It felt like eons later that Raif’s hands drifted to her back, to caress the length of her spine, to cup her buttocks. Her head rested on his chest, and beneath her ear she could hear his heart still pounding, as hers no doubt did, too. She felt him withdraw from her and made a sound of objection.
“Shanal,” Raif said, lifting a hand to brush her hair off her face.
“That was incredible,” she sighed against the warmth of his skin, before pressing a kiss right there.
“It was, but sweetheart, we didn’t use protection. Are you on the pill?”
“Yes, of course.”
She was on a low-dose contraceptive. Anything else created unpleasant side effects for her.
“But you don’t have your pills with you.”
“True,” she acknowledged, and while the scientist in her told her she’d been all kinds of crazy to have sex with Raif unprotected, the woman inside her told her that everything would be fine. “I’ll be okay, I’m sure.”
“From here on in, we use condoms.”
“You brought some with you?” she asked, lifting her head and raising an eyebrow in surprise.
“No, silly.” He gave her a gentle slap on her behind. “There are some in the bathroom.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” she teased, sliding off him. “They’re no good to us in there.”
Eight
Shanal eased from the bed as daylight began to trickle through the windows. Her body felt well used and she could barely keep the smile from her face as she made her way to the bathroom. After relieving herself, she studied her body in the mirror. She should look different after the transformative experience she’d shared with Raif last night, and yet she was still the same old Shanal. Short, neat figure—nothing spectacular. And yet in his arms she’d felt like one in a million—a rare prize to be cherished. No one had ever made her feel this way or taken her to such heights before in her life. In fact, she never wanted to even think about making love with anyone other than Raif after last night.
Locked in the band of intimacy they’d created, Shanal had come to realize some truths in the night. The first being an understanding of why she’d always kept Raif at arm’s length for the whole time they’d known one another. She’d instinctively sensed, somehow, just how shattering an effect he would have on her.
How would she have met her educational goals if she’d succumbed to him before she’d completed her doctoral degree? Where would she be right now? Having tasted the glory he offered, she had no doubt that he would have clouded her mind so much that she would have been happy to sacrifice the personal goals she’d always used to drive herself. No, their time and place had not been back then, in the past. But it was here and it was most definitely now.
Raif appeared in the doorway behind her, closing the short distance between them and wrapping her in his arms. He rested his chin on top of her head and met her eyes in the mirror.
“You okay?”
“Never better.” She smiled.
“No regrets?”
“None.”
“Then come back to bed.”
She could already feel his arousal pressing against her, and in that short sweet moment she felt her body react in kind. In the mirror she saw her nipples bead into taut points and a flush of warmth spread over her chest. He did this to her—no, she thought, he did this for her. She turned in his arms and lifted her face for his kiss.
They were both starving when they eventually woke again. After a leisurely shower together they made breakfast and ate it on the rear deck of the boat, looking out over the river. Shanal felt tired but invigorated at the same time. And for the first time in the past several weeks she felt as if she could tackle all the worries in her life head-on. A solution to her father’s problems had to be able to be found, in a way that would preserve his dignity and still allow for both her parents to enjoy the years they had left together—without requiring Shanal to sacrifice her own life.
“Where are we headed to next?” she asked as they cleaned up the kitchen after breakfast.
“We’ll get through Lock 1 and stop at Blanchetown if you like. We could do the historical walk around town or go a little ways out and visit the conservation park.”
“Both sound good. Let’s play it by ear, shall we?”
They continued up the river. Raif gave three long blasts on the boat’s air horn to signal the lock attendant as they approached. Shanal watched with interest as a red flashing light on top of the control box let Raif know a chamber was being prepared for them. Once it was filled with water, they were given a green flashing light to proceed. The whole process went incredibly smoothly and before long they’d passed under the Sturt Highway bridge and were tied up at a new mooring.