Not before I felt the strength of his chest give underneath my touch, however.
“I can’t do this,” I said breathlessly. “I— I can’t open this up again.”
“Chanel, I didn’t—”
“You spoke, and now it’s my turn,” I said.
Rhett backed up from me as I stood my ground and smoothed out my dress.
“You broke my heart that night,” I said. “I was so excited to spend the night with you, for real. But when I opened the door and saw you half-naked with that girl in your lap, I felt like I’d been punched in the chest. All the air left my lungs, and all you did was stare at me.”
He shook his head. “Because I couldn’t believe what was happening either, Chanel. I’ve carried that damn night with me ever since then. I knew I was drunk, but I didn’t think I was drunk enough to do what I did. In all honesty, I was a little afraid that night. We said we would pretend the week before had never happened and this would be our real first time. I guess I subconsciously fucked it up so you would see that you deserved better.”
I could feel his body heat radiating against me, and I couldn’t think straight. I watched as he backed up, and I slipped away from the balcony. I put some distance between us as his eyes followed me, the sun slowly setting below the water and cloaking us in darkness.
“You said I was too good for you.”
“You know it’s true,” Rhett said. “You were bound for Cornell and I was bound for the nearest factory. Joining the Navy was the only way out, but I wasn’t going to drag you along with me. You were going to be someone great. I would have only held you back.”
“You don’t know that, Rhett!” I said in frustration. “If you really thought I was so damn smart, you should have trusted me to make that decision for myself!”
“And what? Follow me all over the globe instead of getting an Ivy League education? Or going to college anyway and trying to stay together when I was half-way around the globe, facing death and danger every damn day? That wasn’t the life you deserved. It worked out for the best. You have to see that now,” he said.
I wrapped my arms around myself and paced the bow for a few minutes. He was right about one thing, if he’d never have cheated, I would have followed him anywhere. I shook my head and closed my eyes, taking in a deep, shaking breath.
“I’m so proud of you and of everything you’ve accomplished,” Rhett said.
“I do more than just the blog, you know,” I said.
“I know. I kept tabs on you.”
“What?” I asked.
“I wanted to know how you were doing. Had to see if life was treating you as well as you deserved. I needed to know you were happy and that fucking up the best thing that had ever happened to me at least gave you the success you deserved. I had a drink in your honor when you got that internship with The New York Times.”
“You’re being serious right now,” I said.
“As a heart attack.”
“So, you checked up on me to make sure that what? I was happy? That I was safe? What would’ve happened had I not been? What the hell would you have done then?”
He closed the distance between us, his body stalking up to mine as his eyes held my stare. I swallowed thickly as he backed us into the darkness, shrouding us from the rest of the ship as my back hit the wall. We were in a darkened crook on the most deserted part of the ship as his hands came up and blocked me in, and suddenly, all I could think about was kissing him again.
“I would’ve done anything to get to you and make it right.”
His words hit me like a brick, and I couldn’t contain myself. I thrust my lips against his, feeling his hands slide down my body. His knee pressed between my legs, creating a friction I needed more than life itself. He kissed down my neck as my hands dug into his shoulders, sinking him to his knees as my dress fluttered around my thighs.
I could feel it, the sweet, sensual lips of the man who had broken my heart in high school. They were sliding up my thigh as his powerful hands pressed against my knees. My panties were soaked, dripping with lust and desire as he nibbled on my thigh. His head was underneath my dress, and I could feel his breath on my pussy.
I was shaking with desire and need as his fingertips pulled the fabric to the side.
Without another word, his tongue pierced my folds. I could feel my arousal pooling on his tongue while he moaned into my pussy. I braced myself against the wall, his hand guiding my leg over his shoulder, so he could keep me upright. His strong body braced mine when my knee gave out from underneath me, and he held me up as his tongue flicked my clit.
I bit down on my lower lip to keep quiet. My head was dizzy with electricity as his tongue worked me with purpose. He was suckling and nibbling, licking and teasing. I ground my hips down onto his face, feeling his light stubble tickling the inside of my legs.
My hands curled against the wall as my legs began to tighten. I bit down harder on my lip, stifling my groans at the sensation of his tongue pressing deeper into me. My eyes rolled into the back of my head, heat pooled in my pelvis, racing along my body and shaking me with ecstasy.
And for the first time since high school, I experienced a real orgasm.