Page 40 of Eat Your Heart Out

20

Gerard

Her kiss set off a storm inside me that had nothing to do with the approaching tempest outside the ship. Ali’s body was warm, inviting, and I wanted nothing else than to claim her as mine.

However, as the kiss ended, I needed to know if I was truly what she wanted. I kissed her forehead. “If you don’t want to be alone, we can stay in my room, or yours, and wait out the storm together.”

She motioned toward my door, but then her lips curved higher. “And if I can’t… will you at least send me back home if you send me away?”

I had half opened the door but froze. I swallowed hard then shook my head. “That’s not going to happen. If you want to quit and leave, I’ll buy you a ticket to wherever you want to go.”

She pushed open my door with her hip, and her hands brushed against my chest. “Be careful with me.”

I needed to know if all we could ever be was friends. I wanted her, but I was also willing to wait and try later. My heart rate increased. “We can just sleep. We don’t have to rush, if you’re jacked up on adrenaline.”

She stepped into my room. I followed and let the door close behind me.

“Well, I won’t lie. The hurricane has me scared,” she said.

I took a deep breath. Relationships weren’t momentary. I brushed her arm with my fingers. “We’re not going anywhere near the eye. We’re scooting around the edge. It’s fast-moving but not coming toward us.”

She hugged me, and her nearness made my body get hotter.

“I’ve seen movies where people get lost at sea on cruise ships,” she said.

I held her tight to comfort her. “Me too, but that’s not us, okay?”

She gazed up at me and sucked in her bottom lip. I waited for what she would say next, but then she backed up and tugged me forward. “Well, I’d rather spend the rest of the day finding out if the pleasure you gave me earlier means I’m able to… fully enjoy myself.”

In the pool, she’d feared not being able to have sex.

I sat on the edge of the bed. “I’m not your ex. We can go slow or stop entirely and read books in silence if need-be.”

She cupped my face. “Your patience with me is a good quality, Dreamboat.”

A laugh escaped me. “You’re funny.”

Her cheeks blushed as she asked, “So, can we find out?”

Yes, and if she at any point said no, we would stop. I was willing to try. “You’re sure I’m what you want?”

She wiped her eyes and traced my shoulders and arms. “Are you kidding? Have you seen yourself in a mirror?”

“Okay.” I kissed her.

If she wanted me, I was hers, but it wasn’t going to be fast. We would go slow, and I would show her that I wanted to make love to her.