“Oh, I know what I’m doing,” he said, giving her a crooked smile and spitting briskly into the water. “I grew up in these islands, lived my entire life on the water. Have my own boat, too. Only came out because Valzar begged me to help his good friend Joe.”
She cocked her head, trying to imagine Valzar begging anyone.
“Call me Skip,” he said, moving quickly across the deck and reaching out one hand to her. She took it, and he leaned in close to whisper in her ear. His voice was hardly friendly and harmless now.
“Valzar’s told me all about you, chippie,” he said in low tones. “I have a great deal of respect for our mutual friend, and don’t think for one moment I’d hesitate to slit your throat if I thought he was in trouble.”
He leaned back, all smiles again.
“We understand each other?” he asked, his tone friendly once more. She nodded her head quickly, feeling faint. Valzar’s presence hung around her like a dark shadow. The man wanted her dead, and she had no doubt that given enough time he’d find a way to make it happen.
Skip nodded to the men in suits and walked quickly over to the hatch. Within seconds he was out of sight, and she stood on the deck once more, looking at the boats around her and wondering if anyone on them could help her.
She thought about screaming, jumping off the ship into the water and making for a friendly face.
But none of the boats around appeared to have anyone on board, and the two men in suits had their eyes glued to her. She wrapped both arms around her body, a part of her wishing they were still at the villa. At least there she’d known she was trapped. She’d hate it, but in another way it had been strangely comforting.
There had been no hope of escape, and that meant she didn’t have to worry about it. All she had to do was lie back, relax and enjoy the bizarre situation in which she’d found herself. It was a place out of time, out of space.
Now she was back in the real world. There were other people around her, places she could run.
There were probably even policemen in the harbor, if she could just think of a way to contact them.
Of course, given the way things had gone for her so far, they were on Valzar’s payroll, too.
Everybody seemed to work for that man.
* * * * *
Three hours later Valzar was gone, and they were slowly motoring out of the harbor. She sat up on the bow, watching idly as they passed a variety of other vessels, occasionally waving to a friendly face on another boat. Sean came and sat down beside her. Surprisingly, he wore a ragged pair of cutoffs and nothing else. He cocked one eye at her startled expression.
“What?”
“I’ve never seen you look so… casual,” she said after a moment.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been this relaxed,” he replied, leaning his head back against rise of the boat’s cabin “Do you realize that we don’t have to do anything?”
“Well, we have to leave to sail the boat,” she said.
“Yes, but we don’t have to do it right now.”
“How long will the crew be with us?”
“I haven’t decided yet,” he said, reaching one arm around her shoulders to pull her close. “Why, do you dislike them already?”
She looked back to where Skip sat at the wheel. Their second crewmember, a youngish man named
Jose, scampered about, checking ropes and tightening things.
“No, I don’t like them,” she said. “Did you know that Skip threatened me?”
“I’m not surprised,” Sean, dropping his head to kiss the top of hers. “We already knew how protective Valzar is.”
“I think he’s jealous of me,” she said suddenly. “He wants you to work with him again, and he thinks that
I’m the reason you’re not. Is that true?”
He stayed silent, rubbing the top of her head with his fingers instead.
“It is true,” she said softly. “You can let me go, Sean. I don’t want to hurt you. I want you to go on with your life, and I want to do the same.”
Once again he didn’t reply. Instead, he reached down and tilted her head up toward his. His lips dropped down, kissing her softly on the mouth, and then straying across her cheek. His hands started a restless crawl across her body, reaching down and grasping her hips, turning and pulling her until she straddled him. She could feel the length of his erection through her shorts.
Liquid fire jetted through her and she melted against him. Why was he able to do this to her so easily?
“Don’t,” she whispered nervously.
“Why not?” He asked, his tone bemused.
“Because they’ll see us,” she said, her voice tense, eyes darting across the horizon at the other boats.
“I don’t care if they see us,” he said softly into her ear. His clever fingers slid her zipper down, even though her hands batted at him, trying to stop him. He took no notice.
“I care,” she hissed back. “And I’ll bet they care, too. Why should they have to put up with that? You’re sick.”
His hands were inside her shorts now, cupping the curve of her bu**ocks, rubbing her back and forth against his cock. She shuddered in need, and then took a deep breath before pushing at his shoulders hard to catch his attention.
“I’m not going to do this,” she said firmly. “It’s simply not going to happen.”
He cocked his head at her then lifted his hands.
“You win,” he said.
She sniffed, pulling herself free and sitting beside him on the deck. Her pants were still loose, but she couldn’t quite figure out how to fasten them without sitting up on her knees, and that would give the two men behind them too much of a show.
They sat together quietly for a time. The sun started to lower in the far horizon when he reached over and pulled her into his lap again, this time facing away from him.
She started to fuss, but his hands came up and stilled her.
“Just sit and enjoy the moment,” he said softly. His strong fingers rubbed her shoulders, easing the tension of the moment. She relaxed, and it seemed entirely natural when his hand drifted down her shoulders until it cupped her breast, rubbing absently at her nipple through the soft cotton fabric of her shirt. She leaned back against him, enjoying the sensation. For some reason it didn’t seem as threatening as before… perhaps because they were out of the harbor. She could feel the bulge of his erection growing beneath her bottom, but he wasn’t intent on rubbing it against her this time. He seemed more inclined to simply be close to her, enjoying her presence and the touch of her body.