Arizona Skies: The Muse (24 page)

Bailey was patient while I shopped, giving her opinion when I asked. I had no idea what to get for my sister and mother, so she took over, making suggestions and helping with size and colors. Her tastes were impeccable; I trusted her completely. I told her a little bit about my sister’s kids.

She was looking through all the T-shirts for just the right one for herself, so I took the opportunity to run back to the jewelry shop. When the woman pulled the heart-shaped necklace out of the case and I got a closer look at it, it was perfect. It represented our relationship perfectly, and I had to get it. I had the woman gift wrap it and stuck the bag inside one of my other bags.

A one-inch heart-shaped necklace with a ruby in the center and diamonds covering it, set in sterling silver. It was perfect!

I’d noticed that Bailey only wore silver jewelry, and that necklace was exquisite, just like her. It was very expensive, but I wasn’t worried about the price; I could afford it. We had a couple hours to kill before dinner, so I took her back to my room to rest.

“Just let me put this away,” I said, stepping into my closet to put my bags down. I pulled out the small package with the red box inside it and brought that back with me. I was anxious to give it to her.

She was sitting on my bed smiling when I walked back toward her.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“A surprise,” I said, putting it on the nightstand while I pulled her into bed and propped my head up on the headboard. She snuggled in and rested her head on my arm.

“This is nice,” she said, wrapping herself around me like a second skin.

“Just what I needed,” I said, reaching over to pick up the box and put it on my chest.

“Open it,” I encouraged her.

“Jesse, what did you do? I told you not to buy me anything. When did you do this?” she asked, sitting up to take the box in her hand.

“So many questions; just open it, would you?” I pleaded.

She took the box in her hand and opened it with a loud sigh. “Jesse, it’s beautiful,” she said, taking the necklace out of the box to examine it.

“Do you like it?” I asked.

“I love it; it’s exquisite,” she said, watching it sparkle in the sunlight.

“Not nearly as exquisite as you are,” I said, explaining my meaning behind this piece. “It represents my heart, and this ruby is you standing in that little red dress when I first saw you.”

The tears started streaming down her cheeks.

“Put it on me, please,” she asked, holding up her hair.

“Honey, don’t cry; it’s a reminder when we’re apart that you have my heart around your neck,” I said, hooking it.

“It’s perfect,” she said, leaning down for a kiss. It sparkled as she smiled at me, her fingers feeling the stones in the heart. She held my heart in her delicate hands.

Thirteen

Bailey

I
went back to my room to get ready for dinner. Jesse liked my blue dress and asked me to keep it on for tonight. As I walked up to my door, Shelly came out of hers and met me in the hallway.

“I was worried about you when you didn’t come back,” she said.

“We went to Jesse’s room to relax for a while,” I said, opening my door as she walked in ahead of me.

“What’s that around your neck?” she asked, reaching out to inspect my necklace.

“Jesse gave it to me; he said it represents his heart. The ruby in the center is when he first saw me in my red dress on the dock,” I explained.

“That’s so romantic. Bailey, it’s exquisite,” she said, inspecting it closely.

“I know; he has good taste,” I said, sitting on my bed.

“He sure does; he picked you, didn’t he?” she said, hugging me.

“I think we chose each other when our eyes first connected; I’ve never felt anything like that before,” I said.

“I know; I feel the same way about Scott; we’ve connected on a whole different level. It’s like he’s my other half—we like the same things; we joke, laugh, and love like we’ve been together for years,” she gushed.

“We’re both doomed, girlfriend,” I said as she plopped down on the bed beside me. I was feeling a little melancholy, on the verge
of tears as I felt of my necklace and remembered our afternoon together.

“Stop it; this conversation is getting too sad. I want to go out and have fun tonight,” she said, changing the subject like she always did.

“OK, will you do something exotic with my hair like you promised?” I asked.

“Let’s do it,” she said, pulling me into the bathroom to plug in my curling iron. She made several small braids on each side of my head and then pulled them up into a messy knot. Then she pinned flower hairpins around the knot to hold my hair in place, curling the rest in spiral curls, which she fingered through.

It looked very Victorian, which actually matched my long, elegant dress. We talked girl talk like we used to in high school, comparing notes on our men and how they’d captivated our lives. I confessed to her that I was glad to have finally lost my virginity to Jesse; he was a sweet and caring lover. She didn’t tease me, just listened intently to me as I poured out my heart.

“Two checks off my list,” I said to her.
Maybe three
, I thought, since I was positive I’d also fallen in love.

We headed out for dinner and a night at the casino, looking our best, happy to be young and in love. Neither of us would ever be the same after this cruise.

When we walked into the dining hall, our men were right by the door waiting for us as usual. Scott had on the necklace that Shelly had given him—she was right; it matched his eyes perfectly. He was dressed in black, trying to match her, I suspected, since she was also in black. Jesse was in khakis with a dark-blue shirt, looking very non-rocker tonight. He took my hand as we headed to find a table. We chose a table next to the window so we could enjoy the view of the ocean while we ate dinner.

John and Keith joined us; both looking more dressed up than usual. I didn’t see Liza anywhere and hoped that they hadn’t had an argument.

“Where’s Liza?” I asked Keith.

“She had a headache; I think she got too much sun today. She was quite a lovely shade of pink when I left her in her room. She was going to rest for a while and hopefully join us at the casino later,” Keith said.

“I hope she’s OK; blondes have to be extra careful in the sun,” Shelly said, twirling her golden locks around her finger.

“I know; the poor girl fell asleep. I went to the drugstore to get her some aloe cream and rubbed it all over her skin,” Keith said.

The usual playful banter ensued at the dinner table. I spent a lot of time looking out the window at the ocean, trying to commit to memory every hour of this amazing adventure. Jesse squeezed my hand to bring me back to reality, tucking my hand into his arm as he joked with the guys. I think he knew what I was thinking when I lost myself in the view; he seemed to understand, feeling just as strongly as I did about this cruise.

“Let’s go have some fun, baby, and later I’m going to love every inch of that incredible body of yours,” he said, helping me up.

“I’ll hold you to that, Greene,” I smiled.

“You do that Miss Harris,” he said with a wink.

“Let’s get crazy drunk and gamble,” Scott said, doing his best to rile everyone up. Shelly held on to him like a lifeline as he headed toward the door with a long-legged stride she couldn’t keep up with.

John shook his head. “Do we have to put up with him tonight?” he asked Jesse.

“He’s pumped; we’d better go and keep an eye on him; he could get into trouble,” Jesse chuckled.

“Where does he get all that energy?” John asked as we followed him on the deck.

“I think he had too much sun today,” Jesse said. “He’s blond too, you know!”

“Well, that explains today, but what about the other three hundred sixty-four days of the year?” John said, opening the door to the casino to usher us in.

Liza was standing there looking flushed and uncomfortable. Keith walked up to her and carefully put his arms around her. She had on a short, loose shift dress and had her long hair up in a messy bun. All in all, she didn’t look too bad, considering she was down flat earlier. She said hi to everyone as we entered and walked away with Keith.

“What’s it going to be tonight, honey?” Jesse asked. “I know, let’s start out with some of the penny machines; then when you get the hang of it, we’ll move up to five-cent machines,” he said, chuckling at me.

“OK,” I said, taking a seat, with him hovering above me. He was patient as we tried to figure out the game. Sometimes I was up, and we cheered, and he’d hug me; other times I’d be down, and he’d encourage me. We moved around the room, trying out whatever machine suited my fancy. It was fun. I was ahead, winning a little here and there. Gambling wasn’t really my thing. I’d always worked so hard for my money, needing it to pay bills and buy groceries.

We did have a good time as we stood around watching Scott and Shelly play the machines. Shelly was very lucky, and it was fun to watch them as they moved around the room, never staying at any one machine very long. We finally wound up at the card tables, where Jesse excelled. He played for a while, winning a few games, but he didn’t seem to be much into gambling tonight. Keith and Liza were walking around with us, apparently more interested in each other than in the actual games.

“Let’s go on deck and enjoy the moonlight,” Jesse whispered.

“I’d like that,” I said, relieved that I didn’t have to suffer any more losses tonight. We walked on deck with our arms wrapped around each other. Every night on our cruise was as beautiful as the next. The moon hung in the sky so big it didn’t look real. Soft,
colorful hues surrounded it in red, orange, and yellow. Nothing I had ever seen in Pennsylvania was quite as beautiful as the night sky over the ocean. We stood at the railing of the ship, just taking in the breathtaking view, wrapped up in each other’s arms as the ship sailed toward the port of the Grand Cayman Islands.

“Do you want to go ashore tomorrow?” Jesse asked.

“Maybe for a while,” I said, mesmerized by the beautiful night.

“John wants us back early to practice, so that should work out fine,” he said, kissing my cheek.

“I don’t care what we do as long as we’re together,” I confessed.

“You just took the words right out of my mouth, sweetheart. Let’s go below and get naked; I’m ready to have you all to myself,” Jesse said, taking my hand to lead me below. He had a mischievous smile on his face, making me giggle with anticipation as we descended the stairs to my room. I opened my door, and he followed me in, closing the door as he rubbed his hands together, excited about tonight’s carnal activities.

“Tell me what you want; I’m yours to command,” he said, bowing from the waist. I wasn’t expecting him to let me make the decision on sex. I had no idea what I wanted, and I wished I’d had more wine. Wine seemed to take away my inhibitions, and apparently he liked that. I raised my eyebrow and shook my head, unable to verbalize any directions on tonight’s activities.

“Jesse, you’re the expert in the bedroom, not me. I’ll leave it up to you; surprise me,” I said.

“Well, in that case, come here, my little buttercup, and let me get you out of that beautiful dress,” he said, licking his lips.

I was relieved as I walked into his arms. He fumbled with the laces on the back of my dress; finally getting them loosened enough to pull it down over my hips so I could step out of it. I stood there in my bra and thong panties.

“Turn around, baby,” he said in a breathless voice. I slowly turned around so he could see all sides of me. When I turned back in front of him again, he was standing there with his hand in his hair, looking
at my body with his mouth open. I reached up and pushed his jaw closed, kissing his lips with a knowing smile on my face. I loved the reaction he had to my body. He made me feel like the most desirable woman in the world.

“I can’t believe how incredibly sexy you are,” he said, rubbing his hard cock against my body. “You turn me on more than any woman I’ve ever been with.” That statement bothered me a little; I didn’t want to think about him with other women. I had to push that thought out of my head, he did say that I was the one that turned him on the most, and I’d keep that thought and let the rest go. He started kissing me again and growled, pulling me flush against his body.

“Jesse, I want you to make love to me; anything you want is yours,” I said, feeling very powerful at that moment.

“Anything I want—how incredibly brave of you, sweetheart,” he said, smiling with raised eyebrows.

“First I want to undress you,” I said, unbuttoning his shirt. I kissed every new inch of skin I revealed on my way down the front of his shirt. His breathing was labored; his body glistened in the moonlight coming in through my portal. I reached for his pants, unbuttoning and slowly unzipping them. Running my hand down his erection, feeling the hardness, I pulled his pants and his boxers down in one swift motion. I looked up at him standing there watching me with heavily lidded eyes. I took the initiative and kissed my way back up his body, taking his cock in my hand and circling it with my tongue. He groaned as I opened my mouth and took him inside. Rolling my tongue around the tip and sucking hard, I took him deeper into my mouth.

I’d never tasted a penis before and felt empowered as I listened to his encouraging words. I thought I’d gag, but I didn’t as he started to slowly thrust into my mouth. “That’s it, baby; aw, you feel so good.”

The sounds he was making made me bolder as I continued to suck and lick his cock, enjoying the feeling that I was bringing him so much pleasure. He gently held my head as he continued to thrust into my mouth, his groans making my body quiver.

“Oh, baby, what you do to me,” he said, pulling me up to my feet. He walked me backward toward the bed as he unhooked my bra, letting it slide down my arms before he tossed it. Cupping my breasts, he leaned over to suck gently on my nipple. Reaching down, he yanked on my thong, ripping it off my body. I knew at that moment I’d pushed him beyond the breaking point.

I was becoming braver in the bedroom, totally trusting him with my body. He turned me around, sliding his body backward on the bed as he pulled me on top of him. I climbed up his body, staying on my knees as I hovered above him. I remembered our first time as I perched myself on top of him to get him motivated to make love to me. How he responded to my ministrations as I tried to reassure him I was ready for sex. I stroked down his bare chest and leaned over to kiss him. I licked my lips, desperately wanting him inside me, but trying to take it slow. He was studying my body as he smiled up at me. I moaned as he thrust two fingers inside me, rubbing my clit at the same time with his thumb.