High Stakes Seduction - Book 2 (3 page)

“I’ll be right out,” I said, though I stayed put for a least a minute longer, breathing in and out slowly, trying to relax my racing heart and willing myself not to cry.

Chapter Five

A few hours later, I stood at the departure gate with Antonio at my side. We looked the picture of a vacationing couple, I in a blue floral maxi dress and gold sandals, and Antonio, for the first time since I’d met him, dressed casually in a white short-sleeved button-down shirt and blue-gray pants. Instead of his usual slicked back look, a few strands of his hair fell over his forehead.

“So this is what you look like outside of your normal uniform,” I said, trying not to let on that the somewhat boyish charm of his new look was even more unnerving to me than usual.

He chuckled, brushing back his hair. “This may be a business trip, but every once in a while, even I deserve a little fun.”

The mischievous glint in his eyes when he said that excited me—almost as much as it reminded me of my purpose on this trip.

“Have you been on a cruise before?” he asked.

I shook my head. A cruise? I’d never even left the state. Maria and I had gotten passports when we were planning the Paris trip—but we'd never had a chance to use them.

And now here I was, literally on a first class ticket to the Caribbean. The truth was, as anxious as I was about what might happen between Antonio and me, I was as giddy as a school girl about this trip. Everything here was new to me. First class travel, a cruise ship, Caribbean Islands.
And two weeks alone with a rich, powerful, gorgeous hunk of man.

Every step I took toward seeing a whole new part of the world, took me further and further away from my boring, little, comfortable life. Who wouldn't have a flutter of butterflies dancing in their tummy?

Chapter Six

Antonio hadn’t lied about doing business as usual. The moment the stewardess said we could access our PDAs and laptops, he’d opened up the computer and ignored me for the rest of the flight to Miami. I occupied my time with cocktails and the inflight movie, which obviously wasn’t that great, considering the credits were rolling by the time I woke up from a very relaxing nap.

A short cab ride later, and I was gazing up at the huge, white goliath called the
Twilight PhantaSea.

“Impressive isn’t she?” said Antonio, leaning in close to whisper in my ear.

I could only nod, as he took me by the arm, guiding me through check-in and then up the gangway along with the other passengers.

Once onboard, we were greeted by a sharp looking officer in a crisp uniform who handed each of us a flute of champagne. I felt conspicuous, but heck, who wouldn't like being treated special!

I marveled at the luxurious oriental carpets covering the floor in the large atrium, and the beautiful wooden bar on the far end. On the other side stood the grand staircase—like something straight out of
Gone With The Wind
. Across from the staircase, glass-walled elevators took passengers up to the other levels.

I managed to keep my jaw from hanging open the whole time as Antonio led me through the ship to our room. The commercials really did not do this experience justice. Everything was just so stunning and I couldn’t help but stare in awe.

I can’t wait to tell Maria about all this
, I thought, as we glided down the carpeted hallway to our room.

This part of the ship wasn’t quite as big or luxurious as the main lobby had been. Still, the splendor of it all was impressive. I vowed to find a way to get Maria onboard one day. There was ample room for a wheelchair in the hall, and I'm sure they had special rooms just for the disabled. What was the joke about cruises? They were for the newly wed or the nearly dead? That meant they must have accommodations for the folks who couldn't easily get around by themselves.

“Here we are,” Antonio said, stopping in front of what must be our room.

Our
room.

When we'd gone away to the country club, he’d gotten us separate rooms. But now… I took a deep breath, reminding myself that I had agreed to this trip. All on my own. No coercion. I understood the agreement and I knew the stakes.

He opened the door to reveal a tinier room than I had expected, which surprised me. In truth, it probably wasn’t all that small. Maybe I really didn't know what to expect. Based on the size of the ship, and the movies I'd seen, I thought the rooms would be bigger. Where I had been overwhelmed by the ship when we first boarded, now I was slightly disappointed. But, I reminded myself, this wasn’t exactly a hotel and I suppose the idea wasn’t to spend all your time cooped up inside when there was a whole world floating by.

I brushed past him, feeling the warmth emanating from his body, conscious of just how close he was as I moved forward. He said something to the porter behind us, and I surveyed the room, as small as it was.

One bed.

One, single, queen-sized bed. My heart pounding in my throat, I took a deep breath as I turned to face Antonio. The moment of truth.

He had stepped in behind me with our carry-on bags. He set his briefcase and computer on the queen bed and smiled over at me.

"Don't look so worried," he said, laughing as he handed me my overnight case. He stepped past me, through a door I thought led to the balcony. "I'll let you have the private suite."

Private suite?
I followed him through the doorway, surprised to see it led to a small sitting area, complete with sofa, television and a small desk. The mini-fridge was set next to the desk, and it even had a small wet bar.

On the table stood an ice bucket chilling a bottle of champagne, with a festive basket of fresh fruit sitting nearby.

The far wall was floor-to-ceiling windows, opening out to the ocean.

"Oh, a balcony!"

Antonio laughed, "Veranda, technically, but yes, our own private outdoor area."

"Is this what all the rooms are like?" I swept my eyes around the charming self-contained suite. Nice, compact, not overly ostentatious. I must have sounded like a breathless school girl, but honestly, it was all so new, and I didn't know what to expect.

"Oh, it depends. This is about mid-grade. Every ship has a variety of rooms, everything from a simple one bed room, all the way up to high-level penthouse suites with multiple bedrooms. Are you disappointed?"

I shook my head.
Disappointed? How could I be?

"Good. If there'd been more time, we'd have had one of the penthouses. But this was a last minute trip, and I used my influence with the cruise line to get us this instead of a single room. We were lucky it was available."

Antonio opened a door on our left, giving a small flourish with his hand. "Your suite, my lady," he smiled at me with those sultry, teasing eyes. The room held two double beds and a bath. In one corner there was a tiny make-up sitting area that could double as a desk.

I'm sure my face registered my relief. I couldn't help it. I mean, I knew the circumstances of why I was here. And this man made my heart pound every time I was around him. But still, I'd hoped to not have to face everything too early on.

“Here.” Antonio reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. “This is for you.”

He handed me a card, along with a key to the room.

I stared at the flat piece of plastic in his hand.

“It’s a pre-paid credit card, good anywhere onboard the ship. I’ll be pretty busy for much of the trip—especially these first few days. I want to make sure you enjoy yourself.”

I took the card. “Enjoy myself?”

“Yes,” he said, his lip curving up into that teasing little smile of his. “Enjoy yourself. I'm sure you're feeling rushed. Everything about this trip has been rushed, even for me." He glanced at his watch. "And that means right now I've got other things to attend to. So, please forgive me, but I need to leave you on your own for a while. I'll see you this evening around five. We have the early seating for dinner.”

And with that, he turned and walked out of the room leaving me to stare after him. I heard the outside door click shut, then looked down at the card still held in my outstretched hand.

Chapter Seven

I traced a finger along the railing, gazing out over the water at the pristine sapphire waves. We’d set sail about two hours earlier. After the luggage arrived, it hadn't taken me long to unpack.

But, sitting in the room by myself, wondering about Antonio's swift retreat and what that might portend for the rest of the cruise wasn't my idea of a good time. Some small part of me wondered if I’d somehow already done something wrong. It didn't seem likely, and I was probably over-thinking everything in my nervousness, so I decided a walk would be the best thing to clear my head.

The fresh air felt good against my skin. And the sunshine certainly helped my mood. I was glad Maria had convinced me to bring my camera. I raised it to my eyes, zooming in on a bird drifting lazily through the air. I snapped a few pictures, trying to catch the full wingspan level with the horizon.

“You’ve got a good eye,” said a voice behind me.

I turned to find a middle-aged couple smiling warmly.

“Thank you,” I smiled back.

“You should spend some time on the port side tomorrow morning,” said the woman, leaning against her partner as he slipped an arm around her waist. “The view will be lovely.”

“Trust us,” said the man, “We do this cruise almost every year.”

Watching them together, I felt a pang of envy. They looked so happy. They looked like – well, they looked like a regular happy couple enjoying a Caribbean cruise together. The complete opposite of whatever it was Antonio and I were supposed to be. I sighed. There was that question again, bringing the butterflies back.

“Thank you,” I said, mustering another smile, though this time, I didn’t quite feel it. “I’ll remember that.” I turned and hurried away, feeling self-conscious and a bit foolish, even though they couldn't know anything about my arrangement with Antonio.

I wasn’t quite sure where I was going, so I just followed my feet until I found myself on an upper deck. I wandered by the pools, and mini golf course, watching all the people laughing together and having a wonderful time.

It was suddenly so surreal—as if I was in someone else's dream. I couldn't even begin to feel like I fit in. My god, why was I here? What had I gotten myself into? Certainly Antonio, with all his contacts and experience, fit in here, but could I? I mean, really, what did I know about world travel? Or even, for that matter about relationships, or… sex? Would I be able to keep up my end of this bargain? Or would Antonio be sorry he brought me along?

I turned away, looking out over the ocean, but not really seeing anything. The contrast between my shipmates focus and my own was so stark—all I felt was a dull ache inside me.

Chapter Eight

I returned to the cabin at around four, giving myself plenty of time to get ready. This was our first night onboard ship. I was still more nervous than I could remember, and I reminded myself there was no going back. Regardless of the circumstances, I still wanted to make a good impression.

I sighed with relief as I looked in my closet. Being at the store for the past couple of months had certainly improved my sense of style. And, thankfully, had added enough to my pocket book to pay for a wardrobe that would make me feel like I belonged on Antonio's arm.

I had picked up a couple of beautiful gowns among the many at our store, along with some simple, but elegant dresses. Tonight I chose a turquoise-blue sheath. It reminded me of the color of the ocean this afternoon, with shiny hints of green and black depending on the angle of the light.

Slipping the dress over my head, and admiring myself in the mirror, I felt better.
It's okay, Ange,
I told myself as I applied my make-up.
It'll all work out fine
.

***

That first night, our tablemates were an octogenarian couple who couldn't talk about anything except their grandkids. Don't get me wrong, I like kids as much as the next person, but they are not my main focus.

When they weren't talking about the darling grandkids, they went on and on about their farm in Wisconsin, and how they had scrimped and saved all their life for this cruise.

Part of me wanted to ask them when they were going to start enjoying the cruise instead of talking about how difficult it had been to save for it. But then, somewhere in their story I realized it had always been about the struggle for them. They had struggled to overcome their obstacles and "earned" their reward.

I squirmed in my seat as I realized we weren't so different after all.

I still thought it was a shame they couldn't finally relax and enjoy the cruise. They'd worked so hard for so long, that they'd lost sight of their goal. All they remembered now was the struggle. I vowed to take to heart Maria's admonition to enjoy myself. I was, indeed, paying my own price to be here.