But be was not about to turn back. He told himself it was because as captain, he had to appear sure of himself. But that certainly wasn't the reason his pulse raced every time he looked at Cherry Kelly's long tan legs, or the way her suit top kept slipping down, only to be tugged back-up again. He didn't know if anything was going to happen with her, and intellectually, he hoped nothing would. But his mating instincts were heading him in exactly the opposite direction.
He focused his gaze on the distant dark spot of Execution Rocks. Legend had it that pirates had been executed there by chaining them to the rocks at low tide and letting the rising water drown them. Jerry thought it more likely they had gotten the name because of the many ships that had been executed on them before the lighthouse had been built.
"Want an apple, Cap'n?" Cherry asked.
Damn her! Jerry thought, his lust roaring as he stared down the front of her suit as she bent over her lunch bag. "No, thanks," he replied with some difficulty. Engraved in his mind was the view he had gotten of her very young breasts and their tiny, hard, pointed nipples.
She seemed totally unaware of the view she had given him. After closing the bag, she leaned back and bit into an apple, glancing occasionally at the sails, then studying her toes as she wriggled them in the warm sun.
The breeze was dying. The mainsail was beginning to sag more and more heavily. When the boat rolled on the gentle swell, the boom started to swing in, instead of being held out over the water by the wind filling the sail.
"Let's shift over to the lee side," Jerry suggested. "Try to keep the sails set that way."
That was standard sailing procedure. Their weight on the lee side of the little boat would give it enough of a list to keep the boom from swinging loosely. Jerry moved toward the bow, closer to his crew member, which wasn't standard sailing procedure. He told himself it was for better weight distribution in the light breeze. He noticed that Cherry's suit top had slipped again, revealing the shallow valley between her developing breasts. He wondered how close she was to actually exposing her little nipples.
"Wind's dying," he said stupidly.
He stretched his arm along the rail behind her.
"Looks like we'll be stuck out here quite a while. I haven't seen any motor boats that might give us a tow."
"I'm in no hurry," Cherry noted calmly, delicately scratching an itch high on the inside of one of her slender, tan thighs.
Jerry noticed that the skin of her leg was sprinkled with golden hairs. Evidently she had not started shaving her legs.
"You have very pretty legs," he complimented her awkwardly.
"Think so? I think they're too bony. I've got knobby knees, too."
Jerry's forearm brushed her hair as he reached across her, touched her knee, then squeezed it. "Nonsense." He wondered what kind of a lecher he was becoming as he let his fingers trail up her hot, smooth thigh a few inches.
He was relieved that Cherry let the intimacy pus without complaint. He settled his arm behind her again, let it touch her back, then curled it slightly. His hand touched her sun-hot, tanned and freckled shoulder. When she moved gently in his direction, his heart began hammering.
"You think I'm pretty, Cap'n?" Cherry asked.
"Yes," Jerry answered. Then, after a moment of thought, he added, "I think you're cute."
"Not 'cute', 'pretty'," Cherry corrected. "Ick! I hate the word 'cute'."
"I think you will be very pretty," Jerry temporized.
"I think I'm skinny," Cherry noted sourly.
"Slender, not skinny." Bending his elbow, Jerry combed his fingers through her straight sandy hair. "You've got nice hair."
"Totally unmanageable," Cherry argued. "It's like string. Like a mop!"
"It's just dry because you spend so much time in the sun and out here on the water," Jerry told her, still stroking her light-brown tresses.
Cherry leaned her head back. "That feels real nice," she purred. "Don't stop."
Jerry felt as if his insides were being shredded. There was a bitter taste in his mouth as he thought about what he was doing. But some irresistible force seemed to be driving him on and on and on. It was insane – it was criminal!
Gently, he guided Cherry's head over until it rested against his shoulder. He tickled his hand through her hair, around the curve of one small ear. She squirmed sideways until her legs were stretched diagonally across the cockpit. She rubbed her thighs together in a languidly sexy motion far beyond her years.
"Gee, it's a beautiful day," Cherry sighed softly. "Hot, though."
Actually, it was not as hot as it had been when Jerry had been out with Cindy. He felt hotter, though.
The boat was absolutely becalmed. It was barely moving on the heavy, oily swells that always stirred the sound. The rigging creaked softly with each gentle roll. That was the only sound.
Jerry let his hand slide down Cherry's soft cheek to her throat, then lower. Looking down, he could see she had startlingly long, dark eyelashes. He wondered if her eyes were closed. Somehow, he had the feeling that they were. He could also see that tantalizing hint of a valley between her breasts. He was almost sure the rise and fall of her small chest was speeding as he gently rubbed her soft, tender skin.
As he slid his hand slowly lower and lower on her chest, he felt his own chest burning with anticipation. He kept waiting for her to twist out from under his arm, to struggle away from him. But there was no protest, no attempt to distract him. But there was a subtle, definite tension in the slender body backed up against him. She hadn't fallen asleep.
Jerry cursed himself, and then Cherry. She couldn't be as naive and innocent as she seemed. She had to have some idea of what he was doing, what he was heading toward. The girl was not an idiot, after all. Why didn't she do something to keep him from going any farther?
He could feel, now, the soft layer of breast tissue that was developing over her pectoral muscle. His fingertips skirted the edge of her suit as he moved his hand across her chest. He was brushing her skin just below the line of her tan – he had the feeling he was already on forbidden territory, only she was not forbidding it.
How far was she going to let him go? Did she realize that there was a point beyond which it would be damn near impossible for him to stop?
Jerry was simultaneously praying for her to stop him before he went too far, and praying that she wouldn't stop him. He knew he couldn't stop himself. His cock was an aching iron bar crammed into his pants.
Gingerly, he eased his fingers lower. Delicately, he moved just the very tips under her suit. The pulse in her throat quickened visibly, as did the rise and fall of her chest. She knew what he was doing, all right. She knew perfectly well what he was doing.
And she was not going to stop him, damn her. She was not going to stop him!
Jerry slid his hand inside the top of her suit. Slowly, he moved his fingers over the swelling of her breast. He felt a stiff, hard bump between his second and third fingers, and pinched it gently. Releasing her nipple, he slid his hand across her chest to her other breast and cupped it firmly but gently. He pressed it against her. His throat knotted with excitement. Cherry's little mound was so unlike a mature woman's breast. It was firm, yet soft, and he could feel the muscle underneath. The nipple was smaller and harder and hungrier than a mature one.
"Mmmmmm," Cherry purred very softly. She was glad Jerry was moving so slowly and so cautiously. This way she was able to savor every nuance. His body was hard and hot behind her, his hand rough, yet tender, on her breasts. She felt like she was burning up inside. It all felt so hot and so wonderful. Something really neat was happening down between her legs, where the crotch of her suit was bunched up. She felt like she was swelling down there, and melting and getting wet, all at the same time. She touched his leg above his knee, and slid her hand slowly higher, feeling how hard and strong his thigh was. She put her arm on his thigh, and felt a heavy, hard, hot ridge. The thought of what she was feeling made her tremble slightly with fear. But the fear also increased the thrill. Her heart began to pound harder and it was suddenly difficult to breathe.