Voyage To Submission (7 page)

A second later, he saw Ray fall back
against the wall as Gayle sailed in right past him. Her gaze landed on him. She
tilted her head slightly, looking down her nose. He was pretty damned sure it was
contempt he saw in her expression. Once again, he felt like he was the dog shit
on another unhappy person’s shoes. Hell!

Sitting up slowly, he lifted his bottle
towards Gayle. “Salute, Gayle. Did you come for some more sharing with Ray?
He’s pretty bummed at having to sleep with Danny tonight.”

Gayle folded her arms, looking at Jack and
then Ray. “Yes, well…stop distracting me. Where is Andy?”

“She’s in her suite. I assumed she went to
bed.”

“Take me to her then. I want to talk to
her.”

Ray came to stand beside Gayle. “Why don’t
we call her, sweetheart? You can use the phone here.”

Jack watched as Gayle glared at her lover.
The two of them had been off and on since college. He had little doubt this
minor disagreement would blow over like all their tiffs. “Sure, Gayle, call
her,” he added a moment later.

“I tried already. Her phone is on ‘no-call’
until morning. I must speak to her as soon as possible.”

“I doubt she is in the mood to hear any of
this crap tonight,” Jack muttered softly.

“I would never tell her what creeps you
guys were in college. It’s bad enough I’ve had to learn what complete assholes
you all were. How dare you call her that?” Gayle asked, nearly shouting,
disbelief evident in her tone. After a short pause, she asked Jack a question.
“What did you do to her?”

“I didn’t do anything, as you are implying.
I’m sure she was going to bed after I escorted her back to her cabin.”

Gayle flopped down on the other bed. “Why
are you back here then? I thought the goal for you guys was to ‘bag as many babes’
as possible.”

Jack lifted his gaze towards Ray. “Good
Lord, Ray, is there anything you haven’t told her?”

Gayle smiled and patted the mattress beside
her.

Ray sat, gratitude to be back in her good
graces evident on his face.

“Pillow talk, Jack. Now, I’ve got an idea.
You two put on your pajamas—” She stopped at the appalled look on the men’s
faces. “Geez, you guys! Pretend and just put on something that will pass as pjs
and a robe. If anyone asks, we’re just taking a last-minute stroll. Well, what
are you waiting for? Change!”

Jack stood. “At least turn around, Madam
Dictator. I don’t want you telling everyone I’m fast and loose.”

Gayle stood and walked over to the glass
door leading to the small balcony. “Wouldn’t you like to boast on your first
night of the cruise a woman saw you naked?”

Jack groaned as he started to move off the
bed. “Why haven’t you drowned her yet?”

“Because he loves me, Jack.”

She started to turn to add something when
both men yelled. “Hey! Eyes front!”

Twenty minutes later, they stood outside
the impressive double doors to the Balmoral suite. Gayle rapped her knuckles on
the door loudly.

“If these doors are any indication, this
must be some cabin.” Ray looked around them, and then down the long hallway.

“We have staterooms, darling,” Gayle
reminded him gently.

As the door opened, all three turned to
smile at Andy. Instead, there was a tall, dark-haired man dressed in silk
pajamas, slippers and a monogrammed robe, all in deep, rich burgundy and hunter
green. From head to toe, he looked like the gentleman’s magazine ideal for a
pajama model that was worth a million bucks.

Gayle was the first to speak, a grin
spreading across her face. “Wow! Talk about trading up.”

Not too much earlier, in the crew’s
quarters—

The phone rang twice before it was
answered.

“Hey, Rick, good buddy, did you forget to
sign out?” The voice on the phone asked, more joking than serious.

Richard Henderson the fourth closed the
leather-bound book he’d been reading. “I haven’t signed off, David. What are
you talking about?”

“The kitchen called the night-duty desk to
see what the problem was.”

“David, stop stringing this out and just
tell me what you need.” Rick made no effort to keep his frustration out of his
tone.

“You must have pissed off the ritzy lady
paying for your lone ranger ride in the Balmoral, friend. She just called room
service, instead of ringing the night desk.”

Rick came to his feet immediately. Once
he’d left Ms. Bond, he had assumed she retired for the night. He’d also gotten
the distinct impression the gentleman with her planned on sharing her bed. Over
the last fourteen years, he’d seen all kinds of wealthy people occupying the
largest and most expensive suites on this cruise line. None of his passengers
had ever complained about his work service, which was one of the main reasons
he’d been promoted when this newest ship had come off the production line last
year.

He was fourth-generation English butler and
very proud of his history and his work. After attending the prestigious school
in London, he could have had any number of posts considering whom his father
worked for. Instead he’d decided to travel and see the world. The money was
good, he had a bed at his parents’ house for vacations if need be and he
enjoyed what he did. David’s voice caught his attention again.

“So I’ll deliver this but I’ll need you to
turn your call button over to the night desk now.”

“No thanks, David. Tell the kitchen to
prepare whatever it is, and I’ll be down in less than five minutes to pick it
up.”

Seven minutes later, Rick waited quietly
for the elevator doors to slide open for the Balmoral Suite. A soft, deliberate
ding sounded. Alerting guests of the suite that the elevator was arriving, it
could be turned off. Stepping into the living room of the suite, he was
surprised to find it partially lit.

“Oh! Hello!” A soft feminine voice called
out.

Immediately, he recognized the voice as
belonging to Ms. Bond. Rick’s head turned and he saw her seated on a chair
she’d pulled to a few feet in front of the double doors, which led into the
suite. She stood though, as soon as she saw him.

“I called room service because I didn’t
want to disturb you.” Andy smiled. “I figured you’d be sound asleep.”

Rick smiled in return, shaking his head. “I
knew there was the reason,” he spoke half under his breath. Talking louder, he
continued. “Aboard ship your butler service, namely me, or the night staff if I
sign out to them, takes care of these things for you. I serve as your link to
the other services.”

“Damn and I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t get
anyone in trouble.”

“Not at all, Ms. Bond. Leave the chair,
miss and I’ll get it. Where would you like to eat this?”

Andy sighed and crossed to the deep,
rounded sofa. She plopped down in the middle, crossing her legs Indian-style,
and then rearranging her robe to cover her legs.

Rick set down the sterling silver tray and
then spread a large, crisply ironed and folded white linen napkin across her
lap. “I apologize we were unable to fulfill your request exactly, but I had
them put three large scoops of the best kinds of chocolate ice creams we have
into this bowl.” He handed her a shining silver bowl piled high, with one
spoon. “I’ll be happy to go back for more if you wish.”

There was no missing the flush that flooded
the lovely woman’s cheeks. Dressed in the golden peignoir set, she was very
attractive. Straightening, he stepped a foot backwards, moving to the shorter
side of the coffee table. He was too much of a professional to ever become
involved with a passenger, but there was something about this one that was
different. The fact she so obviously was not used to this kind of living,
endeared her to him. She seemed fragile—

“Why don’t you join me, Mr. Henderson? I
see you brought another spoon.”

“I always bring an extra, in case the first
one is dropped.”

Andy took a bite of the ice cream.

He watched as she closed her eyes for a
moment, obviously savoring the taste.

She then pointed the spoon at him. It moved
slightly with each word, as if to further enunciate her words. “Smart thinking,
Mr. Hen…uhm, Henderson. Can I call you by your first name, since I’m not
supposed to use mister?”

“If you prefer, miss. My first name is
Richard, but I tend to answer better to Rick.”

“Nice name and totally British. Actually, I
think it’s a good name for a hero. A good name is strong, short…two syllables
or less is preferred, with one being best and it should have a strong masculine
tone. So, you see Rick is good, as are John, Robert, or Mike.” She stopped and
pointed at the extra spoon. “Please join me or I’ll feel like such a glutton.”

Reluctantly, Rick picked up the spoon and
took a small bite of the ice cream. Surprisingly, he found it pretty tasty.
When Andy patted the sofa, he perched on the edge and joined her in a second
spoonful.

“Are you married? I didn’t see a ring.”

He was swallowing when she spoke again.
Coughing, Rick recovered quickly. He’d never had a passenger inquire about his
personal life. Shaking his head a little, hopefully to get some sense into it,
he then answered. “No, I’m not married.”

“You’ve got a fiancée, or you’re very close
to popping the question.”

Rick sputtered this time. “How did you know
that?”

Andy grinned and pointed the spoon again.
“Simple.” She passed the bowl to him to hold. One finger popped up as she
spoke. “You are a good-looking man. In most circles, I bet you’d pass for buff
and stud.”

Rick watched as she wiggled her eyebrows at
him. He barely contained his laughter.

“Two is you’re straight,” she finished.

“Wait, how do you know that?”

“Women know…unless they lie to themselves.
And I picked up a definite heterosexual vibe from you earlier.”

“I apologize if you feel that—” he said
quickly.

“It’s nothing you did towards me. Let me
see…two was straight. Three is that you appear to be fastidious so I doubt you
are a cruising Casanova.”

Rick handed her the bowl and then reached
over for another spoonful as he considered her words. “You seem pretty good at
this. Are you a private detective?”

Andy laughed. “No, but if I tell you what I
do, you’ll have to promise to keep it a secret.”

“Of course,” he said, straightening his
spine. “I give you the word of an English butler, ma’am.”

“You know what would be good with this?”
Andy asked quickly.

She surprised him by the change in subject
so abruptly.

“What?” Rick asked, thinking this was
definitely one of the oddest things he’d ever done at a passenger’s request. It
would definitely go down as one of his top ten oddest passenger encounters.

Andy was already pushing the bowl at him
once more before she scrambled to her feet. Behind the bar, she began opening
cabinets.

A knock at the suite’s front door stopped
them both for a second.

“It’s probably David checking up on me.”
Rick spoke as he set down the bowl and crossed to the front doors. “He is the
guy serving the night shift.” Holding the spoon in one hand, he opened the
door.

Andy nodded as she continued looking for
something she’d seen earlier. Most likely, the people who usually stayed in a
suite like this would be interested in champagne and unpronounceable wines.
Then she spied the squat black glass bottle with the signature gold paper.
Jumping up, she spun and danced her way to the entryway. “I found it!”

Immediately, she saw his fellow butler had
not joined Rick. Rather Jack had returned, bringing Gayle and Ray with him. And
quite amazingly she noted lastly, they were all dressed in their pajamas and
robes. She met Rick’s gaze and saw his concern there. Instinctively, she
shrugged and lowered the bottle. Taking a deep breath, Andy realized that
everyone had gone from looking at Rick, to staring at her. As a person who
always avoided being the center of attention, she felt a heated flush cover her
cheeks. With false bravado to disguise the sudden rush of insecurity, she spoke
loudly. “I see we have guests, Henderson. We’re going to need more spoons!”

* * * * *

Andy cursed loudly as she turned over in
bed. She realized the curtains had been opened and the gentle breeze blew in.
Rolling over, she saw Rick, once again perfectly attired in his black suit,
carrying a tray in her direction.

“Good morning, Miss. I’ve brought you some
tea. Would you care to have breakfast on the upper deck or the lower?”

Andy pulled up the sheet over her head.
“What time is it?”

“It’s nearly noon.”

“Noon! Oh shit…crap. Sorry. I had things I
wanted to do this morning.”

“Did Madam use all of the liqueur on her
ice cream after we left?”

“Not all, but enough to make this
unpleasant. Did I apologize for last night? I don’t know why my friends all
showed up like that.”

“Your friend, Miss—”

“Gayle.”

“Yes, she kept talking about a slumber
party, but your male friends didn’t seem in the party mood.”

“I noticed that, too. Thanks for
shepherding everyone to the elevator.”

“I sensed they wouldn’t leave until I did.”

Andy sat up and pushed the hair out of her
face. “Yeah, well they aren’t sophisticated like I am and used to having a
butler about the place.” She waited to see if Henderson responded to her little
joke, but he was in perfect form.

“Shall I run a bath for madam?”

Andy drew up her knees and wrapped her arms
around them. “Okay, and I’ll sip the tea. I must skip breakfast because I have
to get to work.” Seeing the frown of disapproval on her butler’s face, she
smiled. “I’ll explain later. Thanks.”

* * * * *

Dressed casually, Andy watched as Jack came
towards her. After her bath, she’d called his stateroom. The phone was answered
on the second ring. She recognized the voice on the other end immediately.

“Hi, Danny, it’s Andy. Is Jack around?”

“Good afternoon, Andy! We missed you at
breakfast. Ruthie visited the purser this morning and got us all these cool
pagers. We can message each other and stay in touch, make plans and stuff.”

Danny was ever the techno-geek, same as
Ruthie. If it was new, electronic and promised bells and whistles, either Danny
or Ruthie would have it first. Hearing the excitement in his voice was no
surprise.

“She passed them out at breakfast. Jack has
yours because he said you both were attending something at two today.”

Andy breathed a sigh of relief. She really
wanted to explore the whole BDSM scene after listening to the lecture…partly
for research and the other because it did excite her somewhat, maybe even a
little more than what she wanted to admit. After last night, she was feeling
off-center, and hopefully, once she saw Jack again, everything could go back to
normal. Of course, defining just what normal constituted at this point was the
problem.

Standing opposite the elevators just
outside the Queen’s Grill on deck seven, she’d waited nervously for Jack to
show up. Watching him as he walked off the elevator, she felt a shiver of
desire travel through her body. She was worried her behavior last night, in the
effort to maintain her dignity, might have damaged his. She had pretty much
kicked him out of her bed. And truthfully, she believed he’d mainly wanted to
talk. But their emotions had gotten out of hand. For her, she’d waited too many
years.

“Hi, Jack, thanks for meeting me,” she
spoke quickly, greeting him with a half-smile.

“I was looking forward to learning a little
more myself. Oh, here’s your beeper.” He pulled it from his pocket, passing it
to her. “Between your PDA and this, you’re wired for contact.”

Andy smiled because it was expected, but
she felt the coolness in his reception. As he turned to start for the Queen’s
Grill, she grabbed his arm. “Jack, about last night—”

Jack smiled and pressed his finger against
her lips. “Shh, sweetheart, we’ll talk later. No interruptions or getting
off-track this time.”

He reached and took her hand.

With a sigh, she followed him.

Andy knew her mouth kept dropping open as
she listened to Ethan Williams and Jack talk. Occasionally, Margrit spoke but
she never initiated conversation. Unsure whether she felt more surprised at
learning the Williams had a 24/7 Master/submissive relationship, or the fact
Jack might not be as much of a novice as she certainly was, all she could do
was listen. On many topics, Jack discussed the subject intelligently and asked
succinct questions.

“As today progresses, you should begin to
see more people appearing in their clothing of choice. The first night is
usually quiet. Tonight is the first Dungeon Party. It should be interesting
from what I saw scheduled before we sailed.”

“Like what?” Andy asked, unable to keep the
excitement from her voice.

Ethan smiled. “As usual with the first
party, there will be a lot of demonstrations going on. Normally, there would be
role-playing going on at the assigned stations and rooms, but since they
anticipated a large number of first-timers, I expect mostly demos tonight.”

“People walk around and watch?” she asked.

“Yes, and once the role-playing games
begin, you’ll find people signing up in advance and often just volunteering
when something catches their eye. The organizational committee arranged to have
a number of devices available also.”