Ivorie's Surprise [Golden Dolphin] (Siren Publishing Classic) (22 page)

“Hold your breath.” He pulled her further into the waterfall, before they entered into a small cavern on the other side. Ivorie looked around in amazement. “Did you know this was here?”

“No, but I was hoping it was. No one can see in here. It’s totally private.” He pulled her back into his arms and kissed her silly. She didn’t know how she was ever going to be able to give this man up. He had crept into her heart and her soul. She couldn’t believe it herself, but he was the most passionate, sweet, and caring man…She just couldn’t believe he was Drew Blessingame.

He pulled her down onto a flat, moss-covered rock and kissed her again. He ran his tongue down her neck, following the valley between her breasts. He sucked first one chilly, puckered nipple and then the other. His hot mouth on her icy skin felt exquisite. He licked the droplets of water from her breasts. She ran her hands over his shoulders, down his well-muscled back and butt, and pulled him as close as two naked, slippery, wet bodies could get. He put a little space between them and continued his exploration of her silky skin. Finally his mouth was over her aching core, his hot breath teasing the still-cold, delicate skin. He ran his tongue around her tingling clit and plunged his tongue into her quivering pussy. She smiled in anticipation of the pleasure she knew he would bring her. She was aching for him. He made love to her with his mouth, pleasuring her until she whimpered with need.

Finally she could stand no more. “Make love to me, Drew. I need you.” She wanted his hard, demanding cock inside her now as her arousal spun out of control.

* * * *

Drew rolled on the condom he had grabbed from his jeans pocket, and then he entered her hot, steamy inner channel with a strong surge. Instinct had taken over. He had a primitive need to claim this woman for his own, brand her with his passion and the dangerous beast lurking between his thighs. He was beyond reason as he felt her tight muscles convulse around his pulsing cock. He felt his balls tighten as he blasted over the edge. He continued to piston his hips until she joined him in an intense climax, and they were both lost in the pleasure of their joined bodies.

When the storm had passed, they lay cuddled against each other on the hard, mossy surface. He tried to share his warmth with her, but he could feel her cool skin against his chest. “Are you okay, babe? Maybe we should get out of here and get dressed. I don’t want you to get sick.”

At her nodded assent, he poked his head out of the waterfall and took a quick look around to be sure no one had found their hideaway. He was relieved to see they were still alone. He picked her up in his arms and carried her back through the curtain of crashing water and back into the pool. He put her down on the rock and dried her off with his T-shirt.

“Drew, I’m okay. You’ll have to put on a wet shirt.”

“Small price to pay for one of the best experiences of my life.”

She laughed shyly. “Mine, too. I think I’ll be telling my grandchildren about their crazy grandmother’s wild experience under a waterfall someday.”

That gave him pause for thought.
And who is the grandfather going to be? It better be me!

* * * *

Ivorie and Drew spent the remainder of the afternoon at a secluded, but unfortunately not deserted, beach at the bottom of the mountain. They snorkeled and lay in the sun on big, bright-colored beach towels. They napped and relaxed until it was time to return to the ship. They showered together in the opulent bathroom of the Master Suite and dressed for dinner in Old San Juan where they had a traditional Puerto Rican dinner. They enjoyed a chicken and rice dish called
arroz con pollo
, fried plantains called
tostones
, and mashed fried green plantains called
mofongo.
The delicious, strong coffee was grown in the hills of Puerto Rico, and the fresh roasted beans were ground at their table just before the coffee was brewed. It was a fabulous meal. After dinner, they enjoyed walking the streets of the old city, listening to the street musicians, and browsing the shops that were open late into the evening before they returned to the ship. Ivorie knew it was a night they would both remember.

“Thank you for a wonderful day, Drew. It was one of the high points of the entire trip.”

“My pleasure. I know it’s one I’ll never forget.”

In her private thoughts, Ivorie wondered what would happen when the trip was over and they returned to New York and their day-to-day lives. Would they have nothing but their wonderful memories? Or would they be able to bridge the gap to the everyday world?

Key West Harbor, Key West, Florida, October 29, 2013–Tuesday Afternoon, Day Twenty-Four, Last Day of the Cruise

Ivorie was in the office boxing computer equipment and files to be shipped back to the office in New York. Breaking down the office seemed to be a bigger job than it had been originally to set it up. She knew that Drew was up on his deck doing a final read through of the Riverstone contracts and reviewing another prospectus of a promising shopping center property in Connecticut. She now had a more realistic idea of the work he actually did. Previously, her view of him was that he spent his time making everyone else miserable when, in fact, he worked harder than anyone else. It was a new perspective. She hoped she could retain this more benevolent view of Mr. Blessingame when they were back in the office.

She had left one computer and printer connected in case she needed to print anything else before Drew left the ship. He was scheduled to return to New York that evening, and she was scheduled to follow on Wednesday afternoon after she had completed the breakdown of the office and arranged for the shipment of all the files and equipment. Ivorie was torn between being ready for the trip of a lifetime to be over—a treasured memory—and never wanting it to end. She was anxious to pick up her Yorkie, Annie, from her grandmother and sleep in her own bed again, although she would definitely miss cuddling in Drew’s arms. She knew she had to return to real life and that things between herself and Drew were destined to change. She just hoped they would not revert completely to the way they had been before the trip. She was really ambivalent about her return to New York.

She checked her e-mail and found yet one more set of revised pages for the Riverstone contracts from the Legal Department. She printed them out for Drew and rose to take them up to him in the Master Suite. When she opened the door to the cabin, she heard his voice. She realized he must be on his iPhone, so she was quiet as she walked toward the open door to the deck.

* * * *

Drew had his iPhone cradled between his shoulder and ear as he continued to mark up the contract. “Jamie, I have to say this was a fabulous trip. The boat is magnificent, and I’m really glad you talked me out of cancelling. I’ll definitely be taking another cruise.”

“I told you you’d love it. It’s too bad you had to miss the shakedown wedding cruise. We had a ball. I think this venture is going to be a real winner for Devereau Shipping. So, did you meet any interesting new subs?”

“No, no new subs. I did have an interesting liaison with the admin I brought along.” Drew laughed delightedly. His relationship with Ivorie was too new to quantify. He had a feeling it was going to be intense, and possibly permanent, but he wasn’t ready to tell that to Jamie, who was a born romantic and a newlywed and thought everyone should be as happy as he was.

“You dog you. See, I told you, life as you knew it pre-Eugenia is not gone forever. You just had to get back on the horse and regain your emotional balance. How did the office in the twin cabin work out? I’ll have to remember to offer that solution to other passengers in the future.”

“Well, I definitely got back on that horse. Enough said about that subject. It was definitely a convenience. I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy myself and get all this work done as well, and I didn’t have to feel guilty about it.” He laughed again. “I don’t know how I feel about the whole thing. I’m still really doubting my judgment. That I got so close to marrying Eugenia is a kick in the head. I have to wonder if I can trust my judgment not to let my emotions—or God forbid my johnson—get in the way of a smart decision.”

He filled Jamie in on what had transpired with Eugenia, the kidnapping of Ivorie in the Santarém market, and the final disposition of the matter in Manaus. “Your crew handled the situation like pros. Greg Dempsey and his special crew were totally on top of it. The blue bracelets were a stroke of genius. Con Cortelis handled the aftermath like a diplomat. He dealt with Eugenia’s father firmly but politely when I know his feelings were anything but. I think a couple of the ABs attempted to teach that thug, Frank Conklin, a lesson before they kicked him to the curb, or to the dock, so to speak. I didn’t ask and didn’t care to know.” He laughed as he remembered Conklin limping off to grab a taxi.

“I’m glad it all worked out. I knew we had to have superior security with a small, very visible ship full of wealthy passengers. So Eugenia was taken off the ship under sedation by her father and a male nurse? That’s troubling. It sounds like she’s completely lost it. I always thought she was a little too high maintenance for comfort. How is your assistant? What’s her name?”

“She is a maniac. Delusional doesn’t cover it. Her name is Ivorie. I can’t tell you how scared I was that something would happen to her before we could get her back. After all, she is my responsibility while she’s aboard. I brought her along, and she was just doing her job.” Drew paused a moment as the dread of what could have happened rushed through his mind again. “I don’t know what I would have done if Ivorie had been hurt, or God forbid, killed. I haven’t sorted out what my feeling for her are, Jamie, but I definitely have strong feelings.” Drew was pretty sure his feelings had tipped over from mad attraction to love, but he needed to process that fact before he said the words out loud. Drew wrapped up his conversation with Jamie and got back to the contracts.

* * * *

Ivorie’s face lost all its color. She turned around and left the Master Suite, closing the door softly. She leaned back against the wall of the corridor outside the Master Suite to get her breath. She was horrified. She was a convenience, a delusional maniac, a responsibility just doing her job. She felt like a paid companion, or worse, a prostitute. Tears were hovering just behind her eyes, but she was determined not to shed them now. A total breakdown would have to wait. She returned to the office, the revised contract pages in her hand forgotten.

She had to get through the remainder of this day without letting Drew know she had overheard his conversation with whomever he was talking to. It sounded like it might be his friend, Jamie Devereau, the ship’s owner. She couldn’t imagine he would be talking so openly with anyone at the office, or at least she hoped not. She was determined not to spend any more time alone with Drew or in the Master Suite than she had to before he left the ship. She wasn’t going to give him another opportunity to “think with his johnson.”

She had to think clearly and rationally. She had already confronted the probability that her shipboard romance with Drew was not destined to continue once they were back in New York. The pressures of work and office politics would prohibit that, and he had not indicated that he was invested in their relationship or wanted to see her after the trip was over. She had already been thinking it might be a good time for a career change. She had money saved, and her small Manhattan one-bedroom co-op apartment just off Madison Avenue had been a graduation gift from her grandmother, and she didn’t have a mortgage to worry about. She could take time to decide what she wanted to do from here.

* * * *

Ivorie and Drew joined Jenni and Chris on the top deck for a late lunch before they disembarked for their return to Chicago. She knew that Jenni was anxious to get home to her kids and that Chris needed to get back to work. At this point, Ivorie just wanted off this ship. She wanted to get home where she could lick her wounds in private.
And cry my eyes out
.

Jenni leaned in to Ivorie and said quietly, “What’s wrong? I know that face.”

“Nothing. Just stressed breaking down the office, and I guess end-of-trip blues.”

“Bullshit. This is me—mom of three you’re talking to.”

“How could I forget? Really, I’m fine. We’ll talk next week, or e-mail or something. I hope we can stay in touch, Jen. You’ve been a big help to me, and I appreciate your friendship.”

“It was my pleasure, hon. We’ll definitely stay in touch.”

* * * *

Drew was packed and ready to depart. He was looking around the Master Suite to be sure he hadn’t left anything important. The Riva was waiting to ferry him to the dock where the limo would pick him up and take him to the airport for the trip back to New York.

“I wish you were coming back with me, babe.” He really did not like leaving her to make her way home by herself.

“I’ll be okay. I still have a few things to take care of in the office.” There was something in her voice and the expression on her face that he didn’t like, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He was afraid she was looking like the old Ivorie.

He pulled her into his arms for a bone-crushing hug and a stunning kiss. He invaded her mouth while he ran his hands down her back and over her butt. He felt the tension in her body and was puzzled. She had not reacted this way to him since the beginning of the trip. It was troubling. “I’m sorry we didn’t have any time to spend together today. I’ll make it up to you when we get home.”