“Aye, aye, Captain.”

I gave Georgie a mock salute as we boarded the huge white yacht Libby had booked for us this afternoon. It was probably big enough to fit at least fifty people on the main deck, not even counting the smaller sunbathing and dive decks, but only inner circle wedding party members were invited so Libby didn’t have to shell out even more cash.

Although I wasn’t exactly ‘inner circle’ considering the situation with Robert, I was still on the list, seeing as I was Georgie’s date. Apart from us, there were a few close family members, the bridal party, and the groomsmen. The plan was to take the yacht out to a reef near the island, then do some snorkeling, sunbaking, and drinking. Sounded good to me. I couldn’t remember the last time I took a day off to do something like that.

Georgie grinned and rolled her eyes in a good-natured way as I saluted her. “I’m giving it five minutes before you start making jokes about hot seamen.”

“Five? You’ll be lucky if I make it two.” I patted her on the back, guiding her up the ramp onto the main deck. We were the last ones aboard, and when I glanced over my shoulder, I saw a marina employee waving at another onboard, letting him know he could get things started.

Georgie flashed me another smile as we headed up to the sun deck to check out the view. “It’s a perfect day for this.”

“Sure is. Hope we see some dolphins.”

She clapped her hands together. “Yes! I’d love that.”

This was the first time I’d seen her since our little chat yesterday. She hadn’t been at dinner last night, because her work emergency apparently ended up keeping her busy till almost midnight. As such, I had to sit through a whole three course dinner with her mother, Libby, and Robert, all without Georgie there as my buffer. It wasn’t too bad, though—Margaret asked her usual prying questions, Libby was friendly, and my brother simply ignored me. Nothing too hard to handle.

As for today, I was half-expecting Georgie to avoid me like the plague. I worried I’d gone too far yesterday in laying my cards out on the table, but things seemed fine. Better than fine, actually. There was very little awkwardness between us, and she seemed happier. More relaxed. If anything, I should’ve damn well told her how I felt sooner. If I knew it would loosen her up this much, I would have. Still, I knew it would take time for her to feel a hundred percent ready to let herself get close to me, and I was willing to wait as long as it took for her to finally open up.

That didn’t mean I couldn’t try to hurry the process along…

As one of the charter employees steered the yacht out onto the sparkling blue waters of Clare Bay, I slowly pulled off my grey T-shirt in front of her, making sure she was looking. Then I stretched my arms out toward the sun, ensuring she got a nice view of my chest and abdomen. “Really is a perfect day. I can finally work on my tan.”

Georgie’s cheeks slowly turned pink. I could practically see the internal battle raging in her mind as she struggled to tear her eyes away from my chest. “Um. Yeah. But you already look very….” She coughed and looked over at the ocean, her cheeks flushing an even rosier shade. “Very tanned. And UV rays really aren’t good for you. Maybe you should put your shirt back on.”

I arranged my features into a concerned expression. “You’re looking a bit sunburnt already. Are you okay?” I asked, loving how easily I could make her blush. I pressed my hand to her forehead.

She nodded and swallowed. “I’m fine. Just need some sunscreen. You should put some on too.” She quickly rummaged in her straw beach tote. “Crap, I think I forgot mine.”

“I’ll go grab some from your mom,” I said. “I saw her hauling around a big bottle of it earlier.”

I went to find Margaret inside the yacht’s main lounge and was promptly caught up in a conversation with her about pre-cancerous moles after asking for the lotion. Finally extricating myself from her grip ten minutes later, I wandered around to see where Georgie had gotten to. By now, the yacht had slowed to a crawl and come to a halt right near Clare Island’s famous coral reef.

I spied Georgie down on the lower dive deck, reclining on a white sun lounge. She was surrounded by bridal party members who’d also decided to sunbake, and she’d stripped off her top and shorts to soak in some rays as she relaxed with a book. Her hair was pulled back in a messy bun, exposing her neck, and her swimsuit displayed her arms, legs, and a decent amount of cleavage. It was a demure navy blue one-piece.

Ha. Totally called it.

She shifted on the lounge, rolling onto her stomach and crossing one long leg over the other behind her. I nearly had to stuff my fist in my mouth to stop myself from groaning at the sight of her ass in the tight swimsuit. I wanted to tear that thing off with my teeth and mount her right there on that sun lounge.

I headed down the stairs which led to the dive deck. In the distance, the ocean rolled and foamed on the glowing sands of one of Saint Clare’s most famous beaches. Closer to me, a couple of Libby’s bridesmaids looked over, obviously thinking their sunglasses hid the fact they were openly ogling my chest and arms. Georgie didn’t notice my arrival at all. She was far too engrossed in her book.

“Got the sunscreen,” I said, waving the bottle at her as I planted myself on an empty sun lounge next to her.

She jolted up in surprise, then smiled. “Oh, right. Thanks.”

Before she could object, I squirted some into my hand and started rubbing it on her left calf. Her eyes widened. “I can put it on myself, it’s fine.”

I didn’t miss the fact that the soft skin of her leg was now peppered with goosebumps, all the way up to her thigh, even though the sun was beating down on the dive deck.

“No, you can just relax and stay right there. That book seems really interesting,” I said, feigning ignorance.

She looked like she was going to protest again, but one of Libby’s bridesmaids glanced over at us and cut in with a giggle. “Hey, if you don’t want him rubbing sunblock on you, you can always donate him to me. I wouldn’t mind.” She gave me a lascivious wink.

Georgie’s face turned redder than ever, and she rolled over and sat up straight. “Could you do my back?” she asked, pointedly ignoring the other woman. “I can never reach there.”

Ha. She was jealous. It wasn’t the creepy, bunny-boiling sort of jealousy which would send any man running for the hills. It was a cute, healthy amount of jealousy—enough to make her sit up and stake her claim when someone else tried to threaten it, without being a total psycho.

I didn’t mind one bit.

“Sure thing, doll,” I said. As Georgie leaned forward, I got behind her on the lounge and rubbed the cream into her smooth skin, slowly and sensually. I made sure to get all the way up to the sides of her neck, my fingers moving in deft little strokes. Trails of goosebumps followed wherever I touched, and I could feel Georgie’s breaths coming quicker as my slick hands slowly moved back down to her hips.

If a moment like this wasn’t enough to make her realize there was something real between us, I had no idea what would. It was sunscreen, for Christ’s sake, one of the least sexy things in the world. But with us, it became something else. Something electric.

I leaned down and murmured in her ear. “All done. I’ll let you get back to your book.”

Her breath hitched, and I heard her swallow hard. “Okay. Thanks.”

I grinned and strutted over to the edge of the dive deck, facing away from the ocean. Now that Georgie was sitting up again, I was directly in her line of vision. Every inch of me. I still had the sunscreen in my hand, so I started rubbing it on my chest, then did a dumb impression of a bodybuilder posing and oiling himself up.

Georgie watched me with a smile playing on her plump red lips. She shook her head slowly. Clearly, she knew exactly what game I was playing.

As I rubbed the cream into my right arm, I squinted at the top of the main deck, which was directly above us. I could see a small set of black and gold lettering with what seemed to be the yacht’s name. I hadn’t noticed it when we boarded earlier.

“Georgie,” I called out to her. She looked up at me again. “Is this boat called the Nauti Buoy?”

She nodded, eyes crinkling at the corners as she smiled. “Yes. Didn’t you see it earlier?”

I shook my head. “Nope. Fitting name, though.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah? Why’s that?”

“Because there’s a very Nauti Buoy aboard,” I said. I turned around to face the edge and waggled my ass in her direction, flexing one of my arms as I did so.

I heard a few of the bridesmaids giggle at my ridiculous show. Georgie didn’t say a word. She simply got up and came over to me. “You know what naughty boys get?” she asked.

I turned my head over my shoulder. “What?”

Her eyes twinkled. “Spankings.”

I grinned. “Are you saying I need a spanking, Miss Miller?”

“Sure seems like it,” she replied.

Before I could say a word, she slapped me on the ass. Hard. I wasn’t expecting it to be so forceful, and before I knew it, I was flying forward.

Right into the ocean.