Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
“Oh,” she said looking over his shoulder. Sail had a fairly good idea she watched the helm move back and forth on its own.
“I would never allow anything to happen to you, Galvin. Ever.”
“I know. I’m just nervous.” She reached up and touched the seasickness patch he’d placed there earlier. The last thing he wanted was for her to get sick and then never want to come out with him again. He needed this to be a positive, happy, and romantic experience for her.
“Want to try something with me?” he asked.
“Depends. Will it involve me getting wet?”
He laughed. “Not unless you want it to.” Sail winked, hoping to send the right message.
She tilted her head and blushed. “What do you have in mind?”
“Come with me to the helm. I’ll show you how to steer.”
Her eyes widened. “Steer? Me?”
“Yeah. Why not? I’ll be right there with you. It’s not as hard as you think. And you might even like it.”
She bit her lower lip and glanced out at the open water. This was the place he loved but he imagined what it might look like for someone who wasn’t as familiar with the ocean as he was. The waves seemed vast and unknowable, temperamental and always shifting, and never the same size.
But then she looked back at Sail, and he saw something shift in her eyes. The fear was gone, replaced with determination.
“All right,” she said, her voice steadier now. “Let’s do it.”
Sail kissed her hard, smiling against her mouth. It was a small step, but one she’d take with him. He took her hand and led her to the helm. The wheel loomed before them, large and imposing, and her grip on his hand tightened.
Sail guided her to the helm and placed her hands on the metal. “Feel it,” he said as he stood behind her. “Let the helm tell you what it’s doing. Right now, the navigation is guiding us.”
“It feels so strong.”
“It’s easy, believe me.”
“Let up a little,” he said as he rubbed her knuckles. They were white again, her hold a bit too tight.
“Like this?”
Sail turned off the navigation and moved the helm under her hands. “Good,” he murmured, standing close behind her. His arms came around her, his hands covering hers. “You’re not fighting it. Just guiding.”
Her back was warm against his chest, and he breathed her in. Between her perfume and the sea salt air, he was in heaven and seriously considered turning the navigation back on and seeing if Galvin wanted her sea legs—his now perverted version of the mile high club—and something he’d never done with anyone before.
Galvin shifted, making the growing issue in his shorts a slightly bigger problem. “Stop moving,” he warned. “Or I’m going to fuck you right here and make you keep us on course.”
“Sail,” her voice barely made it over the sound of the ocean.
“What we’re going to do first,” he said as he pointed. “Do you see that opening? Where it looks like nothing exists?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s where we’re headed. Keep her pointed there. I’ll adjust the sails if needed.”
“What if I mess up?”
“You won’t,” he assured her. “But if you do, I’m right here.”
“What’s there anyway?”
“The ocean.”
Galvin stared from him to the vast space in front of her. “Then what’s this?”
“The bay.”
She pointed. “Sharks!”
Sail smirked. “Too cold for that right now.”
“But they do exist here?”
He shrugged. “Anything’s possible if they’re hungry enough.” He wouldn’t tell her the truth. It wouldn’t serve him well at the moment. “But this isn’t the right season. Like I said, the water is too cold right now.”
She inhaled slowly and nodded. He stepped back just a little, giving her space, but his presence was a solid wall behind her.
Steady.
Unwavering.
She turned the wheel slightly to the left, and the boat respond to her command, the bow slicing through the waves.
“I’m doing it,” she whispered.
“Yeah,” Sail said, his voice tinged with pride. “You are.”
They sailed like that for a while, the silence between them comfortable, filled only with the sounds of the sea. The sun climbed higher, warming their skin. Galvin’s shoulders relaxed by degrees until she no longer looked like she was bracing for disaster. Her smile widened, genuine now, radiant.
Sail leaned against the rail, watching her, his heart swelling. This was the woman who’d surprised him at every turn, who’d challenged him, teased him, and made him feel alive. Seeing her here, on his turf, conquering her fears—it made him fall a little deeper.
After a while, she turned to him, eyes shining. “I think I love it,” she said. “The wind, the water. It feels . . .free.”
He grinned. “Told you.”
She stepped away from the wheel, and he took over, steering them toward the open waters. H would never ask her to navigate the rougher waters. She stood beside him, her hair whipping around her face, cheeks flushed with excitement.