I want You Deeper

“This doesn’t look good.” Captain Jake’s voice filled the cockpit, leading Derek to release the breath he’d been holding. He’d been grappling with whether to wake up the captain from his much-needed sleep for the past thirty minutes. They needed to shift the boat into storm mode, but Derek needed help for that. He knew all the features of this boat in and out, but it took an experienced seaman like Captain Jake to safely navigate a sailboat through a storm.

“Let’s go,” Captain Jake said.

From there, it was on. The two of them went to the top deck and fired up the storm sails. Halfway through, Captain Jake realized they needed to change course slightly to avoid the worst of it and headed downstairs, leaving Derek out there, alone, being pummeled by rain and wind.

Some people might find this exhilarating. Derek didn’t. The oddest thing about it, though, was that he’d fully known this was part of his future if he chose to sail the world. He’d even made sure the yacht he built was equipped to handle the toughest storms. He’d tracked down the best captain he could find and even mentioned things like that in their initial meeting.

Yet being out here, with the wind nearly knocking him over, brought it all into focus. He’d never been on a ship before in severe weather-and he’d spent quite a bit of time on the water. Always on vacation, though, or for short jaunts. Always with a large group of people. Never, ever with a woman he truly cared about.

As Derek headed down the steps to make sure Renee and April were safe, he tried to shove that thought aside, but it wouldn’t go away. He cared about her. He might even be falling in love with her, although that was a word he didn’t use lightly. He hadn’t told a woman he loved her since his late teens. No matter what he tried to tell himself to justify it, it came down to not having met a woman he felt anything resembling love for until now.

Until Renee.

And now they were on a sailboat, heading into a storm. He trusted Captain Jake’s ability to get them through it, but that didn’t keep him from worrying about his passengers.

“We’re going to need to go to the lower deck,” Derek said as he entered the kitchen. Both Renee and April were there, prepping dinner like nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

Renee hesitated. “But…”

He could tell from the look on her face that Renee wasn’t prepared to abandon everything, but that was the way it was going to have to be. The last time they saw him, they’d been happily munching on pita chips and crab dip-the best dip he’d ever tasted, no less. He’d noticed the darkening skies through the window in the kitchen and calmly announced he was heading up to check on things.

“It’s going to get rough.” Derek didn’t want to panic them, but it was important to get through to them that this was serious.

Renee looked down at the half-cooked pork chops in the pan on the stove and shut off the burner. She stuck the pan in the oven, which was off, and shoved everything else into the refrigerator before following Derek and April out of the kitchen.Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

“There’s a room on the bottom deck that’s built to keep passengers safe,” Derek explained as they walked down the hallway that led into the center of the boat. “It’s a room the two of you are very familiar with.”

He opened the door, but by then they’d probably figured out where he was taking them. Their own bunks. The crew often slept in the very bottom of any yacht, which made it a handy place for keeping them safe if there was a storm. But in this case, he’d had the doors built so that they’d seal up, keeping water out.

“You’ll be safe in here,” he said, stepping back to usher them in.

Neither of them moved. He should have known this wouldn’t be easy.

They stared at him like there was something important he’d left out.

“What about you and Captain Jake?” April asked.

He wished the question had come from Renee, but at least she was staring at him with the same wide eyes April had.

“We’re navigating this sucker.” He tried to keep his tone lighthearted, even adding a smile at the end. “Have to steer through it. Don’t worry. Captain Jake is a pro at this. He’s already up there taking us around the worst of it.”

“But-” Renee started.

April squeezed past him and went into the bunk, but Renee continued to stand there.

“Jake has this,” April called out. “Come on.”

“I’ll be back to check on you as soon as I can,” he said to Renee.

She stepped toward him and he had this weird feeling she was about to kiss him. If he didn’t feel this mounting pressure to get back up there to help the captain, he’d be all about kissing her again. But there was too much at stake right now.

Perhaps sensing his dilemma, Renee nodded and squeezed around him, just as April had done a few seconds earlier. Only when Renee did it, it sent warmth through him. He decided that would help him get through the upcoming ordeal. He’d need all the help he could get.