Ivorie's Surprise [Golden Dolphin] (Siren Publishing Classic) (10 page)

The first lightly stinging strike landed full across her round, dimpled butt. “One, Master.” He landed eight more hits on her butt, her upper back and across her thighs before the last one came down square on her butt again. “Ten, Master.” His last strike precipitated an orgasm that crashed through her system like a rogue wave. It visibly flowed through her muscles.

Before she had completely recovered, Con knelt down behind her and applied more lotion to her back, bottom, and thighs as she hung helplessly from the bars of the cross. Then he quickly released her restraints and picked her up in his arms. He sat immediately in a leather chair in the corner and gestured for one of the soft, light blue blankets. He wrapped her carefully and held her on his lap as he gently smoothed the little tendrils of red hair from her forehead and spoke softly for her ears only. Natasha efficiently moved the passengers out of the dungeon and left Con alone with Casey.

* * * *

Ivorie and Drew retired to the Master Suite. They both stripped and sat in the private hot tub on his deck. He pulled Ivorie into the vee of his thighs and proceeded to massage her stiff shoulders. “Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?”

“I have to say that was scary. You wouldn’t do that to me, would you? I mean, if I agreed to try the D/s thing?”

“I might. Depending on if you earned a punishment that severe. But remember, again, it really wasn’t that severe. Con is an expert Dom. He knows how to use all of the leather impact toys. There was no broken skin…”

“Toys? That was a toy?” She was astounded and horrified.

“They are called toys, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t serious implements and that the Dom doesn’t need to be well trained and careful in the use of any whips or other items of that nature. You saw that he never struck her lower back so as not to injure her kidneys.” She could tell he was trying to speak very clearly and carefully. He didn’t want to frighten her, but he wasn’t trying to gloss over the subject either. She could respect that. “My preferred method of punishment is an old-fashioned, over-the-knee spanking with my bare hand. I find that the most satisfying and sensual method, for both me and my sub. If you did something totally stupid that endangered your safety, I might use a more severe method of correction. I would not expect that to be necessary.”

Ivorie shook her head. She didn’t know if she could agree to this. While, much to her chagrin, she had found herself aroused, she didn’t like the idea that it had affected her in that way. She had to think about this a little more before she agreed to participate in a D/s scene.

They went to bed, and Drew pulled her into the security of his arms, cuddled her close, and told her to just go to sleep. After they had been in bed for a while, Ivorie awoke trembling from a bad dream in which Drew was going to beat her with a whip. He soothed her gently and quietly began rocking her in his arms until she calmed down and went back to sleep.

He laid awake for over an hour thinking as he held her. He knew he was developing feelings for Ivorie, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. The sour taste of Eugenia still lingered on his tongue.

The
Golden Dolphin
—in International Waters, October 9, 2013—Very Early Wednesday Morning, Day Four of the Cruise

Drew and Ivorie woke up early and went out onto the deck. The sun had not yet completely risen. Drew had the GPS app up on his iPhone and was monitoring the ship’s progress. As they waited for breakfast to be delivered, they drank their first cups of coffee and watched St. Maarten island slip by on the starboard side. A little while later, they entered the Caribbean Sea. It looked like the ship would anchor in the outer harbor at St. Bart’s on time at ten o’clock. Ivorie had awakened cheerful with no bad effects from her nightmare. Drew was relieved. That had really scared him, and he didn’t want to be responsible for Ivorie having nightmares in his bed.

“So, do you want to go ashore and attack the shops on St. Bart’s?” He smiled at her. He wanted to erase any bad memories of the night before, although the tacky Key West souvenir shops had not faded from his memory.

“You bet! From what I understand, they are a lot better than the shops in Key West.”

“Well, that remains to be seen, but let’s check them out. We can be on the first tender to the dock, shop, have lunch, and get back in time to relax by the pool for the afternoon with an adult beverage. There might even be time for some ‘afternoon delight.’” He grinned at her hopefully.

“You’re crazy, you know that—not to mention insatiable. I never would have thought it four days ago! I’ll go back to my cabin and get dressed, and then I think I’ll check in at the office just in case. Maybe we can go after that. How about eleven o’clock or so?”

“That would be good. The captain has to take all passenger and crew passports and the ship’s documentation into the harbormaster’s office before anyone can get off the ship.”

* * * *

Ivorie changed into a pair of navy-blue walking shorts, white T-shirt, and her old comfortable Top-Sider boat shoes. She pulled her hair back into a loose French braid and grabbed her shoulder bag and a pair of sunglasses before she went through the connecting door into the office. Then she sorted through the overnight e-mails, disposed of all the spam, and forwarded a few items to Drew’s iPhone.
Geez, even out here there is junk e-mail
. She got up and made herself another cup of coffee in her mini Keurig coffeemaker, and then she sat at her desk for a few minutes to think about the 180-degree turn things had taken in just four days. If she wasn’t living it, she wouldn’t believe it herself.

She had to wonder if the Drew she had come to know since she had boarded the
Golden Dolphin
was the same person she had known in New York. She giggled to herself. Maybe the real Drew Blessingame had been snatched by aliens, and they left an imposter behind. That seemed just about as likely as Mr. Blessingame becoming human, actually laughing, and making wild love with her. Yikes! She’d made wild love and actually slept with Mr. Blessingame. She couldn’t process these facts. She certainly had some thinking to do, mainly about how she was going to handle this when they returned to New York. She knew it would be a major letdown to return to the office and the way things had been before. She knew it would break her heart to see the lighthearted smile and the dimples leave his face as he became the prickly, demanding, dour man he had been before. Maybe it would be time to change jobs. It was something to consider, although the possibility didn’t please her. She was afraid she was falling in love with Drew Blessingame.

Carl Gustaf Hotel and Spa, Gustavia, St. Barthelemy Island, October 9, 2013—Wednesday Morning

Eugenia had picked Frank Conklin up at the airport in Gustavia on Tuesday evening. He was currently having breakfast on her balcony and watching the harbor for the
Golden Dolphin
. The crystal blue water of the horseshoe-shaped harbor, dotted with sailboats and motor launches at anchor, was spread out below them. They had talked it out and decided that if Eugenia was able to get aboard the boat and back into Drew’s bed and good graces, she would pay Frank a lump sum of $20,000. This would be payment for any and all help she needed to achieve her mission, whether it could be accomplished in St. Bart’s or whether they had to follow the ship further. If she wasn’t successful, she would pay his travel expenses, and he could chalk it up to a good vacation in the Caribbean. She’d had to explain to him that maintaining her lifestyle was an investment in her future success. It took virtually all of the dividends from her trust fund, and her parents were not forthcoming with advances from principle. They thought she should be able to live on the income, but she couldn’t hope to attract the kind of husband she wanted if she was skimping along on a budget.

“Have you seen anything yet?” She walked out onto the balcony and stood up against the railing. The brisk breeze was blowing through her midnight-black hair and plastering her royal blue robe up against her body.

“I think that enormous boat out in the outer harbor might be it.” He picked up the binoculars on the table next to him and focused in on the ship. “Yeah, it looks like the name on the side is the
Golden Dolphin
. The helicopter just took off from the top deck and landed in the parking lot over there. I think that building is the harbormaster’s office.”

“Yes, that makes sense. They would have to check in there before anyone got off the boat. Keep an eye on it. I want to know when people start coming ashore. I’m going to get dressed and get down near the dock. We can see if Drew comes ashore. We’ll just watch, and then maybe I’ll be able to talk to him at the dock. And quit looking at me like that.” Frank’s heated gaze was starting to get under her skin. She wasn’t about to give him access to her body and pay him twenty grand on top of it. She’d spent the majority of the day yesterday in the hotel’s spa getting buffed and primped. She’d had a haircut, facial, massage, manicure, and pedicure, and she felt ready to take on Drew Blessingame.
We’ll see who has the balls here, baby. We will indeed
.

Drew and Ivorie enjoyed the morning walking around Gustavia checking out some of the St. Bart’s designer shops, including Cartier, Vanita Rosa, and Bijoux de la Mer, and then joined Chris and Jenni Turner and some other couples from the boat at an outdoor café for lunch. They had enjoyed the French flavor of the island and the colorful inhabitants and tourists from all over the world. The harbor full of boats and the green hillsides full of colorful vacation villas were picturesque. It was a high-end location, very popular with celebrities, and had a lot to offer in the way of expensive goods. Drew had ordered a carved-black-pearl and diamond necklace and matching bracelet for Ivorie to be delivered to the ship as a surprise.

“What did you buy, Ivorie? I got some killer perfume—guaranteed to turn my man here into a raving caveman. At least that’s what the store clerk said.” Jennie laughed. “She didn’t know he already is one!”

“I got a bottle of Jasmin Noir perfume and some body lotion. I also got some more T-shirts for the kids.”

“I didn’t know you had kids! How old are they?”

“No, no. They are for my niece and nephew.” Drew could see that Ivorie was embarrassed and didn’t know what to say. It was obvious to Drew that the Turners thought they were a married couple.

“Ivorie and I aren’t married yet. No kids!” He didn’t know why he had said that, especially when she looked at him like he was crazy. Maybe he was. He wasn’t sure he could trust his own feelings and instincts since he had made such a major miscalculation in his relationship with Eugenia. That lack of perception on his part had really shaken his confidence in his own judgment.

Jenni laughed to ease the moment. “We’ve got three kids—Chris, Jr. is twelve, Jimmy is ten, and Katie is eight. They’re staying with my parents while we’re on this anniversary cruise. Three kids in the house kind of cuts down on opportunities to be alone, if you know what I mean. They always seem to know when Mom and Dad would like some time alone and manage to foil the best-laid plans.”

* * * *

Ivorie watched as Drew signed the credit card receipt and stood up. “Ready, Ivorie? We need to get back to the ship.” The intimate smile he gave her had her heart beating fast and her lady parts tingling. When he turned that smile up to full blast, it was devastating.

As they headed back toward the dock, she said, “What is the hurry? I thought you were done with the Riverstone contracts, and I was going to scan and e-mail your final comments back to New York tomorrow morning.”

“I just want to be alone with you this afternoon. Maybe we can spend some time in my hot tub and sunbathing on my deck. Private time.” It was clear he had romance on his mind.

“That sounds good. I’ll check in at the office for a minute, grab my bathing suit, and come up to your suite.”

He seemed to hesitate. “Why don’t you just have the steward move your things into the Master Suite?”

* * * *

“Drew, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Why don’t we wait a little bit on that?”

He hadn’t planned to make that move just yet, but something in him had been pushing him in that direction for a while. He was stunned. The last thing he had expected was that Ivorie would turn him down. He had thought he was beginning to feel a definite tenderness in her attitude toward him over the last two days. She had certainly warmed up since Saturday.

They had arrived at the dock, and he was about to help her board the tender when he felt a hand on his arm. He turned around and found himself face to face with Eugenia Cartwright. Her face was red and angry. Apparently she had overheard the last bit of conversation between himself and Ivorie.

“You bastard! Have you been sleeping with this little slut all this time?”

“Eugenia, what are you doing here?” He was shocked. She was the last person he had expected or wanted to see.

“I wanted to talk to you and see if we couldn’t patch things up. Obviously, you’re otherwise engaged—while we’re engaged.” She had apparently conveniently forgotten that their engagement was broken.