Reaching for The Moon by ThePekingNoodle
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Chapter Ninety-Five: Two if By Sea
What could be more romantic than a man and a woman alone on a yacht…
Jonas Cale's yacht rocked gently at anchor in the moonlit waters of the sheltered cove off of Orcas Island. Inside a man and woman slept peacefully in the master stateroom. The night was still, the earlier storms had passed, and nothing disturbed the quiet of the bay, except for the gentle slap of the water on the hull of the sleek ship.
Max came awake with a start. For a moment she lay there, letting her senses reach out and explore the situation in which she now found herself. She was lying between soft cotton sheets on a soft mattress in a dark room that was gently…rocking? She took in a gulp of air and there was definitely the smell of salt permeating it. She glanced down and saw that she was naked under the sheets. Someone was lying next to her, snoring softly. She frowned and focused her eyes and then sighed in relief to see that her companion was Logan. She decided that they were on a boat. A large and luxurious one at that, going by the room that she brought into focus.
That done, she concentrated on remembering how she had gotten to be where she was. Her head was crowded with images and it took her a few minutes to begin to sort through them. She remembered two men spraying her in the face and a car ride, a dark room, and an attempted rape. She remembered screaming and managing to knock out her assailant. Then she had vague memories of Logan carrying her … somewhere. A rush of anger hit her as she also remembered Logan kissing Ashley. She knew that one was a true picture even though she wasn't sure of some of the others.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Logan was in the middle of a dream where he and Max were on a blissful voyage to a remote tropical island. Their vessel was gently rocking them to sleep after a passionate love making session. Suddenly a storm hit. The bed rocked violently and he rolled off of it and hit the floor with a thud. He lay there for a moment with the breath knocked out of him. Then he cautiously opened his eyes. Maybe it hadn't been a storm after all. Maybe it had been a rogue wave. The rocking of the boat was gentle once again. Max was sitting on the bed, the sheets drawn up to her neck, looking down at him. But something was wrong with the picture. Instead of showing concern, her eyes were spitting fury at him. He slowly sat up and gathered his senses.
"Max?"
She sat there and continued to glare at him. The evening's events came back to him with a rush and he groaned to himself.
"Max, did you by any chance happen to push me out of bed?" He knew the answer even as he asked the question.
"Damn right I did."
"Max, it wasn't what you think…" he tried weakly knowing exactly what she was angry about.
"Oh no, Logan? Tell me exactly what about you kissing Ashley wasn't what I think it was. Did she suffer a sudden lack of oxygen to the brain, assuming she has one that is, and you had to give her mouth to mouth resuscitation? Or maybe she just slipped and fell into you and your mouths just happened to touch. And then your mouth accidentally opened and her tongue accidentally slipped into it. Yes, I can see where that might have happened." She rolled her eyes.
"I didn't kiss her. She kissed me."
"Ah I see. You're just the poor taken advantage of male. How remiss of me not to figure that out."
"Max…" Logan protested helplessly.
"That is my name. I guess I should be happy you still remember it."
"Can I get back into the bed? It's kind of drafty out here." Logan had gotten to his feet and stood looking down at Max. She tried hard to ignore his body and even harder not to think about how it felt next to her and inside of her. Logan didn't wait for her answer. He climbed back into the bed and propped a pillow behind him. He leaned back against the headboard with the sheets pulled up to his waist, leaving his sculpted chest exposed. He had noticed Max's look and wasn't averse to using whatever tools he had to assuage her anger at him.
"Isn't there somewhere else you can sleep?" Max demanded petulantly, aware that Logan had caught her looking him over.
"Probably." Logan answered, making no move to leave.
"Well then go sleep there."
"No."
"I don't want you here."
"Tough. I'm staying."
"Don't think you're going to touch me tonight." She said stubbornly.
"Oh, I don't think I am." Logan smiled smugly. "I know I am." As he spoke, he reached over and tugged at Max's arm. She was balanced precariously, leaning on her elbow, and her reflexes were still not completely up to par, which allowed him to catch her off guard. She overbalanced and fell onto his chest. A tremor ran through her at the contact with his hard body, and she gulped in a breath, which was a mistake. His familiar scent filled her nostrils and sent a bolt of heat through her.
She managed to bring her hands up to his chest and pushed herself up. Unfortunately all she accomplished was to bring her face even with his. His breath tickled her nose and she could feel the heat emanating from his skin. His eyes dropped to her lips and she caught her breath as he tangled his hands in her hair and slowly pulled her into a kiss. The moment their lips touched she felt a flame shoot through her body and she struggled to hold onto her anger. She kept her lips pressed closed, but Logan's clever tongue was dancing over them, and against her will she gave in and opened her mouth. The minute she did she was lost. She sighed and relaxed against him as he made expert love to her mouth. When he finally released her from the kiss she leaned back against his shoulder. Her body was relaxed but at the same time she could feel the anticipation of his next move. Despite herself she wanted him to make love to her. After the events of the night she needed him to make her feel cherished and cared for, not just some hot body to be used for pleasure. She shivered at the remembrance of the thug's hands and mouth touching her.
"Max, are you okay?" Logan picked up on her mood, as he always seemed to be able to do.
"That man… he wanted to…the drug… I almost couldn't stop him…" She shivered involuntarily.
Logan felt a surge of rage. "I know. I wanted to kill him for you when I realized. I'm sorry."
"What are you sorry for?" she asked him.
"I'm sorry there was no time to go back. I didn't know until I saw your dress in the car."
She could feel the anger and tension in his body. It made the hurt she felt over Ashley subside a little.
"Why are guys like that?"
"Like what?"
"I mean how can you just make it about the physical?"
Logan looked at her askance. "This from the girl who almost got it on with Arnold at my Uncle's house party? You should know from your heat. Men are prisoners of their hormones and unfortunately, it's kind of a constant thing."
"Is that what this is about then?" Max put him on the spot. "What if I hadn't been there tonight? Would you be lying in some bed naked with Ashley right now?"
Logan didn't hesitate. "Two months ago the answer to that question would have been yes. But since I met you again, I haven't felt the faintest urge to be with anyone but you. Even when we were denying what was between us, I couldn't think about anyone but you. I can't imagine ever wanting anyone else but you." He gave her a wry look. "So ends the glorious career of Logan Cale, playboy extraordinaire. Brought down in flames by one extraordinary woman."
"For that pretty speech you are almost forgiven for kissing that skank tonight."
"What will it take for complete forgiveness?"
Max sent him a seductive look. "Guess you're going to have to work hard at that. I'll let you know when you've succeeded."
Logan smiled back and started to lower his head to hers once more.
She stopped him with a finger to his lips. "Just remember one thing though."
"What's that?"
"I am going to kick Miss Pretty in Pink's ass all the way to San Francisco next time I see her. And you better not plan on stopping me." The look she gave him made it clear that she wasn't kidding. Logan made a mental note to suggest to Ashley that a long, long trip to Europe might be in order. He didn't want to have to bail Max out of jail for homicide, even though he supposed there would be a good argument to be made that it was justifiable.
"Point taken. Now can we get back to more important things? I need to convince a certain cat that I'm deserving of her forgiveness."
Max sighed as Logan set to work. "Mmmm… you're definitely off to a good start."
"Never let it be said that I don't take my work very seriously."
"I wouldn't… dream… of…oh…it…"
End of Chapter Ninety-Five…TBC…
