9 ~ OLIVER

I scooped Darcy back in front of me as I increased the throttle and got the boat back up on its plane. I was as hard as fuck and trying not to think with my dick, but it was impossible to keep my mind on anything more than the idea of her in a bikini. She’d relaxed more, leaning in against me as we sped toward the islands in the distance.

Ten minutes later I slowed the boat and we cruised in and out of small bays and around rocky outcrops. Darcy was startled by the number of stingrays we saw.

“You’d be surprised how often you share the beach with them.”

She tilted her head back to look at me, and I pushed her sunglasses up so I could see her eyes framed with eyelashes salt-tipped from our swim.

“I’m never going swimming again, Oliver.”

“Of course you are. The ocean hasn’t changed, you’re just more aware of who you’re sharing it with.”

“Believe me, my ignorance was bliss.”

So was mine until I kissed her that first night at her door. Since then, all I could do was think about how she tasted, how her warm mouth fit perfectly against mine. I wanted to do it again every time I saw her.

I pulled her glasses back in place, traced her cheek and touched the corner of her mouth. She smiled, a small shiver rippling through her body.

“Do you know what else was bliss?” she said.

“Tell me.”

She reached for the back of my head and pulled our mouths close together. “When you kissed me the other night,” she whispered.

I knocked down the throttle so that the engine idled leaving the boat to drift, and turned Darcy, pressing her back over the console.

“On your doorstep?” I asked.

“That one.”

“Before you signed the contract?”

“Yeah.”

I was stalling while my blood surged. If I kissed her now, there was no going back. I’d feel her warm mouth. Taste her again. Feel her tongue stroking mine. I’d press my hard dick to her and she’d grind against me. Beneath my sweatshirt she wore was nothing but skin, breasts, nipples. Below the reach of the sweatshirt, a pair of tiny bikini bottoms covered her pussy. Fuck. I don’t think I’d ever wanted anyone this badly.

“The contract, Darcy.” I wanted to remind myself as much as her.

“Is just a piece of paper.”

“You work for me.”

“You work for me, too.” She giggled.

“That’s not what I meant.” I pushed her glasses up again so that I could see her eyes. The chestnut flecks turned gold in the bright sunlight, and she searched my face. I put up a filter that trapped every reason I should turn away right now, before they formed fully in my mind. “If I kiss you now, I won’t walk away from this.”

She nodded. “Me neither.”

I took her face and pulled her closer, pressed my mouth to hers. Her tongue flicked across my lips. I breathed her in, connecting with every one of my senses as our tongues entwined. I still had hold of her face, couldn’t let her go as our kiss went on until we were nothing more than the hot, wet, urgent sensation of our mouths.

“Put her down, Oliver.”

The shout came from across the water. Darcy and I groaned together, and reluctantly, our mouths parted. My forehead stayed against hers. “I don’t believe it.” I eased Darcy off the console and noticed we’d drifted into a small inlet where twenty feet away Angus sat in his boat.

“What are you doing here?” I asked

“Monitoring. And getting some scallops. Has Darcy had a medical emergency?”

“No. Why?”

“Looked like some sort of resuscitation going on.”

“Smart ass. Of all the bays, why did you choose this one?”

“I could ask you the same question. I’ve been monitoring here for two months, and I’m picking up data. What’s your excuse?”

“We drifted in, but don’t worry, we’re going to motor right back out again.”

I engaged the throttle and turned the boat out of the small bay. “We’ll finish that kiss later,” I told Darcy. “The tide’s right so I want to see if we can catch some fish for dinner.”

We left the bay and motored straight toward an enormous rock offshore. I cut the engine. “We’ll drift around here and see if there’s any action.”

Darcy laughed. “Like the last time we drifted?”

“Fish action. This is serious stuff.” I pulled out a couple of rods, checked the lure on one and handed it to Darcy.

She looked at the rod in her hands. “I have no idea what to do with this.”

“You’re going to catch a fish. Let me cast it for you.” I threw out the line and handed her back the rod before organizing one for myself.

Within minutes I’d caught a good-sized snapper. Just as I recast, Darcy’s rod dipped with a sharp tug. Immediately the rod bent at an acute angle.

“You’ve got something decent there, start reeling it in.”

The reel spun and I showed her how to add more drag, and to slowly bring the fish in.

“Oliver, shit, I think I’ve got a shark.”

I thought I was going to damage myself, I laughed so hard. “Keep going,” I said, “don’t let it off.”

“I feel like Zane Grey,” she gasped.

“You’re prettier.”

“Shaving off my beard was a smart move,” she said, following my instructions to lower the tip of her rod to the sea before lifting and winding again.

“Very smart.”

I grabbed a net and got close to her. “Here it comes,” I said as we caught sight of the silvery outline and a large black smudge on the fish’s side. I dipped the net into the water and scooped the fish onto the boat. It looked annoyed, and I couldn’t honestly blame it. The great mouth gulped as if it was choking while I worked my hand into the large hinged jaw.

“Watch this,” I said, feeling like a conjurer, as I slid my hand back out, gripping a tiny snapper—the original fish she’d caught.

Darcy’s eyes looked as though they’d pop from her head. “You’ve caught a small snapper, and as you’ve reeled it in, the Dory has gone after it and swallowed the snapper, whole. In effect, you’ve caught two birds with one stone.”

I put the fish on ice and reeled in my line. “That will be perfect for our dinner. Have you ever eaten Dory?”

Darcy shook her head.

“You’re in for a treat. Have dinner with me tonight. I’ll cook it for you.”