Page 12 of Not that Sea-Rious

Beau

T here was a difference between a woman whimpering and crying in pleasure and one who was overstimulated. It was a fine line to walk. If Beau hadn’t paid attention, he would’ve missed it, but he discovered Marissa’s limit and showed mercy.

With prune-y fingers and a drenched face, he relented and guided her from her perch atop his face to the soft pillow of the bed beside him.

Huffing, she couldn’t keep her eyes open. Her beautiful and bountiful chest heaved as she lay on her back, twitching in orgasmic aftershocks. Sweat beaded at her hairline. Her entire body was flushed. He’d never been prouder of his work than at that moment.

The woman positively glowed.

With the stiffest of erections, he lay on his side and stroked her hair while ignoring his body. It would go down in time.

“Do you need water?” he asked.

Without waiting for an answer, he rolled over and reached for the large plastic bottle on the end table. Disregarding the tag warning the price, he tugged it off and cracked the lid. Returning to Marissa’s side, he presented it to her.

“Drink,” he prompted.

Propping herself up on her elbows, she leaned in and accepted the bottle to her lips. He tilted it up carefully, so as not to drown her, and spilled water into her mouth.

After he pulled it away, she dropped to the bed and swallowed. “Thank you,” she said breathlessly.

Grinning, he sat back.

“Anytime.” He took a swig himself.

After he returned the water to the nightstand and flicked the switch to turn off the lights in his cabin, he lay on his back and snaked his arm beneath her neck.

He urged her closer to him and sighed contently when her head landed on his chest. Combing his fingers through her hair, he closed his eyes while listening to the sounds of her breathing slowing and returning to normal.

The peace he felt in that moment was delightfully unexpected.

When he boarded the ship full of piss and vinegar, he never thought he’d be in bed with a stunning woman by the end of the night.

At thirty-five, he was delighted he could still be spontaneous.

Maybe this trip wouldn’t be so bad after all. It might be just what he needed.

Beau couldn’t be sure who went first, but he was willing to bet the two of them fell asleep at the same time, and nothing could have concluded the night more perfectly than to have Marissa snuggled up against him and the taste of her lingering on his lips.

Marissa

Marissa groaned as her bladder screamed for release. Her body ached as though she’d run a marathon. Her thighs were sore, her throat was scratchy and dry, and most of all, she needed to pee.

Slipping out from the weight of Beau’s arm, she did her best not to wake him. Though, the rumbly snores coming from him had to mean he was dead to the world. Thankfully, he didn’t so much as stir as she slid out of the bed.

In the darkness, she stumbled toward the bathroom, collecting her clothes along the way. Once inside, she squinted when she flicked on the far too bright light. After relieving herself, she washed her hands and dressed.

The room wasn’t exactly cold, but being naked gave her a slight chill.

Under the blankets, against the furnace of a man, had been quite comfortable, but she needed to go.

She and Beau had their night of fun, and if she snuck back into the captain’s suite with her friends before they roused, she might get away with not being questioned too severely about it.

She scoffed at herself as she carefully opened the heavy door to the room. Who was she kidding? When her friends woke up, they would definitely give her the third degree. They’d want every dirty detail.

Carefully, she stuck her card in the slot, waited for the whirring of the lock, and then as slow as she could, she turned the knob and pushed the door open. On her tiptoes, she crept into the room, hoping she had roused no one.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Joyce sang cheerfully.

“See, I told you she’d eventually show up,” Tina said.

“We were about to call the ship police and report you missing,” Carolyn said.

Their teasing tones were hard to miss.

“What time is it?” Marissa asked as she went farther into the enormous suite.

With the shades drawn in Beau’s cabin and there not being a clock in sight, she hadn’t a clue if a new day had started or if it was still yesterday.

Obviously, it was tomorrow. Her friends weren’t morning people.

Judging by the women seated around the low table holding coffee mugs in their hands, the day was well underway.

“Seven fifteen,” Tina answered.

What the hell? Why were they even awake? They were on vacation. Sleeping in was a requirement when on vacation. The only way they should see seven anything in the morning was if they pulled an all-nighter.

“We wanted to get up early so we could grab breakfast out by the pool and get prime seating,” Joyce explained.

Well, there went Marissa’s hopes to catch a few more hours of sleep.

Placing her cup on the table, Carolyn leaned forward. “You have to tell us about it.”

It? Oh dear God. She flopped onto the couch beside Carolyn.

“There isn’t much to say.” Marissa attempted to skirt the question as she reached for the lone empty mug and the coffee carafe. Caffeine would be the only way she’d make it through the day. That, and a nap. She definitely needed to get more rest.

“Don’t lie to us,” Tina said flatly. “You’re doing the walk of shame.” She gestured to Marissa’s wrinkled outfit from the day before. “Give it up. We’re not judging.”

“Yeah,” Joyce chimed in. “Remind us old married ladies what it’s like to have a wild night with a sexy stranger.”

“Who are you calling old ?” Carolyn snapped.

Joyce flittered away the bride-to-be’s mock outrage with a flick of her wrist.

After pouring her coffee, Marissa added cream and sugar. She fell back onto the petite couch with a groan. What she wouldn’t give for her massage to be scheduled for that morning.

All her friends’ eyes were on her as she brought the mug to her lips and took a sip. She purposely kept her gaze lowered and her mouth shut as she enjoyed the first hints of caffeine in the early morning. They couldn’t really expect her to be coherent before her coffee.

“Seriously?” Carolyn whined. “You’re going to deny the bride’s request during her bachelorette party?”

Marissa rolled her eyes. “Fine. We got my card replaced,” she said and showed her new room key. “Then we went around the boat drinking a bit and talking a lot. He’s from Florida, owns his own business as a consultant, and is traveling alone—”

“Nothing shady about that at all,” Tina muttered with her mug to her lips.

“Shh!” Joyce hissed.

“Get to the good stuff,” Carolyn implored.

“Let us live vicariously through your vacation fling.” Joyce all but swooned.

Marissa snorted a laugh. “I don’t know if I would call it a fling .”

“A few hours does not a fling make,” Tina added, and Marissa nodded in agreement.

“Leave me to my dreams,” Joyce chirped.

“You’ve read too many romance novels,” Carolyn said through a snicker.

“Well, Tina has a point.” Marissa gestured in Tina’s direction.

“A one-night occasion is hardly anything.” Her cheeks warmed, leaving her no doubt they were pink, as she prepared to share the rest. “But it isn’t even that juicy.

” She was such a liar, but she downplayed it because it was the ladylike thing to do.

“We couldn’t even…” She paused, trying to find the right word.

“Bone?” Carolyn offered.

“Doink?” Tina suggested.

“Fuck?” Joyce asked.

Everyone turned their focus to the toddler’s mom, who had just dropped the f-bomb, with their mouths hanging open. Blinking, Marissa couldn’t help but laugh. Of all the people who used foul language, it was the preschool teacher.

Joyce waved her hand in a slapping motion at her friends. “Stop. Let her tell us all the sweet and sappy details! They didn’t get to the horizontal mambo because they were too busy staring into each other’s eyes and confessing their deepest hopes and dreams to each other as the sun came up.”

Tina stared at her. “Seriously. Have you met a man in real life?”

“Wait,” Carolyn interrupted. “Is that really what happened?”

Marissa shook her head. “No. Not exactly. I mean, we spent a lot of time talking but nothing that deep. Just ‘get to know you’ stuff. He’s hilarious.”

She couldn’t help but smile, recalling some of his dopey drunk jokes, and took another sip of her coffee.

“Aww. Look at her.” Joyce grinned. “She’s falling in love.”

“Love?” Marissa sputtered, nearly spitting out the hot beverage. “I wouldn’t say that.” She wiped the bottom of her chin with the back of her hand to catch any drips.

Carolyn shifted her position on the bed. “So, really. You just walked around the ship and chatted all night? Nothing else ?”

“Well…” Marissa chewed on her bottom lip.

Joyce pointed. “She’s blushing! They did bang.”

Marissa’s cheeks warmed more, and she was sure she was a tomato at this point. The words fell from her lips before she could think about them. “No, we didn’t! We couldn’t. Neither of us had a condom.”

“Oh,” her three friends said in unison.

“Well, that’s an easy fix,” Carolyn offered.

“I’m sure the shop on the ship has them,” Tina suggested. “We can check when we head to the pool.”

Shaking her head, Marissa put her coffee down. She had enough of this conversation. “I’ll probably never see him again. I don’t think that will be necessary.”

“You’re on the same ship with him for four days,” Carolyn reminded. “I’m pretty sure the two of you would have to go out of your way to not bump into each other.”

With a sigh, Marissa got to her feet. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Time with Beau had been quite enjoyable. Not that she didn’t want to see him again, she just wasn’t sure if it was a great idea. What would be the point?

Orgasms. He could deliver those alright, but just because he had been generous one night didn’t mean he would be again.

Good sex. Maybe?

Well, that wasn’t necessarily true. Just because he had a talented tongue and fingers didn’t mean he could screw worth a damn.

For all she knew, he excelled with foreplay because he sucked in bed.

Really, another dalliance would be setting herself up for disappointment.

In her experience, men were either stallions in the sack or excellent in the warmup. Never both.

With a quick nod, she decided that was the reason, which meant there was no further need to see Beau again. “I’m going to head into the bathroom and get ready for the pool. I thought we wanted good seats.”

Checking her phone, Tina nodded in agreement. “Right, we are twenty minutes behind schedule.”

Carolyn groaned. “We don’t need a schedule . We’re on vacation.”

“Fine, we have twenty minutes less daylight by the pool,” Tina corrected.

“We better move our asses or we’re going to be stuck in the shady spots. I want to come home from this trip with a beautiful tan,” Joyce said as she stood and headed toward where she kept her clothes.

Finally, Marissa got her friends back on track. This trip was about Carolyn, not Marissa. Ducking into the bathroom, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and gasped. Her hair was a rat’s nest, and her shirt was on inside out.

If she didn’t embody the walk of shame, she didn’t know what would. Laughing at herself as she splashed water on her face, she decided her night with Beau would be a memory she would look back upon fondly in her old age.