Page 80 of If I Go Down with This Ship

“May I?”

I blink up at him.“Yes, please.”

With painstaking slowness, he unties the laces of my pants.Tugging with knowing, nimble fingers, he folds them down, slides his hand in, and grips me.He’s warm, and I am burning up, and when I moan his name, squirming to try to touch him, he only tightens his hold on me.

“Is this good, Laszlo?”

“Tighter.”

His grip tightens, and I gasp.

“Silas.”

He presses a tender kiss to my stomach as he sinks down.“I’m busy,” he mumbles.

“Silas.”

He lets go of my wrists.

“Silas.”

He tugs down my pants the rest of the way and tosses them to the sand, never once letting go.

“Silas.”

My hands dive into his hair as he stares up at me, a mischievous glint in his eyes.I scrape my fingers over his scalp and start to say his name again, but he wraps his lips around me, and whatever I was about to say dies on a moan as I sink into the sand, close my eyes, and give in to the pleasure.

O Captain!my Captain!I salute silently as he takes all of me into his mouth, his name melting into a sigh on my lips.

26Tropic like It’s Hot

Hisarm is slung across my chest, his fingers drawing lazy circles over my skin.It is peaceful here, only the gentle splash of the low tide to be heard in the night, the other side of the island since quieted.

Smiling to myself, I glance down at Silas.

“You’re staring,” he mumbles.He blinks up at me, expression softening.

“Can’t help myself.You’re extremely attractive, if you haven’t noticed.”

I run my knuckles over his cheek, across his stubble.Maybe he can’t see it for himself, but he truly is beautiful.I’ve been captivated by him since he pressed a blade to my neck, after all.

And if I could, I’d stay here forever.

We should be sleeping, resting before we set sail toward his demise, but I don’t want to lose a single moment with him.I’m going to enjoy the last of the time we have together, even if it means I don’t sleep for the next several days.

“What are you going to do?”he asks, peering out at the water.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

He leans up on his elbow, staring down at me as his hair falls around his shoulders, framing him in silver light.“Laszlo, we have to talk about it.We can’t stop this from happening.”

I sit up, gently nudging him away.We’re both naked, our clothes beneath us a barrier from the sand.Annoyed, I reach down for my pants.Sir has since joined us, sprawled on a small corner of my pants, and he grumbles, standing and stretching as I yank them out from under him.Shaking out the sand, I stand and pull them on.I knew this was too good to be true.I never was going to get my happily-ever-after.After years of searching, I have found the Westley to my Buttercup, and yet I am meant to leave without him.

“Where’s the fairness in that, Silas?”

He grabs his own pants and tugs them on as I stalk across the beach for my shirt.“What?”he asks as he hurries after me.

Ignoring him, I stoop for my shirt, but he reaches for the other end of it.I sigh.“Silas, let go.”