“Nah, I’m beat. I’ve been working all day. I just want to eat something and then turn in.”
“We’re still on for dinner Friday night at Ian’s place, right?” Dec asked. “I’ve got another job I’m working on for Ross. But that shouldn’t interfere.”
“Yeah, we’re still on.”
Dec clapped his hand on Marcus’s shoulder. “Enjoy your mangoes, baby brother.”
“I will,” Marcus said. He breathed a silent sigh of relief, then wondered why he felt relief at all. Since Eden had come aboard he’d been looking for a way to get rid of her, and now he’d just blown his chance. Instead of revealing her presence, he’d suddenly felt a need to protect her, to preserve her privacy—or was it their privacy now?
He needed more time, just a day or two to figure out this illogical attraction he had to her. Every time he drew a line in the sand, they seemed to step across it, yet Marcus wasn’t sure he wanted to go back. Not just yet.
He carefully loaded the groceries into the dinghy, then stepped down off the dock. The outboard sputtered to life and he steered the small boat toward Victorious. By the time he’d tied up, Eden had come out of the cabin and was standing on the stern, waiting for him.
She wore a gauzy white dress, the fabric so thin that light showed through it. It clung to her curves, fluttering in the evening breeze, and he imagined that she wore nothing beneath. It would be so simple to draw the dress up over her head and touch her at will.
God, she was beautiful, he mused as she smiled down at him from the deck. He handed her the groceries, and as her hand brushed against his, he realized that he’d missed her during the short time he’d been gone. The moment he’d stepped on shore, he’d wondered what she was doing and he was almost grateful to return to her presence. But had he missed her company or just the sexual electricity that constantly sparked between them?
“You look nice,” he said as he climbed on board.
“Thank you,” Eden replied. “Who was that on the dock?”
“No one important,” he murmured.
The sound of music drifted out of the cabin, and when Marcus stepped into the cockpit, he saw a table she’d set for dinner. Candles burned through colored glass, and crystal and silver glittered in the low light. “Wow,” he said. “Fancy.”
Marcus followed her into the cabin and Eden began to unpack the grocery bags. But he couldn’t wait any longer to touch her. He reached out and drew her into his arms, eager to taste her again. He cupped her cheek in his palm as his mouth lingered over hers, teasing at first and then delving deeper.
Eden responded immediately, her arms wrapping around his neck, her breasts soft against his chest. Her body fit perfectly against his. Marcus ran his hand along her hip and drew her leg up, pressing his hard shaft against the juncture of her thighs. He’d grown hard the moment he’d stepped on board, the moment he’d seen her in that sheer dress.
This was crazy. His attraction to her was out of control. Every touch, every kiss, had become another piece of the puzzle that he was trying desperately to solve. Why did he want her? What did it mean?
She melted against him as he kissed her, offering a silent invitation to take more. Marcus wanted to make love to her right now and get it over with, spend all his passion on one incredible coupling. But somehow he knew that once would never be enough. Her body fascinated him, every inch of silken skin, every tempting curve.
Eden’s fingers furrowed through his hair, pulling him more deeply into the kiss, and a moan slipped from his throat. Though he wanted to drag her into his cabin, Marcus was loath to move, afraid that he’d break the seductive spell that had enveloped them. He reached down for the hem of her dress and pulled it up, exposing her naked legs.
“Are you hungry?” she asked, her breath warm against his lips.
It wasn’t enough, his mind repeated over and over again. He wanted more. “Starved,” Marcus murmured.
Eden took his hand and slowly dragged it beneath her dress, along her torso, across her stomach and up to her breast. “Is this what you want?” she asked.
He ran his thumb across her nipple, drawing it to a hard peak. Eden tipped her head back and sighed as his mouth took the place of his thumb. The fabric from her dress was so thin it crumpled between his fingers, then fell back down, hiding her from his eyes, tantalizing him with glimpses of her naked body.
Marcus tried to recall a time when he’d felt so desperate to possess a woman. But his mind refused to focus. His senses were operating on overload, the scent of her perfume making him dizzy, the feel of her skin driving him mad, and the sound of her voice urging him on.
Eden trailed her fingertips along his chest to his belly and then dipped below the waistband of his shorts. The moment her hand brushed against his erection, Marcus’s breath caught in his throat. He reached for her wrist to stop her, certain that now was not the time to test his control. He was so close to the edge that it would be over in a heartbeat.
When she wrapped her fingers around him, cool and firm against his heat, Marcus knew it wasn’t over. The pleasure was about to begin. Slowly she began to stroke him, gently and softly at first. Each caress was a revelation, waves of pleasure racing through his body until every nerve was alive with need.
Marcus wanted to share the feeling with her, to have her experience all that he was enjoying. He slipped his hand between her legs and touched her, the damp of her desire coating his fingertips. She leaned back against the bulkhead for support, and he moved with her, bracing one hand next to her head, the other hand teasing at her clitoris.
The world spun around them, sucking them into a vortex of need. He couldn’t think, he could only feel, drowning in wave after wave of intense sensation. And as if she could read his body, Eden increased her pace. Marcus felt his knees go weak, and it took all his strength to remain upright.
He slipped a finger inside her, matching her movements, then drew away, teasing at the center of her desire. It was so simple, this encounter, pleasuring each other with their hands. It was a perfect antidote to the tension that had bubbled between them for the past few days.
Drawing her toward the sofa in the main salon, Marcus fought to maintain his self-control. He wanted to pull her down, trap her beneath his body and sink into her until she surrounded every inch of him. But instead he continued the seduction with his fingers.
In the end, they lasted as long as they could, and when Eden finally allowed herself to climax, Marcus wasn’t far behind. He felt her convulse around his fingers and then collapse against his body. A moment later he exploded in her hand.
Tangled in each other’s arms, Marcus pulled her close and pressed his face into the curve of her neck, letting the spasms that coursed through his body subside. There wasn’t any need to speak. There was no regret, no confusion over what they’d just shared. It seemed perfectly natural and right, and when those feelings arose again, Marcus knew that they would simply act upon them.
His promise to his brothers drifted through his mind, bringing with it a wave of guilt. But Marcus brushed it aside. This wasn’t just any woman he’d made love to. How could he possibly deny such a powerful physical attraction? He was just a man.
Eden sighed
