Alaskan Adventure (Destination: Desire) (8 page)

“I managed not to laugh. Not even once.” His father’s voice rang with unqualified superiority. “I doubt you’d have pulled that off, son.”

Gabe gasped, “Not even a chance.”

“Oh my God.” Anne squeaked between giggles. “Oh my God.
Havana omelet.
I’ve never heard it called that before. So disgusting!”

“My oldest boy, David, brought that home from junior high one day. Apparently, this kid had had eggs with too much hot sauce for breakfast. By the time he got to school…the situation became explosive. I doubt the boys invented that term, but I’m pretty sure the kid in question was called Omelet until he graduated high school.” Peggy draped her filthy pants over an empty chair. “What can I say? Teen boys
are
disgusting.”

“I know. I have them in my PE classes every day.” Anne made a gagging noise. “They’re practically feral. The thing I have to deal with most often is when they refuse to shower or wear deodorant. It’s truly rank.”

“Yep.” Peggy stabbed a figure at Gabe. “This one
and
his brother both. I was so glad when they got their first girlfriends. They started to groom better.”

Anne turned to him, sniffing the air. “Deodorant does a body good.”

“There’s been a couple of decades between me and my feral stage. You know I shower.” It was a slightly risqué comment, since she’d
seen
him shower, but his parents didn’t know that for sure.

A tiny smile curled Anne’s lips, and the impish little glimmer in her gaze was just for him. He winked at her.

Of course, he caught the smug look his mother shot his father. Vince waggled his eyebrows in return. “Want to make sure
I
shower, Peggy? Or should I go feral on you?”

“Race you to the cabin.” His mom hopped up, slung her pants over her arm, and grabbed a bowl of the strawberries and whipped cream that was served for dessert.

Gabe closed his eyes and stuck his fingers in his ears, imitating his teenaged self.
“Lalalala,
can’t hear you. This isn’t happening. Nope, nope, nope.”

His mother’s perfume surrounded him and then she smooched his forehead. It was muffled, but he heard her say, “Good night, dear. If genetics are good to you, you’ll still be able to get it up like your dad when you’re his age.”

What issued from his throat was remarkably like the noise of a wounded, dying animal. He pulled his fingers away and cautiously opened his eyes. “Are they gone yet?”

Anne nodded, a mix of sympathy and unholy glee filling her expression. “Where’s your trauma level? On a scale of one to ten.”

“Eleven and a half,” he replied drily.

“Fair enough.” She waved a hand toward the buffet. “I think they have champagne to go with the strawberries. Booze helps sometimes when parents inflict this kind of torment on their children.”

She sounded like she spoke from experience, but he’d found she was rather reluctant to discuss her family dynamic, and he didn’t feel like playing her guru tonight. He had better things in mind. “No bubbly for me. I’d rather you distract me in other ways.”

Her gaze met his, no coyness, no hesitation. She said baldly, “Come back to my room.”

“Yes.” He stood, tossing his napkin aside. She slung her purse over her shoulder and grabbed her bowl of strawberries and whipped cream.

At his incredulous glance, she shrugged. “What? We can’t have them showing us up, can we?”

He shuddered. “I’m refusing to think about it.”

“Me too, but I have no problem borrowing a good idea.” She flashed him the kind of come-hither glance that he’d follow anywhere. “Let’s go.”

She exited the dining room with a purposeful stride that would tell no one she was headed for some naughty, full-frontal shagging. Though at this point, it was basically an open secret they were lovers. The boat wasn’t that big and gossip traveled fast. Keeping anything discreet was a problem, and several passengers had seen him leaving her room early in the mornings. Anne didn’t seem to mind that people knew, and he certainly didn’t care what anyone thought of his sex life. They were both single, healthy, consenting adults. There were no rules against their affair. End of discussion.

After handing him the bowl of dessert, she fished inside her purse for her cardkey. A quick swipe and they were through the door. He deposited the strawberries on the nightstand, then went into the bathroom to raid their stash of condoms. When he came back, she’d already stripped down to her underwear.

She pursed her lips. “No sense waiting. Let’s get to the good part.”

“I like you so much.” He grinned and she wrinkled her nose, her standard expression when she was pleased but didn’t want to make a big deal of it.

“Likewise, Warren. Take off your clothes.”

“You first.” He let his gaze trail over her appreciatively. Her skin was paler than moonlight, contrasting with her fiery hair. She unhooked her bra and snapped it toward him like a slingshot. He caught the blue scrap of cotton and let it dangle from a fingertip. Like her panties, it was sensible rather than pretty. They didn’t match, which he actually liked. He’d been with women who spent way too much time worrying about that kind of shit. Anne dressed for comfort, not to impress anyone.

Her fingers caught the edge of her underwear and she pushed them down her long, slender legs. Dear God, she was lovely. It hit him every time he looked at her. Their eyes met, and it felt like a live wire sparked between them, sizzling with carnal awareness. She did it for him the way no other woman ever had before.

He already knew her pert breasts would fit perfectly in his palms. Her nipples were soft pink and puckered, ready for him to suck. The thatch of red hair between her thighs was dark with moisture, and his cock swelled with undeniable need.

“Damn,” he sighed.

She knew the effect she had on him, and a siren’s smile formed on her lips. “Your turn.”

“My turn,” he agreed.

He bent and unlaced his hiking boots, pulling them and his socks off. He straightened, unbuttoned his jeans, and shoved them and his boxers down in one movement. His shirt came last, landing in a heap on the floor with the rest of his clothes.

Her gaze was glued to his cock, and he groaned when she licked her lips. He remembered exactly what it was like to have her mouth on his dick. So good. Everything with her was good. Even arguing was fun.

He moved over to the side of the bed and plucked a strawberry out of the bowl. He bit down, letting the juices burst over his tongue, and then chewed slowly. Her gaze locked on his lips and she swayed toward him. Her pupils expanded until only a thin ring of gold remained, and her breasts rose and fell in quick pants.

He held out the strawberry. “Want some?”

She nodded mutely and came toward him, her body a testimony to willowy grace. He lifted the fruit to her lips, and she took a bite, closing her eyes. He took shameless advantage and curved his hand over a bare breast. Her breath caught as he circled his thumb around the beaded tip. After setting the strawberry stem down, he swiped his fingers through the whipped cream, and dabbed it onto her nipple. Then he bent to lick and suck, her flavor mixing with the sugary sweetness.

Her hands clenched in his hair, her torso arching into him. She gasped, “More.”

Yes. More. That always seemed to be what he wanted when she was near.
More.
He graced the other breast with cream and repeated the process, scraping over her nipple with his teeth. She moaned, rising onto her tiptoes. He kept teasing the puckered nub, flicking it with his tongue.

“My turn.” She pushed at his shoulders until he eased away.

She picked up a strawberry, bit the end, and then smeared it over his nipple. The cool juices contrasted sharply with the heat pumping through his body.

She picked up the bowl and took it with her when she dropped onto the bed and settled on her back. “You know, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have someone drink champagne from my belly button. Fruit juice would work just as well. Want to try it?”

He could only nod, because his tongue had stuck to the roof of his mouth. Having her laid out like a buffet before him while she suggested carnal acts was enough to make his brain short-circuit.

They experimented with licking and sucking whipped cream and strawberry juice off various body parts, every second ratcheting the tension higher, making him throb with need. When he couldn’t take it anymore, he shoved the bowl back onto the nightstand, covered himself in a condom, and rolled on top of her.

“Finally.”
She clung to him, wrapping her arms and legs around him.

He laughed. “If you wanted me to get to the main event faster, that’s all you had to say.”

“I was having too much fun to stop. But now I want…” Her hips lifted in blatant offering and the shreds of his control snapped.

“Fuck, yes.” He slammed his cock deep in one swift plunge. Her sex closed around him, so sleek and tight he had to clench his teeth to keep from coming then and there. They’d spent enough time revving each other up that he knew it wouldn’t take long to shatter.

“Hurry, Gabe.” Her nails dug into his back, and she undulated beneath him. He gave her what she wanted, what they both wanted. He shoved into her again and again, their skin slapping together with the force of his thrusts.

She pressed upward, urging him on with gasps and moans. He moved with her, and the pace they set for each other was hot and fast and pushed them to the very edge of their endurance. Even then, she always kept up with him, always challenged him. A smile lit her face as she rocked her pelvis up to meet his plunges, her cheeks were flushed, and he could tell from the sounds she made exactly how close she was to orgasm.

A rough whimper broke from her throat. “I’m so…I need…”

“I know.” He reached between them and thumbed her clit. She groaned, long and loud, her inner muscles milking the length of his dick as she came. It was more than enough to make him explode. Come jetted from him, but he kept rocking into her, loving the feel of her pussy clamping down on his cock. It was a high like he’d never known before, better than any adrenaline rush he’d had.

He dropped his forehead into the valley of her cleavage, and she cupped the back of his skull. “That was damn good, Gabe.”

“You’re welcome.” He turned his head and kissed the smooth swell of one breast.

She laughed and lightly smacked his shoulder. “You’re crushing me. Move.”

They took turns taking showers, since they were sweaty, sticky and messy. She called the maids and had the sheets changed while he cleaned up, and he could only grin, knowing how the crew would harass him. Totally worth it.

After they collapsed bonelessly in bed, he folded his hands behind his head and let out a gusty sigh. Every single muscle in his body was relaxed, and an easy grin stretched his lips. Damn, he felt good. Every time with Anne seemed to get better, and he’d never have guessed that was possible. He couldn’t complain about that lovely quirk of fate.

She lay curled on her side, her backside snugged up against his hip. The soft sound of her breathing mingled with his, the only break in the mellow silence that filled the room.

“Are you awake?” he asked, pitching his voice low in case she wasn’t.

She made a snuffling little noise, but then her breathing settled into the slow, deep rhythm of sleep.

After turning to his side, he fitted his front to her back and curved his arm around her waist. Something sweet and tender expanded in his chest, but he just closed his eyes and let himself drift into a place that wasn’t quite alert, but wasn’t quite slumber either.

He jerked back to wakefulness when her cell phone blared out a ring. Anne groaned, reached over the side of the bed to grab her purse, and fumbled for the phone. When she looked at the screen, she groaned again, though this sound was deeper and more tortured.

“Nooooo.”

“What? What’s wrong?” Gabe frowned, concern spurting through him.

She sighed and sat up, tapping the screen. “Hi, Mom.”

He blinked. That wasn’t the sort of reaction he was used to when hearing someone speak to their parents, but he already knew Anne’s family was, at best,
complicated
. She scooted around to sit on the edge of the mattress, her shoulders hunched. Should he give her privacy and leave or should he stay and offer support? He didn’t know which she’d prefer, but he knew he didn’t want to leave her, so he froze in place and remained silent. From where he lay, he could only see one side of her face.

He couldn’t make out the words, but her mother was loud and clearly upset. After a few minutes, it became clear that her mom had plugged in one too many appliances and managed to trip the breaker to the living room and kitchen. The power was out, the lights were off, and Mommy Dearest was in a towering tizzy. Anne patiently walked her through how to get to the breaker box in the garage and flip the correct switch to set everything to rights.

Gabe was more than a little surprised that Anne’s mother seemed to have no clue what a breaker box did, let alone where it was located in her own house. He was flat out shocked when the volume on the other end grew louder after the crises had passed.

“No, Mom, I’m not coming home because you don’t know how to work a circuit breaker.”

What sounded like sobbing came through. Anne’s voice remained calm and composed. “No. You’re an adult and you need to handle things like this yourself. Or you can call one of your friends who live close by. You have other solutions besides having me there to do your bidding. And calling any of the girls isn’t an option either. They’re working out of town this summer.”

The crying stopped abruptly, which seemed pretty suspicious to Gabe, and whatever Mommy Dearest said was in a sharp, pissed off tone. Anne’s jaw flexed as if she was about to grind her teeth to powder, but she kept an even tone. “Dinah, you need to put on your big girl panties now. You have the lights back on. You’re fine. I am in the middle of nowhere on a cruise ship, and I won’t be near an airport until the day I’m scheduled to leave. There’s no way for me to come home early even if I wanted to, which I don’t.”