Ivorie's Surprise [Golden Dolphin] (Siren Publishing Classic) (13 page)

Finally he said, “Can we talk now?”

“I guess we had better because I can’t stand this. I can’t stand to see you look like this. I’d rather have you be your usual, obnoxious self than look so sad.”

Drew took her hand and led her out of the office and onto the deck. “I’m sorry, Ivorie. I never meant to hurt you. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and looking at myself, and I don’t particularly like what I see. I don’t really know how it happened—how I got so wrapped up in myself that I didn’t see anyone else—until you. Can you forgive me and give me another chance?”

She just looked at him with tears streaming down her face. He pulled her into his arms and said, “Oh, baby. Don’t cry.”

“I’m not crying. I swore I’d never let you make me cry again.”

He wiped the tears from her cheeks with a gentle finger, put it to his lips, and licked the tears off the tip. Then he smiled at her. “Okay, if you say so.”

“I say so.”

* * * *

Drew pulled her roughly into his arms and held on tight. He buried his face in her neck and breathed in the light scent of jasmine and Ivorie and sighed a huge sigh of relief. He knew he had a way to go before all his fences were mended here, but at least she was willing to listen.

“I have some very strong feelings for you, Ivorie. I haven’t sorted them all out yet, and I can’t say where they’re going, but I know they are powerful. I’ve had some doubts about my own judgment lately. After all, I’m the fool who asked Eugenia Cartwright to marry him. That was a major error in judgment.”

“She’s very beautiful, and she’s an excellent actress when she wants to be. I can see how she could fool anyone she wanted something from.”

“Still. If an employee had fucked up so royally, I’d have his or her head on a platter.” He kissed her cheek and laughed. “And then I’d throw it overboard. I haven’t figured out yet why I didn’t see through her sooner—like before I put a ring on her finger.” He sat on the lounge and pulled her down beside him. “About what I said on the dock. It was ill advised, but I really was just trying to redirect Eugenia’s anger away from you. I didn’t want her to focus on you as the cause of all of her problems. I can see now that she’s unbalanced. So, do you think we can try this again? Maybe take it a little slower and give us both a chance to figure this out?” He took her hand in his and squeezed. “Will you take another chance on me?”

“Okay. I think we can try again. I think it’s certainly worth a try, but you are right about one thing. It got too intense too quickly. Let’s take a little time to sort it out.”

“Did we just have our first fight? Does that mean I don’t get any makeup sex?” he asked with a grin as she punched him in the arm.

“Yes, we did, and that’s exactly what it means!” She pushed against his chest and got off the lounge. She walked to the office door and opened it before she turned back to him. “You really are a piece of work, Mr. Blessingame.”

“Call me Drew.” He laughed and followed her back into the office.

The ship departed Tobago on schedule at four o’clock. Ivorie and Drew sat on his deck, had a glass of wine, and watched the sun go down. Afterward they dressed for dinner. Ivorie changed into a short, low-cut, sparkly red cocktail dress and red high-heeled pumps. She needed all the confidence she could garner to face the crowd in the lounge on the top deck. Drew wore another pair of his favored well-tailored black slacks and a loose white linen shirt.

When she came out of the bathroom after donning her red dress, Drew was waiting for her in the sitting room of the suite. He gestured for her to come and sit in his lap. When she did, he turned her facing away from him and kissed the back of her neck. She felt something cool come around her neck as he fumbled with a catch under her hair.
What is he up to?
She tried to turn toward him, but he held her still.

“This is something I got for you in St. Bart’s before all the problems. I want you to have it, and I don’t want any arguments.”

“What is it?” She put her hand up to her throat and felt round beads that spun and moved on her neck but that were not smooth like pearls. They were interspersed with rough disks. She was intrigued. When she got up to look in the mirror, she gasped. A necklace of large black pearls, separated by pavé diamond spacers, was around her neck. When she looked closer, she saw that the pearls were not smooth but were carved with intricate designs, and each one had a different pattern on it. “Drew? What are these? I can’t accept this necklace.”

“Ivorie, I told you no arguments. They are a gift, and that’s nonnegotiable. To answer your question, they’re carved black Tahitian pearls by Galatea. I hope you like them.”

She ran back into the living room and threw herself into his lap, laughing. She flung her arms around his neck and said, “I love them. They are just absolutely gorgeous. I’m sure they are far too expensive for me to accept, but I don’t care! I’ve never seen anything like them. Thank you.” She kissed him hard.
Every girl has the right to change her mind
.

“And you won’t. Each pearl is unique, and no two in the necklace have the same design. I chose each pearl for the necklace individually for its pattern and luster. I went back to the store while you were trying on clothes at that boutique. I had them deliver it to the ship while we were having lunch. And then the shit hit the fan.”

She had to laugh at that. The shit had certainly hit the fan. She ran her fingers over the pearls again. They were definitely the most beautiful piece of jewelry she owned. She had her white pearls from high school graduation, a diamond pendant from her grandparents for her twenty-first birthday, diamond stud earrings, and other miscellaneous pieces, but none of them held a candle to these. They were a lustrous dark gray with peacock green and aubergine overtones. The light danced off the surface of the pearls and sparkled off the diamond spacers in between.

“Let’s go upstairs and celebrate. I know everyone is anxious to see you. They’ve all been worried.”

When they came through the door onto the deck, there was a spontaneous burst of applause from all of the passengers gathered there.

Ivorie turned a bright shade of pink. Jenni hugged her tightly and said, “I knew you’d figure it out and come to your senses. I’m not saying you should cut him too much slack, but he deserves another chance. And I
love
the pearls by the way.”

“You’re right. But he’s going to have to work for it. I think that’s the only thing he respects,” Ivorie said softly so as not to be overheard.

“Possibly. But I think he’s learned something from this.”

“Did you know about the pearls?”

“He told me about them in St. Bart’s while you were in the ladies’ room. He was excited and couldn’t wait to give them to you. I knew you’d love them. They are very special.” Jenni turned in time to see her husband give Drew a hearty slap on the back before he leaned in to say something private to Drew and grinned. She turned to her husband and said, “What did you tell him?”

“I told him not to fuck it up again.” Chris grinned at his wife. Chris ordered a bottle of champagne and shoved Drew down onto a chair. Ivorie could see that Drew was too relieved that things seemed to be working out to be embarrassed by all of the attention they were getting. He pulled Ivorie down onto his lap and held her close to his chest while he whispered in her ear. “Can you see all of these people giving a damn about Eugenia?”

“No. You’re right about that. She certainly doesn’t engender a warm fuzzy feeling in anyone.”

After dinner and an evening of dancing and drinking in the lounge, the excitement of receiving her pearl necklace, and all the turmoil of the last two days, Ivorie was exhausted.

Ivorie had every intention of sleeping in her own bed that night. She knew that Drew, of course, had other plans. She could see the plot to change her mind forming as though in a bubble above his head, and she thought she would cut him off at the pass. “No. I’m sleeping in my own cabin. I’ll see you for breakfast in the morning. We have a couple of days at sea to spend together. Remember, we were going to try and take it a little slower?”

“Please, baby? I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since Tuesday. I just want to feel you cuddled up next to me. I can behave if I have to.” He gave her the sad puppy dog look, and she was lost. There was no way she could hold out against the look in his eyes.

“Just sleep? I’m really tired, Drew. All of this turmoil has worn me out emotionally and physically.”

“I promise. No fooling around tonight. I make no promises about tomorrow morning though,” he said. That unrepentant bad-boy grin was more than she could resist, and she followed him back to the Master Suite.

They settled down on the sofa in the sitting room of the suite. They were both too tired to talk, and after another half glass of wine for Ivorie and a short brandy for Drew, they went to bed. True to his word, Drew pulled her into his arms, threw his leg over hers, and fell into a deep and apparently dreamless sleep. Ivorie sighed deeply and relaxed back against his chest. This was where she wanted to be more than anywhere else. She knew she loved him. She just didn’t know if that would be enough to surmount the challenges she saw ahead. But she surely wanted to try. A happy life with Drew was a prize worth fighting for. A happy life for Drew was her fondest wish. She just hoped she could help him get there. Ivorie, too, fell into a deep and dreamless sleep, happy and secure for the moment. Yesterday, she never would have thought it possible.

The
Golden Dolphin
—International Waters off South America, October 12, 2013—Saturday Morning, Day Seven of the Cruise

Drew had recently gotten into the habit of getting up early and watching the sun rise over the ocean. The sunlight sparkled off the wave caps and shimmered on the walls and ceilings of the opulent Master Suite like diamond dust. Saturday morning he rolled over and saw that Ivorie was still fast asleep, one rosy, naked buttock uncovered. Her hair was a tangled golden mass on his pillow. He allowed himself the luxury of pulling her up tight against his chest, cupping one of her breasts in his hand, and going back to sleep. Last night he had enjoyed the best night’s sleep he’d had in days, and he knew it was because Ivorie was beside him. He realized he didn’t want her to be anywhere else. She belonged with him. Now he just had to convince her of that, and he knew he had his work cut out for him. He had a lot of harsh words and unhappy memories to overwrite.

When he awakened again a few hours later, he felt his rampant morning erection nudging her bottom. They hadn’t made love in days, and his body was aching for her. He nibbled on the back of her neck and blew gently into her ear. She shook her head as though chasing away a pesky mosquito. He continued the torture until her eyes blinked open, and she looked over her shoulder at him and said sleepily, “You’re dangerous in the morning and far too frisky.”

He nipped her naked shoulder and ran his hand down the curve of her hip as he pulled her in against the steel hardness of his shaft until it nestled against her butt. Her body arched back against him and a surge of electricity raced down his spine.

* * * *

Ivorie turned her head, her lips seeking his, her body seeking his heat. He raised her leg and slid into her from behind. Her body welcomed him as the heat of his skin burned into her back, and a flare of desire shot through her system. She moaned as he began to stroke her long and slow, and the strength of his erection pulsed inside her. She cried out, begging for release as her inner flesh melted around him. Although she urged him on, meeting his thrusts with movements of her own, he refused to increase his speed. He continued his slow, easy pace. Finally, her desperate moans encouraged him to pick up the pace, and he began to pound into her with a strong and powerful rhythm. The walls of her vagina clenched as she cried out her pleasure, and her orgasm crashed through her like waves on the shore. She felt him follow her over the edge as a searing orgasm jolted through him. Ivorie felt a moment of apprehension when she realized it was the first time they had not used a condom. They lay sandwiched together as the shockwaves of feeling continued to wash over them.

* * * *

When they had risen and showered, Drew ordered coffee and breakfast to be served on the deck. The sun was glancing off the waves in a blinding show as the ship continued south along the coast of what he knew was South America although they were too far off shore to see the jungle. He watched his trusty GPS as they made their way south toward the mouth of the Amazon River where they would turn inland and follow the river some nine hundred miles into the interior. He thought it might be a good time to broach a sensitive subject with Ivorie.

“Babe, when we get to Manaus, I’ve been invited to spend the night at a working rubber plantation upriver. It’s owned by a friend of Jamie Devereau, Wolfgang Schultz. He’s a member of Jamie’s club in New Orleans, Le Club Beaudelaire. Jamie tells me it’s a very interesting old house and has a fabulous dungeon. A few people from the ship are going.” Drew looked at her nervously to gage her reaction before continuing. “I have to warn you though, it will be a high-protocol D/s occasion. Jamie went to a lot of trouble arranging the invitation, so it would be rude of me not to go. I really hope you’ll want to go with me and be my sub. If you don’t want to go, I’ll understand, but I think it would be a good opportunity for you to try out the D/s thing and also to see some of the Brazilian interior.” He waited anxiously for her response.