Chapter 1

Charles Collin's mobile phone rang as he watched his girlfriend helm Serendipity towards the entrance to Harwich Haven. They were stealing a few days sailing over Easter before sitting exams in May and June. CC would be taking his Law finals, Nadiya, at eighteen, her A levels. He never tired of watching the petite blonde, standing confidently at the wheel, obviously enthralled with the whole experience. They had, having met aboard this very boat a little less than three years previously, developed their skills until he had his Offshore Skipper certification and Nadiya the Coastal Skipper.

By the time he got the phone out of its protective pocket, it was silent, but the number was logged. He recognised it and pressed the call-back. A woman's voice, Dublin Irish accented, answered.

"Hey, Eva! It's CC. You called me?"

"CC! Thank you for calling back. Jim asked me to call you to ask if you would be interested in a charter over Easter Week."

"Oh ... but I'll need to ask Pippa if she's okay with it. And Nadiya, of course."

"Of course." The amusement was clear in her voice. "Don't you think Nadiya should have come first?"

CC chuckled, recognising there was no way he'd win on that score. "Maybe. But Pippa does have a half-share in Serendipity. Nadiya just has a whole share in me."

"As it happens, Jim asked Pippa first, but she's working on Reminder as Mate and didn't want to give it up. I think she's got her eye on the new Skipper; he is quite a hunk."

"Oh, well. I expect she knows what she'd doing. I gather she split up with Nate when he went to Birmingham instead of UEA."

"Um, yes. But I never got the impression she was ... y'know ... um... committed to Nathan. Not like you and Nadiya."

"No." CC paused, wondering whether to say anything else about Pippa, but decided against. "I'll talk to Nadiya. What's involved?"

"Pick up at Ipswich wet dock Saturday teatime. One couple, Mister and Missus Quenton, it's their honeymoon. One week cruise. He's a small-boat sailor, whose boat was destroyed a few months ago, she wants to experience something that's important to him. I hope you can do it."

"His boat was destroyed?"

"Yeah ... remember the fire at the sailing club? Some vandal got in to the compound, broke in to some boats, and burned Mister Quenton's sloop to the waterline."

"I did hear about that. In fact I remember that little boat; he had it looking nice. I'll talk to Nadiya." He cut the connection and stowed the phone away.

"Talk to me about what?" Nadiya was still giving full attention to sailing the boat, but it was clear she'd overheard at least some of the conversation.

"It'll wait until we're anchored, Sweetheart."

They anchored on the Shelf, opposite Felixstowe container terminal and gave Serendipity plenty of chain before the business of stowing sails and tidying up. They had the kettle on and a pan of stew on the stove before Nadiya spoke again.

"Talk to me about what, CC?"

"It was Eva Preston. She said Jim asked her to call me to see if we were up to taking a charter, starting Saturday." He went on to give all the details he had. "So, I said I'd ask you how you felt about it. It's our break, after all, and you know we don't really need the money."

She pursed her lips, thoughtfully. "Hmm. I don't think I mind ... except ... will it affect us ... I mean," her eyes were twinkling, and she raised an eyebrow without completing the sentence.

"Well..." the young man smiled, drawing the word out, "they're a honeymoon couple, so I don't suppose they'll be very interested in what we do, as long as we're professional about managing the boat. Besides, I'm not interested in spending a week on board without molesting your sexy body..."

She tried to stay serious, but he could see the laughter in her eyes. "I suppose you were hoping to molest me this evening? Were you going to let me eat my supper first?"

He closed the gap between them, took her head gently between his hands and bent to kiss her. "I think I can restrain myself that long. I think."

She giggled, returned the kiss with interest, then stepped back and turned serious. "I love you ... you know that?"

"I know that. And I think you know I love you too."

"I do. That's why I trust you, and can joke about something that's not a joke to me normally. I ... I once thought I never would be able to ... you know ... give myself ... to a man. Willingly."

CC remembered the terrified, battered and abused young girl who had stowed away on board that very boat, almost three years previously. The girl ... who had looked at him, and seen a ... man. One of the gender that had, over two years, raped and abused her in every way possible. Now, however, her look was wholly of love, mixed with trust.

"Well, pretty lady, I think I can restrain myself until we've eaten. After that ... who knows?"

On the whole, it's not very practical to cook gourmet meals on a small yacht; the oven – if there is one at all – is usually small, and conserving the bottled gas is a consideration. Their meal of hot stew, bread and hot tea, with date-and-walnut cake to finish off, was satisfying, warming, and easy to prepare and consume. They tidied up, washed up and put the dishes and pans away, completed their pre-bed routines, and met in the master cabin, aft of the centre cockpit, just after eight in the evening. CC found Nadiya trembling with pent-up passion as he entered the cabin. He'd barely closed the door behind him when she leapt at him, arms so tightly round his neck he was a little worried for his breathing, especially as she fastened her lips on his.

Suddenly, though, she released him and stepped back. After a pause that seemed endless, but was really only seconds, she slowly began to strip off the clothing that was designed for comfort and protection, rather than appearance, until she stood, slim, pale and lovely in the dim light. "Do you remember ... our first time? Right here?"

He nodded, though she probably couldn't see. "I'll never forget it."

"You have too many clothes on."

Her words broke the spell that was holding him still, and he began to strip with a sailor's economy of movement. They both heard, and ignored, the heavy thrum of a passing ship's diesel engines as they moved together to kiss again, softly and sensuously that time, but they couldn't ignore the rocking of their boat as the passing ship's wash hit them, and they fell tangled together onto the bunk. As Nadiya was on top of the pile, she had the greatest freedom of movement and twisted to engulf his – painfully hard – cock in her mouth. Whereupon he seized her hips and lifted her over his face. Being so much taller than his petite girlfriend, a certain amount of contortion was required before his tongue could taste her pussy, but he knew what to do and rolled them onto their side so he could arch his back.