Burning Desire

Chapter 18

Jesse insisted I stay inside to keep warm while he fired up the yacht and slowly – very, very slowly – started to guide Carpathia out of the marina. We had to wait on three other yachts, one entering and two leaving, before we could move.

When the engine roared to life, a gentle hum fell across the whole vessel. We idled a while, waiting our turn, and then I felt a soft resistance as the yacht started to move through the water. I looked out the portholes as Carpathia gradually gained speed, leaving the yacht club behind. Soon, an awe-inspiring panorama of the skyline came into view. The One World Trade tower was front and center. I could see the reflection of the clouds in the tower's windows. It stood tall and proud like the Statue of Liberty. Ellis Island was coming into view on the opposite side, followed by the iconic Statue.

I waited until we were about even with Lady Liberty before I ascended the short staircase up to the main deck where Jesse was guiding the yacht. He wore a look of deep concentration as he steered and adjusted settings on the control board. The wind had picked up a bit and his usually neat hair was blowing every which way, along with the sides of his unzipped leather jacket.

I made my way over to where he stood, tugging my jacket tighter around my body and thanking my lucky stars that I'd had the common sense to wear boots instead of heels for a change. It was too cold for that bullshit.

"Aren't you freezing?" I gestured to Jesse's jacket.

Leather was never a good choice in cold weather. It damn sure did look good on him, though.

He shrugged with a laugh. "I'll be alright. How 'bout you, love?"

Before I could answer, he took one hand off the wheel and pulled me into a comforting hug, sliding his hand up and down my upper arm. It was soothing and instantly warmed me up a little.

"How fast does this thing go?" I asked him, nestling closer to his chest.

"Max speed is twelve knots."

I was already lost. "Can you tell me that in English?"

Jesse chuckled and turned the wheel more to the left. "It's about thirteen to fourteen miles per hour. We're not going that fast, though. We'll cruise at about ten knots, or eleven miles per hour."

"That's not very fast." I scrunched up my nose in confusion.

I'd expected a yacht to travel much faster. Then again, I didn't know squat about watercraft.

Jesse laughed again. "It'll get us where we're going. Trust me."

I watched, very impressed, as he continued shifting controls and steering the yacht in a southeast direction. He kept a confident look on his face, making captaining Carpathia look almost too easy. Everything he did was with ease and skill. We were passing Governors Island in half the time I'd expected.

Maybe those ten knots actually were faster than I'd thought. Of course, I had to remember that we were on the Hudson where the only traffic consisted of two other yachts, a sailboat, and a few jet skis. There were no stoplights and basically nothing slowing us down. Whereas, I couldn't get across midtown at the same time of day over five miles an hour. We were probably sailing faster than the backed up cars were driving on the FDR.

"This is beautiful," I said, taking in the view of downtown and the river. "I've never seen it like this before."

When we'd taken the ferry to see the Christmas lights, we'd traveled north up the river. This was the first time I was getting to see Manhattan from the water on the south side, and it was one of the most incredible views I'd ever had of the city.