Stripped Love #3 (BBW Alpha Male Romance)

by Taylor, Alycia

  “For what? The commercial shoot isn’t until next week.”

  “Not for work, for play. I’m taking you sailing on my yacht.”

  “What?”

  Maybe my ears weren’t working because that was the second time that day I’d heard something completely impossible.

  “I never said I would do that!”

  “But you will, won’t you?” Dimitri’s eyes pleaded with me and a look of pure desperation filled his face. It was the most adorable thing I’d ever seen; like a lost puppy craving affection.

  “I don’t know...”

  My heart wanted to jump at the opportunity and say yes, but my mind told me to wait and moment and think about it rationally. “I have a really good time with you when we’re together, and sex between us was great, but the one date we had was disastrous and you really hurt me.”

  “I told you how sorry I was about that-” Dimitri started to say, but I cut him off.

  “It just seems like we don’t get along as well when we try to date as we do when we just hang out as friends; and going sailing on your yacht definitely sounds like a date.”

  “No, it doesn’t have to be a date if you don’t want to be. We’re just two actors networking about our careers on a casual boating trip. That’s all.”

  “I’ve been on casual boating trips with friends and they don’t usually take place on a yacht…more like a leaky fishing boat.”

  “Well, most of your friends probably aren’t a rich and famous movie star like I am,” Dimitri joked and I couldn’t help but smile at his charm and charisma. He swaggered around my kitchen with his muscles flexed, acting like a braggart. “You know, most girls would sell their souls for a chance to go yachting with me. You just don’t know how lucky you are to have received the invite from me. Once you realize it, you’ll be swooning.”

  I laughed aloud at his performance, and Dimitri gazed into my hazel eyes with his deep blue ones and said softly, “I love to hear you laugh. Please Avery, come sailing with me tomorrow. I promise I won’t try do anything you don’t want me to. If you want to keep this relationship a friendship I’ll respect that; but don’t make me have to suffer without you. Nothing is as much if you’re not a part of it. Besides, it’s my way of congratulating you on first break as an actress. My first role was in a commercial, and my dad took me sailing to celebrate. It’s a tradition I would only want to carry out with you.”

  I was touched by Dimitri’s speech and the knowledge that this was something he used to do with his dad. I knew had much family meant to Dimitri, and he knew how much it meant to me too. Maybe this was a story he had made up to make me feel like we had something in common just to trick me into liking him, just like those awful celebrities he had told me about earlier. Only the look on his face told me he was being sincere. Plus, going sailing on a yacht with Dimitri Morrison really did sound like a lot of fun, and I wanted to go more than I’d ever wanted anything. Tossing all my reservations to the side, I nodded my assent. “Okay, I’ll go. What time should I be ready?”

  “I’ll pick you up at nine o’clock. That will have us at the Marina by ten. Bring sleeves in case the wind is cold, and I’ll supply everything else from suntan lotion, to the food, and even the boat. All you have to bring is yourself and that fantastic smile.”

  “Get out of here,” I swatted at him over the cheesy compliment, even though I loved it. Dimitri had a way of making me feel beautiful, sexy, witty, funny, interesting, and alive. It’s why I couldn’t stop wanting to be with him, even when I knew I should be staying as far away from him as possible. It’s why I knew I was falling in love.

  Chapter Two

  The next morning I was dressed and ready to go right on time in my favorite red bikini with khaki shorts and a white long sleeved shirt tied at the waist and with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. On my feet I wore my most sturdy pair of canvas shoes so I wouldn’t slip and fall off the boat. My hair was tied back into two braids so it wouldn’t blow in the wind, and a pair of sunglasses shielded my eyes.

  “Wow! You look great!” Dimitri ogled me openly when I opened my door. He looked terrific as always in denim shorts and a Ralph Lauren polo shirt. He leaned in for a kiss and said with a sexy leer, “Let’s forget the yacht and just stay in.”

  “No way! Just friends, remember?” I pushed him back, but I was laughing and smiling so hard that my words lacked all authority. Still, Dimitri was a gentleman and respected my wishes. He opened the door of his bright red Ferrari for me, politely keeping his hands to himself the entire time.

  “This is a great car,” I admired as we cruised down the highway towards the marina.

  “Thanks, I bought it as a gift to myself for my twenty-fifth birthday. I always wanted one and after signing the contract for my current movie, I figured I could afford it, so why not?”

  “That’s great,” I said, trying to sound upbeat and supportive.

  Dimitri suddenly realized his error and cringed visibly. “Shit! I’m sorry. I just sounded like a total ass and I didn’t mean to rub it in like that. I still can’t believe they didn’t pick you to play the lead opposite me; but in a way I’m glad.”

  “You’re glad?” I crossed my arms over my chest.

  “Yeah, because if you were on the set with me every day, I’d never be able to concentrate on my work and I’d sure as hell never be able to perform the scenes where we hate each other. I’m not that good an actor and I like you too damn much.”

  “You do?” My heart was soaring through the clouds!

  “Can’t you tell? I think I could be falling in love with you.”

  Dimitri gazed into my eyes and I could see the same love I felt for him staring back at me, and I knew his words were true. He did care for me just as much as I cared for him!

  “Look out! Truck!” I screamed and Dimitri turned his attention from me back onto the highway, swerving just in time to miss hitting a giant truck that had cut into our lane.

  “Shit!” Dimitri’s chest was heaving and I knew his heart was pounding just as hard as mine. After he took a moment to regain his composure, he grinned boyishly and said, “You see what you do to me? If we ever worked on a movie together it would be a disaster.”

  We laughed, joked, and talked all the rest of the way to the marina. Dimitri parked his car and we strolled down the dock, breathing in the salty sea air. Sea gulls soared overhead, their cries echoing through the sky and Dimitri clasped my hand in his own as we walked.

  “You’re cell phone’s not going to ring suddenly and pull you away from me before I get to see boat is it?” I teased, giving his hand a playful squeeze so he knew I was only kidding.

  “No chance of that. I’ve set all my calls to go directly to voicemail. Today is completely set aside for you.” Dimitri squeezed my hand back and I felt a huge boost of pride. I knew what huge demands an actor of his caliber had on his time, and to know that he was giving me his undivided attention for the entire day was incredibly moving, and I didn’t know what to say. I decided to change the subject to something more comfortable.

  “So, which one is yours?” I asked, gesturing at all the beautiful boats parked along the dock.

  “This one. I named her the Marianne, after my mother.“ Dimitri jogged up to a beautiful yacht just a little ways down the dock and patted its hull with pride.

  The yacht had a red fiberglass body that was designed with smooth clean lines. It had a six foot, cast-iron keel, teak wood interior, and was easily ninety feet long. Although much smaller than many of the other boats docked nearby, the Marianne was still quite impressive and I loved it at once.

  As we climbed aboard, I found that the broad aft end made it easy to move around comfortably, and it didn’t feel cramped at all. Dimitri gave me a tour, playfully acting as a professional tour guide.

  “Here Madame, we have the galley.”

  He said it with a thick accent, impersonating a snooty tour guide. The kitchen was small but fully equipped with a two-burner p
ropane stove, a mini fridge and a table with benches. I noticed there was a picnic basket on the counter and imported beer chilling in a bucket of ice nearby. Dimitri popped the top off one of the bottles of beer and handed it me with a charming bow.

  “For you Madame.”

  “Aren’t you going to have one?”

  “Never when I drive; but perhaps later. Now through this door Madame, we find the ship’s head.” Dimitri opened a door revealing the bathroom complete with a shower and toilet. It was quite small, but no worse than the one in my apartment and the towels and fixtures were exponentially nicer.

  “And finally, we have the sleeping quarters.”

  Dimitri swept his arms out grandly to show off the sleeping area, which was quite spacious as long you weren't too picky and didn't mind snuggling. Curious to see how it felt, I lay down on the bed and was delighted by how comfortable it was. Tauntingly, I closed my eyes and luxuriated in the feel of the bed, wondering if Dimitri would break his vow of remaining just friends and lunge at me. To my disappointment, he did not.

  Turning away from me with great effort, Dimitri said, “Well, we better get going.”

  I followed him to the helm and took a seat on one of the long, padded benches while he took his place behind the wheel. He was a good driver and easily negotiated his way out of the docking bay and towards the open water with the yacht’s small motor. Once he was past the buoys, he unfurled the sails and with the power of the wind we cruised over the water, gliding through the waves. I was glad I had had the wisdom to braid my hair as I faced into the wind and spread my arms out wide, enjoying the feel of the sun and wind buffeted me. It had been a long time since I’d felt this free.

  More than once I caught Dimitri admiring my body in my bikini top, and I marveled at how much I enjoyed the attention. When the men at the club ogled me, it often made me feel dirty and cheap, but when Dimitri looked at me, somehow it was different. He made me feel beautiful, sexy, desirable, and like a real woman. I wanted more of it and couldn’t help but taunt him a little as we flirted with our eyes across the ship.

  It was all fair play, for Dimitri had never looked hotter than he did with his shirt off and the sunlight shining on his bronzed skin and rippling muscles. I don’t know if it was the heat of the sun or just the fun relaxing atmosphere of the day; but I was beginning to regret my decision to just be friends and.

  After a while, Dimitri lowered the sails, bringing the boat to a gradual stop, and dropped the anchor. Looking at me with a sexy smile he said, “I hope you don't mind if we pause here for a bit. This was always my favorite place to go fishing with my grandpa before he died and I don't feel right if I don't stop and at least pay tribute to him whenever I go sailing.”

  “No, I don’t mind,” I said and smiled. I grabbed two beers from the kitchen and popped them both open, handing one to Dimitri and clinking it with my own in a friendly toast.

  “To your grandfather,” I said.

  “To you, Pappy,” Eddie raised his eyes skyward and we both took a hearty swig from our bottles. The imported beer was much tastier and stronger than the cheep stuff I was used to drinking, and I liked it a lot. Still, I was on my second bottle before lunch and I knew I’d better be careful. I didn’t need any more instances like the night of the party when I let my drinking inhibit my good judgment. I had gone down to the kitchen and brought back up the picnic basket full of food earlier, and now I opened it up. I was delighted to find a gourmet lunch hidden within, and so Dimitri and I sat on the deck of boat, eating, drinking, and talking about his favorite fishing trips with his grandfather.

  “I loved fishing as a kid too,” I said with a wistful smile. “Every summer my dad would drag all us girls out camping for his week vacation from work up at Bear Lake. The ground was lumpy when we tried to sleep in our sleeping bags at night, and the mosquitoes were horrible; but we all loved it and had the best time. Dad would take us on the short hike from the campground to Bear Lake and we would fish for hours. Poor Dad could never catch anything, but he always made sure that each of us girls did. I have a feeling that if he hadn't spent so much time supervising us, that he would have caught a lot more fish, but he seemed to get just as much joy watching us reel in a fish than he did catching one on his own. I always remember how proud I felt when he would cook up a fish that I had caught with my own two hands for dinner. They were the best summers of my life.”

  “Well let’s catch some now.”

  Dimitri popped up. We’d both had our fill of lunch and he was suddenly energized and ready to do something fun.

  “Are you serious?” I asked, loving the idea.

  “Why not? We’ll have a contest to see who can catch the bigger fish. Winner gets to decide where we go for dinner tonight.”

  “Oh, you’re on! I’m an excellent fisherman; make that fisherwoman,” I laughed.

  We found the poles and tackle easily in the storage cabinets beneath the seats and cast out into the water. Dimitri caught the first fish: a nice sized ling cod. He teased me mercilessly about being the first to catch a fish, but it didn’t matter. I was having the best time just standing out on the deck of Dimitri’s yacht, enjoying his company and the bond we so clearly shared. We liked all the same things, shared the same family values, and laughed at the same jokes. There was no doubt in my mind that we could never be just friends; we were meant to be something more.

  “I’ve got one!” I called out, as the reel on my line suddenly started to spin and I hurried to stop it. The pull on the other end of the line was fierce and I nearly lost my balance before I braced myself against it. I’d caught some big fish in my lifetime, but those were freshwater fish from Bear Lake, and things could get a lot bigger out in the ocean. As I tried to reel it in and it fought me on the other end with more strength than I could handle, I suddenly got scared that I might be yanked overboard.

  “Dimitri! Help me!”

  Before I could even finish my call for help, he had his strong arms around me, bracing me so I wouldn’t be pulled over the railing. “I’ve got you. Now reel that sucker in.”

  It must have taken twenty minutes before we’d gotten whatever was fighting me close enough to the surface for a fin to poke out of the water and start thrashing where we could see it.

  “Holy shit! It’s a fucking shark!” I screamed out with excitement.

  Dimitri looked over the railing at the small tiger shark thrashing on the other end of my line, and gave me a quick kiss of congratulations.

  “Great job! Reel it in; it’s all yours!” he said.

  A fresh surge of energy invigorated me and gave me the strength to keep reeling it in. Suddenly, I wanted Dimitri to share in the joy with me and kissed him on the cheek. “Help me. I want this to be our catch together.”

  With both our hands on the pole we reeled it in together in a joint effort that took half an hour and left us both exhausted.

  “It’s beautiful,” I sighed, in awe of nature and its glory.

  “It sure is,” Dimitri breathed, but he wasn’t looking at the tiger shark, he was looking at me. “Okay, let’s take it to the weigh station.”

  “No, let’s cut it loose,” I said and Dimitri stared at me in surprise. I felt obligated to explain, “Look at how magnificent a creature it is. What are we going to do with it? Eat it? Stuff if and mount it on a wall? It was enough of an experience to have caught it, but I’d feel like a murderer if we killed such a beautiful shark. Let it go to swim another day.”

  “This why a man could fall in love with you,” Dimitri whispered. He leaned in, cut the small, young shark free and allowed it to fall back into the water, where it swiftly disappeared and swam powerfully away. Dimitri and I missed the sight however, for he had swept me into his arms and was kissing me with more passion and lust than I had ever experienced. It took my breath away and made me instantly wet for him. Despite what I had said before, I wanted to make love to him beyond any reason or doubt.

  Dropping my fishing pole and le
tting it fall onto the deck with a clatter, I wrapped my arms around his neck, curling my fingers in his dark wavy hair and kissed him back. A soft moan of pleasure escaped my throat, low and primal, as he wrapped his arms around my body and squeezed me close in a passionate embrace. My tits crushed against his bare chest and I could feel the taunt nubs of his nipples rubbing against my own through the thin fabric of my bikini top.

  Suddenly, Dimitri came to his senses and forced himself to pull away from me. Releasing me from his hold, he turned his back on me and covered his face with his hands, as if trying to wipe away his embarrassment or rash behavior.

  “I’m sorry, Avery. I know I promised that we would just be friends. You just looked so damned sexy standing there and your smile was so beautiful, and the way you wanted to release that fish back into the ocean like a blessed angel; I lost control for a moment. It won’t happen again.”

  I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around his chest to caress his nipples. Kissing the back of his muscular shoulder blades, I whispered sensuously, “What if I want it to happen again?”

  Dimitri turned slowly around, and the look in his eyes was pure hope and desire. Encircling his arms tentatively around me again, he said softly, “Everything is completely up to you; I am your willing slave.”

  I peeled off my white long-sleeved shirt so I was standing before him in just my bikini top, with my hard nipples clearly visible through the thin fabric and my cleavage heaving with desire. Kissing him with slow, sensuous passion, I smiled and said, “In that case, carry me downstairs and make love to me. I want you Dimitri Morrison: right here, right now.”

  Without another word, Dimitri scooped me into his strong arms and carried me down the short, narrow steps into the berthing cabin and lay me gently on the bed. Lying beside me, he pulled off my shorts and the bottom half of my bikini while I removed the top half, leaving me completely naked.

  “God, I can never get over how incredibly gorgeous your body is,” Dimitri sighed appreciatively as he put his hands on my naked flesh and gazed at me with adoring eyes. I sighed with pleasure and closed as my eyes as he brought his lips to my body, making gentle love to me with his lips, tongue, hands, mouth, and fingers. He left no part of me untouched, luxuriating in the flat of my stomach, the dimple of my belly button, the slope of my breasts, the muscles of my limbs, and even the tips of my fingers and toes.