The moment I laid eyes on Paul Drake, I knew I wanted him. When the opportunity presented itself, I’d have been a fool not to take him to my room.

His chest shone with sweat from his fire performance, and I wanted nothing more than to press my body against his and get covered in it. He was primed and ready for me to enjoy, so I took him by the hand, trying not to be distracted by how large his bulge was. Size wasn’t that important to me, but my insides stirred at his obvious girth.

He grinned as I led him down the steps, away from the upper deck. I wondered when he would come back and fetch his supplies, because they seemed to be the last thing on his mind.

The warmth between my legs was growing increasingly difficult to ignore, and while I knew it was foolhardy to bring a strange man back to my room, I couldn’t find it within myself to leave him behind. My body craved him as much as he seemed to want me.

The alcohol was still making my head a little fuzzy, but I wasn’t going to stop and put an end to this almost magical moment. Maybe it was the booze talking, but for a moment it felt as if this were meant to be. What were the odds of happening across him on the upper deck? What were the odds of a handsome stranger going to such lengths just to see me smile?

I mean, the fire show alone was already enough to make me wet, but when our lips met, I knew it was game over.

Or, maybe the game had just begun. I wasn’t sure who had seduced whom at this point, though it barely mattered. My number one concern was getting Paul out of those tight shorts.

We raced through the lower deck of the ship, not bothering to keep our footfalls soft. His smile was nothing short of infectious, and I found myself bubbling with laughter as we all but stumbled towards my room.

When we got there, I shushed him while trying to swallow my giggles. My mother was in the next cabin, and though I held no false pretenses about trying to muffle my cries of ecstasy deep into the night, it wouldn’t do for her to rush out of her room and catch me before we could even get started.

I unlocked my door frantically, grabbing him by the front of his shorts and dragging him inside. He cackled as soon as the door was closed, and I pressed my lips to him to silence him. We continued to snicker into the kiss until I drew away and shot him a look.

“What’s so funny, Paul?” I asked, though I had the vaguest of ideas.

“I never could have expected it to go this well,” he replied.

I rolled my eyes, pulling him towards my bed.

“Well, you’d better make the best of it and hope I don’t come to my senses. I’m not the sort of girl to offer my booty to any old swashbuckler.”

I grinned, and he matched my smile, reaching down to grab me by my ass.

“Oh, I didn’t know booty was on the table,” he whispered into my ear, and I felt shivers course through my body.

I’d never felt such pure need in my life. It didn’t feel like I was initiating sex with a stranger, it felt like puzzle pieces falling into their correct place after years of being stuck.

He kissed me, and I swear it felt as if a fire had set alight inside of me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, dragging him to the king-sized bed in the middle of the room. He stumbled along with me, making no effort to resist my pull.

I scooted back on the bed, and he watched me with hunger in his eyes. I reached down to unbutton my blouse, trying to make a sexy little show of it, but realizing I probably just looked drunk and clumsy. He didn’t seem to mind, however, all too eager to take over.

His fingers deftly worked my buttons, pulling each one free until I was able to shrug the garment off entirely. He fixed his eyes on the mounds of my breasts, and I smiled as I reached around my back to release them from the confines of my bra. He seemed to salivate at the sight of them, and I felt my face grow warm at the sheer hunger reflected in his eyes.

“You’re beautiful,” he murmured, and I was certain my face was as red as a tomato at that point.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” I purred, pressing him back against the bed. He didn’t seem like the type to let a woman take control, but I was surprised when he indulged me and lay flat on his back.

I shifted on top of him, leaning down to ghost my lips over his pulse. He shuddered at the contact, tangling a hand in my hair and encouraging the movements of my mouth. The salt of his sweat-soaked skin was all too tempting in my passion-fueled haze, and I traced my tongue down the column of his throat.

Then, I reached down between us, undoing the single button on his shorts and sliding them down. He raised his hips obligingly, and I looped my fingers in the waistband of his boxer briefs as I pulled, exposing him in one fell swoop.

His flesh was hot to the touch, precum trickling down from the head of his member. I wrapped my hand around his length, gauging his size. He was bigger than any other man I’d ever been with, and his girth swelled in my hand, his pulse throbbing against my palm.

“Ella,” he murmured, jerking his hips.

Unable to wait a moment longer, I slipped off my pants and panties, and ran to my suitcase to retrieve a condom—thankful that I kept one in there, just in case. Only a few seconds had passed before I resumed my position on top of him and slipped the condom over his length.

Before I could think to stop myself, I found myself shifting on top of him, pressing the head of his cock against my entrance. I steeled myself, knowing I was likely to be tighter than usual since it had been some time since my last…encounter. He rested his hands on my hips, gently guiding me down onto him.

“Slow, slow,” I stammered out, feeling his bulbous tip spread me wide. I drew my lip between my teeth, my breasts heaving.

“I just want you so badly,” my lover murmured, his eyes shining with something I hadn’t seen in any man I’d slept with before. Paul looked excited beyond the mere act of sex; he looked thrilled to be with me, specifically.

Swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat, I leaned in to press our lips together as I lowered myself further on his length. His breath hitched, and I dug my nails into his shoulders as he filled me up.

Just when I was certain that I couldn’t bear to take his entire length, our hips pressed flush together. His body trembled, and it was evident that it was taking all of his self-control not to slam into me.

“Oh, Paul,” I moaned against his lips, lifting my hips until I was nearly off of him entirely.

Slowly, tortuously, I shifted down again, enjoying the feel of his throbbing cock brushing against my inner walls. I clenched experimentally around him, and he cried out desperately.

“Ella! Please, can I…” He trailed off, moving as if to shift our positions.

I hesitated for the briefest of moments before allowing him to press me back against the sheets. He was still inside me, and the movement sent jolts of pleasure through all of my nerve endings.

“Guess you can only let me take charge for so long,” I teased breathlessly, and he quirked his lips in a smile.

“It wouldn’t be right for my little bird to be doing all of the work.” Paul grinned. “Is this okay?” he added, and my heart clenched. No man had ever asked if I was enjoying myself before. I was just part of their pleasure, it had never mattered if I’d gotten off.

“You feel amazing. God, Paul…just take me,” I breathed.

He seemed to need no further instruction, moving in and out of me slowly at first, before quickly picking up the pace. His hips slapped against mine with almost bruising force, and I couldn’t swallow the moans that spilled past my lips.

I dragged my nails down his back, reaching my peak more quickly than I ever had before. Paul seemed to be holding out well enough, but as I contracted around him, waves of ecstasy crashing all around me, he fell into an orgasm of his own. We held each other for a minute, feeling our bodies release together in time, panting and gasping.

For a long moment, we simply basked in the afterglow. But I knew my mother would be checking in on me in the morning, and the last thing I wanted her to see was me curled up with a tattooed circus performer. I looked at him, not wanting to ask him to go, but feeling as if I had no other choice.

He seemed to take the cue, shifting out of bed and grabbing his shorts, hesitating a moment before leaning in to capture my lips in a kiss. It was chaste, a simple press of skin on skin, but it meant more than a much deeper kiss could have at that moment.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, birdie,” he said warmly.

“It’s a date,” I told him.

I smiled, watching as he moved towards the door, slipping through it silently.

Left alone, I was tired and spent. I thought I should likely feel some measure of regret for what had happened, but I simply couldn’t make myself care. The time I’d spent with Paul was the freest I’d ever felt in my life. It was a glimpse into a life I wasn’t slated for, but could find a way of grasping if I worked hard enough for it. He was the opposite of the sort of man my mother would set me up with, but perhaps that’s what made him so appealing.

All the same, I had never felt such a pleasant ache after screwing around with a guy.

Except…it didn’t just feel like screwing around. It felt more like making love.

I didn’t want to overthink it, though. Instead of changing my sheets or taking a shower, I simply wiped myself down with the sheet before tossing it off the bed. I drew the remaining comforter over myself, allowing myself to drift into a blissfully dreamless sleep.