I want You Deeper

They were two full days from arriving in Hawaii, and Derek had it bad.

He woke up every day, excited about seeing Renee again. He’d

get ready and head to the kitchen to help her finish breakfast, only to get to the cockpit and start the countdown to lunch.

Time was running out. He wanted to kiss her again, maybe even explore whether or not she was interested in seeing him after this trip was over. He wouldn’t pressure her to take the job, but maybe, if they could stay in touch, he could come out of hiding and take her on a date at some point.

Or maybe he’d consider coming out of hiding altogether for her.

It was something that had been weighing on him the past few days. As he and Renee grew closer, he began to question his decision to run from his problems. Yes, he’d have to deal with his father, not to mention potentially other people from his past coming forward to ask him for money. But he could just go home, hope it all died down, and avoid his father’s attempts to get in touch with him.

That was the part of the thought process where he stalled. He knew how persistent his father was. It wouldn’t just be a string of phone calls- eventually, he’d show up on Derek’s door, laying the guilt trip on him. He may even go to the press and try to tell his story about his ungrateful billionaire son. Not that the press would care. It wasn’t like anyone beyond Silicon Valley besides his old friends and relatives even knew who Derek Hughes-let alone David Humphreys-was.

But that wasn’t why he was running. He could handle his father asking for money and turning him down. What he couldn’t handle was the guilt he felt over it when he did.

“Lunch has arrived,” Renee announced from behind him, and his heart sped up a little.

He wasn’t sure when that had started, but it now happened every time he saw her after being away from her for a little while. If a woman had ever brought that reaction in him, he couldn’t remember it.

He spun around in his chair, hoping his face didn’t show just how excited he was to see her. He searched her expression to determine if seeing him did anything to her. All he got was a completely neutral response.

“The windows are closed,” she said as she handed over his bottled water and plate. A seasoned chicken breast with corn as a side. She’d decorated it up as much as she could, but it wasn’t quite as fancy as the earlier meals.

“Just a couple of days and we can restock the kitchen.” Holding the plate in one hand and bottled water in the other, he spun around to face the front. “I’ll be glad to have fresh vegetables again.”

“You and me both.” Plopping down in the chair, she pulled her sunglasses down over her eyes. It was a cloudy day, so that wasn’t really necessary, but it was the first cloudy day they’d had since she’d started joining him here.

“Supposed to storm later.” His comment was short and abrupt, mostly because the last thing he wanted was to discuss the weather with her. He’d come to enjoy how comfortable their conversations were.

“Should we be worried?” Renee asked.

“Nah. This boat can handle it. Besides, we have Captain Jake. We couldn’t be in better hands.”

“I’m sure April would agree.” Renee flashed him a smile. That had become an inside joke between the two of them-the romance between the captain and the deckhand-in-training.

“About that.” Derek shoved a bite of chicken in his mouth and chewed to give himself a little time to think through what he was about to say. “I don’t know how to navigate having a couple on board. I’ll be adding some more deckhands to the crew soon. It can be a problem if you have one of their team dating the captain.”

“Like an employee having a relationship with the boss?” Renee asked. “Wait-is the captain the boss, or are you?”

“Jake will be in charge. I’m like the owner, only without the perks.” “Perks?” Renee turned her head. He felt her looking at him.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

“You know, whatever perks come with owning a boat.” He shrugged. “I’m not sure what those are.”

“Having a chef cook for you, relaxing in the hot tub, enjoying- You know what you need?”

Now he looked over at her, next bite of chicken poised in the air near his lips. “What’s that?”

“Someone to watch the cockpit so you can work. This isn’t your job, is it?”

He shook his head. He supposed, now that he thought about it, it probably seemed odd to her that he was doing this particular job. He was just the guy sailing this ship to the island where he’d try to sell it, right?

That brought him to his big dilemma. If he wanted to keep Renee in his life after this trip, he’d have to tell her the truth at some point. He’d have to tell her that he wasn’t a sales executive. He’d have to reveal his true identity.

He could blurt it out. Just say it now. But at this point, he worried she’d be hurt that he hadn’t told her yet. Technically, he’d been deceiving her throughout this trip. He knew she was a chef between jobs, her name was Renee, and she was close to her parents. She knew plenty about his past but didn’t know the real him.

Or did she? Maybe David Humphreys was the real him. Maybe the Derek persona was the fake. David, a guy who had spent his days building boats from scratch and selling them one at a time, could very well be the real guy here.

If that was the case, it meant Renee had been the first woman to meet the real him. She was definitely the first woman he’d gotten to know without her being aware of his wealth. That meant if she did like him-he wasn’t so sure about that-it was for him.

“I’m working on getting help,” Derek said in response to her earlier comment. “I have some interviews lined up, including one with a potential chief steward.” “All men?”

Derek shook his head. “The chief steward is a woman. Plus, I think

April’s our newest deckhand. It’s all in flux right now.” “You should have a woman co-captain.”

“Do you want to volunteer for that job?”

He expected that to get a smile out of her, but she was still staring ahead, frowning. Something was off between them, and he couldn’t put his finger on what it was. Maybe it was the stress of knowing they’d be at their destination soon. They were losing that easy camaraderie they’d developed over the past couple of weeks.

“I think I’d better go check on April. Finished?” She stood, hand held toward him.

It took him a second to realize she was indicating the now-empty plate on his lap. He grasped his bottled water in his right hand, having finished his lunch several minutes earlier, and handed her the plate, puzzling over what to do here.

“Sure,” he said.

She didn’t give him a chance to do anything. She spun and walked from the room, calling back, “See you at dinner.”