Читать книгу Jewels On Tiger Island - Catherine Pickren - Страница 12

John Fielding’s Yacht

They untied the ropes, and after they had shoved off from the dock, John announced, “I think I will head south and follow the coastline until we get to Port St. Lucy. There we can refuel, get more provisions, and decide if we want to continue travelling southward or head back north to Fernandina Beach.”

Logan answered, “That sounds like a plan to me. Lucy and I will have to call our bosses and let them know what’s happened so they won’t be expecting us in to work the next few days.”

Mary thought about her dog, Prince, and called her neighbor to convey what happened and to see if she could continue taking care of Prince a few days. The neighbor, a sixty-nine year old widow, understood and said that she would be glad to have Prince a few more days and for Mary not to worry about anything. Mary had so many emotions catapulting together that she didn’t really know how she was feeling at this moment. In one way, she felt like a fugitive who was escaping the law; yet, she had not done any wrongdoing. In another way, she felt relief and pride reveling in the fact that John could keep a cool head and serve as a “protector” for all of them. In the end, she decided to just relax. She had not been on the boat since their discovery on Tiger Island. It was such a beautiful boat, and it cut through the water so smoothly, that one barely felt a rocking sensation from the waves hitting the side of the boat. Lucy and Logan were below deck. Mary was sitting in the white leather chair beside John in the cabin. John put the boat on “automatic” and stood behind Mary as she was gazing out at the moonlight dancing on the water.

“It’s a beautiful sight. For some unknown reason, I never tire of looking at the moon. When I was about ten years old, and a Boy Scout, I was often terrified of camping out because I didn’t know if bears would be lurking around ready to pounce on me and claw me to death. Lying on the sleeping bag inside my tent, and trying to calm myself to the point that I might be able to sleep, I would look at the moon and find it comforting that ‘old man moon’ was up in the sky watching out for me. I would soon drift off to sleep.”

Mary turned and looked at John. “You are really a very sensitive, caring, and self-sufficient man. Thank you for allowing us to seek refuge on your boat. It’s like a nightmare! We have gotten ourselves caught in a quagmire of a situation that may take some time to go away.”

John lifted her chin with his finger and said, “Trust me. It will, soon.”

He then put both of his hands on the side of her face and slowly bent his head down and kissed her.

Mary savored the softness of his lips on her lips. The kiss became more intense with both partners wrapping their arms around each other, and with hands exploring the contours of each other’s bodies. Finally, the kiss ended and without saying a word, John went over and turned off the engine. He dropped the anchor from the boat, and then went to Mary. Mary watched him walk confidently toward her. He took her hand and led her down the steps to the king-sized bed.

Tacitly, and knowing what was inevitable, they slowly began to undress each other. Fervent kisses were rendered to each other and when all clothes were discarded lying on the floor, they fell upon the mattress. Mary let the tingling sensations reigning from his kisses engulf her. Her mind stopped thinking, and her body took control. They made love several times before dawn. The sun’s rays slowly began filtering through the portholes in the bedroom.

John woke up first and without waking Mary, took a quick shower and went quietly up the steps to the upper deck. Mary rolled over and woke up. Realizing where she was, and that John was no longer in bed, she quickly showered and dressed, and began her way to the upper deck. Once she reached the kitchenette, she smelled coffee brewing. She could see John in the captain’s chamber steering the boat and sipping on coffee.

Mary poured herself a cup of coffee and sat in the white leather chair beside John. She said, “Good morning.”

John stood up, went over to Mary, bent over and kissed her sweetly and said, “Now, that’s a ‘good morning.’”

Going back to his position behind the wheel he asked, “Did you sleep well?”

Mary smiled and said, “Yes, I did. Did you sleep well?”

John replied, “Indeed, I did. I haven’t felt this energized in many years. You give me a shot of adrenalin every time I look at you.”

Mary blushed.

Logan and Lucy had made their way to the upper deck, and Logan called out, “Coffee smells good. Would you happen to have anything of substance to eat in your pantry?”

John replied back, “Sure. Help yourselves to any crumbs available.”

They reached Port Lucy about four hours later. John refueled the boat while Mary, Lucy, and Logan went to the convenience store and bought more provisions and odds and ends.

There was a great hamburger joint a block away from the pier, so they ate lunch there and then decided they couldn’t hide from the press forever and that it was time to go back to Fernandina Beach. Mary was worried about Prince being a nuisance to her kind and generous neighbor’s hospitality. Lucy and Logan were worried about taking too much time off from their jobs. They got back in the boat and travelled north to Fernandina Beach, Florida