Joey closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around her knees where she was sitting on the cabin floor and lowering her head. The boat pitched forward again, her stomach moving with it. There was a moment of stillness and then the whole cabin seemed to spin around her as she felt the boat tip backwards. Scrunching her eyes shut even tighter, she tried to fight the nausea rising up in her throat.

“Mind over matter.” She kept repeating the words in her head like a mantra. It was something Pacey had said to her once before when she was feeling sick like this, reassuring her that even the most seasoned boaters could experience this kind of motion sickness once they got out to open sea. Not him, though, she thought with a small smile. The farther away from the coast they got, the more at ease Pacey became.

She gritted her teeth and braced herself as she felt another surge overtaking them. He’d also suggested that she stay above deck when feeling seasick and keep her eyes focused on the horizon at all times. That had actually helped her, but whether it was her focal point or his soft deep voice in her ear comforting her that did the trick, she wasn’t quite sure.

Neither was an option for her now, however, as she was stuck below and Pacey was currently busy trying to steer them through the gale-force winds tossing the boat around like a child’s bath toy. Even if she could be up there with him, the horizon was currently nonexistent, the heaves and swells of the turbulent ocean waters surrounding them melding into the dark and ominous sky above.

Joey heard the wind pick up even more outside, the low howl turning into a screeching sound. She remembered when they were kids, sneaking out of their houses during rainstorms at night to go down to Jetties Point. There was an old Capeside legend about the ghost of a sea captain’s wife who would supposedly walk the beach there, mourning the loss of her husband. They said she would appear during storms, crying out to the sea as she did that day all those centuries ago when she learned of his fate, and every so often you would be able to hear her.

Joey shivered a little, remembering the night she’d heard the sound, the wind and rain whipping around her, the waves crashing against the rocks, and then suddenly the blood-curdling scream. She had turned and run so fast back to Dawson’s house that it had taken her a good twenty minutes just to catch her breath. She smiled a little again, remembering how Pacey had finally taken pity on her, catching up with her and pulling her aside to explain it was just a combination of the right wind speed over the water filtered through the rocky shores of the point. Even though it wasn’t some specter of the night, she still found it unsettling to think that the ocean was capable of making such a human sounding noise. As if it were a living, breathing thing.

A living, breathing thing that Pacey was now locked in a battle with above deck. He told her once that a sailboat had the natural tendency to turn towards the wind, and that turning of the boat put the beam against the waves, creating a danger of swamping or capsizing. She looked to the companionway, staring up at the closed hatch door, chewing on her lower lip and wishing he would appear there again. It had been over a half hour since she last saw him, and the way the tiny sailboat was yawing about wasn’t reassuring her at all that he was even still at the wheel. She had wanted to help him, to do something to make herself feel useful, but Pacey wouldn’t hear of it. For this kind of sailing - if one could even call this sailing - this was definitely a one-man boat. He carefully explained she’d only be in the way up there, and that he’d get them through this. She just needed to go below, sit tight and trust him.

The boat seemed to be tilting to the side again, but then it slowly evened itself out. Joey waited for the next wave, knowing by now that these moments of calm were deceiving. It was as if the storm was just taking in a big gulp of air before exhaling its mighty force on them once again. She raised her head, opening her eyes as she heard the sound of the wind start to grow a little fainter. She swallowed nervously, looking around the cabin at the puddles of water on the floor. The storm had quieted enough now that she could almost hear the familiar creaking of the wooden deck planks, sounding much more tired and spent than they had when she had woken up to them that morning. She pulled herself up on shaky legs, keeping at tight grip on the woven rope of the hammock in front of her. There now an almost eerie silence from above, and she took a tentative step forward towards the companionway. “Pace?” She called out, her voice sounding strange to her own ears in the still, heavy air of the cabin.

Suddenly the hatch flew open and she jumped back as Pacey raced down from above, by-passing most of the steps on his way.

“Hey.” He said to her, sounding a little out of breath. He wasn’t meeting her eyes and quickly brushed by her to go over to the radio, scanning the dial for a minute and listening carefully. Joey just watched him with wide eyes, absently bringing her hand to her throat, afraid to interrupt him but wishing she could just reach out and touch him. Wishing he would touch her.

“Okay.” He turned to her with a heavy sigh, just quickly glancing at her face and then down again. “We are going to be pulling into a marina in about ten minutes. I’m not sure what the deal is there, but I really don’t think they are going to have a problem with us docking overnight under the circumstances. This storm is not going to be over anytime soon. We’re going to have to wait it out.” Joey glanced out through the hatch door Pacey had left open a crack and realized that the rain was still pouring down, falling in heavy sheets. She looked back to Pacey, seeing that he was soaked through all his layers of clothes and noticing a large tear on the shoulder of his pullover jacket.

“Look at you.” She shook her head sadly, taking a step towards him.

He glanced down and just shrugged his shoulders. “Why don’t you throw some things in my duffel bag? It’s stowed in that storage compartment under there.” Pacey pointed, raising his arm and wincing a bit as he turned to start back up the stairs. “I’ve got to open the bailers and drain out some of this water we took on. Just pack whatever you need for the night and grab some clothes for me too, okay? Thanks.” He looked at her over his shoulder before he jogged up the companionway steps again, disappearing above deck as he slammed the hatch shut behind him.

“Okay.” Joey replied in a shaky voice, running her hand through her hair and exhaling loudly.

Pacey tied off the lines and then came over to take the duffel bag in one hand, offering his other to help Joey over the side. The deck was slick with rain, and she gingerly stepped up on the railing, her foot almost sliding out from under her. Feeling Pacey tighten his grip on her, she couldn’t tell whether she jumped or he pulled her to the safety of the dock. She tugged the hood of her sweatshirt up a little more, but the rain seemed to be coming up from the ground at this point so it did little to keep her dry. Following Pacey up the swaying wooden boat ramp, she had to stop several times for him to adjust his grip on the bag he was carrying, but he held fast to her hand.

When the reached the street level in front of the marina office, he turned to her, passing her the duffel bag and reaching into his back pocket for his wallet.

“There’s a place…right over there.” He called out over the rain, nodding his head in the direction of large, rambling Victorian style house at the top of the street overlooking the harbor they had just sailed into. Joey could see a sign hanging over the front steps to the wide porch reading “Sea Crest Inn”. Pacey handed her a wad of cash, the last of their combined savings that Bessie and Doug had wired to them only two days ago at their last port. “I’ll see what I have to do here to get us a slip for the night and you go get us a room.”

Joey turned back to him. “It looks expensive.” She said dubiously, wiping the soaked strands of hair out of her eyes. She had to admit that the one drawback to this impromptu summer trip had been the lack of sufficient funds. Not that she ever felt as if she was wanting for anything when she was with him.

Pacey really looked at her for the first time since they had docked the boat, his hair plastered to head, rivulets of rain sliding down his face and his blue eyes shining with just the hint of amusement. “Are you kidding me here, Jo?” He raised his arms, motioning towards their surroundings, the rain beginning to turn to hail.

She smirked at him, just nodding her head as she took the money from his hand. “Okay.”

He smiled then, reaching out to just barely touch her arm. “I’ll meet you over there as soon as I get this straightened out.”

“Okay.” Joey repeated, nodding. Pacey went to head into the office.

“Pace?” She called out quickly, almost desperately, and he turned to look at her again. She leaned into him, lightly resting her hands on his waist as she raised herself up to gently press her lips to his, closing her eyes with a sigh as she felt him softly kiss her back. She pulled away to look at him.

“What was that for?” He asked in a low voice, his face expressionless.

“I have been wanting to do that all day.” She smiled a little, turning away to make her way up the street through the torrents of rain, trudging around the puddles and hiking the duffel bag over her shoulder. Pacey just watched her go, sighing a little to himself.

Joey stood in the foyer to the inn, politely smiling again at the woman behind the desk who was eyeing her curiously. She knew how disheveled she must appear, her hair stuck to her head now from the rain and the salt water, wearing both a shirt and a sweatshirt of Pacey’s that hung almost to the knees of her own well-worn jeans. She looked down at herself, realizing for the first time she was still wearing the bright orange flotation device that Pacey had strapped on her when the storm first hit them. Joey fidgeted slightly, glancing over her shoulder towards the small waiting area next to the reception desk. She had been eyeing an ornate love seat there, her legs still wobbly from the boat, but it was covered in some sort of silk damask fabric and she was afraid to sit down on it in her current condition.

“Terrible weather we’ve been having lately.” The woman behind the desk commented.

Fighting the urge to reply, “Ya think?” Joey just nodded her head in agreement, turning with a relieved sigh as she heard the front doors open and saw Pacey finally appear.

“Hey.” He smiled at her, glancing quickly around with a raised eyebrow.

The woman behind the desk was almost leaning forward now to blatantly stare at them. Joey suddenly realized how young they must look to her. Pacey gave the woman an uncertain look, flashing a quick smile in her direction.

“So…” He looked back to Joey, not really meeting her eyes. “Are we all set here?”

“Yeah. It’s on the second floor.” Joey nodded, handing him the key and following him up the stairs.

When they reached the room, Pacey unlocked the door, hesitating in the threshold a moment before walking in and dropping the duffel bag on the floor. Joey followed slowly behind, trying to watch him out of the corner of her eye for a reaction. They had only afforded themselves the luxury of staying on dry land a couple of times during this trip, and the agreement as far as the sleeping arrangements went was no different than their agreement on the boat. She bit her lower lip nervously, but Pacey didn’t say a word about the very big, very solitary four-poster bed that sat in the middle of the room.

“Um…okay.” He pulled out his wallet again, glancing inside. “The guy at the dock told me about a couple of take-out places further down the street, so why don’t I go grab us something to eat. Are you hungry? You must be by now.”

Joey just nodded absently, walking over to glance inside the bathroom.

There was a glassed-in shower stall, a marble-top counter and a separate whirlpool tub. She turned around to walk back out into the room, suddenly feeling very self-conscious to be in a place like this alone with him, embarrassed that she had not just taken the double room that had also been available. After what they had just gone through, however, all she could think about was being close to him. The possibility of being able to sleep next to him, to have him hold her, was the only thing she had been able to think about since he told her they would be staying the night in this port.

“Oh, and you should call Bessie.” Pacey sighed as he started for the door, rubbing his eye tiredly with the palm of his hand. “This storm front is moving up the whole East Coast, so I’m sure she’s heard about it on the news. She’d probably appreciate a call.”

“All right. I will.” Joey replied, waiting to see if he would say anything more about the room.

“Okay. I’ll be back in a while.” He just gave her a little wave before he walked out the door.

Joey turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, reaching for one of the terry cloth robes hanging on a hook behind the door. She wrapped it around her, squeezing the excess water from her hair with one of the plush bath towels folded up in a pyramid-style pile on the bathroom vanity. She smiled a little to herself, opening up and examining the different bottles of lotions and fragrant soaps on the counter. While she had never really been one for much primping and pampering, even she had to admit this was a welcome change from the accommodations on the boat. Not that “True Love” didn’t have its own special charms, of course, she thought with a smile.

She walked out into the room, sitting on the end of the bed and looking out the wide window, rubbing some of the herbal-scented body lotion over her tanned legs and arms. Night was beginning to fall, not that it made a difference in the darkness and dreariness of the day. She leaned back to pick up the phone beside the bed, putting it on her lap and picking up the receiver as she dialed the familiar number and then heard the equally as familiar busy signal in her ear.

There was the sound of the key in the door and she looked over to see Pacey walk in. He smiled at her as he came over to the small sitting area in the room and dropped the bags in his hands down on the table there. “Did you talk to Bessie?” He asked, noticing the phone.

“No yet.” Joey shook her head, getting up off the bed to come over to stand next to him. “It’s been busy for the past half hour.” She leaned forward to peek in the bags. “What did you get?”

“A little of everything.” Pacey chuckled as he shrugged his shoulders.

Joey turned to smile up at him, but he was already walking away, heading towards the bathroom. “I think I’m finally going to get out of these clothes, but you can go ahead and eat if you want.”

Joey frowned, watching the door close behind him. She walked over to drop down on the bed with a sigh.

“Yes. I’m fine. Pacey is fine.” Joey repeated herself, rolling her eyes a bit at Bessie’s ramblings on the other end of the line. “But, I have been trying to call you, Bess…I kept getting a busy signal. Yes, we are aware that it is hurricane season.” Joey heard the water of the shower turn off in the bathroom and a moment later Pacey emerged, holding the towel wrapped around his waist as he went to the duffel bag still lying on the floor.

Still listening to Bessie from where she sat on the bed, Joey just watched him, her mouth falling open slightly as her eyes drifted over his muscular and tanned back. He dug through the contents of the bag a moment, grabbing some clothes and something else in his hand before he went back into the bathroom.

“All right. I will. Yes, I promise.” Joey sighed. “Okay. Talk to you later.” She hung up the receiver, her eyes focused on the bathroom door.

Placing the phone back on the nightstand, she stood up, tucking her damp hair behind her ear, and walked over.

The door was partially open, and Joey tentatively knocked as she glanced inside. Pacey was standing at the counter wearing just his sweatpants now, slung low on his hips, and in the reflection of the mirror she saw a large angry red gash across the front of his shoulder.

“Oh, Pace…” She gasped, coming into the bathroom. “What happened?”

He glanced over at her, raising his eyebrows. “Ah, the rigging just got away from me out there today. Just chafed me a bit.” He shrugged as he went to place a gauze bandage over the wound, wincing a little.

“Chafed you? That cut right through your clothes, didn’t it? What if you need stitches or something, Pace?” She came over to him now, moving to stand in front of him. She gently raised her hand to rest it on his bare chest as she looked at the cut.

“Nah. It’s not really that deep.” He shook his head, his voice becoming soft and low as it always did when she stood that close to him.

Joey noticed the small first aid kit sitting next to the sink that he must have grabbed from the duffel bag. She placed her hands on the bathroom counter behind her, lifting herself up to sit there. “Let me do this for you.” She said quietly, reaching for the bandage he had pulled out and looking through the kit. Pacey didn’t say anything, just bowed his head a little, watching the movements of her hands.

She found a small tube of some antibacterial ointment, and placed a drop on her finger, raising her hand and hesitating slightly. She took a deep breath, her hand trembling, not sure whether her stomach was beginning to do little flips because she was afraid to hurt him or because she was afraid to be so close to him when he was half undressed. She gingerly went to apply the ointment and felt him wince again under her touch.

“Sorry.” Joey cringed. She held her breath, carefully running her finger along the cut, spreading out the soothing ointment and trying to keep her gaze from drifting below his injured shoulder.

“Is that okay?” She whispered, looking up to meet his blue eyes, as dark and stormy as the sky outside their window. He just nodded, biting down on the inside of his lower lip.

As she bowed her head to reach for the bandage, Pacey’s gaze fixed on her face. “I’m sorry, Jo.” He said quietly.

She looked up, surprised. “For what?”

“I’m sorry I got us into that out there. The forecasts are never as accurate when you are that far offshore. I should have paid more attention to the swells and the drop in the barometer. I should have known better.”

He sighed heavily, glancing at the floor and then back to her eyes. “It was stupid of me to take a chance like that with you on the boat with me. I didn’t have a lot of time to make a decision when it hit us, but I should have never tried to sail through that storm front with you.” He shook his head wearily. “I just saw your face at one point and…”

Joey shook her head as well. “I wasn’t scared for me, Pace.” She cut in, meeting his eyes again. “I trust you completely out there. I trust you with my life.” She said simply, watching him as she secured the gauze bandage with the tape. “I was only scared for you, that something might happen to you.” She smiled a little, her wide eyes shining up at him. “I know you would never let anything happen to me.”

They just held each other’s gaze for a long moment until Pacey raised his hand to her cheek and leaned in to kiss her, just barely touching his lips to hers and breaking contact only to immediately kiss her again. He tenderly took her lower lip between his, tasting her before meeting her lips with a little more confidence. His soft, slow, lingering kisses put her at ease, melting her. She finally let her hands drift down his bare chest, brushing just the tips of her fingers along his heated skin, feeling the muscles underneath tighten, tentatively touching him in the way she had been longing to. It always surprised her that, despite how lean and angular and hard his body might look to her, his skin was always so incredibly soft to the touch. He raised his other hand to her hair, grasping it in his fist as he deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue along hers as they fell into their delicious practiced rhythm. She sighed into his mouth and he leaned into her a little more. She parted her legs for him to move in between them, gasping a little as his open-mouthed kisses now traveled down her neck, both from the sudden sensation of his moist lips against her skin and from the sudden realization that she was still only wearing the robe from her shower.

Joey moaned softly, feeling the heat begin to pool in her lower stomach. She bit down on her lip, frowning as she tilted her head back for him as his lips glided over her throat. He moved in just a fraction of an inch closer to her, and she was now acutely aware of the proximity of his body to hers as the aching heat spread and then centered between her legs. The familiar conflicting feelings began to rage inside her - her emotions, her desires, her fears all swirling and twisting around like a tornado, until she couldn’t tell one apart from the other, desperately craving the feeling of his kisses and his gentle touch, wanting to feel him pressed up against her, feeling the need to pull away at the same time.

Pacey backed off immediately, without a word, as he always did, and the storm inside her gradually began to quell. It was moments like this when she wondered how he could somehow understand her even when she couldn’t understand herself. He gave her one last kiss on the tip of her nose, smiling down at her. Then he nodded his head back towards the room. “Did you eat yet? We haven’t had anything since breakfast. Let’s go.”

“Okay.” She smiled and sighed, leaning into him to rest her forehead against his while she composed herself for a moment.

“Or…” Pacey chuckled, quickly running his hands up and down her back. “We could stay right here and I could tell you all about this nurse fantasy I’ve always had.”

Joey smirked, sitting up and putting both hands firmly against his chest, pushing him away as she jumped down from the counter.

“Ow!” He yelped, only half joking. “What happened to the love? I’m injured here!” He raised his hand to drape it across his shoulder.

“That’s not the only place you’ll be injured if you keep it up.” Joey turned to make a face at him, immediately blushing a deep shade of red as she saw the way Pacey was tilting his head to look back at her and grinning.

“Keep it up, Potter? You know you walked right into that one.” He chuckled in a low voice, following her out of the bathroom as he pulled his tank top over his head.

“Shut up, Pacey.” She laughed, covering her face with her hands as she walked away.

“I think this is the most comfortable bed I have ever been on.” Joey sighed, flopping back on the fluffy down pillows they had stacked up against the headboard to watch the television. “Or maybe I have just forgotten what a real bed feels like.”

Pacey looked over at her, pointing the remote control in his hand at the screen to flip through the channels. “Yeah, about that…” He began slowly. “Was this the only room that they had left or something?” He watched her, raising his eyebrow.

Joey rolled onto her side, her body facing his, propping herself up on her elbow. “Maybe.” She shrugged her shoulders noncommittally, focusing her gaze on the television screen.

“Maybe?” Pacey looked surprised, his voice cracking as he raised it comically. “Do you mean to tell me that you might have had something to do with these completely inappropriate sleeping arrangements, Josephine? I am both shocked and appalled. What kind of boy do you think I am?”

She just glanced at him with a small smirk. “Well…I guess I sort of had a new appreciation for you after thinking I could have lost you to the sea out there, but, you know, in retrospect, I think that I was obviously acting under duress at the time.” She sat up to reach over him for the phone on the nightstand. “I’ll just call down to the front desk and see if they still have any rooms available with separate beds.”

Pacey dropped the remote and wrapped his arms around her, rolling her onto her back and kissing her as she giggled and half-heartedly squirmed to get away. “Don’t even think about it.” He growled against her skin, moving his kisses down her neck and then back up to her lips. He propped himself up to smile at her, and she looked up at him, holding his gaze as she reached up to lightly touch his cheek. Leaning down to press one last soft kiss to her lips, he rolled back into his position against the headboard, picking up the remote again. Joey moved with him and he raised his arm up for her.

Settling herself on him, carefully laying her head on his chest to avoid his injury, she smiled as his hand glided over her hair and came to rest on her shoulder, his fingers aimlessly playing with the strap of her camisole pajama top.

Joey lay there silently for a while, just enjoying the feel of him. She stretched her long legs out over the crisp cotton sheets, beginning to feel a little drowsy now after her hot shower and a full stomach. She closed her eyes with a sigh as he began to gently run just the tips of his fingers up and down the back of her bare shoulder. After a few minutes, he shifted carefully underneath her, reaching over to turn off the lamp next to the bed and then pointing the remote at the television to lower the volume, obviously under the impression that she was falling asleep. The window in the room began to rattle a bit under the force of the wind coming off the water outside now, and Joey’s eyes blinked open as she heard the deep rumble of thunder in the far distance.

The television became just a blur of lights as her focus shifted to his body beneath her from where she was lying on him. Her eyes drifted over the gentle rise and fall of his stomach, the thin trail of hair that disappeared into the low waistband of his sweatpants and the slight bulge visible right above the top of his thigh. Joey slowly moved her hand down from where it had been resting under her chin, traveling over the ribbed cotton of his gray tank top until she reached the hem of the material and the thin strip of uncovered skin above the waistband of his sweatpants. She swallowed, her mouth suddenly going dry, as she began to trace small patterns over his lower stomach with the tips of her fingers. She felt the muscles clench under her touch, then relax. Pacey sighed quietly, his hand moving up from her shoulder to play with the long strands of her hair.

She continued her movements, lowering her hand a few inches to dip her fingers below the drawstring on his sweatpants. Lifting her head from his chest, she pushed up his tank top, kissing his warm stomach as she slid her hand over his pants, feeling him grow harder.

She hadn’t touched him in this way that often, and the few times she had, he’d assisted her in her lack of technique, gently covering her hand with his to show her the way. She stroked him now, closing her hand over him as she remembered him guiding her, and she bowed her head to kiss her way down his stomach. She heard Pacey groan softly under his breath, holding the back of her hair in his fist now. She took a deep breath as she lowered her head even more to kiss him, feeling him against her lips now, hard as a rock under his sweatpants.

Pacey made a low growling sound in his throat, immediately sitting forward.

“Jo…” He whispered in a husky voice, his large hands traveling down her bare arms as he reached for her. “C’mere.”

Joey rose up a little, sitting back and looking at him uncertainly in the flickering blue light of the television. He just pulled her into a kiss, his tongue immediately invading her mouth as he turned her over and pushed her down onto the bed, moving to lie partially on top of her. He kissed her thoroughly, his tongue thrusting and swirling around hers and intimately exploring every corner of her mouth. Her head was spinning when he finally broke for air. There were times when he could kiss her for hours, soft and sweet and gentle, and she’d just be content to be in his arms. Then he would kiss her like this and every rational thought she ever had would instantly leave her as she became consumed with the desire for more. More heat, more skin, more taste, more him.

Pacey moved his kisses to her neck, traveling slowly down to her shoulder where the strap of her camisole had slipped off. Joey sighed, wrapping her arms around his body. She ran her hands down the muscles in his back, gripping him at the waist as she felt her hips instinctively rock upwards.

Pacey moved his body over hers now so that he was completely on top of her. His hand glided down from her neck, just brushing his palm over her breast, the peaked nub hardening even further under the flimsy cotton material of her top that was barely covering her now. He ran his hand over her again, this time pushing the fabric out of the way as he lowered his head to close his mouth down over her, his tongue teasing her, his teeth grazing over her.

Joey gasped at the sensation, feeling the conflicting emotions beginning to rise up inside her again. They’d done this before, almost inevitably since most of her days on the boat were spent in tank tops or bikinis, but it felt somehow different in this setting, in this bed with him. Fooling around a little on the deck or while they were swimming always seemed innocent enough because she knew these were just stolen moments together. She suddenly realized that this wasn’t just another fleeting moment, they had all night here alone like this, and she felt a strange mix of anticipation and dread fill her.

Whatever thoughts might be traveling through her brain at that moment, however, had no impact on the actions of her body. Joey rocked her hips up against him again, parting her legs a little more so that she could feel him hard against her. She closed her eyes and moaned, finding sweet relief from the dull ache between her legs as he thrust down, rubbing his hardness over her and against her, again and again through her thin cotton pajama bottoms, creating a heat and friction that only fueled her desire for more.

Pacey suddenly reached up, brushing his hand across the bed and sending the remote clattering to the floor as the television clicked off and the room grew darker. He moved back to her neck, biting the soft skin there as he thrust down into her again, groaning quietly as she raised her hips to meet him. Joey gasped as they ground against each other, the sound muffled by another rumble of thunder outside, this time louder and longer as the storm began to move closer.

Crying out, she gripped him tightly around the waist, the heat between her legs becoming unbearable. She wanted to feel him against her, skin to skin, without the barrier of clothing, but she was too afraid of where that might lead. Yet, at the same time, she was starting to feel like that was exactly where she wanted it to lead. Where she desperately needed it to lead. The battle inside her raged on full force as she heard the rain pelting against the windows.

As always, Pacey seemed to sense her inner turmoil and slowly pulled away. Rising up on his forearms, his dark eyes drifted over her face. Joey looked up at him, slightly out of breath.

“Do you want me to touch you?” He asked finally, and she gasped softly. The thought of his skilled fingers inside her in the way he was beginning to become intimately familiar with her, coupled with his words and the timbre of his voice caused a spasm of sensation between her legs.

Joey swallowed back the lump in her throat, her mouth going dry again, and she just nodded her head as she locked her eyes on his.

Pacey bowed his head, just the tip of his tongue appearing for a moment as if he were in deep thought. Then he slowly raised his gaze to meet hers again, his blue eyes almost hypnotic.

“Did you mean it when you said you trusted me?” He whispered, watching her.

Joey nodded again, this time finding her voice. “Yes. Of course.” She whispered back, her eyes widening.

He sat back, looking at her on the bed in front of him, his eyes taking in her whole body. Moving forward, he rested his weight on one arm as he reached for the top of her pajama bottoms with his hand. He just slipped his fingers underneath, hooking his hand in the waistband and brushing his knuckles along the warm skin of her stomach. Slowly pulling the material down around the curve of her hips, Pacey raised his head to look at her again as she lifted her hips off the bed to assist him. Joey watched his face, mesmerized by him now. He pulled her pajamas off one leg, and then lifted the other and slowly guided them off her. Tossing them aside, he trailed his fingers over her bare skin.

Joey sat up, embarrassed to be lying half naked in front of him. She kissed him, seeking out the safe haven of his mouth, and he kissed her back tenderly, raising his hands to hold her face. Wanting to somehow prolong the moment, Joey reached down between them and took his erection in her hand, wrapping it around his width and slowly and deliberately stroking him through the thin barrier of his sweatpants, her breath catching in her throat as she felt how hard and big he was, how close he was to her body.

Pacey pulled away from the kiss, dropping his head to her shoulder with a groan. After a moment he reached down to grab her wrist to still her movements.

He raised his head to kiss her again. “Lie back.” He instructed her, his words lingering against her lips. Joey just looked at him, blinking a few times, and then let him guide her gently back down to the bed. He kissed her once again before moving away to travel down her neck and then lower to her chest. He pushed her camisole up just a bit, his tongue gliding down the soft skin of her stomach, dipping inside her belly button as she squirmed and moaned. There was a loud clap of thunder that echoed through the sky now, and a flash of lightning that lit up the room allowing Joey to see his head moving lower, his lips traveling over the curve of her hip as he slipped a hand underneath her.

Joey bit down on her lower lip, closing her eyes, afraid to watch him as he edged them closer to new territory. Her feet were flat on the bed, her knees raised up, and she felt his other hand now gliding over the outside of her thigh. When he reached her knee, he rested his hand there a moment until he brought it slowly back down, traveling over the skin on the inside of her thigh and applying a light pressure to gently spread her legs further apart. Joey felt herself resisting him.

He stopped, raising his body up and brushing a kiss across her knee. “Trust me.” He watched her face as he slid his large hand up and down her leg, waiting for a response.

“I do.” She nodded, closing her eyes and trying to relax.

Suddenly she felt his lips, soft and wet on the inside of her thigh and her head lolled back onto the bed. There were little explosions going off inside her body now, almost in rhythm with the boom and flashes from the thunderstorm. His kisses were moving down and she held her breath, not feeling him for a moment. She saw a quick flash of lightning through her partially closed eyes, and then she felt his tongue sliding slowly inside her. She cried out over the crack of thunder that ripped through the sky outside their window.

Joey couldn’t keep still. Her head thrashed back and forth and her body rose up off the bed as his mouth began to do indescribable things to her. He placed one of his hands on her hip to hold her gently in place. She raised the palm of her hand to her forehead, grasping at the bedspread with the other, trying to fight the feelings assaulting her senses as her body tensed against his touch, the overwhelming sensation of losing control frightening her. Digging the heels of her feet into the bed, she began to inch back from away him.

Pacey reached up to take her hand from the bed, interlacing his fingers with hers. Moving slightly, he kissed the delicate skin along her bikini line, easing himself off of her to the side and rubbing small circles over her lower stomach with the palm of his free hand. Even though she had been pulling away, Joey couldn’t stop her hips from arching up a bit at the loss of contact as she whimpered under her breath.

“Are you okay?” He whispered, lightly squeezing her hand, propping himself up on his elbow to watch her carefully.

Joey just nodded, her eyes still scrunched tight, her other hand still pressed to her forehead.

He looked at her, smiling slowly. “It’s like the boat out there today.”

He bowed his head to kiss the skin along the curve of her waist. “A sailboat of that size, most people believe you’re only option is to outrun a storm that forceful. But…that’s not really true.” He adjusted his position, gently rubbing his hand up and down her leg. “You just have to know your boat, know its limitations and that can guide you on whether you should hold her back…” Pacey’s hand was traveling slowly up the inside of her tanned thigh again, his fingers grazing over her heated skin. “Or allow the waves to pass right over her.” His thumb barely brushed against her clit, one finger dipping inside her wetness and then out again as she groaned under her breath. “Once in a while you have to give in a little, ease the tension on the sails, don’t fight so hard against the wind and follow the natural course.”

Joey opened her eyes a little, glancing over at him with the hint of smirk, her body still trembling from his touch. “Oh yeah?” She whispered, her voice cracking.

“Mm-hmm.” He bowed his head, his lips just gliding across the soft swell of her belly. “Sometimes your best option is to just ride it out.”

Joey couldn’t help but smile at this, slowly shaking her head at him and rolling her eyes as she tried not to blush. “Okay.” She sighed, letting out a shaky breath.

He grinned up at her, kissing her stomach one last time before moving down again. Joey closed her eyes, biting her lower lip in anticipation, trying to relax. When she felt his tongue sliding over her, parting her, she focused on the feeling as she let out her breath in a low moan. He was rubbing just the tip of his tongue across her tight entrance, flicking it over her clit. Joey groaned again, wanting to grab one of the pillows behind her to bury her face in but at the same time not wanting to let go of her hold on his hand. The throbbing between her legs pulsed at an intense level, her heart rate reaching the same speed as the gale-force winds blowing across the ocean surface.

Pacey was slowly thrusting his tongue up inside her now, the sound of the soft strokes mixed with the rhythmic pounding of the rain on the windowpanes.

The throbbing concentrated to her core, and Joey fought the sudden urge to bring her knees together, instead lowering them to the bed, opening herself up to him. Pacey moved even further into her, lifting a leg to rest it over his shoulder as he rubbed his hand slowly up the back of her thigh, gently gripping her there. Joey felt her hips rising off the bed so she just let her body’s natural instincts guide her, slowly rocking her pelvis, matching Pacey’s movements. Her breathing changed, a soft pant dissolving into short gasps.

Pacey eased the pressure slightly, still keeping a slow, steady rhythm with his tongue against her clit as he slid one, then two, fingers inside her. Joey felt her inner muscles clench down on him as he stroked her, and then it was as if her whole body was lifting off the bed, sailing over waves of sensation. She felt a tightening in her lower stomach traveling down to where his fingers caressed her, like a rope slowly twisting around itself, a build-up of tension like the heavy feel of the stormy air around them. Then something inside her suddenly burst and she cried out his name, arching her head back onto the bed. She felt the warm rush of her release rain down, every muscle in her body trembling and shaking under its force.

Pacey continued his ministrations, easing off gradually as he felt her body start to relax under his gentle touch. He kissed his way leisurely up over her skin, smiling down at her as he brushed her tousled hair out of her face to press a kiss to her forehead.

“I love you.” She sighed, closing her eyes, still feeling the ripples of sensation between her legs.

He settled in next to her, wrapping his arms around her as he bowed his head to nuzzle her neck.

“I love you, Jo.” He whispered against her skin, causing her to smile. Even after everything they had been through that year to be together, he could still sometimes become uncharacteristically shy when it came to revealing his feelings, even when it was just the two of them alone together. He didn’t say those three words very often. He didn’t have to. She felt it every time he touched her, every time he looked at her.

She rolled over to face him, kissing him and tasting a faint trace of herself on his lips. She moved on top of him, straddling him and kissing his neck as he sighed softly, resting his hands lightly on her bare backside. Slowly and deliberately, she began to move her kisses down his chest, pulling up his tank top, needing to taste his skin.

Pacey tensed, sitting up a little and reaching down to grip her slender upper arms in his large hands as her kisses started to travel lower.

“Jo…” He said in a husky whisper. “You don’t have to.”

“I know.” She smiled, leaning up to kiss him softly on the lips again before lowering her head and easing his sweatpants down, aching for him feel everything that she was feeling. “That’s why I want to.”

Joey sighed sleepily, burying her face deeper in her pillow as she rolled over. She reached out for Pacey’s warm body, her hand gliding across the cool cotton sheets instead. Frowning slightly, she opened her eyes.

The wind outside was blowing just as hard as the night before, but now it was sending puffy gray and white clouds billowing past the window, opening up patches of bright blue in their wake in the early morning sky. She blinked a few times at the empty space in bed next to her, and then lifted herself up on her elbow to glance over her shoulder at the open door to the bathroom.

“Pace?” She called out as she ran her hand through her tangled hair, her voice still groggy from sleep. She heard the sound of the key in the door then and Pacey appeared.

He smiled at her. “Hey. Are you finally up, Potter?”

She narrowed her eyes at him in confusion as she sat up. “Finally? It’s not even 7:00am. I think the question is why are you already up?” He came over to sit on the edge of the bed next to her as she ran her hands through her hair again. She noticed his happy smile as he held out a take-out cup of coffee for her, a distinct change from his usual early morning personality. “And why are you so…awake?” She mumbled against his lips as he leaned in to kiss her, slowly and suspiciously raising an eyebrow as she took the cup from his hand.

He just shrugged and grinned, leaning in to give her another quick kiss. “I actually told the guy down at the dock last night that we would vacate that slip well before 9:00am, so we need to get packed up and out of here.”

“Oh.” Joey pouted a little as she went to take a sip of her coffee. “I was hoping to get to take a bath in that tub before we had to leave.”

“You can.” Pacey nodded agreeably. “We still have a little time. We’ll just grab something for breakfast on our way.”

“Okay.” Joey reached over to place her coffee carefully on the nightstand and get out of bed. She suddenly froze, her eyes widening as she turned back to face him, pulling the bedspread up around her. Pacey watched her with a slight look of amusement on his face.

“Umm, I ah…” She stammered, her cheeks turning pink.

Pacey just chuckled, bending over from where he still sat on the edge of the bed and then sitting back up with her pajama bottoms in his hand. “Looking for these?” He grinned at her.

Joey grabbed them from his hand, making a face at him. She pulled the bedspread up almost to her chest, reaching underneath to wiggle back into them. Throwing the covers off, she stood up, smacking him lightly on top of his head as she walked toward the bathroom. Glancing over her shoulder at him, she saw that he was still just smiling at her.

“God…there’s going to be no living with you now, is there?” She muttered under her breath, running her hand through her hair again. She turned back to face him, placing her hands on her hips. “Are you going to be like this for just today, or is this going to last a while?”

Pacey was resting his chin in his hand now, his elbows on his knees, his eyes drifting over her in a way that almost made her blush again, the grin still plastered on his face. “I don’t know.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I haven’t really decided yet.”

“Well, okay…you just let me know then.” She shook her head at him before continuing into the bathroom, smiling to herself as she turned away.

“Oh, you’ll be the first, Potter.”

Although the sky was almost completely clear by the time they got back on the boat, the winds were still gusting across the water. Joey hopped up to take her usual seat on the cabin roof to watch Pacey cast off, shivering in the cool breeze as she pulled one of his fleece sweatshirts on over her t-shirt and shorts. She looked out over the crowded marina they were in, frowning a little.

“It’s awfully choppy out here, Pace.” She called over to him as he took his place at the wheel. “And there are a lot of other boats around.”

Pacey leaned over to watch his progress as he began to motor out of their slip. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head over there, Josephine.”

His tongue emerged between his pursed lips as he maneuvered the little boat through the rough waters, away from the dangerous pilings of the dock. “It’s all about the technique…” His voice drifted off for a moment as he leaned to his opposite side to watch their wake. “And working with the forces of nature, not against them.” He grinned, briefly tearing his eyes from his steering to glance at her, squinting a bit in amusement. “Haven’t we been over this?”

Joey just smirked at him, shaking her head and rolling her eyes as she leaned over to watch their course.

She quickly turned back to Pacey. “You’ve got some trouble coming up here on the right.” A large fishing troller was pulling into the harbor, blocking their access to open sea as they headed directly towards a large cabin cruiser and a catamaran moored next to each other.

Pacey raised his eyebrows, cupping his hand to his ear. “Where was that? I don’t think I caught that.”

Joey scrunched her face, thinking for a moment. “Starboard?” She replied uncertainly.

Pacey nodded and grinned. “Got it. Watch the boom.”

Joey leaned over, cringing and almost afraid to watch as she saw the swells from the previous night’s storm rocking the boats at their moorings dangerously close together.

Pacey was in motion then, releasing tension on the mainsheet, reaching over with his opposite hand to spin the wheel. She looked up with concern, ducking as the as the boom passed overhead and their speed dropped off. Looking back down, she watched as the little sailboat turned on a dime and glided easily through the space, with mere inches to spare.

“Impressive.” She sat up and grinned at him.

Pacey just smiled, busy adjusting the rigging again as they set sail full force out into the open water. “It just goes to prove my theory.” He said finally, watching the mainsail unfurl in the wind and setting their course.

“What’s that?” Joey raised her eyebrow at him from where she sat dangling her legs off the cabin roof.

He came over to her, resting his hands on her knees and sliding them slowly up the smooth skin of her tanned legs, his gaze following his movements. “That it’s not the size of the boat…” He leaned his body in between her legs to kiss her, thrusting his tongue slowly into her mouth and just gliding the tip of it along her tongue before pulling away, his lips still lingering there as he smiled. “But the motion of the ocean.”

“Pace?” Joey whispered into the kiss, bringing her hands up to hold his face.

“Yeah?” He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer.