The Ruthless Gentleman(50)

“But what about your brother?” I smiled. “Can I objectify him too?”

He withdrew his hand and chuckled. “That I might object to. I’m not one to share.”

I tried to bite back my grin, enjoying the way he’d acknowledged the connection we had. “I noticed. Are you not planning to have any guests on the Athena at all?”

He picked up his coffee, his large hand dwarfing the delicate white cup. He took a sip, then shook his head. “I’m here to work—you know that.”

I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth, trying to hold myself back from leaning over and tasting the coffee on his lips. “I know. But you’re here. I thought maybe things had eased up or you had decided to take in more of the Med.”

He pulled his wallet from his pocket and left some notes under the saucer of his coffee cup, then stood and held out his hand for me. “You said you’d always wanted to see Taormina, so here we are.”

I stood and he scooped up my hand and we began walking back up the hill.

“Surely we didn’t stop here for me?” It had occurred to me it was a huge coincidence that the only time he’d come ashore was in the one place I’d told him I most wanted to come, but I hadn’t really thought that was why he’d stopped here.

“Partly. I wanted you to have the chance to see it.”

My heart clunked against my ribcage. This stop had been about me. This was the real Hayden Wolf, the Hayden Wolf who believed in treating his employees well and never breaking his promises.

“And given you’re not one to take a day off, I thought if I came ashore, you’d be forced to . . .”

There was absolutely no point in even pretending I could resist him for a moment longer.

I pulled at his hand, dragging us beneath a stone arch and into a tiny walkway between the houses. “Kiss me,” I said, leaning against the brick. I’d never had anyone do something so thoughtful, so selfless, for me, let alone a man who had no reason to think about me at all—I was just the hired help.

He didn’t need to be asked twice. He brought his hands to my face, and his gaze dipped to my lips then back to my eyes before he finally placed his lips to mine.

It wasn’t enough. I needed more. I slid my hands around his ass, and up and under his shirt to his hot, hard back and pulled him toward me. He groaned, his tongue slipping between my lips as he ground himself against me. One hand trailed down my neck, slipping my top from my shoulder, exposing my skin to the hot air. He pulled back and looked at me.

“You’re so beautiful.” He dove toward my neck, sucking and biting, sending off buzzes and pops across my skin.

Threading my fingers through his hair, encouraging the press of his skin against mine, I arched into him, wanting more, more, more.

At that moment I didn’t care if the rest of the crew filed past us or Captain Moss tried to interrupt. All I wanted was Hayden Wolf’s mouth on mine, his hands roaming my body, his erection pressed against my stomach.

Suddenly, he jerked away and took a step back. “I won’t be able to stop if I touch you any longer,” he said and blew out a breath.

I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth, feeling a little wanton at being able to drive such a self-controlled man to the edge.

He steadied his breathing, shook his head and took my hand, pulling me under the archway again and resuming our walk back up the hill.

His pace was quicker than before, as if we were no longer wandering and now had a purpose or a destination.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“To my hotel. We’re going to have dinner. You’re going to need your strength.”

“I am?” I asked, jogging a couple of steps to keep up with him.

“You most certainly are, Avery Walker, because I’m going to be keeping you up all night.”

A warm shiver ran down my spine. He wanted me just as much as I wanted him. There was no point in pretending. No longer any chance of holding back with this man.

I was off duty, the crew was miles away and I just wanted some time free of worrying about the consequences of anything. A few hours of Hayden before he went back to being forbidden fruit. A few moments that were about me and my wants, needs and desires.





Twenty-Two





Hayden


I didn’t usually do this—take a woman to dinner, flirt, imagine her naked and clamped around my cock. But I was enjoying this buildup, the talking, the way she looked at me as if I were more fascinating than this beautiful place we were in. Of course, I’d noticed how attractive Avery was as soon as we’d met on the main deck a month ago, but the pull toward her had grown almost without me noticing. She was clever, good at her job, and perceptive. She was funny, feisty and vulnerable, and clearly devoted to her family. She also had an incredible arse, the tiniest waist and a killer smile.

I liked her inside and out. I wasn’t sure I’d ever thought that about a woman before.

My non-professional relationships with women were usually a lot simpler. I’d meet them in a bar, on the tube, or coming out of a building—it didn’t matter—and then the clock started ticking. How long would it take before we fucked? It was usually less than an hour, it rarely involved dinner and never included handholding. Then there were the two or three women I had established relationships with—they’d call me or I’d call them when I just needed to fuck. In either case, for me, it was all about the physical.