The Affair (The Evolution of Sin 1)

Slowly, because I was unsure and deeply interested, I helped Antonio and Sinclair prepare the lines and I even took a brief turn at the wheel but the stress of keeping the boat straight on the rolling waves had me laughing hysterically and Antonio soon took over again.

When everything was set, Sinclair ushered me to a low fold-up chair facing the rods and handed me a Dos Equis beer before taking a seat himself. His legs were outstretched, long and partially bare in his long khaki shorts and I devoured the sight of him like that, spread out and casual like unfolded laundry. I wanted to lie on top of him and drag his masculine scent deep into my lungs.

He stopped chuckling at something Antonio was explaining and his features collapsed into their usual impartiality when he caught me staring. “Can I help you with something, Elle?”

He was using his coolness to tease me, I thought, but still I blushed and focused on peeling the label from the brown bottle in my hands.

“I just like seeing you relaxed, it’s different.”

“Relaxed? The only thing I feel around you, siren, is desire.” As if to prove his point, his eyes set flame to every inch of my skin, burning me like a witch for the spell I had cast over him.

The thought delighted me.

“I think your passions bring you comfort. Me,” I cleared my throat, “I mean my body, fishing, your business deal with the failing resort. It’s like that for me with my art; like having an itch, that constant stimulation, but being too comfortable to scratch it away.”

He pursed his lips. “It is certainly an interesting analogy.”

I shrugged because I knew I could be clunky with English, it was much easier to wax poetic in French or Italian.

“There is only one problem with it, as I see,” he continued, looking out at the achingly blue water the exact same shade as his eyes. “You are unlike anything I have ever dealt with before, therefore there can be no frame of reference, no precedent to compare you to.”

I frowned at the beer in my hands. “That doesn’t exactly sound like a good thing.”

“The unknown; it has stalked mankind since the beginning.”

“Are you trying to say I’m stalking you?”

“Is it stalking if the recipient is eager to be followed?”

We stared at each other with barely contained smiles bright in our eyes and wobbly on our lips. Eager questions bubbled in my throat, the pressure building until I was sure my lips would pop open and a stream of embarrassing neediness would erupt.

What are we doing?

Why do I like you so much?

Wouldn’t it be great if this was more than a holiday affair?

Happily, Antonio’s sudden shout shattered our connection and the Mexican hastily pulled me to my feet as he dashed by to take the bobbing fishing rod in his hands.

“You take, you take!” he urged, reeling in the line rapidly.

I watched skeptically as he tugged fiercely at the trapped fish. It looked much too strong for me.

“I’ll guide you.” Sinclair’s presence at my back calmed me and I was instantly obedient, allowing my hands to be manipulated into the proper position on the rod.

The waves undulated under my feet and it was hard to find purchase on the slippery deck but I ground the soles of my shoes into the floor and squatted lower.

“Place it just bellow your belly button and keep the rod tilted up, you want the line tight,” he coached. “Brace your feet, pull the rod up and back slightly and then quickly reel in the slack.”

The blunt end of the fishing pole dug painfully into my gut as I struggled to reel in the fish and my right arm was already weak from exhaustion but adrenaline pounded through my veins. The hard pulse of my heart was the epic soundtrack to my big catch.

“Steady.” Sinclair’s strong voice grounded me. “Don’t pull too hard, you need to play the fish, coax him closer to the boat with a firm hand.”

My mind flashed to his firm hands bringing me to orgasm the night before and I slipped slightly when the fish zigzagged to the left. Before I could right myself, he was there, his strong arms cupping my elbows and his steely chest pressed to my back. I leaned back against him, settling my bum against his groin.

“Behave,” he ordered quietly as Antonio darted around the deck, preparing to net the fish and trying to drive the boat at the same time. “You wouldn’t want to loose this monster fish just because you couldn’t keep your focus.”

I gritted my teeth. “Says the man who is distracting me.”