glancing at the caller ID on his Motorola 1000. Sure enough. “Yeah,” he said. “That’s her satellite phone from the boat.”
The second ring filled the bedroom. Then the third. An annoyance, to put it mildly.
“Aren’t you going to answer it?” asked Bailey. “C’mon, Peter. Be nice. Show me how sweet you can be.”
“Not now,” he said. “Not
here.
”
She smiled. “What, are you afraid I might giggle while you’re talking to her? Or moan?”
“No, of course not. You wouldn’t do that.”
A fourth ring. A fifth.
“Go ahead, then,” said Bailey, and it was clearly a dare. “You never know, she might get suspicious. You don’t want that, do you?”
No, Peter didn’t. Especially because he
always
answered his cell when Katherine called. The only exception was when he was in court. And court was definitely not in session at this time of night.
Ah, what the fuck…
Peter scooped up the phone, flipping it open with a flick of his thumb. “Hi, sweetheart,” he began, making the seamless switch to his loving-and-faithful-husband routine. Damn, he was good. No wonder Katherine adored him.
Bailey lit a cigarette, inhaled slowly, and listened as Peter asked how things were going on the boat.
Clearly not well. Bailey could hear Katherine crying. That satellite phone provided an amazingly clear connection. Word for word. “I don’t think I can do this,” Katherine was saying. “I’m blowing it with the kids again.”
“Listen, honey,” replied Peter, “you said yourself that the trip wouldn’t be easy. But you
can
do this. You’re so strong. That’s why I love you so much.”
Finishing the sentence, he shot Bailey a wink. He was handling this a little too easily and he knew it. Hell, he was proud of himself.
So Bailey had an idea.
With a devilish wink right back at him, she began to kiss his chest softly, her thick auburn hair caressing his skin as she slowly moved south beneath the covers. Peter squirmed, trying to shoo her away, but she didn’t stop. She kept going and he let her, mainly because he assumed she was kidding around. She wouldn’t dare follow through with her tease.
Would she? And what would it say about her if she went all the way?
As Bailey began to lick tiny circles along his stomach, her last words about his not leaving Katherine echoed in his head.
If I really tried, something tells me I could change your mind.
She was trying, all right.
Her lips, her tongue, her entire mouth moved down past his belly button. This was no tease. And any thoughts of stopping her gave way quickly to the sheer pleasure she was providing.
Peter could barely concentrate on the conversation. But he had to. The boat, the trip, everything… he had to listen to Katherine, give her the pep talk she so desperately needed.
“It’s just so hard,” Katherine was saying.
“I know what you mean, honey,” he replied, and he was actually being honest for a change. “It’s
very
hard.”
Clearly Bailey wasn’t giving up without a fight.
And clearly she was a ballbuster, just the way Peter liked his women.
Chapter 29
JAKE
FELT
IT FIRST.
For the past twenty years or so, he’d spent more nights at sea than on land. Even in his sleep he could detect the slightest shifts in the wind and the waves.
But there was nothing slight about this, and given recent events aboard
The Family Dunne,
he couldn’t believe it was happening.
The second his eyes popped open, at a little past four in the morning, he knew this was a possible monster in the making. How, though? He had checked the weather before going to bed. The only storm on the radar was far off and heading
away
from them.
But there was no denying what was happening now.
He rose quickly and hurried on deck, where Katherine had the watch. Sure enough, she was asleep, despite the rising seas. “Wake up,” he told her. “Wake the kids too. Make sure they’re all up, Kat. Life jackets on. And ready to help.”
Before she could ask
The second ring filled the bedroom. Then the third. An annoyance, to put it mildly.
“Aren’t you going to answer it?” asked Bailey. “C’mon, Peter. Be nice. Show me how sweet you can be.”
“Not now,” he said. “Not
here.
”
She smiled. “What, are you afraid I might giggle while you’re talking to her? Or moan?”
“No, of course not. You wouldn’t do that.”
A fourth ring. A fifth.
“Go ahead, then,” said Bailey, and it was clearly a dare. “You never know, she might get suspicious. You don’t want that, do you?”
No, Peter didn’t. Especially because he
always
answered his cell when Katherine called. The only exception was when he was in court. And court was definitely not in session at this time of night.
Ah, what the fuck…
Peter scooped up the phone, flipping it open with a flick of his thumb. “Hi, sweetheart,” he began, making the seamless switch to his loving-and-faithful-husband routine. Damn, he was good. No wonder Katherine adored him.
Bailey lit a cigarette, inhaled slowly, and listened as Peter asked how things were going on the boat.
Clearly not well. Bailey could hear Katherine crying. That satellite phone provided an amazingly clear connection. Word for word. “I don’t think I can do this,” Katherine was saying. “I’m blowing it with the kids again.”
“Listen, honey,” replied Peter, “you said yourself that the trip wouldn’t be easy. But you
can
do this. You’re so strong. That’s why I love you so much.”
Finishing the sentence, he shot Bailey a wink. He was handling this a little too easily and he knew it. Hell, he was proud of himself.
So Bailey had an idea.
With a devilish wink right back at him, she began to kiss his chest softly, her thick auburn hair caressing his skin as she slowly moved south beneath the covers. Peter squirmed, trying to shoo her away, but she didn’t stop. She kept going and he let her, mainly because he assumed she was kidding around. She wouldn’t dare follow through with her tease.
Would she? And what would it say about her if she went all the way?
As Bailey began to lick tiny circles along his stomach, her last words about his not leaving Katherine echoed in his head.
If I really tried, something tells me I could change your mind.
She was trying, all right.
Her lips, her tongue, her entire mouth moved down past his belly button. This was no tease. And any thoughts of stopping her gave way quickly to the sheer pleasure she was providing.
Peter could barely concentrate on the conversation. But he had to. The boat, the trip, everything… he had to listen to Katherine, give her the pep talk she so desperately needed.
“It’s just so hard,” Katherine was saying.
“I know what you mean, honey,” he replied, and he was actually being honest for a change. “It’s
very
hard.”
Clearly Bailey wasn’t giving up without a fight.
And clearly she was a ballbuster, just the way Peter liked his women.
Chapter 29
JAKE
FELT
IT FIRST.
For the past twenty years or so, he’d spent more nights at sea than on land. Even in his sleep he could detect the slightest shifts in the wind and the waves.
But there was nothing slight about this, and given recent events aboard
The Family Dunne,
he couldn’t believe it was happening.
The second his eyes popped open, at a little past four in the morning, he knew this was a possible monster in the making. How, though? He had checked the weather before going to bed. The only storm on the radar was far off and heading
away
from them.
But there was no denying what was happening now.
He rose quickly and hurried on deck, where Katherine had the watch. Sure enough, she was asleep, despite the rising seas. “Wake up,” he told her. “Wake the kids too. Make sure they’re all up, Kat. Life jackets on. And ready to help.”
Before she could ask
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