Chapter Twelve. Colby thought she would never be on the water like this again

Colby thought she would never be on the water like this again. It was always too painful, a reminder of her former life, the one she vowed never to return to. But she wanted to show Elizabeth the joy of sailing, and what better way than on a forty-foot Lagoon catamaran. She eased into the slip at the Front Street Pier. Elizabeth hadn’t arrived yet, giving her time to secure the boat and make sure everything was in order.

She had called ahead to the number she still knew by heart, and the boat was prepped, stocked, and ready for her when she’d arrived earlier that morning. As she stepped on the deck, a wave of nostalgia flooded her, causing her to lose her footing and stumble. She banged her knee and scraped her palm.

After checking the main cabin for at least the third time she stepped through the salon and out to the cockpit. Elizabeth was standing on the dock, gaping.

“This is what we’re going out on? ” She pointed to the gleaming white boat.

“Yes, it is, ” Colby replied, enjoying Elizabeth’s look of shock. Her body tingled because she hadn’t seen Elizabeth yesterday.

“You said it was just a little sailboat. Holy Christ, Colby, this is practically the Queen Mary.”

Colby couldn’t help but laugh at Elizabeth’s cute, yet exaggerated description of the boat. “I don’t think I used the word little.”

“Oh, yes, you did. I distinctly remember you saying it was just a little something to sail around the island.” Elizabeth had her hands on her hips and was shaking her head.

“Okay, maybe I slightly understated.” Colby stopped at Elizabeth’s expression that clearly said she didn’t believe a word of what she was saying. “Anyway, you know what they say, Elizabeth, size doesn’t matter. It’s what you do with what you have that separates the novice from the pros.” Colby could see that she was still skeptical. “Ah, come on. Let’s have some fun.” Colby was starting to worry that her plans for the day were sinking.

“Is there anything else you’ve neglected to tell me? ”

Colby hesitated. That was a loaded question with a powder-keg answer. But this wasn’t the time and it never would be. She wanted to enjoy the day with Elizabeth without the ugly past haunting it.

“Nothing you won’t find out if you don’t join me.”

Elizabeth looked at the boat from stem to stern, then port to starboard. Finally she appeared to make a decision. She saluted. “Ahoy, Captain, permission to come aboard? ”

“Just how big is this thing? ” Elizabeth asked as Colby showed her around. She couldn’t miss Colby’s sense of pride as she touched everything, explaining how things worked and their nautical name.

The day was glorious, and she had missed Colby beside her last night. It was the first night in a week they hadn’t spent together. They had fallen into a routine that was far too comfortable for Elizabeth.

Her bed had felt enormous and very, very empty. She was awake more than she slept. Her brain wouldn’t shut down. She was stuck in a cadence of I-want-her-next-to-me, followed by it’s-good-to-be-apart-because-I’m-leaving-soon. Back and forth all night, and she was still no closer to deciding which side of the debate she favored.

“Forty feet, six inches. To be exact, ” Colby said. As they walked she spoke like a proud parent. “She has two twenty-seven horsepower Mercury motors and can hold over a hundred gallons of fuel and a hundred and eighty-eight gallons of fresh water. The main sail is five hundred and seventy square feet, and it has four double berths and four heads. Uh, bedrooms and bathrooms.”

Elizabeth looked around the dock, which was full of activity on other boats. Obvious tourists boarding for a day of snorkeling, and a group of men in their twenties scrambling aboard the fishing boat moored next to them. But apparently none of them planned to spend the day alone with a gorgeous half-naked woman. “And we’re taking this out on the water? ”

“Yep.”

“You and who else? ”

Colby laughed. “Nobody.”

Elizabeth sensed there was more to this boat than Colby was telling. When she had asked her to go sailing, Colby had said she could get a catamaran and they could sail, snorkel, and sunbathe all day if they wanted to. Elizabeth had no i.e. this was what she was talking about. This boat was fabulous. But where did it come from? Maybe a friend was letting her borrow it. Elizabeth studied the plush furnishings in the cabin. She wished she had friends like that.

Colby immediately put her to work, giving her directions and pointing when Elizabeth had no idea what she was talking about. Throughout the morning Colby taught her the ins and outs of sailing with equal patience as she had with her surfing lessons. She’d make a good teacher, Elizabeth thought on more than one occasion. She connected, was thorough without overkill and brief without missing anything important.

They had just finished making love and Colby was leaning against the cabin wall, Elizabeth’s head in her lap. They were lying on a wide cushion Colby had placed on the deck, the sail keeping the sun from shining in her eyes.

“A zip line? ”

“Yeah. Have you ever been on one? ”

Elizabeth couldn’t miss Colby’s excitement. She shook her head. “No, and I’m not sure I want to.”

“We already know you’re not afraid of heights, so what’s the problem? ” Colby asked point-blank. She took three long gulps from her bottle of water.

“Uh, just the i.e. of jumping off a perfectly good mountain.” Her stomach tickled when Colby laughed. “What? ”

“It’s not like that. You’re strapped into a harness and it’s completely safe.”

“A woman I dated once tried to convince me of that. It didn’t work that time either.”

Colby looked down at her, her blistering black eyes glinting with mischief. “Really? ”

“Forget it, ” Elizabeth said quickly, to cancel any thoughts Colby might have of that fantasy coming true.

“Don’t tell me you’re not the adventurous type? ” The question sounded like a challenge.

Elizabeth studied Colby. She was tall, extremely good-looking, physically fit was an understatement, and had a wonderful sense of humor. Oh, and made her forget about everything with her kisses. But she’d never forget her. For the second time Colby had thrown down the gauntlet. The first time Elizabeth picked it up was thrilling. The second would undoubtedly be even more so.

“I think we’ve already established that.” Elizabeth sat up and slid very close to Colby. Her arm grazed Colby’s bare breast and she sensed Colby’s sharp intake of breath.

“Yes, we have, ” Colby murmured, but not so quietly that Elizabeth didn’t hear it. After a few moments Colby asked, “How about tomorrow? ” The sun was close to the horizon; the last streaks of daylight soon would be fading in the western sky. They would be heading back shortly, and Elizabeth didn’t want the day to end.

“You want me to jump off a perfectly good mountain with you? ” Elizabeth asked, looking at Colby’s mouth, not her eyes. It was so close all she had to do was move just a little and she would be able to taste those lips again. Her pulse hammered in her brain.

“I’ll catch you.” Colby’s voice was soft and low.

Elizabeth was mesmerized by the movement of her lips. She wanted to kiss her, wanted to feel the gentle strength of her arms again. When did this conversation take a metaphorical shift? “I’m heavier than I look.” Elizabeth’s words were nonsense.

“I know exactly how heavy you are, ” Colby said, and grinned lasciviously. Elizabeth felt herself blush, her mind flashing on how often Colby had been beneath her in the last few weeks.

Colby smiled, her dimples deep and charming. “So what do you say? I can probably get us a reservation for the afternoon drop tomorrow.”

Elizabeth’s guts were still churning from the intensity of being this close to Colby yet again. The woman was overpowering in a nonthreatening way. She attracted Elizabeth like metal to a magnet, and right now she wanted to be all over her.

“All right, but not tomorrow.” She had to begin to separate herself from Colby for her own sake.

“The day after? Ten thirty in the lobby? ”

Elizabeth nodded.

“Great. You won’t be disappointed.” Colby was looking directly at her lips, eyes dark with desire and innuendo.

Elizabeth played along. “Don’t promise something you can’t deliver, surfer girl.”

“I never do.” Colby neared for a kiss.

When their lips met, a spark shot through Elizabeth and she couldn’t believe she wanted Colby again. She had barely caught her breath, but her body was signaling that she was ready for more, much more. So much for creating a little distance.

So this is what it’s like to be completely driven by desire. Elizabeth wanted to crawl on top of, under, and inside this exciting woman. She wanted to touch Colby, caress her, taste her body and her soul. She wanted to dissolve into oblivion with Colby again.

Taking the initiative this time, Elizabeth climbed into Colby’s lap, which didn’t seem to upset her at all. In fact, Elizabeth thought she saw Colby smile before covering her lips.

She feasted on Colby’s lips before exploring her mouth with equal attention. God, Colby could kiss, and more than once Elizabeth came from doing just that. Colby’s kisses weren’t too wet or sloppy, even in the heat of the moment. She moved down her neck, paying particular attention to the spot just below Colby’s right ear, the place that made her tremble.

Elizabeth kept her hands busy as well. With one she cupped a breast, making lazy swipes across a hard nipple with her thumb. With the other she alternately pinched and massaged Colby’s other breast. Colby pulled her hips down as she thrust hers upward, Elizabeth sliding easily over Colby’s hard stomach.

When Colby broke the kiss and took one of her breasts into her mouth, Elizabeth stopped her. With her thumb under Colby’s chin she lifted it until she was looking directly into smoldering eyes. “No, this is for you.”

“But I—”

“But nothing.” Elizabeth shifted them both down onto the cushion, kissing Colby again. Between kisses she said, “You’ve taken me to places I’ve never imagined. It’s your turn. I intend to put my lips and tongue everywhere. My hands and fingers will explore you, my body will sing to you. I’ll touch you like you’ve never been touched before.” Elizabeth accentuated her final words and did exactly as she promised, the setting sun caressing her bare back.