Down Under With Dad’s Best Friend by Flora Ferrari

Chapter Thirteen

Sean

I’m so glad I thought of bringing Candace here. It’s one of the venues that I get good access to, given that I helped the owners to set up their business. They still work with my firm to this day, which means that whenever I’m in Melbourne, I stop by to get a little relaxation time. The owners consider it part of my fee, and when I don’t manage to get time to visit, those owed days build up.

Truthfully, though, I always try to make time to come here. Usually, I try to impress new business partners by bringing a group of them to spend the day here. Not only is it great for showing them what working with us can do, but it also helps them to network with each other. It’s not by coincidence that I might invite this investment banker on the same day as that fledgling CEO who needs funding.

But today, this is all for Candace. I’m glad I had it booked. I was planning to invite the guys from last night before I met her. Now I know I made the right choice, as I step onto the deck and then extend a hand for her to come up and join me.

“Wow,” she breathes, glancing around.

I’m not surprised by the reaction. It’s how I felt when I first showed up here. The owners have spared no expense in making this the finest luxury yacht that is never likely to actually sail on the sea. It’s docked here year-round, rented out for firework viewings on New Year or private parties in the summer.

We’re walking now onto the relaxation deck, where chairs are set out for people to lounge in the sun around a small private pool. The crew is ranged out to greet us, as always, another impressive show of force. I have a feeling most of them are going to be bored today.

“Mr. Fogarty,” the leader of the group says, stepping forward to shake my hand. “It’s lovely to see you again.”

“Thank you, Captain,” I say. It’s more of an honorary title. They don’t really need a Captain here, given that they never sail. But this man takes care of the other staff and ensures everyone always has what they need, so he has an important role to play. “It’s just the two of us today.”

“I see, sir,” he says, and by the knowing look in his eyes, I know that he really does see. “Where would you like to begin?”

“I was thinking we might go into the lounge, first,” I say. “Perhaps you could leave us one of your activity brochures, so my companion can decide on what she wants to try. We’ll have lunch on the terrace later.”

“Superb, sir.” The Captain makes a short bow in front of us, turning to look at his staff. They don’t need to hear his instructions – they all scatter immediately to their stations. We follow the Captain into the sumptuously decorated cabin known as the lounge, where we can rest on comfortable furniture, talk, and consider what to do next.

When they leave us, and we’re alone again, I look at Candace to see how amazed she is by everything. I love the expression on her face. She’s so full of wonder. She sits on a wide-backed sofa in plush velvet and I sit beside her, just enjoying her enjoyment.

“How do you know about this place?” she asks, gazing around, her fingers tracing over the soft material we’re sitting on.

I laugh. “I helped set it up,” I say. “The owners are on board with our firm. One of my favorite clients, actually.”

“I can see why,” she says. She shifts subtly and her fingers catch mine on the velvet – and she freezes as if startled. When she looks up and realizes I haven’t moved away, she looks into my eyes, and it takes my breath away.

There’s something in her eyes that I had hoped, yet not quite expected, to see. A heat, a desire, that mirrors my own. There’s a magnetism in her that draws my eyes down to her mouth, and when I adjust my focus I see that her eyes have strayed to mine.

The tension between us is undeniable. It just took for us to be seated this close together, alone, for it to come properly to the surface. I won’t make it wait for a second chance.

I reach out a hand and touch the side of her face, tilting her head up and drawing mine down towards her. Her lips part as if ready for me, and when they meet mine, it’s the sweetest, softest sensation.

I can’t pull away. I need more. She is the sweetest nectar I could have imagined, so much better than I thought, the taste of her sending blood rushing down my body.

I shift closer to her, leaning so that I can press my kiss deeper, flicking my tongue over her lips until they part fully and allow me inside. She moans softly and I go deeper still, feeling the flutter of her heartbeat under my hand – or maybe my own – so fast and heavy it feels like anyone in the room would be able to hear it.

Something is drawing us together, stopping me even from coming up for air. I need her. I need her touch, the pressure of her skin against mine. I need to be closer. I lean her back, my body pressing down against hers, and she doesn’t resist me. Her arms go up around my back, her hands spanning over my muscles, keeping me in place. Letting me know that she wants this as much as I do.

When I finally do break the contact between our lips, it’s only to duck my head to trail kisses over her jaw, her neck, her shoulder. I hear her gasping right into my ear with each point of contact, her breath coming ragged and free, her body arching up towards mine and responding to my touch. My hands trail over her arms, then to her waist and up along her sides, ruching the fabric of her dress.

“Oh, god,” she moans, right in my ear, this tiny little voice that only makes my cock harder, only stirs me on more. I don’t think I’m ever going to take my hands off her again.

I duck my head further again, to her chest, trailing kisses across her collarbone and then lower. My hands come up at the same time, gently brushing across the sides of her breasts, giving her ample time to push me away or tell me to stop.

She doesn’t. Instead, she arches her back, her chest rising towards me, and I know that this is what she wants.

I move up to kiss her on the mouth again as my hands take their welcome position over the cups of her bra, squeezing and massaging, feeling the weight and size of her. My hands are full even with the bra holding her back, and I urgently and desperately need it out of the way. My fingers slip down inside the neck of her dress, taking advantage of the lower – though still moderately modest – neckline. I find the lace of her bra cups and slide my fingers under that, too, feeling her gasp up into my mouth as I find her sensitive nipples.

I squeeze and roll them gently between my fingers before angling my hands, using them to push the fabric out of the way so that I can access her bare flesh.

I pull away from her kiss, getting a glimpse of her face, her cheeks pink, her eyes almost glazed with pleasure and desire, her mouth panting. Then I look down at her pert breasts, rising up from the fabric of her dress, surging for me as she breathes heavily. I lower my tongue to swirl and circle around one of her nipples, still teasing the other with my fingers, and I hear her yelp and feel her squirm, the way she wants it so badly.

And that’s when the door opens and I realize with horror, looking swiftly, that the Captain has just walked in with a bottle of spring water and a pair of glasses.