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Thinking of her never failed to prompt his thoughts wander to their one night together. It had been explosive and he ached for them to be together again. But the question was, did she?
He wasn't about to bully her into anything. The choice was Micki's.
Finally, he called a halt to the meeting. It wasn't too late, but it had been a long day and it was obvious the others were ready to call it quits.
He received regular weather updates from the bridge on an app he'd had installed. He also got a text from Greg said the captain wants to remain moored until at least the morning hoping the weather passes. Nothing personal from Micki though. He went to his office and gave the crew the night off, except for those scheduled with watch duties.
A couple of hours later the ship darkened and quieted with most in their cabins. The crew were safely tucked in their quarters, and Beck was in his office getting a bit of shut-eye on the couch. He didn't want to go to bed, he wanted to be ready in case he was needed.
Iwas in the captain's office just off the bridge. From here I had easy access to controls. So far so good. We were, as I called it, 'cradle rocking', not too significant and hopefully enough to lull everyone to sleep. It was just past 10:30 p.m.
The temperature was dropping and the wind had increased. I pulled on a jacket and the pants, socks, and shoes I had in the office locker.
There's no way I'd go to my cabin until this passed. The sky lit with lightning and thunder echoed across the water. Looking at the radar we had a couple of hours of storm ahead of us. I made myself hot chocolate with the coffee machine I brought here to make my drinks and not have to bother the crew. I curled up on the chair, cupping the mug in my hand and sipping the chocolate liberally laced with whipped cream. I cringed whenever there was a big crack of thunder. I didn't like storms. They were majestic, no doubt about that, but they scared me. I'd seen what a storm could do.
Intrepid rode fine at her anchor and she was stabilized.
Sipping and watching, that was how my next few hours would be, barring any unexpected problems.
I gave word to keep Intrepid closed up tight to keep out wind and rain. The decks had been cleared of anything that could fly away. When the wind and rain howled into the bridge, I jumped to my feet, nearly spilling the hot chocolate when I set it down.
"What in the world?" I ran from the office and slid on the wet floor. My feet went airborne and I was going to go down hard.
Strong hands grabbed me and I was pulled to a solid chest. It was slick and wet and it was Beck.
He was shiny and dripping, decked out in his all-weather gear, including a sou'wester rain hat.
"Well, don't you look like an old sea dog." He put me down and shook out of his gear. "What are you doing here?" I checked the door was securely closed.
"I thought you might like some company." I turned and leaned against the wall. The dim lighting of the instrument panel created a rather intimate atmosphere.
"I'm fine, all's well." I sensed he was here for more than just checking on the boat.
A great flash of lightning and thunder at the same time made me jump.
"That was close." I checked the instruments and Intrepid was fine. "We weren't hit," I whispered.
"We're grounded," he said.
I knew he was standing right behind me. I felt the heat of his body. When he pressed up ever so slightly to my back, the thrill of energy that passed between rivaled any lightning strike. I was charged up, my nerves alight with energy and all needing relief from him. But I'd promised myself not to give in until after we were at port. I rested my hands on the ledge of the instrument panel and braced myself for the emotions that I knew would surge through me.
"This was unexpected. I'm a little surprised that the weather took such a turn." He spoke next to my ear, my hair fluttering from his breath.
"I did warn you." I allowed myself the pleasure of leaning back slightly until my head rested against his chest. We were quiet for the next few minutes until another crash of thunder and of course, I jumped.
He snaked his arm around my stomach and pulled me close. One hand rested on my stomach and the other slid up to my breasts. I twisted in his arms. If I let him touch me there, then it would be all over. Toast. And we'd be banging on the bridge.
"Afraid of storms?" he asked.
I was surprised at the question. It wasn't something I liked to talk about.
I lifted a shoulder. "Hmm." It was all I would say because I wasn't ready to get into that with him.
"A bit of a conundrum, I'd say. A captain, out on the sea —”
"I never said I was afraid of storms." I looked up at him as another flash of lightning lit up his face. He was smiling, goddamnit.
"Then why do you jump at thunder?” As if to drive his point home, another–the loudest yet–boom of thunder echoed across the water and reverberated through Intrepid. I almost jumped right into his arms but I did bury my face in his chest. Damn, I wish I could control my response.
