Sailor Proof (Shore Leave 1)

“So you’re saying you’re chicken...” Trying to bait him further, I shrugged out of my shirt, tossed it to him. “Bet I could dare you into trying it.”

“Thought we were going to leave competitiveness behind, have more fun.”

“Exactly.” I waded back over to him, pulling him close. “Have some fun. Live a little.”

“Oh, I’m living.” Eyes full of a wonder I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen before, he kissed me so tenderly that a shudder raced through me. If I’d been composing a soundtrack for us, this would be the moment where the music swelled to something epic and rich, a melody to return to over and over. This was the sort of kiss that a lot people probably lived their whole lives without, and the composer in me ached to capture the moment. And the human part of me simply ached period. It wasn’t even a contest any longer. I was ruined for anything less than Derrick, and I kissed him back with a desperation I hadn’t known I possessed.

“Damn.” He was breathing as hard as I was when I finally let him up for air.

“See? No way can I be cold with kisses like that, even in the water. Come play.” I tugged him toward the water, but he resisted.

“Let me take you back to the cabin, warm you up even more. We can play there,” he coaxed, pulling me farther away from the shore.

“Tempting.”

Reeling me in, he kissed me before waving a finger at me. “Sound carries out here, and we don’t need an audience when I make you scream.”

“Promises, promises.” Sighing, I put my sandals and shirt back on because the water really was too cold for the fun he was offering. Warm cabin was starting to sound pretty good, even if I still wanted to bottle the moonlight up.

“Race you—wait.” Derrick stopped mid-tease, sucked in a breath. “Sorry. Not a bet. Walk with me back?”

He held out a hand, and that was it, the last piece of my resistance gone. I melted like a chocolate bar in the presence of a perfectly toasted marshmallow. I was a goner for this man, and I didn’t even care anymore. Anyone would melt in the face of such sweetness and be happy with their fate.

Smiling up at him, I grabbed his outstretched hand and started to run, dragging him along with me until he started to run too, and then we were dashing through the night. Laughing, we skirted behind the cabins to avoid people walking back from the fire circle, then sped up again to bound up our porch and stumble into the cabin.

“Wasn’t that more fun?” I asked him as I locked the door behind us. “Not racing?”

“Yeah, it really was.” Still holding my hand, he leaned in for a soft kiss. After flipping on the fireplace, he tried to steer me toward the bed. “Now to warm you up.”

“No, you don’t.” I mimicked both his stern tone and finger wag from earlier.

“No?” He raised his eyebrows.

“You keep focusing on me, which is awesome—”

“I agree.” Smiling seductively, he again tried to topple me onto the bed, but I hadn’t grown up with three brothers for nothing. I knew how to use his forward momentum to reverse our positions, so that I was the one pushing him down.

“But I want a turn too.” As soon as he hit the bed, I straddled his thighs, claiming him as my prize. “I think we’ve both waited more than long enough for that.”

Holding his face in my hands, I kissed him soundly until he made the most gorgeous sound of surrender, kissing me back but letting me control the contact. Still drunk on him, I kissed him over and over, exploring his lips and mouth until we were both groaning.

“Okay, you win,” he said breathlessly as I nipped at his stubbly jaw. Him clean-shaven and in a dress uniform was quite spectacular, but I also loved him all rumpled in vacation wear and too busy having fun to shave.

I poked him right in the center of his chest. “No, we both win.”

“Absolutely.” His eyes were glassy as he tried to pull me in for another kiss. “Damn, you’re hot when you get all bossy.”

“Yeah? If you like that...” Sitting back slightly, I yanked at his shirt. Chuckling, he made a show of being extra-docile and helping me undress him until that magnificent chest and all his golden skin and acres of muscles were all mine.

“You too.” He didn’t stay compliant long once naked, pushing my T-shirt up, eager grin erasing my exasperation.

“I’m focusing on you.” I batted his hands away.

“Yeah, well, more of you to look at is for me.” Winking, he tried again for my shirt, and this time I let him because flattery would get him everywhere. But as soon as we were both naked, I pushed him back on the bed and sank to my knees in front of him. My scrapes and bruises from the earlier fall protested a little, but I carefully kept from wincing. I wasn’t going to let Derrick or a few bumps distract me out of this, not this time, but hurrying up did seem prudent.