I start with unpacking, forgetting about dad’s friend for a while as the boat pulls away from the shore.
By the time I’m fully unpacked, I’m starting to get a bit annoyed, but then I hear a rap at my door and figure it must be dad’s friend. What did dad say his name was again? Nate?
“Coming!” I call out, heading over to the door.
Finally, let’s get this over and done with…
But as the door swings open, the breath is knocked right out of me.
I’m faced with the most handsome man I’ve ever seen.
A hulking figure of a man who takes up my entire doorway.
His tight white shirt shows off his amazing physique and boy does it take my breath away. He’s got strong-looking muscled arms, a massive broad chest with bulging pecs, eyes as green as the sea, and coal dark hair that is just beginning to show signs of graying.
He’s at least twice my age, too, but I’m not concentrating on his age right now. All I can focus on is how much…I want him.
He looks just as surprised by the sight of me as I do by him. Looking me up and down his green eyes seem to scorch my skin.
I blush, wondering how this man is having such an effect on me. No man has ever made me feel this heat beneath my skin, between my legs.
His eyes seem to finally settle on mine, his broad chest heaving, a feral look in his eye.
He looks like a wild animal.
What is happening here?
“Are you Tara?” he asks in a deep baritone.
I swallow hard, it’s like his eyes are staring deep into my soul. And I can’t look away.
“Y-Yes, that’s me,” I stutter.
He holds out his hand for me to shake. “I’m Nate. Your dad’s friend. And I’m going to be looking after you while you’re on the boat.”
“You…you are?” I whisper.
A smirk forms on his lips.
“That’s right,” he says, his tone deep and sinful. “That is the Captain’s job, after all…”
CHAPTER TWO
Nate
Damn, this woman is beautiful.
Why didn’t her dad tell me just how beautiful she is?
I’m looking at Tara right now, wondering how the hell I’m going to keep my hands off of her for the next two weeks.
She has curves to die for, a body that I can’t help but want to touch, to explore. Her dark hair falls over her shoulders in waves, over her smooth-looking milky skin.
She is so beautiful it’s almost painful to look at her.
I can feel my body reacting in ways it never has before. My member is hard between my legs, yearning to be inside her tight body. Every possessive bone in my body is tensed, primed, desperate to grab her and take her.
I want to push her onto her back and rip off her clothes. I want to let my primal instincts take over and take her like the caveman she’s bringing out in me…
But I have to compose myself.
This is my friend's daughter.
I promised to take care of her on my ship, not make her mine. And yet the more I look at her, the less I care about the promises I made.
The more I take her in, the harder it becomes to remember how to be a gentleman. All I want to do is make her mine.
“Nate,” she whispers softly like she’s testing my name out on her plump lips. Damn, it’s sexy to hear her say my name.
She looks up at me with innocent eyes.
“It’s…it’s good to meet you. My dad’s told me a lot about you…although…he never mentioned that you’re the captain of the ship.”
“Well, she’s my boat, so I would be crazy to let anyone else be the Captain,” I say, my eyes still fixated on her.
She smiles, looking a little nervous.
“I guess that’s true. I’m…I’m very glad to be aboard, Nate. Thank you for agreeing to show me around, but I’m sure you’re very busy. Please don’t feel like you have to just to please my dad.”
“It’s no trouble at all,” I growl.
At first, when her dad had asked me to keep an eye on her, I’ll admit I wasn’t thrilled. I thought he was basically asking me to babysit.
But now, I feel completely differently about the whole thing. Now, I have this beautiful woman in front of me and a chance to get to know her properly. I’m certainly not going to complain about getting a little more time with her.
“Why don’t you leave your stuff here and we can take a walk around?”
“I’d like that,” she says breathlessly.
Am I imagining it or is she as flustered by our first encounter as I am? Is she having the same dark, steamy thoughts about me that I’m having about her?
I know it’s wrong for us to entertain these thoughts at all. She’s at least half my age, and she’s my friend’s daughter. She’s off-limits, and I knew that even when I first laid eyes on her.