"Wait," Eren murmured.
She was still straddling his thighs, now with one arm braced against the ceiling. Eren undid the button on her jeans and unzipped them to reveal a flash of red panties underneath.
He slid the jeans over her hips, teasing her all the way, flicking a finger under the elastic edge of her panties and caressing the curve of her ass.
By the time he turned to lay her in the berth and pulled her jeans and underwear the rest of the way off, she was eager and gasping.
Eren stripped out of his jeans. His cock sprang out erect from a nest of golden curls. Moisture beaded the tip. He crawled into the berth with her. The ceiling was even lower here; she realized it was going to be difficult for him to get on top of her.
"I'm starting to realize," he murmured, mouthing at her neck, "that sex on a boat has a few drawbacks."
"I think we can improvise."
He moved over her carefully, sliding in. Lucy spread her legs to make it easier, eyes half closed in bliss as he sheathed himself in her. There was just enough space for him to move carefully, a slow glide that teased it out agonizingly while also making her body thrum with waves of pleasure.
She lifted a foot and braced her bare sole against the bulkhead, arching her back to give him a better, deeper angle.
His thrusts picked up speed and intensity. With their bodies so close together, every part of them was in contact at all times, her hard nipples brushing his chest, their bellies gliding across each other with every stroke.
Lucy dug her fingers into his flexing, muscular back. She realized that she was making small noises at each thrust, soft cries that picked up intensity as he thrust faster, harder, deeper. Pleasure mounted in her, rolling through her in powerful waves, and when her climax hit her, she cried out and clenched her hands on Eren's shoulders.
She was dimly aware of him going over the edge, too, in a series of throbbing pulses that brought a second climax following immediately after the first. She had never experienced anything like it before. It felt as if she completely zoned out with pleasure for a moment, her ears ringing and sparks dancing in her vision. Gradually she relaxed, coming down from a dizzy, heady high.
Eren rolled onto his elbow, slackening out of her.
"Good?" he asked, brushing her hair gently back from her sweat-damp forehead.
"Amazing."
They lay together for a while, and then Eren got up and brought a damp cloth to clean up with. After brushing their teeth in the small head, they went back to bed, nestled under blankets, and lay together in the berth while the waves rocked them gently. Rain still sluiced off the deck above them, and it was too dark to see outside. They lay tangled in each other's bodies, cozy in a little circle of light, warmth, and peace.
Eren reached out to turn off the lamp, leaving only a couple of soft nightlights that illuminated the steps up to the pilothouse and deck.
"Are you going to be comfortable?" he asked, shifting in the berth. "Do you want anything?"
"No, I'm fine. Better than fine." She turned her head, tucking her face into his shoulder. After a moment, she said quietly, "What you said earlier, about finding a way to fix this ... do you have any ideas?"
"Nothing certain," he said after a moment. "But I think in the morning, we should go talk to Dane. He's a pretty good outside-the-box thinker. And I want to warn him that nosy strangers are snooping around, so he can take care."
Lucy nodded. She closed her eyes, and then opened them again at a faint scuffling sound, a sort of scritching. It stopped and then started up again.
Eren sighed.
"Is that the trash griffins?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah, I think they're trying to get back in."
"Maybe they're cold."
"They're wild animals; they shouldn't be indoors. They'll be happier out there, where they can swim and hunt, than in here."
The scritching stopped. It was followed by skittering up on deck.
"I really hope I latched the door securely," Eren said.
Lucy pressed her face against his shoulder to smother her giggling.
The skittering moved around on deck and was followed by a splash.