LOVE on The Horizon (Breaking The Rules #1) (9 page)

“New training program?”

“Delegating 101. Marco feels it’s his obligation to his staff to groom them to step into his shoes at any moment. Great idea, right?”

“Brilliant. What if they start becoming suspicious that suddenly we’re always off at the same time?”

“Don’t worry about that. That’s for me to worry about. You just show up at Marco’s cabin in that dress once dinner is over. He’ll be waiting.”

I felt a flutter from nerves and excitement for what was to come. I had so much sexual tension built up that I felt I would embarrass myself if things didn’t progress between us. I knew it’d only been a few days since we started whatever this was, but the pressure inside had been building from the moment I’d first laid eyes on him.

“Where will Dina be?” I asked, unable to hide my curiosity.

“She and Leslie are hosting the slot tournament.”

“Good planning.” I gave him props. That tournament went all night.

“Of course, I’ll need to make it up to them tomorrow, but such is life. One day at a time, my love.”

One hour at a time, I thought to myself. My time with Marco literally needed to be planned one hour at a time.

She stood at my door, an absolute vision in her formal black gown. “Come in,” I said, moving aside to allow her access.

She looked around my cabin and smiled. “Perks of being the cruise director?”

“Yeah,” I said, a bit embarrassed by my accommodations.

My cabin was much larger than most. The staff had their own cabins, but they were very small. They could be compared to the size of a closet with an even smaller bathroom. With enough room for a single bed, one dresser, one chair, and one tiny closet, the space could barely fit two adults. Which is why the crew cabins were even worse, because two people were forced to share the tiny space. It bothered me that I was living in such plush conditions compared to my team.

Besides Ricky, Rebecca was the only other person to have seen my stateroom. I stood in the doorway as she perused the room with a smile. “This is really nice.”

“It’s just a room.” I closed the distance until I stood before her. “You look stunning. I saw you earlier and fought the urge to come over and wrap you in my arms.”

I could see her hair hanging in a silky curtain down her back through the reflection in the mirror behind her. I dug my fingers into the chestnut strands above her ear and ran my hand down until I reached the curly ends.

“Are you okay?” I asked. When she looked up at me, her big blue eyes shimmered in the dimly lit room.

“Yes. I’m more than okay.”

Her words contradicted the sadness in her eyes.

“Rebecca, something’s wrong…no?”

She sighed and skimmed a hand over my face. “I saw you with Dina. Ricky filled me in.”

“Nothing is going on between Dina and me,” I immediately explained.

“Oh, I know. I just have this bad feeling about her. She is great at her job, but…”

“I know,
bella
. She has a bad attitude. I’ve been on the receiving end many times. If it’s interfering with her job performance, as your direct report, you would need to write her up.”

“I will. Forget her. I’m so glad we’re alone now. I’ve been looking forward to seeing you all day.”

I chose not to harp on Dina. I didn’t want to spoil our time together. The moments we stole were precious. She cupped my face with both hands and stared into my eyes before pulling me down for a kiss. The instant our lips touched, I felt the familiar desire for her coursing through me with the blood in my veins. My hands tangled in her hair while holding her body against mine. She felt like a precious, fragile gift to treasure and worship. The skin on her back felt warm beneath my touch.

“Rebecca, I really want to make love to you. I worry it’s too soon, and if you want to wait, I’ll…” She began shaking her head before I finished my statement.

“No. I want the same. I’ve wanted it for a while, and there isn’t anything I want more.”

With my hands on her back, I found the zipper of her dress and began lowering it slowly. Her lips parted and her eyes widened in anticipation. I bent my head to take her bottom lip between mine.

In slow motion, she pulled the end of my bow tie until it dangled around my neck. In slower motion, I lowered the black silk of her dress until it pooled at her feet. I stepped away to take in the exquisite sight of Rebecca in her black lace bra and thong. “Oh,
Dio mio
.”

She blushed and said, “For you.”

Behind her, the mirror showed a scrap of lace above her perfect, exposed ass. The erection in my pants grew with each second that passed. Once the pressure was too much to bear, I distractedly rubbed myself for some relief. She followed my hand with her eyes and stepped closer to finish removing my clothes. Sweet, delicious torture was the only way to describe what I was experiencing as I waited patiently for her to remove my tie, cuff links, and shirt. She ran her hands over my chest before reaching the button of my pants. Instead of unbuttoning them, she placed her hand over my hard excitement.

“You need to hurry,
bella
. I’m not Superman.”

With a stunning smile, she followed my command and removed my pants. I watched her reflection bend when she removed my shoes and socks. I skimmed the smooth skin of her back until my hand cupped her beautiful ass as it pointed upward invitingly.

She placed openmouthed kisses to my thighs and on the fabric of my underwear that covered my erection. Gently, I reached for her hands, pulled her to a standing position, and lifted her to place her in the center of my bed.

Mumbling I needed to have her immediately or I was going to blow,
I removed my briefs, retrieved a condom from my bedside table, and lay beside her.

“The sound of you speaking Italian is the best kind of foreplay,” she teased. “Now tell me what you said.”

“I’m sorry,
bella
. I hadn’t realized I said all that in Italian.” This girl made me crazy.

“Don’t ever apologize for that. I love hearing you speak it. I wish I knew what you were saying.”

“I said I need to make love to you, right now.”

“Oh,” she said on an exhale, her eyes darkening with desire.

She watched as I rolled the condom on my very hard length. I didn’t bother removing her bra or thong. There would be time for that later, and seeing her in them was a visual I wouldn’t soon forget. At that moment, all I wanted was to be inside her. She understood my urgency and smiled when I moved the lace strip between her legs to the side. I touched her softly to be sure she was ready for me. She was more than ready. I groaned in anticipation when I felt her slick warmth. I groaned louder when I slowly slid in and felt her heat surrounding me even through the condom.

She called my name once I was fully settled inside her. For several long seconds, I couldn’t move or break eye contact. The connection, both physically and emotionally, was like nothing I’ve ever, ever experienced in my entire adult life. This gorgeous young woman was holding me hostage with her body, beauty, and aura. It was at that moment I realized I was caught in her net.

“Wait.” I pulled her into the room and moved around her to slowly open the door. After looking both ways down the hall, I quickly kissed her before letting her leave my cabin. If anyone saw her taking the walk of shame from the cruise director’s stateroom at five a.m. in her ball gown, I’d never forgive myself.

Last night was amazing. We’d spent hours learning each other’s likes, wants, and needs. I discovered she loved to suck on me as I feasted on her. I immediately knew when my tongue hit the perfect spot or when my mouth applied just the right pressure based on her enthusiastic moans that vibrated through her mouth onto my flesh. She also loved when I played with her hair, and I loved when she traced the lines on my chest. She fell asleep in my arms, and I loved watching her relax against me.

The one thing I hated was waking her up to send her away. Thoughts of her spending every night with me filled me with a longing for things I never knew I wanted. It must be my libido talking. I usually could go long stretches of time without sex, but whenever I did finally have it, I’d then become insatiable. But sex with Rebecca was different. It wasn’t just desire or lust that had me wanting more. I missed her presence, her smile, and mostly, her sweet laugh.

Her absence had me planning ways we could be together openly. We were definitely playing a dangerous game. If management found out, then they would insist on moving her to a different job. Company policy would forbid me from supervising my girlfriend. That was the problem. There weren’t any other jobs on
The Horizon
suitable for Rebecca.

I quickly showered, dressed, and headed to my office. It would be hours before our staff meeting. Ricky usually appeared first, and I was hoping today wouldn’t be an exception. I needed his logic and problem-solving skills to help me figure things out. In the meantime, I spent the time on the corporate website reviewing policies regarding relationships between staff members on Sunset Cruise Lines.

Ricky entered my office with my double espresso. “Hey, boss. How was your night?”

“Ricky, shut the door.”

He did as I asked and sat across from me with a wide grin on his face. “I suspect you had a good night?”

“Very good…too good.” My facial expression contradicted my words.

“So why the long face?”

“Ricky, how is this going to work?” He started to shake his head, and I added, “Hear me out. I spent the morning trying to figure out how I could be with her. It’s no use. As long as I’m her boss, I can’t have an open relationship with her. If management gets wind of things, they would remove her from my staff. The problem is there aren’t any comparable jobs on this ship to transfer her to.”

Ricky’s arrogant attitude vanished before my eyes. He knew I was right. He knew this was not an easy situation for us.

“I can't hurt her or let her career end because of me.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. One day at a time.”

When you worked seventy- to eighty-hour weeks, finding spare time wasn’t easy. What little time you had was spent on sleeping and, in my case, Marco. Time was both flying by and slinking by, if that made sense. When we were together, in the blink of an eye, our time was over. When apart, it felt like days before we’d see each other again. But, in spite of that, it was always worth it. We got along beautifully. His passion for life, his compassion for people, and his ability to reduce me to a pile of mush had me falling for him.

Our relationship hasn’t seen the light of day. For weeks, every encounter has taken place in his cabin or mine. While out and about, you’d never know we were a couple. We were so convincing, even Ricky asked if everything was still okay between us.

“You guys deserve an Academy Award,” he said after one of our staff meetings. “You even have me fooled, and I know how often you two screw.”

“Shh.” I smacked him to shut him up. “You’re so annoying.”

“Oh, you adore me,” he quipped.

He was wrong. I didn’t merely adore him. I loved him…and not only because Ricky had been instrumental in organizing our time together, but mostly because he had a heart of pure gold. I loved having him on our side acting as the master juggler. He’d rearrange schedules daily to find snippets of time for us. I nicknamed him Mr. Omnipotent. Today, we hit the jackpot. He’d spent weeks planning this day. We were in port in St. Maarten again. He moved schedules around like pawns on a chessboard. Marco and I were spending the day together at a secluded beach in Orient Bay. I was beyond excited.

Ricky hinted that a gift, preferably in the shape of Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses that he’d been eyeing, would be a lovely token of our appreciation.

He deserved more.

Separate departure times and separate cabs had us on a quiet, deserted beach, ready to enjoy our time together. Marco arrived first to stake out the perfect location. I followed the directions he left with Ricky. As I approached, I saw him in the distance, looking all kinds of sexy. He saw me walking toward him, and his returning smile almost had my knees buckling beneath me.

Eager to reach me, he sprinted over and caught me around my waist. “
Ciao, bella
,” he said as he lifted me in a crushing hug.

“Hi,” I said, grinning wide from his enthusiasm.

He looked so hot on the beach with windblown hair, dark chocolate eyes, and tanned skin. He stirred me in ways that were hard to control. When I stared at his gorgeous face, he could make me forget to breathe. When he smiled, all words failed me. The sound of his voice traveled through my veins like a slowly administered drug. This man whom I barely knew was affecting me in every way. Every moment that I spent with Marco overwhelmed me to the point that I couldn’t think straight. I’d probably do anything he asked… Actually, I knew I would.

He put me down and immediately began kissing my neck.

“Mmm,” I moaned when his lips traveled over my shoulder. He smiled against my skin and resumed peppering me with kiss after kiss, landing a deep, passionate one against my lips.

He pulled away, linking his hands behind my back.

“That was quite a welcome,” I said with a smile.

“I missed you. Come, let’s have lunch.” He led me to the blanket he had spread out with sandwiches, fruit, and drinks. We sat side by side under the shade of a palm tree, facing the ocean.

“I’m impressed. You thought of everything.”

He frowned and admitted, “Actually, it was Ricky’s idea.”

I laughed at the look on his face. “He really does deserve the D&G sunglasses he wants.”

Marco handed me a wrapped sandwich and nodded. “I already bought them in Grand Cayman the other day.”

“He’ll be very happy.”

Marco and I ate our lunch in comfortable silence. We had a few hours to just enjoy each other’s company. A few people were on the beach, but for the most part, we had complete privacy. I felt his gaze on me, and I turned to face him with a smile. “What?” I asked when his expression turned serious.

“I can’t stop looking at you. Don’t move.” He stretched behind us to grab his backpack. From an internal pocket, he retrieved his cell phone to take a picture of me. “Turn with your back to the ocean,” he said as he snapped picture after picture. The warm ocean breeze blew my hair away from my face, prompting him to say, “So beautiful. Give me a smile,
bella
.”

With my arms wrapped around my knees, I gave him a shy smile as he continued to take more pictures. “Now I can look at you whenever I want.”

“I didn’t miss my cell phone, until now,” I admitted. I’d left it behind, not bothering to renew my contract. Marco shifted to sit beside me and held his phone up to take one of us together. He tossed his phone into his bag and pulled me in for a hard kiss. The kiss progressed instantly, and within seconds, we were stretched out side by side on the blanket. He broke the kiss to ask, “Swim with me?”

“Okay.”

We watched each other disrobe down to our bathing suits and strolled to the ocean hand in hand. Without warning, he lifted me in his arms and threw me in. I came up spluttering and laughing. He swam right for me as I splashed him in retaliation. “You suck.”

“I do, huh?” he asked, smiling deviously. In a flash, he dove toward me. I tried to swim away, but he reached me before I could escape. Effortlessly, he lifted me and threw me a few feet away. “Do I still suck?” he asked when I surfaced.

“Yes!” I swam as fast as I could in the opposite direction.

“
You can’t escape me
,” he called out as I swam farther from where he floated. When I looked back at him, I saw him lunge, causing me to swim even faster. My giggling slowed me down, and a strong arm wrapped possessively around my waist. I attempted to struggle as he pulled me backward until I was flush against his body. The warm water, combined with his warm body, caused a rush of heat to flare up within me. And just like that, I ended my struggle.

He turned me and linked my hands behind his neck. I could feel his grip tighten on my ass as he coaxed me to straddle my legs around his waist.

Staring into my eyes, he said, “Your eyes are the same color as the ocean.
Bellissima
.”

I skimmed my hand over his face, drying the droplets of water that clung to his tan skin. Closing the distance, I kissed his full lips and immediately parted mine in hopes he would accept my invite. Without hesitation, Marco’s tongue slipped in, jump-starting my desire. I pressed harder against him, wanting and needing friction against my breasts. He shifted one hand to the center of my ass, holding me up while his other hand dipped into my bikini bottom.

The instant he touched me, I pulled away to drag in a deep breath. His finger stroked me intimately as his eyes watched my facial expressions. The more he stroked, the harder it was for me to channel my reactions. I couldn’t look away from his deep brown eyes. My openmouthed pants came faster and faster. My fingers desperately gripped the back of his neck. He pulled my bottom lip in between his when he slid two fingers inside. When I came hard against his hand, he deepened the kiss and swallowed my loud moans.

Despite the ocean that surrounded us, I felt hot and parched. I licked my lips, tasting the saltiness that coated them. “Are you good?” he asked with a half smirk on his face.

“I’m better than good. That was…unexpected.”

“That was a vision to watch. I love watching you come,
bella
. You do it so well.”

My cheeks tinged red from his comment. He was always watching me in the throes of passion. Where I chose to close my eyes to hide, he often watched me lose my shit unashamedly.

“I owe you an orgasm,” I admitted when he put me down to stand on my own feet.

“You do.” He smiled wider and said, “But not here. I’m not sure I’d be as discreet as you were. Come.” He held his hand out and led me back to our blanket. The air was warm enough to dry our bodies within minutes.

He sat behind me, forcing me to sit between his legs and lean against his chest. I was so relaxed, and it felt so right to be together. We chatted about places I wanted to visit someday. He shared all the places he’d already been. The difference in the number of stamps in our passports was staggering. He was a world traveler, and I was a clueless girl from New Jersey who had never left the country before this cruise.

“What’s your favorite place?” I asked curiously.

“Ah, that one is easy. It’s the place where all wishes come true.”

I turned my face toward his, waiting for him to elaborate. “When I was a small boy, my parents took me to
Fontana di Trevi
, in Roma. It’s so majestic. I felt so small when I stood before it. They explained the powers of the fountain and the magic in those waters. It’s believed that when you make a wish at Trevi, your wish will absolutely come true. So, as a boy, I wished for a mountain of delicious gelato. After we left the fountain, we stumbled on a gelateria a few blocks away. Inside the glass display cases sat mountains and mountains of every kind of gelato ever created. Every time I returned to that fountain, even many years later as an adult, the wishes I made came true. My last wish was to receive the cruise director job on
The Horizon
.”

“That’s so sweet. I love that. Maybe someday I’ll get to make my own wish there.”

“And what would you wish for,
bella
?”

I leaned closer until our lips were practically touching. “If I tell you before I make it, it won’t come true.”

“You’re right. Don’t tell me.” He kissed me passionately, causing my insides to erupt with desire. I found it necessary to break the kiss or face putting myself in a compromising situation that would be hard to explain to the locals.

“We need to stop,” I admitted with heavy-lidded eyes. He laughed as I fanned myself with a limp wrist.

“Okay, to be continued.” He repositioned me against his chest and played with my wet curls.

“Marco?” I couldn’t help but ask him a question that had been on my mind for weeks.

“
Sì, bella
?”

“Where do you see this going?”

His hand halted before he said, “I know where I want it to go.”

“Where?”

“I care about you,
bella
. You must know that?”

“I hoped that you did.” I avoided his eyes, choosing to stare at the turquoise ocean before us. “You’re a gorgeous man who has shied away from relationships. I worried that I was…”

“A fling?” My silence spoke volumes. “Rebecca, this isn’t just a fling for me.”

“We never really spoke about it. I was hoping it was more.”

He turned my head until I met his gaze. “Much more. I’m just trying to figure things out for us.
Bella
, I worry. I can’t pretend I’m not concerned how this will affect you.”

“Or you.”

“I can take care of myself. It’s you I worry about.”

He looked at me intently for the longest time before I turned back to stare at the ocean. He remained still behind me, his hands now resting on his thighs. I regretted bringing it up. My big mouth was ruining a perfect afternoon. I took one of his hands and held it between mine. He kissed the top of my head sweetly. Silence fell as we both became lost in our own thoughts.

How could I be so naïve as to think everything would work out and we’d sail into the sunset together? The more this went on, the more I fell for him. Actually, I knew without a doubt that I loved Marco Puglia. The only doubts I had were where our relationship would go and if he felt the same about me.

The ship was bustling with activity as it always did on departure day. When I thought about all that had to be orchestrated in an eight-hour span of time, it amazed me how seamless it all was. The port was jammed with passengers disembarking. Food, liquor, and merchandise were delivered through the hull on a constant chain of moving pallets. As part of the entertainment staff, the moment the outgoing passengers leave, we immediately regroup to discuss what worked the previous week or what didn’t.

Once our staff meeting was over, we had a few hours to ourselves before the new passengers began to board. Every few weeks, I’d use that time to call my family and give them status reports on my progress. Three months into my contract, and they finally accepted my new career choice and stopped berating me to come home. Thus, my phone calls became more frequent and more pleasant. Thankfully, we’d spend the time catching up on what’d been happening since I left. Over these past weeks, I learned that my sister and brother-in-law were expecting their first baby. My dad decided to finally retire next year so he and my mom could travel…something they’d wanted to do for years. Each new family tidbit had me melancholy and missing them. The news that my mom shared on my last call blew me away and sent me spiraling in doubt.