“I’m okay,” she says in a soft sweet voice that matches her completely. Just the sound of her innocent voice makes me shiver all over.
She fidgets with her hands in front of her and I get all lightheaded looking at those fingers, imagining them sliding down my naked chest, over my abs, wrapping around my thick cock. Fuck… I can’t…
My cock hardens as this enchantress’ aura fills the room, penetrating my body, suffocating my lungs.
“How long were you lost out there?”
“About six hours,” she says as she smooths a strand of her hair back.
Six hours… Wrong answer. She’s been lost for about twenty-two years by the looks of her. She’s been lost in the world without me, but she’s found now. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.
She’s right where she belongs.
“Thank you for saving me,” she says as she looks at me shyly. “I wasn’t sure if a Marine Protector would be welcome on an oil rig.”
“You are more than welcome here,” I tell her. “I’ll give you whatever you need.”
She swallows hard as those sexy blue eyes roam over my torso. Fuck, I wish I was dressed better. If I knew this moment was coming, I would have prepared. I would have taken the helicopter to the mainland and bought a brand new suit. I would have gotten my hair cut in a real salon instead of by Bob, who’s usually half-drunk when he cuts the crew’s hair. I would have looked better than this—old oil-stained shirt on, faded ripped-up jeans, big dirty boots.
It’s too late now. This goddess from the sea has already seen me at my worst. It can only go uphill from here, right?
There’s an aching fluttering feeling in my chest as I stand up. She gulps as I walk out from behind the desk. I’m a big man and she’s looking a little shocked at the intimidating size of me as I approach her.
“I just need to make a phone call,” she says, her blue eyes locked on mine as I stand in front of her with my fingers tingling. “I have to call my friends to come pick me up.”
I have to swallow the possessive growl rumbling out of my throat. If she calls her friends and they come pick her up, I’ll never see her again. She’ll disappear out of my life as quickly as she popped into it and I can’t have that. I would never survive. I know that I’d spend the rest of my days aching and longing for her, unable to find her in this big world, and worried sick that I’m not there to keep an eye on her.
“The phones are broken,” I lie. “The maintenance guys are working on it now. Satellite phones can be so unreliable.”
“Oh,” she says with a nod. Satellite phones are the most reliable. I’m glad she doesn’t know that.
“You can stay here with me as long as you’d like.”
She starts looking around and the view of the ocean out my window catches her eye. “You live on here?”
“I do.”
“For how long?”
I clear my throat as I watch her walk to the window. Those slim hips have a natural sway to them whenever she takes a step and it’s short-circuiting my brain.
I’m getting all hot and bothered as this hottie’s alluring charm fills the small space.
“About twelve years now.”
She turns with a shocked face. “Twelve years? Really? That’s some dedication. You must be a really hard worker.”
“Us oil guys are not all bad,” I say with a shrug of my big shoulders.
“I know,” she says with a bat of her eyelashes. “I’m not so unrealistic to think that. Unfortunately, we all still need oil to live. I just hate the oil execs who make things harder to switch to renewables. I don’t understand that.”
“That’s not me,” I say with a hand on my chest. “I invest in renewable energy.”
She looks thrilled to hear that, which means as soon as we finish this conversation I’ll be investing much much more.
“Twelve years on here,” she says as she gazes out the window. “Don’t you get lonely?”
“No,” I say honestly, although I know that’s going to change. If this girl leaves my side, I’ll be plagued by loneliness.
“Do you have a wife?”
I clear my throat. “Not yet.”
“A girlfriend?”
I shake my head. “Do you?”
“Have a girlfriend?” she asks with a flirty smile. “No.”
“What about a boyfriend?”
My body is burning tight as I wait for that dreaded answer. I don’t care if she has a boyfriend. I don’t care if she’s married. She’s here with me and she’s mine now. I’m keeping her. Anyone who disagrees can go fuck all the way off.
She starts to blush a little as she plays with her hair, those adorable cheeks turning a sexy shade of pink as she looks at me. “No,” she says. “I’m single.”