Chapter 5

5

Erin finished her whiskey and set it to the side. She'd decided to grab herself a drink before heading out there, hoping it might help her feel better about what'd happened. Alcohol wouldn't fix her problems, but it would at least let her relax a little. The whiskey wasn't nearly as intoxicating as Jace.

He sat there next to her on the deck without a care in the world about ruining his crisp white uniform. He'd found her out there, and Erin didn't know if he'd been looking for her or if he'd just stumbled across her in his duties as he ran the ship. She wondered, but she also knew it didn't really matter. Fate had somehow put them together, and she wanted to soak up every second of it.

"How do you stand it? "

Jace had tipped his head back to look at the stars, but now he brought it down to look at her. "What?"

"Working around people like them? You told me before that I'm not like your typical guest, but you don't seem to be in the same category they are, either. I mean that in a good way," she added quickly.

He laughed. "I know. Honestly, it was never really about the passengers for me. I grew up on the coast in Truro. From the beginning, the water was a part of my life, and I knew I wanted to be out on it. I had a knack for driving our little jon boats, and my parents encouraged me. I decided to make a life out of it."

"And being on the water is enough to make up for these jerks?" Erin sneered.

"Not really, but like I said before, I don't usually do these kinds of trips anymore."

"You don't get the same kind of people on the day charters?" Erin had to admire the fact that he'd modified his career to take care of his son. That was a dedicated man. If Jace was close enough to his son that they could work together, he'd obviously done a few things right.

Jace shook his head. "Not at all, really. Tourists. Sure, a few of them have money, but it's a different scenario. Yachts like this are about looking flashy in front of your friends and enemies. The people who come see me now are looking for adventure. They want to know what it's like to be on a real sailboat, to experience the sea the way people did before we relied on motors. They want to see what kind of fish they can reel in or try to catch sight of a whale. They want to hold hands with their loved ones while they watch the sunset. Some of them even want to learn how to sail for themselves."

"That sounds beautiful." The way he described it made her want to get a ticket for a day.

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"What do you do for a living?" he asked. "For that matter, where do you live? You're here right now, but you've come for a wedding. You could be from anywhere."

"Just up in Salem," she replied. It wasn't all that far from the tip of the Cape, where he was from. The more she got to know him, though, the further away it seemed. Her body and soul yearned for him, reinforcing the connection she'd felt with him right away. Erin knew this was more than being attracted to a guy who was both pleasant to talk to and good-looking, but she wanted to explore it more. It was impossible to say how that could happen once this trip was over.

It wasn't the time to work out all the logistics of some future between them that might never happen. She returned to the question at hand. "I'm an herbalist."

Jace nodded. "I imagine that goes over well in a place like Salem."

He had no idea. Most people didn't. They came to Salem because they liked the history. There was a romantic notion about the persecuted witches and some hope that magic still lingered in the town. It did, but perhaps not in the ways they imagined. "I do all right. I enjoy helping people, and I think a lot of them benefit from a combination of traditional and modern medicines. Other folks just want a nice hot cup of tea to make them feel better, and I can give them that, too."

"You just have to make sure not to get any fur in it, right?" He jostled her shoulder with his own. His smile dazzled, even in the darkness.

She nudged him back. "I have at least a modicum of self-control."

"I'm not sure I do, sometimes. Especially lately." His voice had changed, growing deeper and more serious. When she looked up, she saw that his eyes had narrowed in on her lips.

Her chest fluttered. Her blood surged too quickly through her body, creating a pleasant dizziness that the alcohol could never achieve. Had they somehow managed to scoot closer together? There was only just enough distance between them that they weren't touching, but it wouldn't take much to change that.

"No?" she asked softly. "Are you saying that sometimes this boat is captained by a bear? That I might find some claw marks on the helm, or an open can of salmon in the galley?"

When he laughed this time, his breath brushed her cheek. "I won't say I've never shifted on a boat before, but my human form is much more useful."

"I'm sure." The boat was lifting to one side now. No, wait. It wasn't the boat at all. They were coming together, two shifters who'd been kept apart their entire lives but had finally found each other. Erin's breath had evaporated from her lungs, but she hardly found she needed it. "I bet it could be useful for a lot of things."

Their lips met, and the world stabilized beneath her as they leaned into each other. His kiss was warm and gentle, a subtle experiment at first. His hand cupped her jawline, his thumb grazing softly over her cheek as he explored her mouth. As his kisses grew in intensity, she parted her lips. The tip of his tongue slipped between them, and she angled her head a little further. Her fingertips brushed the short hair at the nape of his neck. Surges of electricity ran through her tongue as it touched and danced with his. Erin felt herself falling into him, encapsulated by his presence.

After a few minutes, Jace pulled back slightly. He pressed his forehead against hers as he caught his breath. "We could continue this conversation in my quarters," he suggested.

They'd somehow become entangled. Her leg was over his, and her arms were around his shoulders. Erin didn't want to be anywhere he wasn't. She needed him, and it was a need that went well beyond the physical. "Lead the way."

He stood and reached down, taking her hand. He pulled her behind him along the edge of the bow and back toward the center of the ship.

The deck flew quickly beneath her bare feet. Erin didn't need to reach out for the railing or ask for the lights to be turned on. She let him be her guide and flew along behind him like a cloud as they made their way below deck. This time, she could ignore the maze of lookalike doors and trust him to open the right one.

They slipped through a door, and she heard it shut behind her. They were enveloped in darkness until Jace reached over and turned on a small lamp, illuminating a room that wasn't too dissimilar from the one she shared with Florence. There was only one bed in there, though, and it was much bigger.

Jace still had a hold of her hand, and he used that to pull her back toward him. His lips met hers once again, hot and demanding as they explored her mouth. His big hands came around behind her, pressing against her lower back.

Erin moaned, the sound echoing in his mouth as she felt the length of his body against hers. She already knew he was in shape. That much was easy to tell by the way his uniform fit. But it was much more exciting to feel it, even through their clothes. His arms were strong around her, seeming capable of anything. She thrilled at the way her breasts compressed against his chest and the feeling of those hard abs against her soft belly. Even more hardness awaited her just below, a very physical statement of just what he had in mind by bringing her there. Jace was a gorgeous, virile male, and her bobcat was having a field day with it .

He broke free of their kiss and turned to the side to yank the covers back from the bed. He kept one hand on her hip as he did so, not wanting to let go. "This isn't the kind of thing I do," he said gruffly as he returned his attentions to her. Now, his kisses were gentler, tracing down the side of her neck.

Tipping her head back, Erin closed her eyes and let herself focus on the way his lips felt against her skin. She was used to being in tune with her body as a shifter and a witch, but Jace was bringing out a whole new side of her, a part she couldn't wait to explore further. She raked her fingers through the hair on the back of his neck, where it was short, prickly, and intoxicating. This wasn't the kind of thing she did, either, but it was different with Jace. Everything was. "I can't say I've made a habit of it, myself."

"I want you to be comfortable with all this." His voice had dropped, a growl just above a whisper. He lifted the back of her shirt, his fingers now grazing against the bare skin of her back. They roamed upward and spread out between her shoulder blades. That awful bridesmaid's dress wasn't something she'd been able to wear a bra with, and now Erin was glad she hadn't bothered to put one on when she'd changed out of it. Anything that put distance between herself and Jace was a nuisance.

"Oh, I am." Her back muscles had been knotting up ever since she'd arrived on this ship, but they loosened at his touch. Yes, she was comfortable as she stood there with a man who managed to be sweet and gentle even as he took control of her body with the touch of his hand and the stroke of his tongue.

Jace lifted her shirt over her head and tossed it aside. He groaned when he saw her bare breasts in the lamplight, and he bent his head to follow the curve of them with his mouth. His tongue dipped down into her cleavage and then circled around her nipple.

Erin felt a tug deep inside her as he pulled her into his mouth. She was only half naked, and already he had her gasping for breath. Her stomach trembled as he made his way further down, dropping kisses along her sternum, then to her navel, then to the curve of her hip bone. His lips were deliberate as they pressed against her flesh. Jace curled his fingers into her waistband and stripped away her pajama bottoms. Her panties, already wet with her desire for him, went next .

The boat reeled under her feet, but it was no sudden wave. Jace had laid her on the bed with one swift motion of those strong arms she'd been admiring, and picked up right where he'd left off. He moved lower this time, bringing those tortuous kisses down between her legs. His tongue flicked expertly at her most sensitive spot, stroking her core as his hands glided along the insides of her thighs.

Dizzy with excitement and pleasure, Erin threw her arms over her head. She'd never felt more alive or powerful than in this moment. Her lower abdomen quivered as Jace brought his hands up the outsides of her legs, over her hips, and down between her thighs to start all over again. She felt the first tremblings of what was to come, her inner muscles tightening, and an anguished moan escaped her throat.

This only encouraged Jace. His hands slipped under her and cupped her backside, gripping her hard against his mouth as he sucked and licked her into a frenzy.

Erin clenched her teeth as the tension ratcheted up inside her. She cried out as it overtook her completely, making stars shoot across her vision as she reached the height of satisfaction, twisting and writhing and losing all control .

Her mood became frantic when Jace lifted himself from between her legs. She clawed at the buttons of his shirt, irritated at the damn things for keeping her from what she wanted. He helped with his belt, though his fingers shook just as much as hers as he stripped his clothes away. His cock was hard and ready for her, and she contracted inside all over again with her need for it. Erin pressed her legs against the backs of his, guiding him down on top of her.

He braced himself against her entrance before slowly sliding inside her, eased by the wetness he'd already created. He bolted forward, giving her that last inch, and let out a deep growl. He remained there for a moment, his length throbbing inside her, before beginning to hungrily thrust his hips.

Erin wrapped her arms around him, enraptured by the feel of his naked body against hers. Mine, mine, mine, her bobcat insisted. She moved against him, their bodies in rhythm, sliding and gliding in perfect ecstasy.

His breath grew rough, and he expanded inside her. Erin felt her own body responding once again, tightening against him, each of them pushing and pulling. She shook and convulsed, even the muscles in her legs spasming wildly, and brought him the rest of the way. He gritted his teeth, his groans coming through as he thrust harder against her, taking everything he needed while giving her so much.