Gold looked at himself in the mirror. When he came on this cruise he'd never expected to be wearing a swimsuit. He did not wear swimsuits and now he had no choice. Belle wanted to sunbathe together.

He didn't look too bad for a 50 year old man. He could allow himself to have self-doubts or he could think about the fact that Belle's hands would soon be rubbing sunscreen all over him. He chose to think of the latter.

He made his way up to Belle's room and knocked on the door.

"Come in, Rum."

He entered. Belle was standing there in a very brief blue bikini. Gold could not take his eyes off of her gorgeous body.

Belle giggled. "I need you to help me." She was trying to tie up her hair. "Hold my hair for me while I finish fixing it."

Gold moved behind her and did as she said. His body had involuntarily responded to her lack of clothing and now his close proximity to her was increasing the response. Belle finished tying her hair and then turned to hug him. The sensation of her bare skin against his made the situation worse. He knew that she could feel him and she was going to see him the minute they separated. His swim trunks weren't going to provide any cover.

Belle ran her fingers through his hair. His body was responding much too quickly.

"You're breathtakingly beautiful, Belle." He looked deeply into her eyes.

"So are you." She pulled his head forward so that she could kiss him. "You don't know how I feel every time I see you."

God, she made him feel so good about himself. He had so much self-doubt, but somehow she managed to make it all go away.

"So are we going to sunbathe?" Gold was still uncomfortable being alone with her in her bedroom. He knew where they were ultimately heading, but he wasn't prepared to go there yet.

"Of course." She grinned at him. "Can't wait to get your hands all over me?"

Damn. How did she always manage to do it? "If you must know, it's all I've been able to think about." He pulled her closer. He wasn't going to let her get the better of him.

She kissed him again. "OK, let's go out on the balcony. I moved a couple of lounge chairs into the shade. I burn even without direct sun. Do you mind putting the sunscreen on me first?"

"Of course not." He sat next to her on the lounge chair.

"You really are beautiful, Belle… and I mean in every way, not just physically." He gently applied the sunscreen to her face and then leaned in to kiss her lips.

She put her hands on the back of his head to pull him closer and to deepen the kiss. Gold ran his hands down her arms. His desire to touch her was overpowering.

Gold spoke first when they broke the kiss. "Belle." He kissed her nose." I don't want you to burn. Let's get this sunscreen on you. Why don't you lie down on your stomach so that I can start with your back?"

Belle switched her position and Gold began to apply the sunscreen to her shoulders and back. He touched her tenderly because he felt that way about her. Belle let out a sigh of contentment as he trailed little kisses on her.

"I like how you apply sunscreen, Rum. So many added benefits."

"We're just beginning, sweetheart." He continued to apply the sunscreen down her back until he came to her butt. It was so firm and round. He applied sunscreen to her exposed skin. She squirmed and made little sounds that made his cock harden more. "That feels so good, Rum." He wanted to cup her butt in his hands but instead continued down her legs.

"Time to turn over." He knew she would see how aroused he was. She did as he requested.

"Kiss me, Rum." He bent forward and kissed her.

He applied the sunscreen to her arms and shoulders and then moved down her chest. He stopped short of her breasts.

"Don't stop. I said all of me. I want you to touch me."

Gold's cock was throbbing. He gently applied sunscreen to the part of her breasts that were exposed. "You can untie my top, Rum."

Gold's hands were trembling as he untied the bow that was holding her top together. He pushed the material aside to reveal her breasts. He could not stifle the moan that escaped his lips. "You're so beautiful, sweetheart."

"Touch me. I need you to touch me."

He swiped his thumbs over her nipples. Belle whimpered and arched her hips. Gold's cock was straining. He continued to caress her nipples as Belle let out little whimpers.

"Rum."

"Yes, Belle?"

"I like how you touch me."

"I'm glad, sweetheart. I want you to feel good." God she was so beautiful and so sexy and so everything. He wanted to slowly worship every inch of her body and yet he wanted to just throw all caution to the wind and take her right then and there.

He brought his mouth down and flicked his tongue over each nipple. She cried out. He gently swirled his tongue around each one and felt them form into hard little peaks. When he could no longer resist, he covered each one with his mouth and sucked on them slowly and tenderly. Belle squirmed and moaned. His cock throbbed.

He looked up to see her eyes filled with lust and desire.

Gold moved his hands down her stomach to the edge of her bikini bottoms. Belle whimpered and arched her back. She was extremely wet and desperate for his touch.

Gold smiled. "I don't want you to get burned, sweetheart. I need to make sure your whole body is covered with sunscreen."

Belle whimpered as he moved down to her feet and started to apply sunscreen to her ankles and calves.

When he got to her thighs he separated her legs a little so that he'd have better access to her. By now he was aroused beyond control and wanted her to feel the same. He began to plant kisses on her inner thighs starting at the knees and stopping just short of her bikini bottom.

"Rum." She choked out his name.

"Now, now, darling. I have to finish covering you with sunscreen. He began to slowly apply the sunscreen to her thighs until he once again reached her center."Open your legs a little wider for me, Belle. I don't want to miss anything.

She let out a desperate little moan and opened her legs for him. He buried his face between her legs and sucked on her through her bikini bottom.

She cried out and grasped his hair in her hands.

He looked up at her and smiled mischievously. "Do you like that, sweetheart?"

She whimpered. "Yes, Rum. Please."

Gold slipped his fingers under the top of her bikini bottom and then looked at her again.

"Please, Rum." He pulled them off of her and then positioned himself between her legs. She automatically opened them wider for him. He thought he was going to come.

"Let me look at you, sweetheart." He used his fingers and thumbs to separate her folds, dipping one finger inside of her. "You're so wet." She kept whimpering.

"OK, darling." He put his mouth on her and gently kissed her. She grasped his head tighter and arched her back trying to intensify the contact.

Gold separated her folds further and swiped his tongue through them until he came to her clit. He knew exactly what she liked from the previous two times she had come against his fingers. He gently teased her with his tongue. She cried out and pushed his head down further into her.

Gold continued to cajole and tease her with his tongue, expertly increasing the pressure and intensity until she was almost in a frenzied state. Her whole body began to shudder under him as he used his tongue and mouth to lick and suck her over the edge. She arched her back one last lingering time and cried out before collapsing back into the lounge chair.

She moved over on the chair and pulled him up next to her. He put his hand over her mound to help her ease down.

"Rum." She barely whispered.

"Was that good, sweetheart?" He pushed a strand of hair out of her face.

"Yes, so good…" She had tears in her eyes. "Thank you."

An intense feeling of tenderness washed over him. He would do anything she wanted.

"Rum. Let me touch you." She had moved her hand between them and was stroking him through his swim trunks. His reaction was immediate and intense. He was so aroused that he thought he would come just from knowing that her hand was on him.

"Belle.' His voice was hoarse and he was pressing against her.

"Lie back. I want to take care of you." Belle sat up and made room for Gold to lie back on the lounge chair. She then positioned herself between his legs. "Let's get these off of you." Gold helped her remove his swim trunks. Belle wrapped her hand around his cock and stroked him from the bottom up to the top.

His cock seemed to harden more (he didn't know how) and he moaned from the pure torture of the sensation. And then he felt her warm wet mouth envelope the head of his cock. Every nerve in his body seemed to concentrate in that one spot. He moaned loudly and instinctively thrust into her.

"Belle." His voice was strangled.

She swirled her tongue around the head and them sucked on it. Gold cried out and thrust again.

"Belle, please." He was already on the verge of coming. His excitement was that intense.

Belle took his cock further into her mouth and began to move up and down on him.

Gold clutched the arms of the chair. "That's so good, sweetheart."

He tried not to thrust too much. Belle increased her speed and used her tongue to stroke his shaft with every upward movement. "So good, Belle, so good." He could feel himself coming. He clenched the chair arms more tightly and cried out as his seed poured out of him.

Belle continued to suck and lick him until he was completely done.

"Come lie next to me." Gold wanted to hold her close.

He kissed her repeatedly. "Thank you, sweetheart." He was once again overcome with extreme feelings of tenderness for her.

"Rum." Belle nestled against him. "That's how I feel about you."

His heart beat faster. "Me too, darling. Me too."

They lay in each other's arms for a while. Suddenly Belle giggled.

"What's so funny?" Gold could feel the smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"We never finished putting on sunscreen. I hope we don't burn in the wrong places."

Gold chuckled. "I don't burn that easily… your butt is the only spot I didn't cover completely. Let me check it for you."

She giggled as she got up so that he could check her butt. "Does it look OK?"

"Looks perfect to me… but let me add some sunscreen just to be safe." He chuckled again. He rather enjoyed their lack of inhibition with one another. He applied some to her slowly and sensuously and then pulled her onto his lap. He nuzzled her neck.

"Rum, I'm going to put sunscreen on you. You do need it." Belle extricated herself from him.

"You're right." He lay back and Belle applied sunscreen to every inch of his body. By the time she was done they were both completely aroused again. His arousal, of course, could not be hidden.

"Sorry." He looked sheepish. "My body can't stop responding to you."

"I feel the same way." She grinned at him. "But I think we should put our swimsuits back on. I don't want my father to walk in on us."

Gold was brought back to the reality of the situation with Moe. "Good idea. You father already has enough issues with me."

Belle sighed. "I think we both need to talk to him… separately. I'm so sorry to have to put you through this, Rum. I feel as though he's acting as though I'm a child rather than a grown woman."

"Well, you are his child, Belle. It's natural for him to be concerned about you. I'm much older than you and I'm his business partner. It's not going to be easy for him to accept this, especially if he doesn't trust my intentions."

"I suppose. I just wish he had more faith in me. He's been so worried about me, just wanting me to be happy, and now that I am, I feel as though I can't share it with him. It hurts."

Gold hurt for her. He had to find a way to get Moe to come around. "I'm sorry, Belle. It may be more difficult than we'd like it to be. I don't think he's going to embrace the idea of the two of us that easily. It's going to take time." He just hoped that Moe would eventually accept it.

"I do have some good news for him." Belle looked shyly at Gold. "I've been offered the position of head librarian at the Storybrooke Library so I'll be living close to him again. I know he's missed me. I was waiting to surprise him with the news."

Gold's heart skipped a beat. She'd be living in Storybrooke. "That means you'll be living close to me too."

"I know." She smiled at him. "Maybe some things are meant to be."

His heart skipped another beat. "Yes…" He smiled back at her.

She pulled his head down to kiss him. The kiss was long and deep.

"We should get dressed." Belle reminded him again. Gold reluctantly agreed, but not until he ran his hands over every inch of her body again. "Your skin is so soft and smooth. I can't stop touching you."

"Good. I don't want you to stop." Belle's whole body was tingling from his touch.

They finally got dressed and Belle went downstairs to get them some iced tea and cookies.

They sat on the balcony talking and laughing for the next hour.

"Belle! Are you out here?" Moe's voice easily reached them from the lower balcony. Belle got up to look down at him.

"Rum and I are up here, Dad. We're trying to get some sun before we go swimming tomorrow. How's your sunburn? Did the treatment help?"

"Yes, the treatment worked wonders. I just wanted to know what we're supposed to wear tonight."

"It's informal attire. That means a jacket but no tie unless you want to wear one."

"OK. I'm going to have something to drink and watch some TV before I get ready." He exited the main balcony.

Belle turned back to Gold. "Maybe we should go downstairs and join him. I think he'd like the company."

Gold had misgivings about Moe's desire to see him, but he was willing to do what Belle thought best. He could imagine that Moe was already questioning why he was in Belle's room.

They went downstairs together, Belle in her bikini and Gold in his swim trunks. The air conditioning in the main area was in high gear and Belle immediately felt cold. "I'm going to go put on something warmer."

Gold was about to do the same when Moe stopped him. "So you spent the afternoon in my daughter's room?"

Gold tensed. "On your daughter's balcony." He felt guilty knowing full well that what Moe was insinuating was true.

"What did you have to do up there that you couldn't do here on the main balcony, Gold?"

This was much worse than he was expecting. He didn't think Moe would pry that deeply into his daughter's business. "I care about your daughter, Moe. You have to let this go and trust me and her. I won't do anything to hurt her." He didn't know how else to answer.

"Really? Just how much do you care about her?" Moe was determined to push this as far as he could.

Gold looked him directly in the eye. "I know you don't want to hear this, but Belle and I have a special connection. It's something I've never experienced before."

Moe looked taken aback. That wasn't what he was expecting. They heard Belle's door open and close and she came down the stairs. She immediately made eye contact with Gold and searched his eyes to see what was going on.

He smiled at her. "I need to change too. It's chilly in here with just swim trunks." He returned to his room.

Belle turned to her father. "Don't give him a hard time, Dad. I want to be with him. He makes me very happy."

"He's too old for you, Belle. He's divorced, he has a son your age, he's been involved with women who are nothing like you… your experiences are eons apart. What do you think he wants from a young beautiful woman like you?"

Belle walked over and hugged her dad. "You have to trust me to know what's best for me. I'm the only one who can decide that for myself. Rum and I have a special connection. I've never felt it with anyone else before."

Moe was taken aback again. "Did you tell him that?"

"No. Not yet… but I think he knows… I think he feels the same way."

Gold walked back into the room. He caught Belle's eye and she smiled. He guessed that she'd also been discussing him with Moe.

"So we still have a little time before we have to get ready for dinner. Should we all go out and sit on the balcony? Rum and I were enjoying being outside. We're going swimming as part of our tour tomorrow so I wanted to get a little sun ahead of time. I don't want to get a sunburn."

"Good idea." Moe agreed with her. "Did you put on sunscreen?"

"Yes, I'm all set. Rum helped me. Plus I was sitting in the shade. You know how I get enough sun even when I'm not in the direct light."

"Yes, I know." Gold felt Moe glaring at him again. He wasn't sure how wise it had been to mention his role in the sunscreen application. Belle was so honest and open. It was one of the things he loved about her. On the other hand, he could only imagine what Moe was thinking.

"What are you doing tomorrow, Dad? I hope it doesn't involve too much sun."

"It's a yachting and snorkeling tour, but I'll be covered up as much as possible this time around."

"Well just make sure your put sunscreen on any exposed skin."

"Don't worry, I will… What are you doing tomorrow?"

"We're going on a submarine tour and then we're visiting a turtle farm before we spend a little time at the beach. We have to swim in this beautiful water." She took Gold's hand in hers. "I made Rum buy a bathing suit since he didn't bring one." She giggled.

"Yes, I saw it." He gave Gold a disapproving look as though the swimsuit was akin to underwear in his mind.

The rest of the hour went by in like fashion with Belle carrying the conversation. Moe and Gold spoke to Belle only… never to one another. Gold was relieved when they finally returned to their rooms to get ready for dinner. He'd done his best. He'd told Moe how he felt about Belle and how special she was to him. He wasn't sure what else he could say. He couldn't help the fact that their relationship had a sexual element to it. There was no doubt in his mind that the knowledge of that was what bothered Moe the most. He was sure that Moe thought that he was somehow seducing his daughter.

Gold decided that he had to let it go for now. He concentrated on Belle. That lifted his spirits immediately.

When it was time for dinner, he purposely avoided going out into the common area ahead of time. He didn't want to deal with another confrontation with Moe tonight. The sound of Belle's voice was his signal that it was time to go.

He almost bumped into Belle as he exited his room.

"I was just going to knock on your door." She took his hand and kissed him on the cheek. Gold refused to look up to see if Moe was around.

He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it. "You look enchanting as always, sweetheart."

Moe cleared his throat.

Gold nodded to him. He decided that he was going to speak to him as though nothing had changed. The walk to the dining room was less strained. Gold asked Moe a few questions and Moe answered without glaring at him. Gold felt a bit better.

When they arrived in the dining room, Gaston, Mary Margaret, David and Emma were already there. Moe sat next to Gaston and Belle and Gold sat on the other side of Moe. Gold was relieved not to be in Moe's direct line of sight. The others sat across from them. Gold knew that Nolan was bound to stir up some type of trouble, but it was certainly preferable to Moe's piercing gaze.

The rest of the gang soon arrived and the group engaged in their usual animated conversation. They'd all seen each other at lunch, but they still had a lot they wanted to share.

"Do you guys know that Mr. Gold has a very special talent?" Nolan's comment immediately got Gold's attention.

Everyone stopped talking to listen to David. Gold was glaring at him. He did not like where this was going.

"Mr. Gold, Belle, Mary Margaret and I took a napkin-folding class this morning." Everyone laughed. Even Moe let out one of his huge guffaws.

"I know, it sounds funny… but Mr. Gold and I managed to turn it into a competitive sport." They all laughed again.

"Anyway, it turns out that he has a hidden talent for napkin-folding. Even the instructor was impressed."

Moe evidently found this to be highly amusing. "Gold, you've been holding out on us." He laughed heartily. Gold was ready to murder David. Moe snatched the red napkin from Gaston's plate and handed it to Gold. "Let's see what you can do."

Moe's hearty laugh irritated Gold. He took the napkin and proceeded to twist it and turn it in a series of convoluted folds until he had what looked like a perfect red rose in front of him.

Ruby squealed and Mary Margaret kept saying that she couldn't understand how he could do it. Everyone was pretty impressed. Moe seemed determined to get another laugh out of this. "So what are you going to do with it? Use it to powder your nose?" Everyone laughed along with him.

"Actually, I was going to give it to this lovely young lady." He offered it to Belle. "If she'll have it."

Ruby squealed again and Mary Margaret sighed dreamily.

Belle smiled at him as though he were the only person in the room. "Well thank you, kind sir." They exchanged an intimate look that silenced Moe.

The conversation started up again and Moe kept furtively watching Gold. Belle seemed to be oblivious to his attention; Gold was uncomfortably aware of it. He'd felt it the previous night when Moe was only just beginning to have an inkling of what was happening between him and Belle. Tonight Moe was completely aware of the situation and his disapproval was tangible.

Belle continued to be her usual demonstrative self throughout the meal and Gold responded to her in spite of Moe's presence. He decided that he couldn't let Moe interfere with the way her felt. Moe was going to have to be the one to come around. His feelings for Belle were getting stronger with every moment he spent with her. Nothing was going to change that.

When the meal was over, Moe once again tried to rally everyone to join him at the ship's theater for an Oldies music show that had received fantastic reviews. Everyone agreed that it would be fun so they all headed over together. Like the previous night, they found seats together and Moe made it a point to sit next to Gold. Belle sat on Gold's other side.

"I hope he's not making you too nervous." Belle whispered in Gold's ear as she rested her hand on his thigh.

"No, sweetheart. He's going to have to get used to us." It wasn't Moe making him nervous now, but rather the position of Belle's hand.

"Good." She leaned over to kiss him while grasping his thigh more firmly.

Gold was horrified to feel his body reacting in spite of Moe's presence. He could not control his responses to her.

Belle continued to be very affectionate throughout the performance and Gold's body was in a heightened state of arousal by the time it was over. Fortunately, the show was highly entertaining and Moe's attention was completely focused on it. Everyone exited the show together and gathered outside to make further plans for the evening.

"Do you want to go for a stroll on the deck again tonight?" Belle wanted to be alone with Gold and she couldn't think of anything more romantic than walking along together under the stars.

"I can't think of anything I'd rather do." He pulled her against him, her back to his front.

Moe turned to them. "What are your plans, Belle?" He looked at them knowing that they were determined to go off alone.

"We're going for a romantic walk on the upper deck." She glanced up to smile at Rum and he smiled back down at her.

"Yes, of course." Moe looked at them thoughtfully.

They all lingered for a while longer, saying their good nights.

While Belle was distracted by Ruby, Moe pulled Gold aside one last time.

"She really likes you, Gold. Really."

"I know, Moe… and as I've already told you, I really like her…. I know you have a lot of issues with this, and we can discuss them if you want, but it's not going to change anything. I want to be with Belle and she wants to be with me. You can't think that I'm having some type of week-long fling with her... you know me better than that. I'm as serious about this as she is."

Moe opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

Belle came over and entwined her arm in Gold's. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, sweetheart." They said their good nights to Moe and walked off arm in arm.