“Uncle Arthur!” Taylor grinned at both of us. “How was your coffee?”

“Good.” Arthur’s blush deepened. I hid my own grin behind my hand. That little interlude had absolutely been hot enough to melt ice, and I didn’t feel the least bit guilty about distracting him from his drink.

“We got to help,” Vince announced as he bounced up next to Taylor.

“I heard. Thanks. You did great jobs.” Arthur’s tone was always so kind and patient for the kids.

“It was fun,” Taylor added. “Even if Uncle Derrick wouldn’t speed.”

“Uncle Derrick, huh?” Arthur teased as the kids sped away. “You must have made a big impression during your outing.”

“They just like me for my car.”

“Don’t we all.”

We were both still laughing as we reached the volleyball area right as Oliver whistled.

“Hey, volleyball players!” He hopped on top of a nearby picnic table to address the group. “To make this fair, we’re going to count off for teams.”

As we all lined up, Calder and his friends were near the front, and I did some fast math as soon as they were counted off. I deftly swapped places with Vince and motioned to Arthur.

“Quick. Move one back.”

“What?” Arthur frowned.

“Just do it,” I insisted, pointing again. “You can help me teach Calder a lesson.”

“Now you’re speaking my language.” Arthur ducked behind his cousin Ingrid, right as the count reached me. And sure enough, my machinations resulted in Arthur and me being on the opposite team from Calder.

“What the—” Calder strode up after everyone was assigned to a team. “How did you end up on the other team?”

I shrugged. “Luck of the draw.”

“And you got most of the kids.” He pointed at our side of the court where Taylor and Seth were having some sort of dance-off with two of the girl cousins. Some of the other kids were happily digging in the sand. “Good luck with that.”

“I think we’ve still got a good chance.” Yeah, Calder’s side had more height, but Taylor was tall for his age and we had some older cousins who would make decent blockers.

“You want to bet?” Calder bumped my shoulder. “Post-camp laundry?”