"Hey Prickly Queen,"

Yami's voice rumbled from behind my shoulder. If he were only a little closer, I could have felt his breath on my neck and he knows how badly I craved that. Turning my head towards him, I anticipated that smirk of his I knew all too well, but instead his soft lips trapped mine in a kiss. My body melted as I turned into him, his bulky chest pressing my back into the side of the boat. If his hand wasn't firmly around my waist I would have fallen right over. Waves sprayed saltwater upwards, clashing against the ship and filling my senses with the ocean atmosphere.

"I see the sea isn't affecting you much," I sighed as our lips parted from the brief exchange. Still clinging onto his sturdy body, I had to brace myself against the subtle, yet constant rocking of the boat. It was my first time on a ship and much less my first time crossing the ocean.

"Still a little seasick are we? At this rate you'll go the whole trip stuck to the railing," he teased, his hand slipping lower down my back. My hips reacted on their own to his wanting touch, but it was not the time for this.

"Yami," I warned, pushing his hand back up. The boat shifted to the side and I stumbled into him again, frantically grabbing at the iron rails and sucking in a deep breath to calm my queasy body. It was day four of our seven day journey and this was the first day I hadn't thrown up... yet. After the second day I had learned to stop eating anything except for crackers, and found that looking out into the deep blue horizon helped quite a lot.

Having Yami here was a big plus too, when he wasn't relentlessly teasing me for not having sea legs. He really knew his way around a boat, hell, he even seemed more comfortable here than he did in the Hideout. His smoking problem was also much less of an issue. Since we were constantly out in the open air, all he had to do was throw his cigarette butts over into the sea. In the times when I wasn't rendered helpless from the seasickness, he would explain to me the different parts of the boat, the weather patterns, and even how to navigate based on the position of the sun and the stars at night.

Reflecting on how he ended up here in the first place, it made sense that this kind of thing was second nature to him; he came to the Clover Kingdom from overseas after all. Recently, a merchant ship had landed on their shores for the first time in centuries, and the King, or rather by extension Julius, had assigned Yami to take a short trip to his homeland as an ambassador for the Magic Knights. The theory was that facilitating trade between the two lands would lead to positive relations and the development of new magical items. He had been told to bring someone else with him on the trip, and he made it clear that if it wasn't me, he wouldn't go.

His attitude had been skeptical about the whole thing from the start, but he welcomed the chance to take us out on a "vacation". That's how he saw it, not as a mission, but as an opportunity to take his significant other someplace new. Since it was all being paid for out of the Wizard King's pocket, he was perfectly content on spending as much as he felt necessary. I'm just glad that I'm not a particular type of woman. Right now the only thing I­ wanted was a handful of salt crackers.

"Dinner's coming up, I'm assuming you aren't joining again?" Yami asked, leaning up against the railing beside me. His hair poked out every which way in the wind, and his face had tanned considerably after being under the sun so much. It was obvious that this was his native environment. In my opinion, it made him all the more attractive. If only I were a mermaid or a sea nymph, then I would be able to move around how I wanted to and give him all the affection I felt so starved of myself.

"You know what will happen if I try to eat," I responded despairingly, cursing my inability to function on this water for the zillionth time.

"Suit yourself then, a man needs his meat," he huffed. Then he took up my hand in his, "I'll bring you some crackers, okay?"

I glanced over at him again, a smile creeping over my face. I don't think I'd have been able to make this journey without him. He was such a softie once you got past the ruff exterior, although I might have been the only one to succeed in such a task.

"Okay, thank you. Oh, and Yami, you can eat with the others tonight."

"No, they aren't nearly as pretty as you. I'd rather bask in the company of one beautiful woman than be with thirty ugly men."

I laughed breathily, shaking my head despite the smile spreading wider over my face. He left to grab the food while I stayed cemented in place. If I moved it would be my demise, and I really wanted to keep up my good streak today.

As the sun lowered in the sky, the metal railing sent chills through my hands and I pulled my cloak closer around me. That was one thing about being out on the open ocean, the sun was hot in the day and the wind was cold at night. Which ended up meaning that I got to stay extra close to Yami's hot body once the chill set in for the night. I always felt so safe and relaxed around him, it was the perfect way to spend our evenings.

Soon Yami returned with a large plate of fish for himself and a few crackers for me. That fish was beginning to smell better and better, maybe tomorrow I'd get to eat again. I nibbled on my cracker, letting the crumbs fall into the ocean and hoping some fish would enjoy the snack. Ever since we got a few miles off the coast, dolphins had escorted us throughout the day. Seeing them weave in and out of the wake from the boat was incredible. At night, however, my eyes always turned upward to the starry blanket that covered us.

Right now red and golden streaks rippled across the horizon, and I imagined the light stretching on for miles as the sun kissed the edge of the sea. As the sun dropped even lower, skinny dipping into the ocean, a cloak of darkness converged over the eastern sky. The moon was still hiding its face, but a bright star stood out next to the sun.

"You said that's Venus, right?" I asked Yami, who was licking fish oil off his fingers. He hummed in confirmation, then stood up and took our plates into the kitchen. Everyone else on the boat was either retiring into the cabin for the night, or lingering in the dining section of the deck.

Having finally been able to keep a few meals inside my stomach, I felt like staying out a bit longer tonight. I watched as the sun finally fell off the edge of the earth, my eyes wandering as I tried to find the other constellations Yami had taught me. Warm arms slipped around my waist and I was presented with a glass of water.

"You should try to drink something now that you're feeling a bit better, or else you'll be sick for another reason," Yami's voice rumbled. This time his breath tickled the back of my ear, and it was all I could do to take the cool liquid and gulp it down.

Hot lips pressed against the back of my neck and I moaned. The glass was becoming too heavy to hold, so I rested my arm on the side of the boat. Closing my eyes, I became lost in the enjoyment of his warmth. The glass was taken from my hands, allowing me to relax completely as I leaned into him. He pressed back, wrapping me tightly in his arms.

"You're becoming quite the star-reader, my doll," he murmured as he continued to kiss my neck, careful to avoid my most triggering spots.

"Mhn," I hummed back. The heat radiating of his body was other-worldly. With my stomach finally settling down, I felt the tension leave my muscles in a way it hadn't in the past few days. I hugged him back, my hands running up and down his muscular arms.

"Name another one for me," he asked, adding tongue to his kisses. My knees felt so weak. I didn't want to open my eyes. I wanted to stay lost in his embrace, in his love, in his lust. I wanted to be eaten like an antelope that was caught by a starving lion. And Yami was that lion. Cold air hit me hard at the nape of my neck as he pulled away.

"You heard me, doll, name another constellation or I'll let you go," he threatened. ­I shivered from the dark tone in his voice. He really did know how to undo me.

My eyes opened and I regretted the fact that he was behind me, making it so that I couldn't lick him up with my eyes. I gazed upwards and instantly saw four stars forming a lop-sided square, connected with a string of others that formed a handle.

"The, uhmm, Big Dipper," I mumbled, tilting my head to the side and trying to make my neck look as enticing as possible.

"Mmmnn yes, such a good doll," he hummed as he latched onto my skin again.

"Hmnnn," I sighed as I was rewarded with his affection.

We were so close to each other already already, but I wanted more. Desperately needing more contact, I pushed out my hips. His hands brushed down my sides and gripped my love handles roughly. I could feel his fingers pressing into my skin, and all I wanted was for him to take my clothes off and run his hands all over my bare body. He rocked his hips forward and I could feel his hard on pushing into my ass. I whined, it had been days since we made love and that was too long.

"Can you name one more for me?"

"T-the uh, the bear... Ursa thingy," I breathed.

It was kinda a cheat because it was an extension of the Big Dipper, but I was too far gone to be focusing on anything except for Yami at this point. His hands massaged their way up my ribcage then squeezed my breasts. My eyes rolled into the back of my head. My breaths came out staggered and halting, I was completely under his spell.

"I need to fuck you so badly," he growled into my ear and I lost it. If he hadn't been supporting me I'm sure I'd have fallen right off the edge of the boat.

"Is that something you want?" He purred, using one of his hands to roll my nipple in his fingers and bringing the other down in between my legs. My body curved into his touch, I was such putty in his hands.

"Y-yes," I managed to get out. He needed to bring me to our room and fuck my brains out already. Normally I adored his relentless teasing but not after being forced to wait so long.

"Yes what?" He demanded, his voice soaked in the deep poison of desire.

Hearing him like that overtook me to the very core, and I instantly responded, "Yes p-please, Sensei."