Heart's Passage Part 13

Her question was soon answered as she watched Cadie's fingers slowly stroke across her own cleavage, reapplying the sunscreen. The blonde's fingers dipped briefly between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and Jo had no problem imagining caressing that very spot.

Only I wouldn't use my fingers, she found herself thinking. G.o.d, this is torture. Cadie's fingertips continued to trail across her skin, sliding just under the edge of her bikini top. Jo held her breath, her own fingers tingling just at the thought.

Finally the blonde was finished, and Jo exhaled slowly, very aware of the aching desire she felt. She knew she was flushed, and that, combined with the delicate stretching pull of fresh sunburn on her skin, left her feeling as if jolts of electricity were pa.s.sing through her.

Cadie turned her head back towards Jo and blue eyes met green across the 15 feet between them. They held each other's gaze for long, endless seconds.

What is she thinking? Jo wondered, lost in sea-green depths, her whole body alive with sensation. The color rising in Cadie's cheeks gave her a strong clue, and she found herself beaming at the gorgeous blonde.

Cadie smiled back.

I'm sure she can read my mind, the blonde thought. She's blus.h.i.+ng almost as hard as I know I am.

Finally Jo broke away from the intense gaze, feeling that if she didn't she would be hard-pressed not to do something about the insistent, tugging ache low in her gut. She tried to focus once more on the bobbing float on the end of her fis.h.i.+ng line.

I'd crawl 15 miles over broken gla.s.s just to sweat in her shadow, the skipper thought.

Cadie couldn't help but smile at the tall woman's discomfort. I know how she feels, but I just don't want to stop looking. She swept her eyes across the dark-haired woman's body, greedily taking in every detail. Jo had her long bangs swept back in a loose ponytail, exposing a statuesque neck that cried out to be kissed, and Cadie was more than happy to picture herself doing just that.

G.o.d, especially when she tilts her head to one side like that, she thought, watching the skipper concentrating on her fis.h.i.+ng. Jo was wearing a cut-off midriff-hugging tank top that was barely more than a sports bra. The lack of material showed off her toned stomach deliciously. Cadie laughed quietly to herself. When was the last time you thought of someone's stomach as delicious, Jones? She groaned at the thought of trailing her lips and tongue over the smooth, brown skin.

She gasped softly as, almost as if by some silent command, Jo's hand moved to her stomach.

Oh yes, Jo, Cadie thought, touch yourself for me.

The skipper's long, strong fingers almost caressed across her abdominal muscles. Cadie watched intently as one finger caught a trickle of sweat and slowly wiped it away. The blonde groaned inwardly and her eyes traveled lower.

I wish it were my hands caressing you and not just my eyes, she thought wickedly. The shorter-than-short denim cut-offs Jo was wearing were clearly well-loved and ragged around the hem, their pale bleached color highlighting the golden hue of the skipper's long, long legs.

Cadie gulped as a tantalizing picture formed in her mind.

I want those legs wrapped around me. I want to feel captured, tangled up in her. I want to feel that safety mixed with sensuality again, she thought, remembering being held by Jo as she had eavesdropped on that humiliating conversation. She felt so good around me, surrounding me.

Ohhh, Cadie, what are you doing to yourself? she thought. Where are you going with this? You're at most, a couple of weeks away from leaving the only major relations.h.i.+p of your life. Do you really want to leap straight into another one? A complicated one at that?

She rolled away from the view Jo afforded, sitting up to rest her forehead on her hand as her elbow balanced on her upraised knee.

But there's something there between us, no question. Would I be walking away from the one person in the world I'm supposed to be with? She couldn't help laughing at herself. I don't know her. She glanced back at the skipper, who was giving a good impression of being asleep, if it weren't for the slivers of blue peeking out from beneath slightly cracked eyelids. Cadie smiled softly, knowing those eyes were focused firmly on her. And yet, I do know her. How that's possible I haven't a clue. She has secrets, but they don't matter. I know her heart.

She knows I'm watching her, Jo thought. I wonder if she knows how badly I want to be sitting behind her, cuddling her against me, with my legs wrapped around her, kissing the nape of her neck...

A tugging on the fis.h.i.+ng line almost distracted her, but it wasn't until the tiny bell on the end of her rod started tinkling that Jo finally came to her senses.

"Whoooaaa!" she yelped, sitting bolt upright as she grabbed the rod. "Holy s.h.i.+t, I've got a big one hooked here. Cadie, grab that net, will ya?" Jo stood up quickly, bracing herself against the rail as she applied some drag while the line played out.

Cadie sprang to her feet and grabbed the long pole Jo had indicated, swinging it around so the round net on the end hung out over the water. The skipper was battling to reel in what was clearly a decent-sized fish. She hauled on the wildly bending rod, winding frantically as she dropped it low, then leant back, groaning on the upstroke.

"You're going to snap that line, Jo," Cadie warned, hopping from one foot to the other with excitement.

"No way." Jo grinned, sweat starting to break out on her forehead. "This one's mine. Can you see any color yet?"

Cadie leaned out over the rail, trying to follow the line below the waterline. "No." She paused. "Wait. Yes! Yes, yes. Kind of flashes of pink."

"Woooohoooo!" yelled Jo with delight. "I bet it's a red emperor. We eat well tonight!"

Cadie laughed. "Like we haven't been eating well anyway," she said.

"Yup, but there's nothing beats eating something you've caught yourself," Jo said smugly. "And wait till you taste this fish, Cadie-smooth, creamy, sweet flesh..."

"Hey, Captain Ahab, ya gotta catch it first," the American chided with a smile.

"Piece of cake," Jo replied. "Get ready with the net, 'cos this sucker is about ready to land." With one last big upstroke, Jo flicked the fish out of the water just as Cadie moved in closer and came in underneath it with the net.

"Yes!" Cadie cried, triumphant. "We did it!" She grinned up at Jo, who answered with a brilliant smile of her own.

"Yep, we sure did." The two women high-fived each other as the large red emperor flopped around on the deck.

Cadie looked down at it uncertainly. "Um...now what?" she asked.

"Well. Now I've got to kill it," Jo replied, reaching around for the small truncheon-like piece of wood she had in her back pocket just for that purpose.

Cadie bit her bottom lip. "I don't think I'm going to like this bit," she said quietly.

"I promise it'll be quick," Jo said noticing the anxious look on the blonde's face. "Don't look if it's going to upset you."

"No, it's okay," Cadie said. "I'd rather know the reality." Their eyes locked again for a few seconds.

Jo grabbed the fish's thras.h.i.+ng tail and swiftly tonked it on the forehead with the cosh. Cadie winced at the strangely hollow sound. The fish immediately dropped lifeless and still. "Done," the skipper said.

Jo picked up the fish and began to turn to walk aft. Cadie gently stopped her with a hand on her elbow, pulling her back around to face the American.

"What's wrong?" the skipper asked.

"When will you tell me, Jo-Jo?" Cadie asked softly, not knowing quite what made her ask the question at this moment.

"Tell you what?" Jo flicked her eyes away, suddenly uncomfortable with the scrutiny.

"Whatever it is that you seem to think would be so terrible for me to know," Cadie replied, ducking her head to recapture Jo's eyes. "There isn't anything you can say that will stop me..." She hesitated, not sure how far she was prepared to go. "Nothing that will stop me caring about you," a he went on.

"You don't know what you're asking, Arcadia," Jo said, another wave of melancholy hitting her. "Trust me, you don't want to know." She paused, the warmth from Cadie's fingers on the inside of her elbow giving her chills. "Let it go. Please?"

Cadie squeezed the skipper's arm gently. "Trust me, Jo. Trust me to know my own feelings," she said.

"You have a lot more to think about than my dark, mysterious past," Jo said pointedly. "Don't make your life any more complicated than it already is, Cadie."

Cadie's crooked grin lightened the mood a little. "Oh, so you do have one then?" she cajoled, poking Jo gently in the ribs.

"One what?" Jo asked, gritting her teeth against the tickling sensation the poke provoked but unable to keep from grinning.

"Dark and mysterious past. That's the most you've told me so far."

"Mmmm... well, it'll take a lot more than a poke in the ribs to get me to tell you the rest." With a quiet smile Jo turned away again. "Come on. Let's give this to Jenny."

Cadie stood watching for a moment as the tall skipper walked away. What could possibly be so awful, she wondered. She shook her head quickly and making a decision that surprised her with its intensity. It doesn't matter. She's a good person; I can feel that in my heart. And I don't give a d.a.m.n what happened in that "dark and mysterious past. " She strode after Jo, following her down the companionway into the main cabin where Jenny was in paroxysms of delight over the large catch.

"Put it on ice, Jen," Jo was saying. "Paul can clean it up later." She rubbed her hands together in antic.i.p.ation. "I'm drooling already." She grinned.

"Aye aye, Captain." Jenny mock saluted.

"Oh shut up," Jo replied good-naturedly.

A distant thrumming noise caught all their attention just at that moment.

"What's that?" Cadie asked, making her way back up on deck. She gazed up into the cloudless azure sky, spinning around.

"Helicopter," Jo said shortly, from just behind her. "And if I didn't know better, I'd say it was..." She turned towards the rise of Whitsunday Island, looking west. She laughed triumphantly as she caught sight of the small aircraft heading over the hill towards them. "Yep, it's Billy." She grinned.

Cadie looked up over her shoulder at the tall skipper. "Who's Billy?"

Jo chuckled. "A fly boy. A rich, spoiled, handsome, totally likable, fly boy." She turned with Cadie, following the path of the chopper as it circled closer and lower. "Around here the Air Sea Rescue Service is funded totally by donations, so it needs all the help it can get. Billy inherited a squillion from his parents-they used to own a bunch of newspaper and television stock. He bought himself a 'copter for fun and kitted it out with all the rescue gear, just so he can help the service out when they need it."

Cadie snorted, watching as the chopper circled the Seawolf one last time and started to come down for a landing on the wooden pontoon anch.o.r.ed in the middle of the bay about 200 feet from the Seawolf.

"He's a good bloke," said Jo, laughing at the incredulous look on the American's face. "He's just a bit of a lair as well."

"Lair?"

"Yeah... urn... a show off."

"Ah. That would explain the entrance," Cadie said with a chuckle.

"Oh yeah."

The helicopter's engine died and the rotors slowed as a man clambered out of the c.o.c.kpit and waved at them.

"Hey Jo-Jo!!" he yelled. "Are you gonna make me swim?"

"Yep," she shouted back.

"You asked for it," he replied. The sounds of bad singing wafted across the water towards them as Billy made a pa.s.sable attempt at the Stripper theme. He pulled off clothing as he danced on the pontoon, flinging apparel in all directions.

Cadie laughed at the performance and Jo grinned at her. "Like I said. He's a bit of a lair," she said.

"I see that," Cadie replied.

Finally the big man was down to just his board shorts and he dove into the clear water, stroking easily out towards the yacht.

"Prepare to be boarded," Jo said.

"Aye aye, Captain," Cadie said just under her breath, catching Jo's eye with a smirk as the skipper did a double take.

"I heard that," she muttered.

Cadie giggled as they watched the man plowing his way through the water, finally reaching the transom and pulling himself up onto the boat. Billy was a big man, built like a footballer and with the height to carry it. Cadie thought he would tower over Jo by a good few inches, and he soon proved it by bounding up to the two women and pulling the skipper into his arms.

"h.e.l.lo, gorgeous," he bellowed, swinging Jo down into a deep dip and planting a long noisy kiss on her lips. She struggled for a couple of seconds and then went with it, catching her breath as he backed off and pulled her upright.

"Yuck, Bill, that was gross," she protested, wiping the back of her hand across her mouth. "h.e.l.lo to you too, you big b.a.s.t.a.r.d." She grinned back at the tousle-haired man.

He started to say something else but caught sight of Cadie, immediately captured by her bikini-clad, blonde good looks. He pushed past Jo, much to her amus.e.m.e.nt, and headed for the American.

"Well, who do we have here?" he asked smoothly. "Aren't you going to introduce us, Jo-Jo?" He took Cadie's hand and bowed over it, kissing it softly.

Cadie looked back over his shoulder at Jo, raising an eyebrow comically. The skipper laughed out loud. "Cadie Jones, meet Billy Maguire, the Whitsundays' own millionaire playboy," she said.

Cadie did a double take. "Maguire, as in Robert Maguire, media magnate?" she asked incredulously.

"Ah, daddy dearest, how I do miss him," Billy said mockingly, his hand over his heart.

Cadie looked at Jo again. "Boy, you weren't kidding about those squillions were you?"

Jo grinned and shook her head.

"Please don't hold it against me, Miss Jones. I promise I'm only half the scoundrel my old man was." He beamed down at her.

She chuckled. "I believe you, I believe you. Nice to meet you, Mr. Maguire."

"No, you must call me Billy. Everybody does, y'know."

"And you call me Cadie. Miss Jones makes me feel like a schoolteacher."

He swept his eyes admiringly down and back up her length. "If I'd had a teacher like you, Cadie, I would have stayed in school way past 14." He grinned at her winningly.

She smiled back, liking him despite his brashness. Or maybe because of it.

"Okay, lover boy," Jo said, sitting down in the main c.o.c.kpit. "What brings you out here?"

Cadie and Bill also sat down.

"You of course, beautiful." He grinned.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"I was down at Shute, ran into Doris from Cheswick, asked after you and she said as far as she knew you were out here at Whitehaven. I felt like a bit of an outing, so here I am." He spread his arms wide. "I wondered if you and any of your guests would like a trip out to Heart Reef."

Cadie nodded enthusiastically. "I'd love to go. Toby and Jason went fis.h.i.+ng out near there the other day and they came back raving about it. So, yes, count me in," she said.

Jo flicked her cell phone on and keyed Paul's number. He was ash.o.r.e with the two men, Naomi, Larissa and Kelli.