Strictly Taboo, page 12
“I don’t see what the problem is.” Rodney sat down in the chair next to Garek’s. They were having a beer together in Garek’s private stateroom. “If you feel that strongly about her, then go tell her.” He frowned. “I’ve never seen you act like such a pussy before, bro.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“You know what I mean.”
Garek grunted. Yeah, he did. It wasn’t like him to get nervous about whether or not Lady A, B, or C wanted him to keep hanging around. Of course, that could have had something to do with the fact that they typically wanted him to stay. It wasn’t just ego saying this, but experience.
Except where Diane was concerned. Garek’s jaw clenched. Deviations from the norm always seemed to come right back to her. He had no ego at all when it came to Diane—never had—and was beginning to wonder if he ever would.
“Yes, I know what you mean.” Garek tipped the bottle up to his lips and finished it. Setting it down, he decided to change subjects. He’d dwell on Diane later, when he was alone. “You enjoying yourself?”
Rodney shrugged. “I guess.”
One black eyebrow shot up. Garek had thought a cruise like this would be a dream come true for his best friend.
“I don’t know,” Rodney sighed. “I must be getting old, because I’ve spent more time on the balcony of my room watching the river than I have fucking.”
Garek chuckled. “Could be a sign of something other than old age. I’ve been afflicted by this disease myself and it’s only gotten worse since I was reacquainted with Diane.”
“Disease?”
“Yeah. It’s called growing up.”
Rodney snorted. “I hear you, bro.” He stood up to fetch himself a cup of coffee. “I never thought I’d live to say this, but I’m sick of casual sex.”
It occurred to Garek that in all the years they’d been best friends, they rarely had heart-to-heart talks. As a result, the entire conversation felt a little stiff. Maybe women talked to their girlfriends like this all the time, but guys just didn’t.
Searching for a meaningful response, all Garek could come up with was a mumbled, “Me, too.”
Rodney sat back down with his coffee. They stared at each other for a minute. “So what are you going to do?” he finally asked.
Garek didn’t know. He wished he did. Unfortunately, Diane was the Queen of Mixed Signals. He wasn’t certain that she wanted him in her life.
Or maybe she hadn’t crossed her wires. Maybe Garek was just having trouble reading them for the first time since high school. He couldn’t recall ever feeling this unsure of where he stood with a woman.
“I’m going to have a cup of coffee, too,” Garek said, frowning. A situation like this couldn’t be rushed. He had a lot of thinking to do. “You want cream and sugar for yours?”
Tired from pacing and overwrought nerves, Diane fell asleep on the tiny bed in her equally tiny bedroom. When she awoke a couple of hours later, it was to the knowledge that she was all alone and only had herself to thank.
Garek had made it clear back in the pub that he wanted to see Diane again. Diane’s avoidance of the subject had all but told him that she didn’t return his sentiment. If she were in Garek’s shoes and a man had reacted to her the way she had reacted to him, Diane recognized that she would have believed he wasn’t interested in seeing her again.
She stiffened. It wasn’t like her to be a weeping willow and she didn’t plan to assume that role now. If she let Garek walk out of her life without telling him how she felt, she’d never forgive herself.
Bolting up off the bed, Diane rummaged in her closet for something to wear. In a hurry, she chose a white t-shirt and jeans.
She wasn’t supposed to amble around The Carnal Voyage with clothes on, but she didn’t want to do the walk from her bedroom to Garek’s stateroom naked. Another paying passenger might try to stop her en route and she wasn’t up for the attention at the moment.
“I want off this damn boat already,” Diane mumbled to the four walls, trying to work up her nerve to go to Garek. This is just too much!
She made her way to the bathroom so she could freshen up her I-just-tumbled-out-of-bed appearance. Diane was scared to tell him the truth about her awakening feelings, but conceded that she had to. She had never loved any man the way she had loved Garek in high school. Seeing him again was making all the magical, butterflies-in-the-belly feelings come crashing back.
He wielded the power to hurt her, something she’d never thought would happen again where Garek was concerned. Nevertheless, she owed it to herself—and to him—to find out how he felt about her.
Ennis the Menace wasn’t getting off the ship without knowing how Diane Sullivan felt about him.
Rodney had long since departed, leaving Garek to his tumultuous thoughts. Should he go to Diane’s room and tell her he wanted to see her again—be with her forever if he had his way—or should he stay put and see if she came to him?
The first possibility opened him up for humiliation. The second one could result in never seeing Diane again.
Garek ran a punishing hand through his short, black hair and sighed. Whether or not Diane wanted to see him again, he didn’t want her to leave the ship without knowing his feelings.
He had loved her with his whole heart as a gawky kid. When he sat back and really thought about it, he couldn’t sincerely say that the feelings had ever died. More like lain in waiting.
Over the years Garek had contrasted every girlfriend against the way he’d felt back in high school when he was near Diane. Inevitably, those women had always paled by comparison. Nobody could make his heart race or put adolescent butterflies in his belly.
Except for Diane.
Garek’s jaw clenched as he began to pace back and forth in his stateroom. There was only one viable course to take, and he had known all along what it was. He had to go to Diane’s room and tell her how he felt about her. If she left the boat without knowing, he’d curse himself until the day he died.
Chapter 8
Garek had never felt so determined in his life. Dressed in a black silk shirt and black pants, he marched over to Diane’s room. He had done a lot of thinking in the last few hours and there was no way in hell he was letting her get away that easily.
They had enjoyed a great time together in Gouda. He wanted there to be a lot more of those times.
Prepared to knock on her door, Garek’s hand found air instead as the door flew open. Diane yelped, obviously taken by surprise.
“Garek,” she breathed out, her blue eyes wide and sexy, “what are you doing here?”
His gaze raked over her. Damn, she looked good. She wore a white t-shirt and jeans, no bra to impede the view. Her ripe nipples poked against the cotton, giving him an instant erection.
In contrast to her tousled clothes, her makeup and hair were perfectly done. Garek ached to dishevel them.
His heart was racing. Those damn butterflies he experienced only in Diane’s presence were back again.
Their gazes clashed and held. Her breasts heaved up and down in time with her unsteady breathing. She wanted him. He wanted to tell her how he felt, but the words wouldn’t come. He’d never been good with words. Actions, however, were his specialty.
One minute she was standing before him and the next she was in his arms. He growled as his mouth demandingly came down on hers, kissing her with all the passion he felt inside. She moaned into his mouth, driving him wild with desire.
There was no time for foreplay. They’d indulged in it for days now. Garek needed to fuck her, to brand her, more than he needed to breathe.
Backing her into the small bedroom, he kicked the door shut and guided her toward the bed. He broke the kiss and grabbed the hem of her t-shirt, pulling it over her head. Unable to resist a few quick sucks, he palmed her breasts, bent his head, and sucked her nipples hard.
“Garek,” Diane gasped, pushing his dark head into her chest. “Oh God, that feels so good.”
His breathing heavy, Garek released her nipple with a popping sound. His hands found her jeans and quickly discarded them, throwing them to the wayside. Once she stood before him naked, she frantically helped him out of his clothes.
“You’re the sexiest woman alive, Diane,” Garek rasped, his voice thick. He backed her toward the bed, coming down on top of her as she fell onto it. “I need you so damn bad.”
He couldn’t get inside her pussy fast enough. Settling himself between her thighs, Garek placed one palm on the side of her head and used the other hand to guide his rigid cock to her opening.
“Please make love to me,” Diane whispered, her hand massaging his bicep. “I’ve been wanting you for years, Garek.”
Garek couldn’t conceal the surprise in his expression. His green eyes widened a fraction, then narrowed in arousal.
The head of his cock found her opening. Their gazes locked. Garek gritted his teeth as he pushed himself in her tight, wet cunt. Diane groaned, her back arching beneath him.
“I’ve wanted you for years, too,” Garek hoarsely admitted. He seated himself on a matching groan, then began to sink in and out of her, deep, slow strokes that made his toes curl. Sweet Jesus, but her pussy felt impossibly better than he’d fantasized it would. “No woman has ever compared to you, Diane.”
“Oh, Garek—”
Diane gasped as he picked up the pace, fucking her with all the intense, animalistic energy he’d been stockpiling over the years. Garek was done talking and ready to be one with the only woman on earth who wielded emotional power over him.
He sank in and out of her, moaning as he gluttonously indulged in her tight cunt. Nipples stiff, her tits jiggled beneath him with every thrust, turning him on all the more. Sweat-soaked skin slapped against sweat-soaked skin. The sound of her pussy suctioning in his cock permeated the small room with every outstroke.
Garek’s balls were so tight he knew that orgasm was imminent. He didn’t want to come yet, not by a long shot. He wanted to fuck her for hours, but his arousal was too great.
His eyes closed tightly and his muscles tensed as he fought to hold back his climax. He rode her hard, ruthlessly pumping in and out of her, while she moaned and fucked him back.
“Diane.”
He took her harder, impaling her with deep, possessive strokes. His arms tightened around her, hands coming up beneath her shoulders and fingers digging into the flesh there. Garek didn’t want to ever let her go.
One way or another, he’d make certain he didn’t have to.
“I’m coming, Garek,” she moaned, her voice thick. Her fingernails raked his back, mixing pleasure and pain. “Now.”
“Me, too,” he growled, guttural sounds emitting from his throat. He fucked her harder, faster, deeper, over and over, again and again. The scent of her arousal reached his nostrils, making them flare.
“Oh shit—Diane.”
Garek came on a loud roar, a sound of completion and dominance that reverberated through his body. Diane groaned out her orgasm, her pussy muscles contracting around his stiff flesh.
He continued to stroke in and out of her, and she continued to meet his thrusts. He kept up the frenzied pace until she’d milked every drop of cum out of him and, exhausted, he collapsed on top of her.
“Diane,” Garek murmured, his voice hoarse with fatigue. He bent his neck and kissed her forehead. “Diane, thank you.”
She smiled up at him, a lazy grin that told him she was a woman who had been well-loved. “Kiss me,” she whispered, her eyes searching his.
Garek happily answered her request. He kissed her like she’d never been kissed before—like he’d never kissed a woman before.
I’m falling in love with you all over again, Diane.
Garek sighed and held her close, hoping that one day she would need him as much as he needed her.
Chapter 9
“Mr. Ennis, I fear that I do not understand what it is you want from me.” Heinzman splayed his cultured, effeminate hands across the cherry desk in his office. “Ms. Sullivan and I struck a deal, you see.” He lit a cigarette and slowly exhaled, his gaze boring into Garek’s. “And I don’t like losing money.”
Garek frowned. The little worm was letting him know in so many words that if he planned to get Diane out of having to work the remainder of the cruise, he would be paying the scum a lot of money for it.
It didn’t matter. This cruise was hard on Diane and her peace of mind was more than worth it.
Not that Garek didn’t also harbor less than altruistic reasons for doing this. He couldn’t stand other men seeing Diane naked, let alone touching the woman he considered to be his. Nevertheless, for once in his life it wasn’t his own comfort he was thinking about, but someone else’s. Diane hated this damn boat and he wanted to get her off it.
“How much do you want?” Garek murmured, coming straight to the point.
Heinzman had the gall to look surprised. “I don’t understand—”
“Yes, you do.” Garek grunted, his gaze narrowing at his adversary. “Name your price and quit wasting my time.”
The faux astonishment quickly melted away. “Twenty-five thousand euros for all my trouble.” His caterpillarlike eyebrows slowly inched up. “And Ms. Sullivan is free to go without having to pay me back.”
He had expected the slimeball to go for fifty. Twenty-five was no problem. “Done.”
When Garek had informed his best friend this morning of his intention to rescue Diane, so to speak, he had expected Rodney to look at him like he’d gone crazy. Rodney hadn’t. Nor had he asked for an explanation. That was just as well because Garek hadn’t been up for providing one. He was still weighing his feelings and figuring things out.
He felt intense emotions where Diane Sullivan was concerned, always had. He just didn’t know what to label them. On one hand, it seemed absurd to call yourself in love with a woman you hadn’t seen in sixteen years, but on the other hand, the feelings were still there.
Garek rose from his chair and turned to leave, but not before throwing Heinzman one last frown. “I’ll settle our bill before I leave the ship,” he muttered.
He would leave The Carnal Voyage today—with Diane. He blew out a breath, hoping he wasn’t presumptuous in assuming she wanted to be rescued.
Where is he?
Diane hadn’t seen heads nor tails of Garek since they’d made love last night—the single most incredible experience of her life outside of giving birth to Jenna.
When she awoke this morning, Garek had already been gone. The note he left behind was brief, but sweet:
I went to take care of a few things, didn’t have the heart to wake you. Sleep well, gorgeous, and I’ll see you later.
Garek xo
She knew it was totally adolescent, but she couldn’t get the “xo” he’d signed on the note out of her head. It wasn’t quite an I-love-you, but it was still pretty heady.
It’s been hours since I woke up. If he plans to come back, then where is he?
She hesitated. Maybe that note had been the Garek Ennis equivalent to the old “I’ll call you” line.
Her heart sank. “Forget it, Cinderella,” Diane muttered as she harshly set down two beers on a serving tray. The yellow, frothy liquid spilled off over the sides of the glasses. “The ball is over and it’s time to go back to waiting tables.”
It was now day four. Three more days to go and the nightmare of a cruise would end. Of course, she thought dejectedly, contact with Garek would end, too.
Spending time with him in Gouda had been great. Making love to him had been beyond wonderful. It was as if the sixteen years of separation had melted away and she was back in high school again, daydreaming about Garek falling in love with her while she doodled in her notebook during English Lit. She just prayed this encounter didn’t end like the ones in high school had, with nothing positive coming of it.
Where are you, Garek?
Diane worried with her bottom lip. Maybe she had bored him. Such a possibility was painfully plausible. She was just simple, old Diane, not one of the worldly, sophisticated types Garek was accustomed to spending his time with.
That thought shouldn’t matter, but it did. Still, she knew she’d carry on with life no matter what curveballs it threw her.
The boat had docked an hour ago in Delft, a town in the Netherlands. Perhaps Garek had decided to join the off-boat excursion, this time without her.
Diane told herself to stop behaving like an idiot. She sighed, telling herself to let it go. There had been no sense in crying over Garek in high school, but she had. She refused to do the same thing as a grown woman, if even just proverbially.
“Ms. Sullivan.”
Diane started at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. Wide-eyed, she whirled around with the tray in her hands, more beer spilling out of the glasses. She had never spoken to the man before, but she recognized him as one of the ship’s security personnel.
She softly cleared her throat. Her gaze raked over the big, blond German man. “How can I help you?”
“I’m afraid you need to come with me.”
Her forehead wrinkled. His accent was thick—perhaps she had misunderstood him. “I’m sorry?”
“Put down the tray and follow me.”
Diane blinked, uncertain of what was going on. She did as the security guard requested, though, and trailed him from the dining car. As she was leaving she noticed another nude female worker entering. Had she been reassigned again? Good grief, she hoped not! Naked waitressing was enough of an ordeal without adding new, seedier ingredients into the mix.
“Can you tell me what this is about?” Diane asked, walking quickly to keep up with him. Her breasts jiggled with the brisk gait. “I feel the most comfortable working in the dining car.”
The big German didn’t pause in his stride. “You aren’t working anywhere,” he muttered, leading her toward a small room off the boat’s central kitchen. When she entered it, she immediately noticed her valise set on a chair. Someone had packed her clothes—probably him—and brought the trunk here. “Put on something to wear and I will escort you off the ship.”
