“Michael?” she prompted a moment later.
His eyes returned to her face and they held there for a long moment. He watched her, noted the look she returned and relief flooded through him. Gone was the fear and uncertainty. The only thing showing through those magnificent eyes was shyness and desire.
Michael wanted to make love to her right then and there, but knew the boat would be uncomfortable and awkward. The only option was to snorkel, he told himself. “Right,” he said and glanced around the boat, getting his bearings.
He walked over to a hidden compartment and lifted the lid. He then handed her a set of goggles and snorkel, flippers and a towel.
They both fell in backwards into the crystal clear waters of the cove and instantly entered another world. Michael had taken them to a small coral reef with dazzling fish diving in and out of the plants and coral. There were fish of every color, shape and size. They swam through the underwater world, finding treasures in each little crack and crevice. They were careful not to touch anything for fear of hurting the live animals attached to the reef.
They swam and explored for almost three hours. By that time, Darcy had to call a halt to their excursion out of exhaustion. They headed back to the house and Michael promised to take her to another spot the next day. “Could we go scuba diving?” she asked. “I have a beginner’s certification so I have to go with a master diver, but if you’re up for it, I’d love to show you,” she said.
She watched his face and laughed. “Okay, so you’re a master diver, huh?” At his nod she continued. “Well, then you can take me! I’ve been taking classes every Thursday night for the past month and really enjoy it.”
“That’s what you’ve been doing on Thursday nights?” he asked, surprised and relieved.
“Sure, what did you think?”
Her look warned him not to mention his previous accusation that she was dating someone else. He held up his hands in his defense. “Well, you’ve got to give me some credit. I’d never have guessed you were working towards a diving certificate.”
They rode back in the boat in silence. When they reached the dock and secured the boat, Darcy couldn’t control her yawning any longer. “I think I’d better take a nap. I didn’t sleep well last night,” she admitted.
He moved closer to her. “Would you like me to join you?”
Darcy laughed at his hopeful expression. “No. I don’t think I’d get my nap if you did.”
He thought about her response for a moment before nodding his head. “Well, you didn’t’ turn me down flat so I feel encouraged.”
“You don’t need any more encouragement,” she murmured as she walked up the dock to the house. He heard her and smacked her bottom playfully. glanced back only to shake her head at his arrogant expression.
She took off her wet clothes and showered the ocean salt off. Darcy yelped and
Once she was dry, she was so tired, she could barely make it to the bed. She discarded the towel and climbed between the sheets. Within moments, she was sound asleep.
Darcy woke to someone knocking on her door. She was disoriented at first, but called out permission to come in once she realized where she was. The door opened and Michael walked in with a tray in his arms. It was filled with a large glass of ice tea and some fruit. “I didn’t want you to sleep too long. I hope you aren’t angry. If you sleep any more you’ll have trouble sleeping tonight,” he said as he placed the tray on the dresser.
He then turned and looked at her, his eyes instantly going to the sheet. “You’re not wearing anything, are you?” he groaned.
Darcy glanced down and pulled the sheet higher against her. “No. I’m not,” she said, still slightly disoriented from too long of a nap.
Michael walked over to the bed, leaned down and gave her a hard kiss. “Get dressed. I’m taking you out to dinner and then we’re going dancing,” he said then immediately left the room.
Darcy smiled and a bubble of excitement surged within her. She decided that she was going to make love with him tonight. The decision made, she jumped up from the bed and rushed over to the closet to decide which dress she was going to wear. She chose a flowered red dress that wrapped around her torso, hugging her breasts and waist, then flaring out around her hips. The skirt ended just above her knees. Michael had chosen some strappy sandals to go with them and she pulled her hair high up on her head.
With a touch of lipstick, mascara and powder, she was ready to spend another exciting evening with Michael. She hoped this one would end differently from the previous one. She knew she was going to do everything within her power to make sure it did.
The evening was everything she had hoped for and more. Michael took her to a restaurant that had tables sitting out on a large dock that floated on the water. They were served a pile of steaming shrimp with five different sauces. She sipped her wine and enjoyed listening to the music and the surf. She laughed as Michael plied her with wine and shrimp and antagonizing her on subjects he knew would get a rise out of her.
She loved all of it.
Once they finished dinner, he pulled her into his arms and guided her out onto the already full dance floor. “I’ve been staring at you in that dress all evening and you look sexy as hell,” he said and wrapped his arms around her waist, moving against her body in a rhythmic way, swaying to the beat of the music.
“Are you really ready? Or were you talking about something else?” he whispered once a slow song started.
“I’m ready,” she whispered back, looking right into his eyes to show him that she was, in fact, ready to take the next step.
Michael didn’t stop dancing as she’d thought he would. He took her hands and pulled them up to his shoulders, placing them where he wanted them. Darcy took that as permission to touch him and she let her fingers slide along his neck, testing the softness of his hair, feeling his body move against hers.
The ride back in the jeep was refreshing. Michael held her hand whenever he wasn’t shifting gears and each time he took it again, their clasped hands moved higher along her thigh.
As soon as the door closed behind them at the house, he picked her up and carried her into his bedroom, kicking the bedroom door closed with one foot. “I can’t believe this is finally happening,” he said, his voice rough.
He didn’t undress her immediately. He kissed her gently, long and thoroughly. He tried to move slowly, stretch out the anticipation, but as soon as she touched his shoulders, the passion that had been suppressed for weeks flared up and took over. Now that she was ready, he couldn’t seem to slow down. All the control his body was capable of had been expended already and he needed to bury himself inside her. He was hard and aching for her.