The Lust Boat (22 page)

“I wanted us to meet on equal terms. Fallon picked them out. I hope everything fit alright?”

“Yes, perfectly.”

The conversation lagged while the waiter removed their plates and brought out their dessert. Candace speared a fat strawberry with her fork and brought it to her mouth. She stopped short when she caught site of Ryan watching her. “I do like strawberries.”

“So do I, especially when you eat them. That’s what did me in last night. I’m sorry I missed the rest of the show, but I had to cry Uncle and take a cold shower when you bit into that strawberry.”

Candace popped the berry whole into her mouth, and chewed. A drop of juice trickled out of the corner of her mouth. Her tongue darted out to get it, but Ryan was quicker, wiping it with his thumb. Her eyes followed his thumb to his lips where he sucked the digit in with a groan. Hot liquid pooled between her legs. How had she ever thought she could resist him? No one made her feel the way Ryan Callahan did, so who was she kidding? She couldn’t stay mad at him, but he didn’t need to know that. He owed her an explanation, and she wasn’t giving in until she got one.

“Why did you want to see me?”

“I hoped you would be willing to listen to me today. I have a lot of explaining to do, and when I’m done, I plan on begging you to stay with me.”

Candace pushed the rest of her dessert away and sat back in her chair. “Go ahead.”

“I’m not sure where to start, but I guess the beginning is a good place.” Ryan drained his water glass and set it back on the table. “Richard and I met in college. We were roommates. We had a computer programming class together, and we had an assignment to design a working commercial website. We came up with the idea of an internet dating service for college students. We called it Romance Registry, R&R, Richard and Ryan. It took off like a brush fire, and before we knew it, we had a real business on our hands. Money rolled in, which for a couple of frat boys living on ramen noodles, wasn’t a problem. We managed to live pretty good for the last two years of school.”

“I bet you did.”

“We were the talk of campus and when we graduated, we sold the site to a group of investors for three hundred million dollars.”

“Holy smoley!”

“It was a lot of money, to be sure. We were twenty-two years old at the time, young and stupid, and rich beyond our wildest dreams. Somehow, we managed to make wise investments and the money kept coming in. With it came women. Lots of women. We were living it up, screwing our way around the world, literally. We had more women than we knew what to do with, more than we could possibly fuck. We were living every man’s dream.”

Candace frowned. That wasn’t exactly what she wanted to hear.

“I know it sounds shallow, and it was; only we didn’t know it at the time. One day we were about half-drunk, maybe more, and we were throwing out ideas, ways for us to have all the women we wanted and control the situation. One of us, we don’t remember which one, came up with the idea of a cruise ship. When we sobered up, we decided the idea might have merit and that’s how the
Lothario
came to be.” Ryan paused, poured another glass of water, and downed it in one long gulp.

“We thought it was the perfect solution. I spent the maiden voyage more naked than anything else. I fucked any and every female who offered herself to me, and there were plenty.”

“So what happened? Fallon said you hardly come out of your cabin since that first cruise.”

“I don’t know exactly. The last evening is a costume optional night and the night of the Bacchanal at Dionysus.”

“I remember you telling me about it.”

“Yeah. Well, I went to it. I don’t remember much about it. I drank a lot. Too much. I remember waking up the next morning to Richard’s voice on the PA system, issuing disembarking instructions. I was naked as the day I was born, as were the three women with me. I lay there in a public lounge, with a hangover to beat all hangovers, and, I had no idea who those women were, and they didn’t know me either. I guess you could say I had an epiphany. I knew then I’d made a huge mistake, but Richard and I were committed to making the cruise line work. Since that day, I’ve run the ship, and our investments, from this cabin. I don’t leave these rooms, except when necessity calls.”

“You gave up women?”

“Not entirely. I’m not a monk, no matter what Richard thinks. I won’t lie to you. I hold out as long as I can, but on average, I go out among the living and find a willing partner about once a month.”

“What about me? Was I just a way to scratch your once a month itch?”

“No. You were never that. I saw you when you came aboard and I knew you were different.”

“What do you mean you saw me?”

“I was watching the security cameras. Richard wears an earpiece and microphone so we can talk while he greets the passengers. I saw him hitting on you, and I think I threatened violence if he did it again.”

“I see.” Or did she? She still wasn’t sure. “So you pretended to be a passenger to, what? What did you think would happen?”

“I don’t know. I knew this ship was no place for someone like you, at least not on your own, so I appointed myself as your guide and guardian, I guess. Falling in love with you surprised me. I can’t say I’m sorry about it. I don’t want to lose you, Candace. I
am
sorry I wasn’t honest with you to begin with, but for years I’ve hidden from fortune-hunting women who would marry me in a heartbeat to get at my bank account, so the masquerade was, is, something I’m used to.”

“When were you planning on telling me, or were you going to? Were you just going to send me on my way in Miami? Goodbye, Candace, it’s been nice knowing you. Have a good life.”

“No. When I realized I had fallen in love with you, I knew I had to tell you the truth. I just hadn’t figured out how, or when, and the fire happened and, well, you know the rest.”

“What are your plans now? Are you going to continue to live on the ship?”

“Actually, Richard wants off too, but that’s his story to tell, so we’ve agreed to sell the ship. Early on, we had some good offers from some serious buyers. Our lawyers are contacting those people now to see if they’re still interested.”

“Good luck with that. I hope it works out for you.”

“Thanks. Me too. Now comes the part where I beg. I know I’ve been an ass, and I wouldn’t blame you if you never wanted to see me again, but I love you. I want to see if we can make a life together away from this ship. I’m asking you to give me a chance, that’s all. I don’t want an answer right now. I want you to think about it. Tonight is the last night at sea, and the Bacchanal. I’ll be there. If you want to give this thing between us a chance, come to me there. If you don’t show, I won’t bother you again, I promise.”

* * * *

Candace admired herself in the mirror. The black satin corset did wonders for her figure and made her skin look like warm cream. “What do I need the dress for? Isn’t this appropriate for a masquerade on the
Lothario
?”

“Trust me. Put the dress on,” Fallon said. She took the Regency-inspired marvel off its hanger and held it open for Candace to step into. “Look, Candace, don’t do this unless you’re sure. Meeting Ryan tonight is the same as making a commitment to him. You know that’s the way he’ll see it. There won’t be any halfway, any maybes with him. You either want him, or you don’t.”

“I want him. I’ve thought about it all day. He told me the truth this morning, and I understand now why he did what he did. That doesn’t make it right, but I do understand. I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t give this a chance.”

“Okay. Let’s get you into this dress, so Ryan can take you out of it.” Candace stepped into the dress, and Fallon fastened the row of tiny buttons up the back. “Thank God someone invented the zipper. I don’t know how women did this before.”

Candace smoothed her hands down the giant skirt, marveling at the elaborate detail. “Are you sure I need all this? I’m not going to be the only person in costume on this ship, am I?

“No, not by a long shot. We get a lot of Lady Godiva’s, mermaids of course, and the occasional dominatrix. Most of the men come as themselves, horny bastards.”

“I won’t have any trouble recognizing that costume,” Candace laughed. “Seriously, Fallon, I think this is over the top.”

“It’s not.” She pushed Candace’s skirt out of the way and moved so she could see her face. “This is perfect, trust me. Now get yourself upstairs to Dionysus. I bet Ryan is fighting the women off with a sword.”

She wasn’t the only person in costume, thankfully. Seeing all the others in the hallways made her feel less conspicuous and bolstered her confidence. Her dress was one of the more elaborate costumes, but at least it covered her, which was more than could be said for many of the other costumes. Tonight was a night to role-play and everyone had gotten into the spirit. Candace opted for the stairs to ascend the two decks up to Dionysus instead of trying to cram her full skirt into the crowded elevator.

The closer she got to the bar, the more excited she became. Though the dress made her look sweet and innocent, she felt anything but. Her breasts ached for Ryan’s touch, and every time she thought about him working the buttons loose down the back of her dress, she felt a rush of liquid warmth between her legs. If her bloomers had a crotch, they would have been soaked by the time she reached the bar.

A group of costumed people rushed out of the bar as she approached. Candace stood back and let them pass, too consumed with her own longings and fantasies to be concerned about what the others were chattering about. When they were gone, she dried her sweaty palms on her skirt, and entered the bar.

Most of the patrons had left. A handful remained in the bar and most of them were in the middle of copulation, to one degree or another. Candace glanced at them as she scanned the room. Ryan stood at the end of the bar, all alone. He was dressed as the pirate she thought him to be when she first met him. He hadn’t shaved, and his hair hung loose to his shoulders. He wore a billowing white shirt; open at the neck, and tight fitting breeches that outlined his impressive package. His knee boots shone to perfection. He set his wine glass on the bar when she walked in.

Now the elaborate dress made sense. Fallon had known what costume Ryan would be wearing and had chosen hers to match. Ryan made no move toward her. He’d said she had to come to him, so she did. She crossed the room, one slow step at a time, watching his face change from relief to blatant lust. She stopped in front of him and without speaking; Ryan closed his arms around her, and covered her mouth with his. His lips were hard and demanding. Candace melted in his arms and answered his demands with surrender. Ryan scooped her up in his arms.

“Where are we going?” she asked as he carried her out of the room.

“I’m kidnapping you.”

“You are?”

“I am, wench. You won’t get away from me now.”

“Oooh! I like that.”

“Keep quiet, or I’ll throw you overboard.”

“No, you won’t.”

“Yes, I will.” Candace screamed as she flew through the air, landing with a thud in a pile of blankets in a lifeboat that had been lowered to the deck-rail. Ryan bounded over the rail into the boat and yelled to the crew on deck, “Take her down slow, mates.”

Candace hung on tight as the boat lurched and began to descend the side of the ship. A crowd on the illuminated Odyssey Deck cheered and waved as the boat descended to the dark water below. Ryan stood at the bow, watching the lines, ready to unhook them the minute the boat hit the water.

“Where are we going?”

“There,” Ryan pointed to a point in the distance. He fired up the engine and headed in the direction he pointed.

Candace stood. Twinkling lights in the distance indicated some sort of boat nearby. It wasn’t until they were closer that she made out the outline of a three masted sailing ship, the perfect getaway vehicle for a pirate. “Where did you find that?”

“It’s mine. She’s the
Vixen
. Isn’t she a beaut?”

“She is. I’ve never seen anything so lovely.” The wooden-hulled ship bobbed gracefully on the water, its lights sparkling like diamonds against the night sky.

“I hope you don’t mind. I thought it would be nice to have some time alone before we go back to the real world. You can call your family, or whoever, from the
Vixen
and let them know where you are. We’ll sail into Miami in a few days.”

Candace came up behind him and slipped her arms around his waist. She pressed her aching breasts against the warmth of his back and drank in his essence. His musky smell intoxicated her, and she laid her cheek against his shoulder. Ryan folded one hand over hers where they rested against his stomach. Candace sighed her contentment. “I should be mad as hell at you for kidnapping me, but I’m so excited about sailing on that ship, I can’t find it in me to be angry.”