Champagne Romance (Romance Novel) (13 page)

“
If you are feeling up to it, I expect
to see you on Monday morning in my office; also, if you have plans
for next Saturday night, cancel them!” With those two demands,
Slater left the condo shutting and securing the double French doors
behind him.

CHAPTER 31

Monday morning came and Swan walked into
Slater’s office. She was dressed in a plum pantsuit that made her
hair take on the hue of a deep red sunset. It was parted in the
middle and pulled back in a schoolteacher knot as though she were
trying to look as unattractive as possible. It didn’t work. The
suit matched the pale purple sunglasses that she had not bothered
to remove. Jade earrings dangled from her earlobes. A jade bangle
bracelet encircled her wrist. Plum shoes of a red and jade swirling
design wrapped her trim ankles with a thin leather strap. With a
Prada bag to match slung over her shoulder, she looked ready for
business? War? Discussion? It was difficult to judge her mood with
those damn sunglasses perched on the end of her nose.

Slater assumed a relaxed position and leaned
back in his leather chair. He put his hands behind his head and
asked. “How do you feel?”

“
Fine,” was her reply.

“
Take off your glasses.”

Slater’s sudden demand made Swan jump as she
felt like he had just asked her to undress and wondered what he
would demand that she take off next! When she didn’t respond, he
came around the desk, and removed the glasses himself. Putting his
hand on her chin, he tilted her head up to him. He then scrutinized
her eyes until he appeared satisfied.

Sitting on the edge of the desk and peering
down at her, he pierced her with a direct a stare. She felt a
little like a small mouse and that an eagle watching trying to
decide her fate. She did not doubt that Slater had the capabilities
to do with her whatever he chose and that was more than a little
unnerving. When she was blind, she missed some of the power that he
eluded. She thought about closing her eyes and cutting him off from
her sight, but she knew that that would be cowardly. So,
unflinchingly, she returned an unweaving gaze.

To Slater, she appeared poised and
self-confidant. So much so, that he had the urge to rattle her cage
a bit. He stuck her sunglasses in his pocket. There was no way that
he was going to let her hide behind those purple lenses. Besides,
the eyes are the windows to the soul and he intended to reach all
the way to her center without any interference. So, let the
courting begin.

Grabbing Swan’s hand, Slater pulled her to
her feet. Not letting go of her soft extremity, he yanked her along
behind him with her tugging all the way. To let go would have
assumed that she would follow and he wasn’t taking any chances.

In an agitated voice she asked, “Where are we
going?”

“
Out!” was all the information that he
divulged.

Slater told his office manager to cancel all
calls for the day and continued walking briskly toward the front
entrance pulling a reluctant Swan behind him. To her credit, she
didn’t bat an eyelash as though dragging beautiful women through
his office was a common day occurrence.

Throwing open the massive glass doors of his
business firm he pulled Swan out into the bright sunlight. A slight
sob behind him got his attention. Whipping his head around, he
could see that Swan was stiff as a soldier with one hand covering
her closed eyes. Slater immediately assessed the problem and guided
her into a shady area.

“
Oh hell, Babe--- I am so sorry,” he
whisper softly into her ear as he drew her to him and tried to
shield her body from the sunlight as he reached for those damn
purple glasses.

A few minutes later, Slater had maneuvered
Swan into a small French restaurant with soft lighting. Having
ordered a trendy French wine and placed an order for both of them,
Slater asked, “Have you taken your meds today?”

He was so demanding that it was on the tip of
her tongue to clip back that she had not. But, at the risk of
antagonizing him farther and causing another massive headache for
her, she replied in the affirmative. At the same time, she thought
that next time she would order her own damn lunch!

Searching her face, he appeared satisfied.
Never one to beat around the bush, Slater did not mince words with
his next question. “So, when did you get your sight back?”

“
When” had been bugging Slater for some
time. In his mind, it was settled. He expected her to say, “In the
hospital at Breckenridge.” Why else would she have taken off
without a word left behind for him? In his mind she owed him an
explanation. What she did reply rather surprise him.

With an unwavering look, she answered his
question, “During the birth of my son.” She could have said “our”
son, but she chose not to do so.

“
Was the father there?” he continued to
grill.

“
No,” was the only answer
forthcoming.

Slater’s emotions were churning. When he
found out who the son of a bitch was that left this blind woman to
work things out on her own, he was going to have a confrontation
that would not be pretty. Swan was given a reprieve from
elaborating as the waiter delivered their pasta at just that
moment. She felt so relieved that she could have blown the waiter a
kiss.

Just as Swan was feeling a little mellow from
the French wine, Slater asked a rather personal question in spite
of the fact that they once made love and made a child together.
“What do you have on under that plum thing?”

Swan should have known that Slater would
continue to keep her unbalanced with his method of questions. She
suddenly had the urge to pull the lapels of her suit closer
together, but resisted and only managed to squeak out, “Excuse
me?”

“
You heard me.”

“
Underwear, what do you think women
wear under their clothing. What do YOU have on under that black
thing?”

Amused at her come back, he answered with,
“Nothing.” He knew that that would shut her up as he watched her
clamp her jaws closed.

Having paid the bill he stated, “You need to
rest and relax this afternoon.”

Dragging Swan to a nearby swimsuit shop,
Slater began snapping orders at the little young clerk. Swan stood
stoically near the door wondering if she could make a mad dash from
the store and disappear among the natives and tourists. He told her
to stay put and she was just spunky enough not to do so. Sighing,
she discarded the idea of fleeing knowing full well that he would
find her and probably yank her all the way to his car. He knew
exactly what he wanted in the swimsuit department and they were
soon heading for the beach.

They walked along the boardwalk to the boat
alcove behind the restaurant. The yachts, sailboats, and cigar
speedboats were all lined up and parked in their individual slots.
Slater headed for his medium sized sailboat. His sharp eyes
flickered over what was probably a drug boat parked in the slip
four docks down. The double motors on the back were a dead give
away for quick departures when needed. He made a mental note to
alert the Coast Guard to get an ID, but their cargo had probably
long ago been dispose of in the smarmy underworld of Los
Angeles.

Slater’s sailboat was small enough that a
crew was not needed and he could sail it by himself. It was his
relaxation and recreation. He enjoyed the soft wind and quiet
solitude when he needed to regroup. Sometimes he would take a date,
but mostly he enjoyed the isolated sport by himself. Today, he
needed to regroup and get away. The boat was a perfect place for
Swan to spend the afternoon relaxing in the hazy sun of overcast
clouds while he sailed out to sea.

Slater helped Swan into “The Mystic” and led
her to a soft canvas seat.

“
Sit,” he demanded.

Disgruntled, she asked, “Do you have a
dog?”

“
Yes, why?”

“
Perhaps you could practice your
commands on him,” she replied quite sweetly.

The corners of Slater’s mouth twitched as he
pulled up the billowy sails, unwound the rope from the iron anvil,
pulled up the anchor, riveted up the motor, and slowly began the
voyage out to the placid Pacific. The ocean was calm and many boats
dotted the horizon. Some were fishing, some were boating, but most
were just enjoying the lovely fall day. Colorful hot air balloons
filled the sky above as if they too knew that the weather was
perfect for their outing. It was peaceful and quiet.

Slater handed Swan the swimsuit package. “Go
below and put this on, I’ll adjust the seats so that you can lie in
the sun while I sail the boat.”

Swan was getting a little uncomfortable in
her plum suit and the prospect of resting on the chaise lounge in
warm sunshine with a cool ocean breeze was very appealing. So, she
did as ordered and told herself not to make a habit of it.

Below deck was a galley with a small
stainless steel kitchen and a small cozy living space. One bedroom
with a mini-shower was at the end of the boat. Swan went into the
bedroom and shut the door where she began to change into the newly
purchased bathing suit.

Pulling out the knot of hair at the base of
her neck, Swan took a moment to fluff it. She then shook the small
bathing suit out of the bag. It was a pretty skimpy bikini, but at
least it was not a thong. Although she was used to being almost
naked in her profession, she probably would not have chosen one
quite so revealing to wear on an outing with a man; especially,
Slater. It was black. It was much too small to be anything but very
basic. The bottom covered her backside crack--- just barely, and
the front was only an inch above her pubic hair. The top covered
her nipples with small triangles, but the rest of her breasts were
bare. At the bottom of the sack was a pair of very large sunglasses
with dark red rims. How charming, she thought, the glasses are
bigger than the swimsuit.

Swan entered the lower deck with a towel
wrapped around her near naked body. In one hand she carried some
suntan lotion and in the other a glass of ice tea. As she reached
the chaise lounge, she let the towel float to the deck and began
rubbing lotion all over her body very slowly and very thoroughly.
First, she rubbed the slick liquid over her neck and down her arms.
She then dropped the straps and spread it over her full globes and
slowly under the small triangles. After she had covered the top of
her body to her satisfaction, she began a descent downward over her
belly button and onto her flat stomach in spite of having birthed a
child. Then, with extreme slowness, she ran her finger under the
edge of the bikini bottom before she continued down her long legs.
She never glanced at Slater, but she knew he was watching. The show
was his punishment for the choice of such a small bikini.

Slater was indeed watching. Swan’s traveling
palms over her sexy body made his lower body region react in
extreme pain. He had followed the entire journey that each palm and
finger made and he was beginning to be very uncomfortable. He felt
like he was watching a porn movie and he could not remove his
hypnotic stare from the amazing performance. PERFORMANCE!!! His
eyes narrowed, he suddenly realized that the little minx was
totally enjoying the stir she knew she was creating. He suspected
that her goal was to make him as uncomfortable as possible. She was
successful. When they got a little farther out and away from prying
eyes, paybacks would be in order.

Slater had been watching Swan snooze in the
warm sun for over an hour. He knew that she wasn’t as well as she
needed to be, but that didn’t keep him from fantasizing what he was
going to do to her delectable body once they were a little farther
out to sea where nosy eyes from other sailors would not be anywhere
around. If she thought that she could tease and tempt without
getting a reaction from him, she was sadly mistaken.

Having secured the anchor and turned off the
engine, Slater descended the stairs to the lower deck. He changed
earlier before they left into comfortable cutoffs and deck shoes.
He remained shirtless as it made him more comfortable and free. It
showed off his muscular tan torso and upper body. His back muscles
rippled with each activity that he was doing. He had a bumpy tummy
with a dusting of black chest hair that narrowed past his waist;
then, continued in a straight line past the waistband of his
shorts. He had well formed legs and a cute muscular butt to go with
all the above. None of which Swan had missed.

Swan had turned over on her stomach a few
minutes ago and had quickly fallen to sleep again with the rocking
of the boat. She was startled when Slater sat down beside her,
leaned over, and whispered in her ear, “You missed a spot,” as he
began rubbing lotion on the top of her shoulders.

Unhooking the tie of her bikini and getting
no objection, Slater proceeded down Swan’s back to her buttock.
Dipping his finger under the edge of her swimsuit, he ran his
fingers along it as he had watched her do earlier. When his fingers
touched the crease between her cheeks, she gasped and flipped over
holding the top triangles in one hand in place. Their eyes
locked.

Expecting some sort of indignation, he was
surprised to hear her say, “I think the weather has change.”

Sure enough, Slater looked up at the clouds.
They were ominous, black, and billowing. Slater swore. A storm was
due soon, perhaps in the next fifteen minutes or so. It was never
smart to get caught out on the ocean during a storm. It had come up
suddenly and unexpectantly, but it was irresponsible of him to have
gotten distracted from the gathering of the dark clouds by Swan’s
siren body. He chastised himself as he realized that he had not
called in for a weather report. The wind quickly picked up and blew
over Swan’s glass of tea. The waves were beginning to look foamy
and thanks to thinking with his dick, they were farther from land
than they should be. Shouting orders at Swan, he ascended the
stairs to the second deck. Pulling up the anchor, he pointed the
nose of “The Mystic” toward the shore mustering as much power as he
could while still keeping her smooth and steady.