Chapter Sixteen

Emma

"W e're going boating?" I stared at the cabin cruiser Rhyse had led me to after picking me up from the store. The purchases were all still in the bag I held, along with a broad straw-brimmed hat that now adorned my head.

The sun was warm, and I was pale. Protection seemed necessary. Besides, I looked cute in it, and after two days of wearing his outfits, it was necessary.

"Yes."

"So much for suntanning and margaritas on the beach while you cool me with palm leaves and feed me grapes."

"What?" Rhyse gaped at me.

"Nothing," I shook my head. "You're brave, though, bringing me back here and letting me walk on my own two feet. The last time I was on the docks, it didn't go so well."

He snorted. "This time, you aren't trying to run away from me. Are you?"

I looked down at the fresh new thong sandals, airy black athletic shorts, and white tank top I wore, all courtesy of his account at Janos' shop. "No, I guess not. I owe you this one."

"Good. Then get on board. Oh, and Emma?"

"Yes?"

" Climb down onto the boat, please. Don't fall onto it. I put the harpoons away, but … it's still not a soft surface."

I gave him the finger. He laughed as I carefully got aboard the mini-yacht. It had to be thirty-five or forty feet long, all told. There was a below-deck area, but it had a low ceiling and was not overly spacious. Certainly not like any of the pleasure yachts I'd seen on social media over the years.

But it wasn't tiny either.

"Is this yours?"

He laughed. "What use does a dragon like me have for a boat? No, I borrowed this for the day for us to use."

I smiled. He was thinking of me.

"I still want that margarita, by the way."

"No drinks on board. But I'll go slow, and you can tan yourself upon the bow if you'd like," he said. "Does that work?"

"What girl doesn't enjoy the prospect of tanning on a nice boat in the ocean?"

I went below to change. While down there, I pulled both swimsuits from my bag.

Choices. Choices.

Or was there? If I was going to be suntanning …

It was a copout to choose the one I wanted, and I knew it. But at the moment, I just didn't care.

Nor could I have come up with an answer about why I wanted to wear it anyway. Was it some sort of reverse psychology? Because he didn't like me, I wanted to change his mind?

There was also his reaction when I'd simply mentioned being in a bikini. Talk about confusing.

I made my choice then and got dressed, ignoring things like logic and just going with what I thought I wanted. While I was putting my suit on, I felt the engine fire up, and then we slowly got underway, cruising away from the dock very sedately just as Rhyse had said.

"Everything okay down there?" Rhyse called as I checked myself out in a mirror, making sure everything was—

No, that was a lie. I knew the straps were done up, the girls were in place. I was looking at myself, trying to figure out what Rhyse would think.

Why do you care? He's been nothing but a jerk to you!

Except for those few times he hadn't …

Annoyed at myself, but also knowing I wasn't going to take it off, I spun away from the mirror with a huff and took the stairs back to the main deck.

"Oh, wow," Rhyse muttered from where he stood beside the steering wheel, one hand lazily guiding the boat direction.

There was a flicker. That was the only warning. A spark shooting through our bond. A second later, the fires lit within him, pouring into me like superheated melted being cast. The heat was the same, billowing clouds of it that infused my blood, pumping it through my body faster and faster.

Rhyse's eyes traveled along my body, lingering at my breasts before continuing to my waist and legs. His chest rose and fell. At some point, he'd gotten rid of his shirt. His pecs tightened sharply as his stomach went taut.

I watched each muscle move, admiring the entire show, even as he stared at my breasts and body. A quick glance showed my nipples were rock solid, poking through the fabric, on full display for his greedy gaze.

"I can feel you," I whispered as blood swelled every organ, including the one between my legs, igniting an urge to be touched that had been dormant since I'd awoken on the beach that first time.

"I know," Rhyse rumbled, not caring. "I—"

The boat hit a wave, and I stumbled.

His arm snaked around me, pulling me in tight. My breasts pressed up against him, and his abs tensed under my touch as I put one hand up to stop myself from hitting him.

Neither of us moved. A barrier of some sort had been breached. The veil of personal space fell away in that instant, leaving us both vulnerable.

The boat rocked with another wave, and I swayed away from him.

Just like that, the spell was broken.

Breathing heavily, unsure of what the fuck had just happened, I slowly extricated myself from his arms before anything else could happen.

Why? Would that be a bad thing?

I pushed those thoughts down, trying to reassert control, even as I ached to feel him touch me. To do more than put an arm around me. The chairs looked perfect height for me to bend over while his hands gripped my waist and—

Enough!

"You okay? Got your balance?" Rhyse asked, one hand still extended toward me, gentle and protective.

"Yes, I'm good, thank you," I said with a half-smile. It felt nice to be looked after like that. It was so different.

That thought struck a discordant thought. Different? Different compared to who?

I couldn't come up with an answer, but it still rang true, nonetheless.

There was a long silence as Rhyse guided us out of the harbor and onto the smooth open seas, where the waves barely rocked the boat. At one point, I got settled on the bow, just as he'd said.

No palm trees appeared, and my hand was devastatingly empty of margaritas the entire time, but I managed, somehow.

Rhyse did, too. I could feel it every time his eyes landed on me. He tried to keep it to himself, but there was no escaping it. Not with the link. Not with the intensity of what we'd shared earlier.

It didn't take long for me to begin to look forward to those little blasts of heat, the surefire signs of his arousal. I wanted to know he was looking at me. Admiring me. Thinking of me.

"When are you going to tell me where we're really going?" I asked, flipping onto my back, not bothering to adjust the suit as my ass swallowed up a bit more of it than was necessary.

Sure enough, fresh heat blasted my mind a second later.

"We're going to look at something," he said.

"That's … it? Just to look at something way out here? What is there to see? It's just waves."

At that moment, the engine cut out. A second later, wicked delight reached my mind.

"Who said anything about it being on top of the water?" Rhyse chuckled as the loud sound of the anchor and chain splashing into the water reached me. I sat up, looking around. There was nothing but ocean around us.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

Then I realized Rhyse wasn't there.

"Rhyse?" I got up quickly, looking around frantically. I could feel him. He was here, but—

A moment later, he popped up in the water next to the boat. "Sorry. Was making sure the chain reached the bottom and the anchor was snug."

"Oh." I looked around. "We're going swimming?"

"I did tell you to buy a swimsuit." He laughed at my glare. "Come on, let's go. I actually think you'll enjoy this."

Again, the truth filtered through. He believed that.

"What about sharks?" I asked nervously.

Rhyse grinned and then disappeared beneath the ocean.

I waited for him to reappear.

Thirty feet away, a dragon head breached the surface, its brilliant blue scales matching the water so perfectly I didn't see it coming until the last second.

"Rhyse!" I screamed, backpedaling away.

"I don't have any particular reason to be afraid of sharks."

I froze as the dragon spoke. The tones were deeper, a little more musical in nature. Yet utterly familiar.

" Rhyse ?" I gaped, only just then realizing I'd never seen him in his dragon form.

Why was that? Had he done it for my sake because he knew I wasn't the most comfortable around dragons? Or had there been another reason?

"The one and only," the dragon said. "Now, are you coming?"

"You know how I feel about dragons," I said.

"Emma. It's me. Rhyse." The dragon looked down its snout at me. "I'm not going to harm you. Besides, this will be fun."

I wasn't sure if it was my trust in Rhyse or the confidence with which he'd said I would have fun, but between the two, they managed to get me into the water with him.

"And what is it you expect me to do now?" I asked.

Rhyse leveled one yellow eye at me as I treaded water.

"Ride me."