A Dolphin's Gift by Patricia Watters Page A

beautiful woman... " He trailed his
finger along the line of her lips then curved his finger beneath her chin and
lifted. When he kissed her, Nellie returned the kiss with a passion that
surprised her. And when Will's hands moved over the swells of her breasts and
down to press her intimately against him, she didn't
try to stop him.
    It was crazy,
irrational, bizarre, but in two weeks she'd fallen in love with Will. She had
no idea what lay ahead for them, nor did she want to analyze what was
happening. All she knew was, in Will's arms she felt whole. A little niggling
voice reminded her that Will had no intention of marrying, but she dismissed
it, knowing he only needed time to realize a wife and son would fill a void in
his solitary existence. She also believed he was slowly coming to that
realization. At least about her. It would take a little more time for Mike to
come around and accept Will, but that would happen too. "Things are going
to work out," she whispered against his parted lips.
    Will relaxed
his hold and looked at her warily. "I'm not sure what you mean by things
working out," he said, "but you have to understand there can be no
promises beyond the assurance of a one-to-one relationship while it
lasts."
    "Is that
all you want? A casual sexual relationship and nothing more?" Nellie
asked.
    "I don't
consider any relationship casual," Will said. "But I think we can
have a good relationship and a satisfying sex life without commitment, like you
said."
    "Then
obviously you read your own meaning into what I said," Nellie snapped. "I
said kissing doesn't necessarily have to end in marriage."
    "You said
kissing, or anything else , just to
clarify things," Will fired back. "But you can't deny you're lonely
for adult companionship. Intimacy."
    Nellie clutched
her elbows. Why was he doing this, forcing her to admit the deep lonely void
left by Richard's death? Tears misted her eyes.
    "I'm sorry
if I seem insensitive," Will said, "but there's nothing wrong with
two consenting adults having sex as long as they care about each other. And I
do care about you. All I think about is you and how much I want to be with
you."
    "And I'm
faced with the challenge of raising a son, and I want someone to share the
experience with, to help round out my life, not a quick roll in a bunk bed
while at sea," Nellie said. "And in spite of what you might have
gathered from our passionate encounter, I have no intention of getting involved
in an intimate relationship outside of marriage."
    Will dropped
his hands to his sides, and said, "Look, let's just forget this happened.
We've both jumped to some pretty heavy conclusions."
    Humiliated by
her seemingly uncontrollable responses to Will's kisses, Nellie gave a shrug of
indifference, and said, "Sure, okay. Meanwhile we'd better put the
groceries away." She turned from Will and hopped to the dock and grabbed a
bag of groceries.
    As they stashed
the canned food in the cabinets in the galley, neither talking, neither
touching, Nellie tried to put things in perspective. Before meeting Will she'd
never considered her own needs. But she had to admit, in the short time she'd
known him, his presence in her life had become important. She'd started to feel
responses long forgotten, like the warmth that crept over her when he smiled at
her, and the tingles that radiated throughout her body when he kissed the back
of her neck, and the deep sensual feeling he aroused when he covered her mouth
with his in a long, sustained kiss. Maybe she'd misread those feelings as love.
Maybe what she felt for Will was more sexual than emotional. After all, she’d
had a satisfying sex life with Richard, and she missed the closeness they'd
shared...
    "We
haven't discussed where we're going to sleep," Will said. "I assume
I'll be in the master stateroom and you'll be with Mike in the double
bunks."
    Nellie shook
her head. "Dr. Emery advised against sharing a room with Mike. I was doing
that when the nightmares started and it