Crown's Law (32 page)

Bo was silent for a beat, looked into his
eyes, then replied, “You certainly pampered me. As you could
probably tell, I’d never done some of those things before. The
entire experience was unbelievable! Thank you for your patience
with me.”

“You adapted well—you’re a fast learner.
Pretty inexperienced for a woman your age though. I take it that
you’re used to a ‘wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am’ type of man?” said Sam,
eyes still locked on hers.

“You’re right about that. I hope my lack of
experience didn’t ruin your enjoyment,” she said.

She lowered her eyes.

“You’re gorgeous enough to have your pick of
men! Why choose losers?” asked Sam, squeezing her hand. “You up for
another round of pampering?”

“You’re kidding, right? Are you?” she said,
looking at him once again.

“I will be soon. Open your robe so I can
feast my eyes on your fabulous body!”

“I normally don’t show my naked body to
strangers. I really am very shy,” she replied, meaning it.

“We’re hardly strangers now. At least, not of
the flesh. Carnally, we’re old buddies. I know all of your
erogenous zones—I think. I’d like another look.”

“Don’t push me on this, Sam! I’m really
conflicted right now.”

She wasn’t smiling.

Although Bo had a nagging feeling that this
sexual encounter had been a huge mistake—one she would probably
regret later—she didn’t have the fortitude to refuse herself a
second go around with Sam. She was being completely selfish, she
knew, but she didn’t want the euphoria to end—not yet. She had
experienced an inexplicable connection to this sexy stranger—a
complete stranger in all ways except carnally. In a way, she wanted
to hate him for seducing her, but in the end, she knew that she had
made the first move. She had begged for it! Or was that the way he
worked? He was a devil!

She looked over every inch of his solid body,
and desire surged through her again. She was drawn to him like iron
filings to a magnet. He mesmerized her. She couldn’t help
herself.

He came from behind the bar and took her in
his arms, kissing her deeply, their naked bodies fused, their
tongues dueling. They moved back to the bedroom.

***

It was 4:00 A.M. when she slipped into her
cover-up and said, “I’d better go to my room. I don’t want to make
a bad impression on Becky.”

“Becky will know. Come back to bed. I don’t
want to sleep alone.”

She hesitated, then dropped the cover-up and
crawled back into his bed—stretched out next to him.

“Neither do I,” she said as she put her head
on his chest, “but I’m serious about nobody knowing about this
little tryst. Especially Becky. How will she know if you don’t tell
her?”

“She’s a walking, talking analytical machine.
Nothing gets by her. She’ll notice how we look at each other. How
we talk. Trust me, she’ll sense it,” explained Sam as he stroked
her hair. “We’re consenting adults. Why are you so embarrassed over
this? I thought that we had a truly unique and exceptional
experience.”

Bo ran her fingers through his chest hair and
didn’t answer right away. How could she really answer him? She
agreed with him—more than he could possibly know—that she had just
experienced the most thrilling and emotionally fulfilling sexual
encounter of her entire life! She had never imagined that sex could
be this good! At least, not for her. But that wasn’t what was
bothering her. She was sure that she had violated all sorts of
rules and regulations by sleeping with Sam Crown. He was a
witness—possibly even a suspect—in an ongoing investigation, wasn’t
he? She had to make sure that absolutely no one ever found out
about this or she would be in trouble with the FBI.

Nonsense!
she
thought.
I’ll risk anything to have sex
like that with him again, and I know it! The problem is Becky! I’ve
made a connection to her somehow and I so want her approval. It’s
the damned maternal thing coming out of the hole I keep it stuffed
in! How could Becky respect me if she knew that only 24 hours after
meeting him that I jumped into bed with her uncle—father, guardian,
whatever?

Bo groaned.

“What?” asked Sam.

“I can’t explain what I’m feeling! But, yes,
this was the most fulfilling sexual encounter I’ve ever had! With a
stranger at that. But I have to leave you now and go to my room.
What time do you expect Becky to get home? I would like to get up
and talk to her when she comes in. See how she enjoyed her special
night. She was so eager and excited!”

Sam frowned, wondering what was bothering
her.

“I plan to do the same thing. She has the
limo all night. I suspect they’ll go to breakfast before coming
home. I think that is traditional. So maybe she’ll be here at 6 or
7. We’ll probably hear the limo pull in.”

“OK. As much as I would like to fall asleep
right here where I am—in your arms—I am going to go upstairs. If
Becky figures out that we’ve been together, so be it. But I’m not
going to flaunt it.”

She kissed Sam and got out of bed again. She
put on her coverup and went out on the deck and retrieved her
bathing suit and cigarettes.

“See you when Becky arrives,” she said, then
left the room.

Even though Sam was disappointed, he felt a
new respect for Bo. None of the other women he had had in his bed
gave a rat’s ass whether Becky knew about it or not. On the other
hand, Becky never liked any of them either, and he had sensed that
Becky really connected with Bo.

Bo, you’re probably doing
the right thing!
he mused.

***

Upstairs in her room, Bo slipped into a
short, cotton nightgown and went out onto the redwood deck. The
clouds were gone and the stars were twinkling bright, keeping time
to the growl of the waves. She lit a cigarette and sat down on one
of the deck chairs. The air had cooled a bit and she shivered
involuntarily, crossed her arms across her chest.

She let her thoughts leaf through the events
of the day. The wonderful breakfast, the lazy trip out of the
harbor on that magnificent boat. Then the violent attack that
marred what was surely going to be an unusually fantastic and
perfect outing for her. She tucked that incident away in a memory
bin—something to be dealt with on Monday. She would get to the
bottom of that later.

Up until the attack, the boat ride was
delightful and she enjoyed getting to know more about Sam and
Becky. Later, helping Becky—a very excited and nervous Becky—get
ready for the prom had delighted Bo more than she could describe.
The earlier violence at sea had been forgotten by both of them.

Then—the unbelievable sex with Sam! He had
stripped away her reserve and her inhibitions and she had done
things and experienced things that she would have thought were not
possible! She had chided herself at first that she was being too
easy. She knew from the beginning that she was just another
conquest for Sam. But after only a few minutes of his
ministrations, she threw herself into the heat of his passion and
let herself enjoy an indescribable experience, one she would never
forget. She now knew that she had been sexually short-changed by
all of her sexual partners in the past. She vowed to never let that
happen again. For that, she owed Sam a debt of gratitude.

Then her mind wandered back to Becky.

Sunday, June 3, 2001

Capistrano Beach, CA

When Bo had left his bed and gone upstairs to
her room, Sam had felt abandoned. He had planned that they would
snuggle for awhile, maybe even snooze a bit, then have another go
at it before Becky got home. He wanted to get as much sex from her
as he could before she disappeared to wherever she had come from.
Usually, after a new conquest, he had no trouble rolling over and
going to sleep without another thought; but he couldn’t stop
thinking of Bo.

She was actually very naive sexually for a
woman her age—whatever age that was. She hadn’t actually told him
her age, but she had to be somewhere in her mid-thirties. She was
no Carole Winston sexually, but under his patient guidance, she had
learned quickly, and hadn’t really shown any inhibitions; but there
was still more he wanted to teach her. And then there was an
indefinable “something else” about her. What was it?

Sam was jolted out of a hazy, groggy sleep by
the slam of a car door. He glanced at his bedside digital clock:
7:11 A.M.

It must be Becky! Got to
get up
.

He staggered to the bathroom and splashed
cold water on his face, dried it, then combed his tousled hair. As
he was putting on his robe, he heard the front door open and could
distinguish both female and male hushed laughter. By the time Sam
got to the entry hall, the front door was closed and Billy was
gone. He heard the limo drive away. Becky had her shoes in her
hand, and she gave Sam a giant smile when she saw him. Bo came
floating down the stairs in an ankle-length robe.

Sam said, “Well?”

Becky looked from Sam to Bo, then back
again.

“Everything was just
mah-ve-lous
!” she said with an
exaggerated wave of her hand. She ran to Sam and hugged him. “Best
night ever, Sam! Thank you! And thank you, too, Bo!”

She went to Bo and gave her a giant hug. Bo
was ecstatic!

Sam said, “You gonna give us a blow by
blow?”

Becky released Bo and said, “Maybe over
dinner. I am so tired! I’m gonna go crash right now!”

Bo said, “Let me go up and help you
undress.”

“Thanks, Bo. I could use some help with the
dress and that damned bra!” laughed Becky.

As they started up the stairs, Bo looked back
at Sam. He motioned for her to come back downstairs when she was
through with Becky. She answered with a slight nod.

Eight minutes later, Bo found Sam in the
kitchen brewing coffee. “Poor thing fell asleep as soon as her head
hit the pillow. It seems like she had a good time, though. I can’t
wait to hear the details!”

“Me either,” agreed Sam. “Get any sleep?”

“No. I might have dozed a bit, but my mind
was awhirl,” she replied with a wan smile.

“Same with me. I wanted you in bed with
me.”

“You know the reason . . .”

Sam interrupted her. “Yeah, I know. You were
right, by the way. I have an idea, though. Becky will sleep most of
the day. We could go down to the harbor—sleep on the boat.
Together.”

Bo went to him and put her arms around him,
laid her head on his shoulder. “Hmm. Sounds so good! I’m exhausted.
What do we tell Becky?”

“We might be back before she wakes up. If
not, we can say we went out,” answered Sam. “We missed dinner last
night. Want some breakfast first?”

“Probably should. I’ll have some coffee for
sure.”

“I’ll whip up some scrambled eggs and toast,
then we can go sack out.”

“Are you sure we’ll get any sleep?” she asked
with a hint of a smile.

***

When they arrived at the boat, there was no
yellow crime tape on it, so they assumed the FBI was finished with
evidence gathering. Sam opened some windows to let in some fresh
air while Bo went to the main stateroom. When Sam joined her, she
had pulled back the covers on the bed. She kicked off her sandals,
stripped off her T-shirt and shorts, and sat down on the bed in her
white bra and panties.

She asked Sam, “Are you really going to give
me any information I can use, or was that just a ploy to get me
into bed?”

Sam stripped to his boxer shorts and lay down
on the bed on his back, fluffing his pillow under his head.

“Sure. Good info, I think. Becky’ll have to
explain it to you though. You’d never believe it coming from me.
We’ll discuss it at dinner. Now, come snuggle. Let’s get some
shuteye.”

“You really mean we’re going to actually get
some sleep?” she chuckled.

“Yes. That’s your next lesson. You can’t
fight a war, or do your job, or have quality sex when you’re
running on fumes. After a nice nap, we can take up where we left
off, if that’s what you’d like to do. It’s high on my agenda.”

“Hmm,” she murmured as she stretched out next
to him, threw her left arm over his chest. “Sounds delicious! Must
recharge first.”

Then she was asleep. So was Sam a minute
later.

***

When Bo awakened, she noticed that they were
in a different position than the one they had been in when she fell
asleep. She was on her left side, facing away from Sam, and he was
spooning her, his right hand cupping her breast. She could feel his
slow, steady breathing in her hair. There was a ship’s clock over
the head of the bed, but she couldn’t see it from her current
position. She was in no hurry to move. She wanted to savor her
position for awhile longer. She put her hand over his, pushed it
hard against her breast. She wished now that she had taken off her
bra so she could feel his hand against her bare flesh—let her
nipple harden in the heat of his palm. Her batteries were
recharged—as he had predicted—and she was remembering last night in
all its erotic glory. Her bladder pressure interrupted her reverie,
so she moved his hand and went to the head. When she returned, she
glanced at the ship’s clock: 1:33 P.M.

Shit! The weekend is nearly over! I don’t
want it to be over! Why in hell did I waste Friday night? Little
Miss Prim and Proper! I haven’t the slightest idea who this guy
really is, but he could crank up this boat and sail into the
horizon, and I’d go with him! But there’s Becky. He’d never leave
Becky for me, or any woman, I do believe. I know I wouldn’t. That’s
all I really know about you for sure, Mystery Man. You would never
leave Becky! But that’s a lot to know!

Bo unfastened her bra, threw it on the foot
of the bed, then stepped out of her panties. Sam had rolled onto
his back while she was gone. She leaned over and pulled off Sam’s
boxers.