I was a ship, foundering on the rocks. I had no idea what to do with Katrina beyond keeping her in my bed and fucking her. I wanted to imprison her in my room and lock us up together where no world would come for us, wanting to know our business, wanting a book from me, a signature, my time, or wanting to ruin whatever the fuck it was we’d created.

But, you couldn’t hide. We’d fester and poison each other in weeks.

“Strip, Poppins, and lie down on the bed. I want to worship you.”

She giggled and chewed her lip. Still shy, still cautious. Wise girl. I didn’t want to hurt her, though I was happy to ruin her for any other man. To be the one she never forgot. That was a fuck yeah to my ego, and I intended to make good on that. I wanted to be the memory behind the wistful sigh for the rest of her life.

I challenged her with my stare, and she did this coy striptease that was unbearably sexy. As her panties made it free, the spell was cast, and I’d live within its power until we stepped back on the train on Sunday. After that was a mystery.

I started at her neck, my lips teasing her soft skin, down the slope of her shoulder, into the indentation of her collarbone. She sighed. Not some dreadful, fake porno moan, but a genuine sound of pleasure as she sank into the mattress. If my cock would allow it, I’d kiss every inch of her body before I fucked her again.

I continued down her stomach, little butterfly kisses that made her tremble. The area over her hips seemed one of her more sensitive spots, as was the inside of her thighs, behind her knees, the little area just below her ankle bone, and along the curve of her instep. I loved learning all these places. With much restraint, I stayed away from her pussy, even though her hips lifted in offering every time I neared.

This would never go in a book. My readers liked it rough, with harsh demands and punishment for disobedience. They liked sassy heroines with dirty mouths engulfing thick cocks with little effort. They wanted to be the sex queen, and for Steele to rule their kingdom.

“Stone?”

I’d rolled her to her stomach and was working my way up the notches of her spine. “What is it, Poppins?”

“Can I have a turn? I mean, do this to you?”

“Sure you can.” I lay myself over her. My hard dick wedged against the cleft of her stunning ass. I pulled her hair to one side, feasting on the back of her neck. She’d have a mark there, tomorrow, and that pleased me. If she wore her hair up, others on the boat would notice and know that she was mine.

Fuck. She wasn’t mine. I had to stop thinking like that.

I rolled off her and lay on my back, splayed on the bed. Her eyes were wide, glistening with excitement as they swept over me. My cock jumped beneath her gaze, and I took some long breaths to calm everything down. She started on my mouth, her lips wandering over my cheeks and my ears. Fuck, I didn’t know how I overcame the need to grab her and pull her down onto my dick. By the time she bit one nipple, my shaft was soaked with pre-cum. I wanted to take her hand to it, to feel her stroke along its length.

Down she went, cautious and testing. I flung my forearm across my eyes because watching became unbearable. She was dangerously close to my cock, licking a line down the V of muscle to its point, then back up the other side. Now I had hips that couldn’t stay on the bed. My eyes squeezed shut as she reversed the move, then...oh fuck...she swiped the head of my dick with her tongue. I couldn’t hold back the wolfish growl. She did it again, and I swung my hand down to grip a handful of hair.

“You’re in dangerous territory there, Poppins,” I warned.

She grinned at me and licked her lips. “I’m hungry,” she purred. “Can’t I have just a little taste?”

“Much more of that, and the taste won’t be little.”

“Like I said, ‘hungry’.”

She shifted down, taking hold of my cock like a lollipop stick, and started licking and mouthing the head. Her lips were so soft, her tongue so curious. I moaned.

Katrina stopped. “Is this okay? Because I’ve never done this before.”

“It’s great,” I managed. “Here, let me sit up to make it easier for you.” Easier for me, too, because I needed to watch.

She started from the base of my cock, long licks up and down, then at last, her lips slid over the crown. I shoved my hand in her hair, pushing it out of the way to give me full view of my cock in her wet mouth. She sucked and swallowed, and I was sure I just about drowned her with pre-cum. I’d never been this hard, considering we’d just fucked before dinner.

I couldn’t help pushing a little deeper into her mouth, and she made this sound that vibrated the length of my dick and settled in my balls. They ached, I needed to come so badly. I pulled her head up.

“Am I doing it right?”

“Oh, fuck, yes, you are.”

“Good. I like it.” She engulfed me again, and I closed my hand over hers at the base of my shaft, showing her the stroke I liked. She tried to take me deeper, choked a bit, then tried again. Her tongue never stopped exploring, teasing, making me sweat. I started to move inside her, fucking her mouth gently, but it was too much. I was ready to come. I pulled her head off quickly before I blew.

A long strand of spit connected her mouth to my dick, and she wiped her lips with the back of her hand. “Sorry, a little messy there. I dribbled.”

“All part of the act. Believe me, I did too, eating your pussy.” I flipped her onto her back, grabbing a condom from the stash beneath the pillow and rolling it on.

I knelt between her legs, opening her lips and sliding a finger inside. “So wet, Poppins. You okay here?”

She nodded.

“Not sore?” She was so tight. I didn’t want to hurt her.

“I’m good. Let’s go.”

“Why the hurry?” I teased.

“Fuck, Stone, just fuck me.”

“Such profanity, Miss Poppins.”

She hooked her legs around my butt and pulled me toward her. The head of my dick wedged against her hot entrance. I don’t know why it had never felt this good before, but it’s like her pussy’s fucking bewitched. I eased inside, then thrust. Katrina yelped, but I couldn’t slow down. In seconds, she was meeting my thrusts. After everything she’d done to me with her mouth, I knew I wasn’t going to last long. Neither, it seemed, was she. Her moans became louder, and our lips crashed together as we continued to grind our pleasure into each other.

She threw her head back, disconnecting our mouths, crying out as her pussy seized my dick in an excruciating spasm. Over and over, it grabbed my cock, her body jerking beneath me. My balls tightened, and the rush of cum up my dick was unbelievable. Her name hung in the air.

I collapsed on her, heaving for breath. Our sweat mixed, and when I looked at her, her face was flushed, eyes closed, her mouth curved in a sweet, satisfied smile.

The pain I felt in my chest had nothing to do with the exertion of fucking. What was it this woman had done to me? I took the edge of the bedsheet and wiped the perspiration from her face.

“I must look a mess,” she murmured, eyes still closed.

“You look stunning, well-fucked. I think I like you looking this way.”

“I think I like feeling this way,” she said. Her voice was still all dreamy.

I headed to the bathroom, disposed of the condom, washed my face, and stared in the mirror. I looked the same as ever, but I felt different. This scared me. Katrina scared me.

Back in the bedroom, I watched her for a bit, then slipped the piece of hair away from the corner of her mouth and covered her with the sheet.

I was wide awake, edgy. Normally, I’d have dropped down to the bar and had a couple of drinks after putting the girl in a taxi. Unwound over a whiskey and chatted with strangers.

I went out to the sitting room, closing the door behind me so as not to disturb Katrina. I opened my laptop, eager to write. I hadn’t felt this inspired since the early books when everything was fresh and new. Just after two, a couple of chapters later, I crawled into bed and pulled her into my arms, tucking her next to me.

The morning called for an early start, and it was good to discover Katrina was bright and ready for action. She still didn’t know what I had planned for her, and the full extent of the experience would unfold with more finesse than simply facing her with the balloon ride. I hoped that each moment she thought was it, something new, better, bigger would happen to pull the wow from her.

I made sure she packed a bikini and a warm jacket in the small daypack I’d brought.

“I don’t need a jacket for the beach,” she said.

“Who said anything about a beach?”

“Well, the pool, then.”

I shrugged. “Quick, downstairs so that we can have breakfast. We don’t have long. Breakfast tomorrow will be leisurely. Today, we grab toast and coffee and run.”

We got to the dock with minutes to spare, not that the boat would have left without us. Rip was waiting. I hadn’t seen him for a year, and we bro-hugged with genuine feeling before I introduced him to Katrina. The prick saw in her exactly what I did, and I sent him a hands-off look.

His eyebrows shot up, questioning.

I nodded, and he smiled. We knew each other well.

“Pleased to meet you, Katrina. How did this low-life find you?” he said, nudging me so hard I almost fell off the pier.

“I’m his assistant,” Katrina said. “Responsible for keeping him out of trouble.”

“I hope they’re paying you well. How’s it going for you?”

“We seem to have come to an arrangement that works,” she teased. “So, ah, is this your boat?”

Cetus II was a custom-built, forty-eight-foot sport fishing boat. The massive transom made it ideal for what I hoped would happen today, and my main wish was that Katrina wouldn’t question the unusual equipment we had on board until we got so many miles offshore, she’d be committed to the event.

I jumped on board and put my hand out to her. “On we get, Poppins, time and tide wait for no one, or something like that.”

“You got it, Stone,” Rip said.

Katrina took my hand and climbed aboard. “Do I get a life jacket?” she asked. “And one for you, too, Stone.”

Rip threw a couple at us from the cockpit.

“Are we going fishing?” A small crease appeared between her brows.

“Yeah, sort of. Come up top with Rip. Captain gets the best view.”

The deckhands threw off the ropes, and we were off. Once out of the controlled speed zone, Rip opened the throttle and we headed to the open sea for the big hunt.

Katrina was non-stop with her questions, and once land disappeared, she started to look concerned.

“I’m sorry for everything I’ve done, Stone. I’m sorry for forcing you to work and taking control of your social media. I’m sorry for making your coffee with low-fat milk, but it was all they had at the store that day. I’m sorry for—”

“What’s with the confession, Poppins?”

“I’m hoping you’ll keep me alive. You’ve brought me out here to kill me and toss me overboard to the sharks, haven’t you?”

I tried not to laugh. If she knew how close she was to the truth, she’d probably have a coronary.