Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 128211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 641(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 641(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
I debated for all of two seconds before I was changing into my pajamas, brushing my teeth, checking my appearance in the dimly lit mirror of my cabin bathroom, and sneaking out as quietly as I could.
There were voices from the main salon followed by a loud burst of laughter and the distinct sound of glasses clinking. I tiptoed through the crew mess and up the stairs, peeking my head into the galley before I crossed through it and over to the stairs that led to the guest cabins.
My heart was racing the entire time, like I was some secret agent on a mission, and if one person caught sight of me, I was done with. But no one spotted me. I cringed a bit when I heard Eli ask Leah if I was coming into the hot tub, and when she answered that she wasn’t sure, he started singing out my name. Bernard eventually hushed him and warned not to wake Captain, and then their voices slurred together until they were snuffed out by the sliding glass doors closing behind them as they disappeared outside.
The silence their absence left the boat in made every step I took feel like I was a bowling ball crashing through glass.
The camera duo following me certainly didn’t help, and I wanted to tell them to fuck off, but knew I couldn’t. So I let them trail me all the way to the primary cabin, and then I knocked so softly I wasn’t sure I made any noise at all. I looked back over my shoulder with my ears thrumming, but I was alone, and the camera crew had paused at the end of the hallway, their lenses focused on me but giving space.
Finn opened the door, and then he snagged me by the wrist and pulled me inside. He shut the door before the camera crew could get more than a glimpse of us.
“Give me your mic.”
Finn was already yanking his from where it was wrapped around his midriff, and the sight of him dragging his shirt up to do so had me temporarily frozen before I snapped into action and followed suit.
“We’re not supposed to take them off.”
“I don’t fucking care.”
As soon as I had the mic cord free from where it had been snaked under my thin silk pajama top, Finn plucked the device from my hands. He tossed it onto the floor in the corner of the cabin along with his, the clattering of them loud enough to make me jump.
“They’ll still be able to hear us,” I pointed out. “Maybe not as clearly, but—”
“Come here.”
Finn hooked his finger under the waistband of my silk shorts and tugged until I was in his arms, until he could wrap me up and lower his mouth to mine. He let out a long, sated exhale the moment our lips touched, as if he’d been holding his breath since we broke apart outside the bar and could finally find relief now that I was here.
That thought had me melting into him, and I almost forgot about all the questions my brain had been screaming since I hopped into the cab. It felt so fucking good to just kiss him and be kissed that I almost didn’t care about anything else.
Almost.
“Finn.” I broke away just far enough to part our lips, my forehead against his, fingers still curling in the fabric of his shirt. “I want nothing more than to lose myself in you right now, but you… you’ve got to talk to me. You’ve got to tell me what the hell is going on because I’m… I’m going out of my mind trying to figure it out.”
I was panting between the words, my entire body trembling even as Finn’s hands fought to hold me steady. When I lifted my gaze to his, he looked wrecked by my admission, and he pressed a swift, sweet kiss to my lips before he dragged me over to the bed.
He sat, pulling me to sit next to him, but he didn’t allow even a centimeter of space between us. His thigh was against mine, his hands wrapping mine up and holding them tightly in my lap. He angled himself toward me, his eyes flicking between my own.
“I haven’t touched Gisella since the moment I saw you.”
Those were far from the first words I expected him to say.
“I’m serious. All the times she dragged me into your cabin to cuddle? I felt fucking sick, Em. She always wanted to do more but I refused. She’d try to come to mine in the middle of the night and I’d essentially play dead. I told her I didn’t want to be unprofessional or make anyone uncomfortable, but the truth is I couldn’t lie to her or to myself. I couldn’t hurt her like that. I couldn’t pretend.” He swallowed, his thumbs smoothing over my fingers where his hands were laced with mine. “If I took her to bed, I knew it would be you I’d be thinking of.”