I had stood on that dock so many times, I knew every creak, every loose rusty nail, every splinter, but after Maximus's kiss, I felt as if I'd landed someplace I'd never been. My head spun with the thought of him. For months I’d tried to imagine what it would feel like to be wrapped in his powerful arms. I'd grown horribly envious of the Wynter Fare, women, who I'd never thought much about until they grew in my mind to be the women who had been in Maximus's bed, the women who knew him intimately. I wanted that. More than anything, I wanted to know what it felt like to be at the center of Maximus's attention.

Maximus gazed hungrily down at me. The feral look in his eyes, a look I'd seen before when he came to the ferry in wolf form, made me sway on my feet. It was a mix of thrill and fear that no man had ever made me feel before.

A low growl rolled up from his chest as he swept me into his arms. He carried me along the dock to the Traveler. With me still tucked in his arms, he leapt onto the trawler's deck. The vessel shifted enough to cause water to splash up against the hull.

"The pilot house," I suggested.

The self-assured smile that he wore so well turned up his mouth. "It seems you've done this before."

"Hey, when you're a teenager and the boy you are dating doesn't have a car, you get creative."

"I'm learning all kinds of stuff about the ferryman tonight. Not sure I want to hear more though because I'm getting jealous of some carless, scrawny, zit covered teenage boy who probably didn't even know what the hell he was doing." Maximus lowered my feet to the ground. I led him to the metal steps leading up to the pilot house. I stopped a few steps up giving him an unobstructed view of my bottom, a part of me that I'd always considered one of my finer features. "Jeff was neither scrawny nor covered with zits. But you might be right about the last part. I can't be sure because it was usually over in two minutes."

His booming laugh shattered the quiet. The metal rungs rattled beneath his weight as he climbed up right behind me. I could feel the urgency in his steps, and an unexpected squeal shot from my mouth as if I was being chased.

I reached the landing and laughed wildly as he took hold of me and pulled me into his arms. His kiss smothered my laughter. I reached blindly back and found the latch on the door. We stumbled inside, our mouths still locked together. The captain’s chair swiveled and knocked into my back.

"Ouch," I said against his mouth. The cramped quarters had not thwarted or slowed him for a second. He pulled my sweatshirt up and over my head. As he flung his arm around to drape the garment on the helm, his knuckles landed hard against the windshield.

"Ouch." He rubbed his hand.

"I think my brilliant pilot house idea is less than brilliant. I forgot to take into account that you are not an average guy. New idea." I pointed a finger at him. "And before you make any disparaging remarks, I have not tried this new idea. It's called problem solving on the fly."

"Since my mind is completely occupied with the thought of stripping you naked, I have no remarks pending, disparaging or otherwise. Lead me to your next idea before I go so fucking nuts with wanting you, I toss this captain's chair right off the damn boat and take you over the helm."

"See, I knew you were a romantic under all that muscle." I sidled past him to the storage bench at the rear of the pilot house. I rummaged through and found the canvas tarps we used when a storm blew in unexpectedly. They smelled of stale sea water, but something told me that wasn't going to dampen our spirits. "Follow me."

We tromped back down the metal steps and I led him to the stern. We stretched out one sheet of canvas and hung the second, a large sheet with metal rivets along the sides, from cleats on opposite railings creating a makeshift, tent-like cover over the deck.

I climbed beneath the cover and Maximus followed. He sat on his knees but still had to bend his head down to fit. Once again, he filled the space, but we'd created a cozy, private retreat that blotted out most of the lights around the pier.

I waved my arm around. "See. All we need is some pillows. Pillows! Just a second. Don't move or you'll collapse the whole damn thing." I squirmed out of the canvas and raced to the storage bench. I pulled out two cushiony life jackets and returned triumphantly to the semi-tent.

Maximus's dark eyes were no longer smiling. "Enough decorating, darlin'." He leaned back on his elbows. "Take off those clothes."

"With you watching?" My earlier confidence had flitted away, and the reality of what was happening had finally dropped down on me like bricks. I was with Maximus, the man I'd been fantasizing about for weeks.

"Suddenly, a glass of wine . . . or two sounds good," I said with a shrug.

"We can stop right here, Rikki. Just say the word, and we'll take down the tent and I'll give you a ride home. I don't want you to do anything you're not ready for."

"I'm feeling a little awkward. I've seen those women that hang out at the Seven Sins. I'm not delusional. I just don't want you to be disappointed."

His long hair was pulled back, highlighting the hard angles and perfect symmetry of his face. "Not a chance of you disappointing me, Rikki. You've already exceeded my expectations in every fucking way, and I haven't even seen you naked yet."

I hesitated and he seemed to understand. He reached forward and pulled me to him. "I'm pushing too fast. I'm sorry." He leaned back with me and turned to his side to kiss me. The gentleness with which he caressed me stood in sharp contrast to the tautness of the arms and body I nestled against.

His fingers climbed beneath my t-shirt and along my back, drifting slightly beneath the waist on my jeans. And all the while, his mouth and tongue treated me to the most seductive kiss I'd ever experienced. I felt it all the way through my body and down between my legs. My pussy tingled as if his tongue was settled there between the hot, wet folds. And as he dragged his tongue along my bottom lip, I could feel it running between the intimate folds of my pussy. A moan left my mouth before I could stop it. The sound seemed to bring a growl up from his throat. I could feel even more tension build in his arms and body with each passing second.

I swept my hands down over the bulging muscles of his arms and reached down to the ends of my shirt. We parted from our kiss long enough for me to pull it off and then I reached for his shirt. He helped me remove it. We lay there on our sides, with my head against his arm. The Boys hunted only in buckskins and boots so I'd seen Maximus shirtless many times, but I had never been tucked against him. My fingers smoothed over the collage of tattoos that covered his pecs. I leaned forward and ran the tip of my tongue along the hollow that led up to his throat.

I pushed on his shoulder and he rolled onto his back. I swung my leg over and straddled him. He gazed up at me. The feral gleam had returned. It sent a shiver down my spine.

I gazed down at him as I reached up, unhooked my bra and tossed it aside.

Maximus's arms circled around me, and he pulled me forward so that my breast settled against his mouth. With the same skill that he'd kissed my mouth, he kissed my breast, teasing my nipple in such a way that it felt as if his tongue, once again, was stroking my pussy. The ache between my legs grew stronger.

I scooted back and brought my throbbing pussy down over the bulge pressing against the worn fabric of his buckskins. I gasped at the size of it as it pumped against the fabric and caused more wetness to pool in my panties.

I pushed to my feet and hunched beneath the canvas as I pulled off my pants. He never took his eyes off me, even as he fished a condom package from his pocket and untied his pants. He pushed the buckskins down, and his cock sprang free.

"Holy shit, Maximus."

He laughed and reached for my hand to pull me back down to him. I straddled over him, but before I could settle over his cock, his hands took hold of my waist. He lifted me up and positioned my pussy over his face. I grabbed hold of the edge of the canvas. My whimper of pleasure seemed to get lost in the sound of the ocean outside the tent.

His hot trail of kisses continued and the tongue and mouth I'd imagined pressed against my pussy were now nestled erotically against the hot folds. I cried out as his tongue flicked against my clit, bringing me close to orgasm with just the simple teasing motion. His hands wrapped around my ass, and he held me strategically over his mouth, so that his tongue had clear access to every intimate part.

His magical kisses were now bringing my pussy to climax. I held the edge of the canvas for fear of falling over. He held me against him with one hand and penetrated me with the fingers of his free hand. I sat back against the intrusion, wanting more of it. Wanting more of him.

His mouth devoured me as his fingers explored every inch of my pussy. I cried out as it tightened against his mouth. My thighs squeezed against his head, and I sat down harder to feel the pressure of his mouth and touch as my pussy throbbed in ecstasy.

"Oh, Max, yes, Max!" My body trembled, and I gripped the canvas to keep from collapsing. The wild sensations had barely subsided when he took hold of my waist. Just as he had lifted me over his mouth, he positioned me over his cock. I cried out as I slid down over him, absorbing the impossible length of him as my tender pussy still pulsed in waves of pleasure.

"Fuck, you are so tight," he growled as he pumped his hips up to fill me more.

I braced my hands against his chest and held myself against him. He easily brought me back to orgasm. I felt lightheaded from it all. I collapsed down over him, and he held me against his body as he thrust his cock into me.

"Maximus," I said breathlessly.

My body still quivered from the double orgasm, and I could barely sit up. Maximus took hold of me. We spun around without him leaving me. He rested on his arms and took care not to crush me. He gazed down at me as he rocked against me, filling me so sweetly that each movement ushered a mewling sound from my lips. With one last long sweeping thrust his body hardened and he groaned with release.

All these weeks I'd imagined what it would be like to be with Maximus, naked and in his powerful arms and now I knew. And it was far better than I'd imagined.