However, if Jessie insisted on being impressed.
“You should see me with my shirt off,” he countered, winking.
She raised an eyebrow.
He laughed and checked his instruments. They’d cleared the bridge. Though night was falling, he planned to remain on engine power for a while, then open up the sails for a quick run before they anchored for the evening. He could, of course, sail through the darkness, sleeping only in short intervals to arrive in Key West more quickly, but if he was going to lose Z’s, he’d do it for better reasons than a faster trip.
She cleared her throat.
“What?” he asked.
“You said I should see you with your shirt off. I’m waiting.”
“I was teasing.”
She leaned forward and he could see her cleavage glistening from the humid warmth of the night. “So keep teasing. I can take it. Can you?”
He narrowed his eyes, but despite the darkening skies, he could see that she wasn’t kidding. Maybe she’d figured out his plan to seduce her and thought turning the tables might keep him from pushing her too far. Well, she was mistaken. He secured the wheel and tore his shirt over his head, then tossed it below.
He speared her with a challenging stare.
She whistled appreciatively.
“You didn’t exaggerate,” she said.
“I didn’t need to.”
“You never did lack self-confidence.”
He chuckled. “You mean I’m an arrogant bastard.”
“It’s part of your charm.”
“Too big of a part,” he murmured. Maybe if he hadn’t had such a superior big head, he might have realized that Jessie wasn’t going to forgive him for slamming some chick when he and Jessie were supposed to have been in love.
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said, standing and winding her way behind him. “I kind of always loved your big parts.”
JESSIE COULD RESIST no longer. She’d tried to play it hot and cool at the same time, but the only result was a cruel and torturous tingle in places she’d forgotten existed. The lace of the thong she wore underneath her micro-mini chafed against her labia, which had swollen with undeniable want. Her fingers itched to feel Leo’s skin against hers again, so without stopping herself, she spread her hands around Leo’s waist and smoothed her palms against his bare belly.
“Jessie.”
His voice was ragged and deep, full of both warning and surprise and surrender.
“Muscles like these can’t be appreciated just by sight,” she said, sidling closer. “They need to be experienced firsthand.”
She pressed her breasts against his back. Her nipples instantly hardened at the contact, even through her shirt and bra. She slid her hands up his rock-hard abs to his protruding pecs, gasping when her palms razed through his chest hair. “You didn’t used to be this solid.”
Despite the sound of the wind and the waves, she heard him swallow thickly.
“You would know.”
“Yeah, I would,” she agreed, her hands drifting down so that her thumbs flicked over his rough male nipples. “I knew your body better than I knew my own. You have a scar …” She paused while she did a tactile search for the puckered skin just slightly below his waist on the right-hand side. “Yeah, there it is.”
His jeans were slung low on his hips, but to reach any farther, she’d have to unbuckle and unzip. So she did.
“Jessie,” he said with a gasp.
“Shh,” she insisted.
She didn’t need him to hesitate. She was operating on pure adrenaline and desire, with no thoughts or rationales to stop her from touching him again. The lights from the nearby beach were shining, but the glare hardly reached them. No other boats were in the immediate area. For all intents and purposes, they were alone.
She’d embarked on this adventure in order to erase the memories of her long-ago doomed affair with Leo. He had haunted every single relationship she’d had since him. No man was quite like Leo; no lover ever made her quite as hot. She’d fallen asleep too many nights imagining what might have been if some stalker girl hadn’t snuggled into his bed.
Now the games were over. She could put the question to rest, once and for all. What if she and Leo hooked up again?
The answer was obvious—they’d make love.
With a quick snap and a rasp of a zipper that rent the air like a gunshot, she had access to him in ways she hadn’t for over a decade.
He was hard beneath her hand and the minute she ran a finger over the tip of his head, her sex clenched with need. Oh, to feel him inside her again. Her body wept with anticipation. But for now, she just wanted to feel him. Make him mad with wanting.
“Jessie, you shouldn’t—”
“Shouldn’t what?” she asked, tugging down his jeans and boxers enough to give her room to work. “You’ve wanted me since the moment you saw me tonight. We’re out here alone. No one to answer to. What did you used to say? There was no room for regrets on a cramped boat in the middle of the sea?”
He groaned. Maybe he remembered how he’d waxed philosophically back in the day and maybe he didn’t. But she couldn’t forget. No matter how hard she’d tried, even his words wouldn’t go away.
She rubbed her breasts against him, invigorated by the sensation of her body against his.
“Do you know what I’m wearing underneath this skirt, Leo? Black panties. Lace. Remember the crotchless ones you gave me back in college? From Frederick’s of Hollywood? We didn’t make it out of the mall parking lot before you’d ripped them off.”
His cock grew beneath her touch. He was so thick and hard and round. Her mouth dried. Salt from the breeze coated her lips and when she licked them, she wondered if his skin would have the same tangy flavor. Oh, she wanted to take him into her mouth, but she couldn’t go too far, too fast. They had an entire trip to Key West to indulge in sensual delights they’d denied themselves for far too long. Instead of surrendering, she tightened her fingers and increased her tempo. She kissed his back and dipped her other hand lower to caress his balls.
“Yeah,” he gasped. “I remember. I remember I had to rip them off you to taste you. The slit wasn’t big enough for what I liked to do to you with my tongue. Licking you from stem to stern. Toggling your clit with my teeth until you—”
If she hadn’t been leaning full against him, she might have stumbled. His words had conjured an instant response, and sweet fluid trickled on her inner thigh. She tugged harder and faster on his erection until he was the one exploding with hot moisture. He sagged forward, his arms hooked over the wheel. He kept them on course with his weight while Jessie stepped back, both shocked and exhilarated by what she’d done.
And yet, before he could say anything, she dashed down below deck and found the head. She locked herself in the surprisingly tiny room, which triggered a dim, gold light. Her image in a mirror above the sink gave her a start. Even in the half light, she couldn’t mistake what she saw in her eyes.
Arousal. Need. A rush she had not experienced in far too long.
She turned on the faucet, washed her hands and then splashed her neck with fresh water. The icy drops trickled down her shirt, making the stiffness of her nipples more arduous to endure. Oh, to have his tongue on her again. Inside her again.
His knock made her jump.
“Jessie?”
“I’m