Fiona led them off on a tour of the boat, but Brett could not take his eyes off of Page. She stood with the other staff, smiling warmly at him every time she saw him staring at her, until he was pulled out of sight. Got him, she thought to herself.
The Persephone had been underway for an hour, the guests were settling into their quarters, and Fiona and Page were helping Paul prep for lunch. Lisa stumbled into the galley, giggling.
“Oh my God, I just passed by Jay Money’s room. All three of them are fucking like mad!” she squealed. “You can hear that black girl moaning and that skinny blonde screaming right up on the sundeck.”
“Well, they’re paying guests. No harm in them enjoying themselves,” said Fiona absently, concentrating on paring a cucumber for the salads.
“Speak for yourself, Fiona,” cried Lisa. “If I have to listen to any more, I’m either joining them or I’m gonna need that cucumber and a ten-minute break in my bunk!”
“Oh, how crass! You are a filthy bitch, Lisa!” teased Paul.
“Look who’s talking!” she teased him back.
Here we go again, thought Page, having seen this scene play out before.
“Can’t you just stop being gay for a second and do me a favor?” Lisa cornered the chef against the walk-in freezer, where he mimed shock and panic. “Please, Paul, me so horny!” She flipped around, lifted her skirt and exposed her thong-wearing behind. “Pleeease...” she whined, “just for a second... It won’t hurt a bit, I promise!”
“Do you see this, Fiona? This is sexual misconduct of the highest order!” wailed Paul, as Lisa ground her butt against his crotch, “Vile temptress! Get thee to a nunnery!”
“That’s enough, Lisa,” scolded Fiona, though she was smiling.
Lisa pouted and made herself decent. “It’s still not fair, though, is it?” she pouted. “We slave away for them, no booze, no sex, while they get to have the time of their lives.”
“Just think about that fat tip waiting at the end, darling,” reassured Paul, before rushing over and diving into one of his ovens. “Dozy cow, you nearly made me burn my meat!” he pulled out a lightly smoldering tray of pork cutlets.
“I thought that was what she was begging you for,” quipped Page, and the other three burst out laughing again.
“Well, someone’s got an admirer,” said Azure from the galley doorway. They all jumped a little.
“Christ!” breathed Paul, indicating desperate heart palpitations. “How long have you been there? I hate when she does that.”
“Who?” Page asked Azure, ignoring Paul’s theatrics. “Lisa found another heart to break?”
“No, silly,” said Paul. “We all saw the way the primary was looking at you.”
“Yeah, he didn’t even see me,” complained Lisa. “Which is a pity. He’s hot. I’d jump him in a second.”
“Of course you would, darling,” Paul teased again. “Right, this is too much! I see I’m going to have to take one for the team. C’mon, Lisa, you’re disturbing everyone. We are going into the freezer to sort you out. Back in five, Fiona darling, just make sure there’s a hot towel and a fresh Appletini ready for me when I emerge.” He grabbed Lisa’s wrist and made to drag her off as she fanned herself and made “oh my!” noises.
Page appeared to be watching her shipmates mess around and laughing with them but, inside, she was thinking hard. He really did seem to like me as soon as he saw me; no one’s ever done that before. He is very good-looking... Come on, Page! Stop it! Him, his family, and all his greedy, arrogant kind are the reason you lost your father, lost everything.
But what was she going to do for this revenge? She had never quite planned that far. She’d dismissed hurting him in any physical way. Even though she was angry enough, she was not that kind of person. Maybe she could ruin him, like he ruined her life? Get close with him, tear her clothes and cry assault? Sleep with him and cry rape? Technically, neither of these scenarios seemed that difficult to set up, but she was pretty sure she would not be able to go through with actually having sex with him. Besides, he probably had an army of high-priced lawyers that could make issues like that disappear. The untouchable rich.
So she settled for honesty. She would make him see exactly what misery he had inflicted on her. Make him feel responsible for the death of her father, for her mother abandoning her. If he really was in love with her, she could leave him with a broken heart. If he was so cold inside that he couldn’t care less about her or her plight, at least she would have confronted him. He would have to add it to his pile of other dirty deeds until he was judged by his maker.
Brett undid the buttons on his shirt but lay down on the enormous bed without taking it off, the material of the shirt spreading around him as he lay looking up at the finely carved wooden ceiling. Anna was in the bathroom, the ocean gently was gently rocking him, and he almost managed to name the tune that was being hammered out by Jay and his two companions’ rhythmic grunting and moaning in the cabin to the stern. And he could not get her face out of his head. The way the sun danced through her golden hair, the way her big blue eyes burned deep into his soul, the way she softly chewed her bottom lip while she listened to other people talk, all of it intoxicated him.
“What are you thinking about?” asked Anna from the doorway of the en-suite. Brett sat up on his elbows and looked at her. She wore a long, sheer black beach gown, open to reveal a tiny black bikini. He felt a distinct tingling sensation in his loins as his eyes traveled up her toned leg, over the pathetic scrap of cloth that barely hid her sex from the world, across her flat yet supple stomach, lingering on her full rounded breasts—also just hidden by a narrow strip of material that covered her nipples and left nothing else to the imagination—up to her determined yet beautiful face.
“Just you, babe,” he lied again. She smiled and walked slowly towards the bed, each movement smooth and drawn out, until she climbed up and crawled onto his lap, never losing eye contact. She straddled him and pulled his mouth up to meet hers. Brett felt the softness of her pushing against the hardness of him. Anna broke off her kiss with a sharp intake of breath as she ground herself intimately against him.
“I’ve been waiting for this,” she whispered breathlessly in his ear. From the other room, the ecstatic cries of Jay’s blonde girlfriend seemed to reach a crescendo, and then it went quiet. Anna smiled down at Brett as sudden, urgent and loud moans from Jay’s other playmate rang out with renewed vigor. “Mmmm, don’t you wish you could be in there? Aren’t they turning you on?” she asked him softly. For a second, Brett pictured Jay’s big black butt bouncing up and down in front of him.
“Honestly, no,” he smiled. “But I know what you mean.” They kissed again, her tongue urgently exploring the inside of his mouth. She reached down to open his fly, but he grabbed her wrist. She broke off the kiss and gave him a concerned look.
“Are you okay, Brett?” asked Anna, feeling insecure for probably the first time in her life.
He gave her a quick kiss, “I’m fine, babe, I promise. I’m just... it’s just... I wanted our first time to be perfect. You know, champagne.” Anna started to smile again. “Rose petals, massage oils, that sort of thing. Not screwing while we listen to Jay constantly banging his hoes.”
“That’s sweet,” replied Anna, before putting her mouth by his ear again and hissing gently, “It just makes me want to do even more naughty things with you than ever.”
“Awesome,” stammered Brett, and scrambled out from under her. “I’ll get changed and we can spend the afternoon drinking and lying in the sun, kissing and building the tension until tonight.”
Anna grabbed his still hard penis through his slacks. “I think we’ve built up enough tension, personally, but I like your thinking.” She let him go, picked up her shades and swept out of the room in one fluid movement.
Brett collapsed back on the bed, the vision of Page filling his head once more. The fuck am I doing...?
Captain Samson dropped anchor far enough out t
o sea that there was no land in sight. The sun beat down on the yacht as the guests had lunch. Page served salmon mousse and lobster tails with a quinoa, mango, and truffle oil salad, while Fiona kept them topped up with white wine and champagne. Lisa took her lunch break at this time so she could cover after lunch while the other stewards ate.
Jay Money and his girls sat together. The blonde, who turned out to be Jessica from Santa Monica, and the African-American girl, who called herself Coco and was from Long Beach, never sat together, Page noticed. They always kept Jay between them. She wondered if they had sex that way too.
Brett sat next to Jessica, beside Anna who, unlike Jay’s girls, felt it decent to throw a wrap over her skimpy bikini for the meal. Although she was well-formed and her sky-blue bikini top and thong were tiny, Jessica did not have an overabundance of T and A to flaunt. On the other hand, Coco’s purple thong disappeared completely in her full but firm derriere, while the tiny twin triangles up top were not even large enough to hide her nipples, and edges of dark-skinned areola clearly peeked out. Page was thankful that all the deckhands were working below-deck and preparing the water toys. Otherwise the men would have been likely to embarrass themselves.
Across from Jay sat Giancarlo and, like a gentleman, he was managing to not stare at Coco’s boobs too much. His fashion model girlfriend, Antonia (also from Italy) was seated beside him in her big sunglasses, tastefully covered like Anna by a dark green, sheer wrap.
Next to her was Henry, laughing along with Brett and totally failing to make his companion, the young and pretty Valentina, feel like one of the gang. She pouted and played with her food.
After a long afternoon of playing with the jet-skis, water-skiing and lounging in the sun, the guests were served their evening meal up on the sundeck by Lisa and Fiona. Meanwhile, Page ate chicken and rice in the crew lounge. She had pulled the evening shift and was to sit up with the guests, serving drinks and nibbles as required, until the last one went to bed. Paul was busy and the deckhands had already eaten, so she sat and chewed by herself. It was bound to be a long night, but it could be an ideal opportunity to at least start reeling Brett in. If she could get him away from that Asian goddess he was with, that is.
After dinner was over and she was left by herself with the guests, it looked as though it might not be such a long night at all. Henry was doing shots of tequila with Jay Money and Coco and had to retire before long. Valentina helped him to his cabin but did not look happy about it. Giancarlo now had Antonia and Jessica leaning against the ship’s rail, posing for his camera in front of the glorious sunset. They had Page pose with them for a few shots, and Giancarlo was over the moon, rabbiting in his Italian accent about his three gorgeous blondes. As the shutter kept clicking Antonia and Jessica began kissing each other passionately and Page, not wanting to get caught up in this, excused herself back to the bar.
Jay and Coco soon slinked off together, while the blonde-on-blonde makeout session was getting so heated that Page had to politely suggest they retire for more privacy. Giancarlo was more than happy to escort them below deck.
As Page poured another large measure of eighteen-year-old Glenmorangie into Brett’s glass, she heard Anna whispering, “I don’t think I can wait much longer, darling...” before getting up and stalking off, watching to make sure Brett’s eyes followed her butt to the stairs. Anna laughed to herself as she descended.
“I’ll be right there, darling,” he called after her. “I’ll just finish this drink.” He turned to Page. He actually let out a nervous laugh. “Alone at last,” he stammered.
Page gave him a warm smile back. Yup, and now you’re mine, she thought to herself, and was actually surprised by the anger welling up inside her. On the outside, though, she was cool as can be.
“She’s amazingly beautiful,” said Page, nodding to the stairs Anna had disappeared down. “And you guys seem very happy together.”
“We do?” replied Brett. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound so... it’s just, we’ve only been seeing each other for a few weeks.”
“I see,” smiled Page. “Well, in that case, I’ll say I’m sure you will be very happy together.” She was starting to find his odd nervousness around her charming.
“Yes, that’s what everyone says.” Brett looked back at Page. He saw straight into her eyes and his heart beat a little faster. “The truth is, her position is right, her age is right, her fortune is right.” The word fortune caused Page to grind her teeth. “For me, she just seems to be so... right,” he almost spat the last word. He looked down at his drink, “Sorry, Page, you must be feeling uncomfortable with me talking this way.”
She leaned forward to level her eyes with his again. “Not at all,” she smiled. “When I’m behind the bar, it’s part of the job.”
Brett drained his glass and Page refilled it. She asked him about his work, and he gave her a brief explanation, but his heart was not in it. This is weird, she thought. He doesn’t seem to like his work. I thought he would be bragging and talking my ear off about how amazing he is.
“...really, it’s just another thing that I have to do, because of my father.”
Poor little whiny rich boy, thought Page. “He must have been a great man.” she said.
Brett’s teeth clenched. His whole body suddenly took on a tense, defensive attitude. So much anger seemed to be flowing from him that Page trembled and backed up half a pace.
“He was a bastard!” Brett hissed, “He didn’t care about the thousands of lives he ruined by breaking up companies and laying people off, and he didn’t care about the two lives he ruined more than anyone’s—my mother’s and mine. She was beautiful, but as soon as she passed thirty he was fooling around with younger women. Girls, really. He didn’t even try to hide it. If my mother spoke up he’d hit her. If I tried to help her, he’d punch me. We went to the police, but his lawyers made sure nothing came to light. We became prisoners in our own home until he eventually did the decent thing and died.” He finally noticed that tears were running down his cheeks. “Even then he made sure that my mom got nothing. Everything went to me, but only if I keep running his firm. The only thing I can do is try to not be like him every chance I get.”
Page stood for a second, astonished. I’ve had him all wrong. I can’t hold him responsible for the sins of his father, she thought. She reached out and touched his cheek. “I’m so sorry,” she said. And she genuinely meant it. “And Anna?” she asked.
“Ah, Anna. Yes, he’d totally approve of her. No doubt he would’ve tried to steal her from me. Want to know a secret?” He sniffed, gave an embarrassed smile, drained his glass again, and whispered, “I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t have thought twice about jumping him either, if he offered!”
Page burst out laughing. Not her professional, clipped and clean giggle, but her real, throaty laugh accompanied by a bright and genuine smile that melted Brett’s heart.
“I know you’re off limits” —again, he found himself fighting for breath— “but maybe, after the charter, I could see you?” He trembled waiting for her answer.
This time, it was Page’s heart that jumped. I can’t believe this. I came here to hurt him, but now I really want him. I never dreamed he could be so vulnerable and so obviously alone. His father damaged him at least as much as he damaged me. Could we really work together? “I’d... I think I’d like that,” she managed to say. “Just be careful,” she added, having recovered some composure. “I may be too hard for you to handle.”
They were suddenly both aware, as they leaned on their elbows, the teak bar separating them, that their faces were so very close. Page stared into his stunning, blue-green eyes for what seemed like an age, then took a chance. She leaned in towards his mouth, and he did the same. They were so close Page could feel his soft breath caressing her sensitive lips, when suddenly his phone screeched angrily from the counter top.
“Goddammit,” he hissed as the moment passed. Page giggled nervously. Brett read the text message to himsel
f. “It’s Anna, of course,” he said. Page took a sharp breath. She’d forgotten all about his girlfriend below deck.
“You’d better go,” she said, trying not to sound downcast. “After all, I am off limits.”
“And maybe too hard to handle.” He grinned, but she only managed a weak, pained smile back. “Page, come on...” he began.
“No, its fine, you’re with her. Call me after the charter and we’ll meet up like you said.” She smiled, desperate to hide the tears in her eyes.
“I should go, let her down easy,” he said. Page nodded. He means well, but I cannot see that happening. She’s too beautiful, he’ll never resist her. Not for the next three nights, while I can’t touch him and she can offer him anything. Forget it, Page, she thought as he headed downstairs to the master suite. You’ve missed your chance.
Brett hurried to his cabin, rehearsing what he was going to say to Anna. He would have to move in to one of the smaller, twin berth rooms. Considering how much he had paid for this trip, that did not seem fair at all, but it was the gentlemanly thing to do. He stopped at his doorway, took a breath and walked in.
Anna was sitting on the bed, one knee up to her chin, the other foot dangling near the floor. She wore only pink briefs and a tiny, tight white cotton undershirt. She looked up from her phone as Brett entered. “There you are.” She smiled coyly at him. “You were so long I almost started without you.”
“Anna, darling.” Brett swallowed. “We need to talk.”
“Yes, we do,” replied Anna, surprising him. “Sit down, we have a problem...” Bewildered, Brett took a seat on one of the plush armchairs that lined the long round wall of the room. “Baby?” called Anna to the bathroom. Valentina, dressed in only white cotton panties, stepped into the room. “Poor Valentina here,” began Anna, “hasn’t been having the best trip. Henry has been a frightful bore and is now passed out, having paid her no attention. She’s lonely and wants to know if she can play with us?” Valentina made shy eyes at Brett, nodding to him with a finger in her mouth. “That’s alright, darling, isn’t it?” teased Anna, as the young Mexican girl crossed over to the bed.
Married To The Cowboy (Love In Collin's Ranch 3) Page 53