The Lust Boat (13 page)

A tiny vibration deep inside her sent her body spiraling out of control. Her scream echoed off the mirrored ceiling and paneled walls, as her body shuttered and spasmed around the vibrating invader.

Ryan grabbed her ankles and slid her down to lie flat on the bed, and in one smooth movement, flipped her over to her stomach. His hand came down on her ass, once, twice, she lost count. Her pussy vibrated again and another orgasm, harder and longer, eclipsed the first one. Candace fisted her hands in the comforter and wept. A warm body slid up along hers and pulled her into its safe, warm embrace. Ryan.

Candace woke to a dark room. Ryan lay spooned behind her, his arm wrapped around her waist, holding her close. His heart beat a steady rhythm against her back and his warm breath whispered along her neck. Sometime after her two earth-shattering orgasms, Ryan had removed her clothes, as well as his, and tucked them both into bed. His cock pressed against her ass, semi-erect even in slumber.

She thought back on the last few days. Ryan had asked her for nothing for himself. At every turn, he’d had her pleasure in mind, even, she realized, during the humiliating role-playing. Sure, he’d received several blowjobs, good ones if his reaction could be believed, but even in those, Candace sensed he’d done it for her benefit. Though he had commanded the last two, she had been the one in control, the one with the power. She’d been the one to decide how long to make him suffer before allowing his release.

How had Ryan known she desperately needed to command his body? How had he known the short, harmless role-playing, the submissiveness, would excite her to the point of mindless pleasure? How had he known the power she’d feel watching his face as she brought herself pleasure? She had no doubt Ryan orchestrated the plan to build her self-esteem, to make her see how powerful her sexuality was.

Well, now she knew, and she wanted to do something for Ryan. Blowjobs were one thing, but she doubted they were anywhere near as satisfying as the real thing. She lay there thinking about her situation. A few days ago, she didn’t ever want another relationship, and here she was, totally in love, and Ryan’s pleasure meant more to her than her own. Ryan had said he loved her. Was that why he’d gone to such lengths for her, because her pleasure meant more to him than his own? What would it be like to make love with him? Would this need on both their parts, to give rather than receive pleasure, make for incredible sex?

 She closed her eyes again and snuggled close to Ryan’s heat. She’d have to plan carefully in order to turn the tables on Ryan and make sure his pleasure came before hers this time.

Candace closed her eyes and let sleep claim her. Tomorrow would be time enough to formulate a plan.

Ryan kissed her awake, smoothing his big hands along her body, wakening every nerve ending as he went. Candace hummed and rolled to her back, inviting his touch.

“I have to go,” he whispered against her breast as he nuzzled the underside. Candace arched her back.

“I wish I could stay here all day, but I promised Richard I’d look at some papers for him this morning. Will you be all right on your own for a while?”

She bracketed his head with her hands and tried to move him to her breast again, but she wasn’t strong enough to budge him. “Yes. I think I can manage on my own for a while.” She had no doubt she would find a class to take, or something. She had Ryan’s seduction to plan, too. A few hours on her own would come in handy in that regard.

“Good.” Ryan slipped out of the bed and wrapped a towel around his waist and, she noticed, his impressive morning erection. “How about lunch? I should be through by then.”

“Take your time.” She glanced at the bedside clock. It was almost nine already and she needed a nice long shower and breakfast. That didn’t leave much time. “How about a late lunch? Around two?”

Ryan gathered up his scattered clothes and leaned over to take her lips in a searing kiss. “Two o’clock. I’ll meet you at Zeus’s Temple?”

“I’ll be there.” Ryan paused at the door and looked back at her. Candace cupped her breasts in her hands and flicked her thumbs across her nipples. Ryan cursed and let himself out.

* * * *

He dropped the towel as he walked through his own door. Damn. He’d hated to leave Candace this morning, but if he’d stayed he would have taken her, and that would have been selfish. She wasn’t ready yet. So far he’d done a pretty good job of showing her how wrong her bastard fiancé had been, and he felt sure she wouldn’t deny him if he pressed her, but he didn’t want gratitude sex. He wanted to make love to her, with her. He wanted her body freely given, an equal partner.

“Whoa there! Cover that thing up will ‘ya.” Richard greeted him.

Ryan made no effort to cover himself. “Fuck you.” He crossed the room to his bedroom. Richard followed him.

“No thanks. You’re grumpy this morning. Still not getting any?”

“I’m getting plenty. Still celibate…Monk?”

“Touché. I shouldn’t have confided in you. I knew you’d use it against me. Geez, would you put something on?”

“I’m going to shower first. What did you do with your little pet, kitten, was it?”

“Kitten, and I fed her warm milk and found her a new home.”

“I got the impression last night she would roll over and let you scratch her belly if you asked nice.”

“She would have, and she practically did. I wasn’t interested.”

Ryan headed for the shower. “Go find me something for breakfast and about a gallon of coffee. I’ll go over the paperwork with you after my shower.”

“Why are you still here?” he asked Richard a few minutes later. “And get your feet off my desk.” Ryan helped himself from the room service cart, loaded with breakfast items. He ate at his desk for a few minutes before he asked again. “So why are you still here?”

“I think we should sell the ship.”

Ryan chewed and swallowed as if his best friend had said something as mundane as “I think we should change to decaf,” instead of uttering a life-changing suggestion. He stuffed a whole slice of bacon in his mouth and washed it down with half a cup of coffee before he leaned back in his chair and acknowledged the comment.

“Why?”

“Because neither one of us is happy. Because you’re going to settle down and play house with Candace. Because I want off this floating den of iniquity.”

“Why?”

“Is that the only fucking word you know? What do you mean, why? I told you why. I want off. I want out. I want a life.”

Ryan studied his friend. Something else was going on, something much more serious than Richard was saying. “You’re in love, aren’t you?” Richard whipped his gaze to Ryan and averted it just as quick. “That’s it, isn’t it? Who is it?” Richard remained quiet.

“It would have to be someone on board because you don’t have a life off the ship.” He set his coffee on the desk and narrowed his eyes at Richard. “It’s a female, that’s a given.”

“It’s nobody. Mind your own damned business.”

Ryan continued as if Richard hadn’t spoken. “She isn’t one of the brainless types. You never could abide a witless woman, the reason your date last night went home with someone else. That leaves a handful.” He braced his elbows on the chair arms and steepled his fingers under his chin. “Let’s see… who’s left.”

“Nobody. That’s why I want off, so I can meet someone.”

“No. You’ve already met someone and I know who it is. Fallon.” He smiled at the angry glare he received. “You’re in love with Fallon.”

“If you say a word to anyone, I’ll drug you and throw you overboard in the dead of night.”

“Does she know?”

“No.”

“Is she in love with you?”

“I don’t know. I think so, but she won’t have anything to do with anyone on the ship. It might compromise the integrity of her research.” His tone mocked the seriousness of his statement.

“Now I see. If you aren’t associated with the ship, you might have a chance with her.”

“Dammit Ryan, mind your own business.”

“This ship is my business, and yours, too.” He let that statement sink in. “We could contact Hefner and Flint. They made generous offers a few months after we launched. They might still be interested.” Richard relaxed his shoulders and the anger on his face dissipated. “There was that Texan. The oil guy. Remember him? He was interested.”

“You would sell?”

“I think it’s time. What do you think we should ask for it?”

Richard named a staggering sum.

“What would we do with that kind of money? We don’t need it.”

“Buy our own third world country with part of it and use the rest to bring it into the twenty-first century?”

“At least you still have your sense of humor.” Ryan got up and refilled his coffee cup. “I’ll contact the lawyers. They can approach Hefner and Flint and see if there’s still any interest, and we’ll go from there. How’s that?”

“I can live with it.”

“So can I. Now get out of here, so I can clear my desk. Tell Fallon and see what she says.”

“I might. When are you going to tell Candace who you are?”

“I don’t know. Maybe never. She hasn’t said anything about her feelings for me, and if she doesn’t have any, there isn’t any point in telling her.”

“And if she does?”

“I’ll figure out something.”

“The staff is discreet, but anyone could slip up and say something that would give it away.”

“I’m aware of that. Thank you for pointing out that my boat has a leak, and I might sink anytime now.”

“You’re welcome. What are friends for?”

* * * *

The dance instructor demonstrated what she wanted the class to do. Candace tried to make her body move in the same sensuous and provocative way, but try as she may, it just wasn’t happening. How could she seduce Ryan if she looked like a cow trying to put on pantyhose?

When the class concluded, Candace headed back to her cabin to come up with another plan. Fallon was waiting for the elevators when she arrived and the instructor instantly recognized her.

“How’s it going with Ryan?” Fallon asked.

Candace blushed. She wasn’t used to sharing confidences with other women, but Fallon knew more about her than her gynecologist did, she reasoned. “Fine. Except I want to seduce him and I don’t know how. I just left the erotic dance class. I’m afraid I don’t have the coordination to try half of what the instructor showed us.”

“Hmmm.” Fallon took her by the elbow and steered her away. “You haven’t made love yet?”

“Uhm, no, not really. We’ve been, uhm, close, but not that close, if you know what I mean.”

“I think I do. You want to seduce Ryan so he’ll make love to you?”

“Uhm hmm. He’s been so wonderful, making sure I have all the pleasure. I want to return the favor, but I don’t have a clue how to go about it.”

“I think I can help you with that. Come on, let’s get you to the spa. We’ll go shopping when you’re done there.”

A few minutes later Candace bit her lower lip and gripped the sides of the table as the technician yanked the wax strip off. Step one of Fallon’s plan included a complete wax job on her pussy, followed by the application of a crystal tattoo.

“Which is it going to be,” the technician asked, “the heart or the starburst?”

“I like the heart.” Candace said.

Fallon looked up from her magazine. “Why don’t you put his initials inside the heart?”

“That would be cute. He’d surely get the message.”

“I can do that. What are his initials?” the girl asked as she sorted out the crystals she would need.

“Just put an R,” Candace said. No way was she going to admit she didn’t know Ryan’s last name. What would Fallon think of her if she knew she planned on seducing, and making love, to a man she didn’t know well enough to know his last name?

“R it is.” The girl tapped her finger on Candace’s tender skin. “How about right here, a little off center? I can make the initial sort of wispy, if you want.”

Candace studied the drawing the girl scribbled on a note pad. “I like it.” She lay back while the girl drew the same design on her skin in a connect-the-dots manner, each dot representing one crystal. Fallon helped take her mind off the girl gluing tiny glass dots on her mound by planning the rest of Ryan’s seduction.