Crossed Keys

Chapter Six - Strike

The boat swaying under me was new. I'd been on boats before, but they were always motorized. This was different and I couldn't imagine having to do this every day. I helped by taking over rowing for a bit so he could sit back and relax.

Dash stared at me then, his eyes tracing over my body then up to my eyes again. That was the sexiest I'd ever felt in front of someone and while I wanted to tell him, I knew I couldn't.

I offered him a smile and continued rowing until he told me to stop and reached for a set of nets. Bunching it up in his palms, he pulled himself taller and casted the net. The material hit the water without a splash then sank beneath the water.

He then set up a fishing rod and sat back.

"You don't fish close to anyone else?" I asked.

He shook his head.

"Is that safe?" I wanted to know. "What if you have an emergency?"

"I never thought of that."

I tried leaving him alone to concentrate and after a few hours, his cooler was full with bass and a second had prawns swimming around.

Dash took a break and settled down beside me. We stretched out on our bags, staring up at the overcast sky. I wasn't sure what he was thinking but I hope it wasn't something he was worrying about.

I shifted closer to him and reached out my pinky finger to brush against his.

It was hard to look at him because I didn't know the reason why I'd done that.

But I could feel his eyes on me and after an eternity, I couldn't resist. I rolled my head so I could meet his eyes and feel the heat of his breath on my face. Inch by inch, I moved closer until our noses touched.

I waited to see if he would pull away but instead, Dash closed his eyes and tipped his chin forward. Our lips touched—tenderly.

Unable to control it, I licked at his lips before nipping them with my teeth.

Dash sighed and opened his lips to mine.

Plunging my tongue into his mouth, I kissed him roughly until he rested a tender palm against my cheek and kissed me back. Now it was a battle of our tongues as I tried my best to get enough of him to stop. But the more I tried, the deeper I kissed him, the harder he returned my kiss and the more of my mind I lost.

Eventually, I could barely breathe and had to pull my mouth away. And even though, I wanted to kiss him again, I settled for kissing him tenderly on the forehead because I couldn't seem to catch my breath.

His kiss left me turned on and wanting but this wasn't what he wanted.

"Dash I—"

"Don't apologize." He got up and moved over to his rod.

"Does that mean you enjoyed kissing me?"

"I kissed you back, didn't I?" He asked without looking at me.

"Right."

"Do you want fish for dinner tonight?" Dash asked.

"Dash we should—" I stopped myself as I dragged the back of a hand across my kiss-swollen lips. "The fish is for sale, Dash."

"We could wait and catch a couple specifically for us." He replied. "I could make a stew my mother used to make on rainy days. I promise, it's delicious."

"It's not raining."

He laughed. "I know. But we can eat it other times too."

When I agreed, Dash set up the rod again and casted it out. Soon, we had four giant bass in a second cooler I hadn't even notice before. I was too busy watching him, the strength in his body and the knowledge he had of how to catch enough for what he needed.