Authors: Melissa Toppen
Chapter Nine
“Remember, no peeking.” Zayne lets out a light laugh as he leads me down the sidewalk towards an unknown destination.
“How can I peek, you've had your hands over my eyes the entire time? I don't even know where we are.” I remind him, not at all complaining about the fact that for the last two minutes I have been impossibly close to Zayne as he makes every attempt to block me from seeing whatever it is he's up to.
I can't help the giddiness coursing through me or the bubble of nervousness that lies deep in my stomach. All part of being on a date, I remind myself. Although I am not one hundred percent convinced that that's the case.
I'm sure most people get some level of anxiety from dating and while I may be completely inexperienced in the matter, I am almost certain that it doesn't even come close to the panic and yet sheer bliss that I feel in this moment.
The thrill that comes with trying to fight something that you know you can't fight. A challenge in a way, to see how much I can take before I finally cave and end up in his bed. For as much as I want that to happen, I don't just the same. I want to take things slowly and enter into this knowing that it's not just about the sex but that he feels something too.
From the moment he opened the car door for me and his hand grazed the small of my back, I knew I was in big trouble. Now.... Well let's just say that feeling has only intensified on the twenty minute drive over.
I can hear water lapping around us and while I knew we were close to the harbor, it isn’t until I hear my heels click against the old wood of a dock that I realize just how close we are.
“You're not planning on killing me and hiding my body in the Hudson River are you?” I joke, laughing nervously when I feel his body tighten against mine.
“I'm not a murderer Grace.” He laughs. “Besides, I certainly would not have put forth so much effort if all I was planning on doing was dumping you in a body of water.”
“So much effort?” I question, just as his hands slip away from my face.
At first I think I am seeing things and that the massive white yacht in front of me is simply my imagination. But when an older gentleman, I would guess in his sixties, wearing an all white suit steps onto the deck and greets Zayne by name, I realize the effort he was just previously referring too.
“You rented a Yacht?” I turn on him, my face surely displaying the amount of disbelief I feel.
“Technically I borrowed it.” He laughs. “A business associate of mine owns it.” He gives me a quick explanation before turning his attention to the older gentleman.
“Good evening Sam. Is everything set?” He asks, grasping my elbow and gently helping me onto the deck.
“We are ready when you are sir.” Sam replies, giving Zayne a polite nod. “Shall I bring you some champagne?” He asks, looking first to Zayne who gracefully climbs on board, then to me.
“Yes please.” I blurt, not waiting for his response. With the amount of butterflies now swimming in my stomach, I would drink just about anything to take the edge off.
Laughing at my eagerness, Sam nods again, this time in my direction. “Coming right up Miss.” He responds, giving me a toothy grin before turning and disappearing into the cabin that sits in the center of the expansive deck.
I catch sight of stairs before the door latches closed and Zayne pulls my attention back to him.
“She's beautiful isn't she?” He says, taking my hand and leading me to back of the boat that oversees the water. Releasing my hand, he leans against the smooth wood railing and looks out over the calm water that glitters with the setting sun.
“She?” I question.
“The boat.” He laughs. “Her name is
Le réveil Beauté
.” He says, running his hand along the smooth wood railing.
Catching my confused expression, he lets out an amused laugh. “It means
Waking Beauty.
” He clarifies, tucking away a strand of hair that blows across my face in the wind.
“Beautiful.” I mumble, completely numb to anything except the feel of his hand against my flesh, the smell of his cologne in my nostrils, and the look in his eyes.
“Very.” He agrees, slowly closing the gap between us as he leans his face down towards mine.
Just as his lips brush mine, I hear footsteps heading across the deck and quickly pull away to see a smiling Sam making his way towards us, two champagne flutes on a small silver tray.
I flick my eyes to Zayne who seems both annoyed and slightly amused by the interruption. He gives me a wink and then turns towards Sam, who stops just a foot from where we are standing and hands each of us a glass before lowering the tray to his side.
“Thank you Sam. I think we should be heading out soon. We only have about an hour left of the sun.” He addresses the grayed hair gentleman professionally, not bothering to look over and see the shocked expression on my face.
I don't know why but it never dawned on me that we would be leaving. I mean, dinner on the dock of a yacht is not unheard of. I just assumed that's what this was.
I turn towards him just as Sam disappears from earshot but before I have a chance to say anything, he laughs lightly and clinks his glass with mine.
“Cheers Grace.” He says, his smile sending goosebumps shooting down my body.
“Cheers.” I repeat, my voice losing a bit of it's volume under the intensity of his eyes on me. Before I do or say something that I will regret, I tip the glass back and drain the contents in one large gulp.
Zayne mirrors my actions and then takes my empty glass from me. Balancing both glasses in one hand, he reaches the other hand out for me to take.
“Where are we going?” I finally ask, my voice giving away my confusion.
“You'll see.” He says, entwining his fingers with mine and leading me to the cabin in the middle. “Come on. Let me show you around.” He says, holding the door open for me and waiting until I enter the narrow stairwell before ducking inside as well.
He steps past me, his body brushing up against mine in the process and causing my breath to catch in my throat. Stopping just past me, he glances back to my face, and gives me a knowing smile before setting his sights forward.
I try to act unaffected and pretend that my body isn't being engulfed in the heat that his touch radiates through me. At this point, I'm not sure whose benefit it's for. Clearly this man knows how badly I want him and yet, I can't bring myself to cave so easily.
Following him to the end of the staircase, he points to the left where there is a short hall and two white doors on either side of the hall.
“That's the kitchen and staff quarters.” He says, setting our empty glasses on a small round table next to one of the doors before taking my hand again and pulling me the opposite direction down the short hall.
“Staff quarters? Like in people actually stay here?” I question, immediately regretting my decision to down an entire glass of champagne on an empty stomach as I feel the heat rise in my cheeks. The alcohol slowing making it's way into my bloodstream.
“Of course they do. Think of it as a mini cruise ship. It has all the luxuries just personal sized.” He smiles sweetly at me before continuing on.
“All of these are bedrooms.” He says, gesturing to the three doors on the left wall as we pass. “And here.” He says, pushing open a door on the right. “Is one of the bathrooms.”
I lean past him and peer inside, completely shocked that it looks like a normal bathroom that you might find in an average apartment. I don't know what I was expecting, a toilet and standing shower tucked in a small closet sized room?
Well regardless, this is far from it. Though with the beauty of the ship, I don't know why I am so surprised that it would have an equally nice bathroom. I guess it's just my inexperience with yachts. Having never been on one, I don't pretend to know much about them.
“And this.” He says, pushing open the last door on the right. “Is the master.” He says, flipping on the lights and stepping inside.
Not sure what else to do, I follow him inside and then stop just feet from the door. The walls are covered in a deep burgundy and the bed is draped in all black. Black sheets, black pillowcases, black comforter. Hell even the headboard is black. Something about this room makes me feel vulnerable and on edge, especially with the champagne swimming in my stomach.
The floor is covered in a thick black rug that makes me want to take my shoes off and feel the thickness and the texture against my feet. I fight off the urge to make myself more comfortable and remain completely still as my eyes flicker from wall to wall. There is something so sexy, so seductive about the dark fabric against the dark walls and the slow steady sway of the floor beneath me.
I purposely avoid looking at Zayne but I can feel his eyes on me. “There's a master bathroom over there.” He says, forcing me to look in his direction to see where he's pointing to. Quickly following his line of sight, I spot another door on the left wall towards the back of the room.
“Soooo. What do you think?” He asks, slowly making his way towards me like a lion stalking it's prey. I can't help but feel a little scared, though I don't know that scared is the right word.
I'm not frightened as in I'm scared of being harmed. More like I am fearful of what might happen if I stand in this amazing room for a moment longer with Zayne's eyes burning through the small scrape of fabric clinging to my body.
“It's amazing.” I finally stutter out, taking a deep breath to steady myself. “Have you stayed here before?” I ask, turning to face him. I take a step backwards, purposely positioning myself in the door frame to prevent him from getting too close.
“I haven't.” He admits, smoothly sliding against my body as he once again pushes past me in a small space that restricts my ability to prevent his body from making direct contact with mine.
“Shall we?” He once again gives me a knowing smile and it takes everything I have not to push him back into that room and lose ourselves in the mass of black fabric.
I smile sweetly, thanking the heavens that humans do not have the ability to read minds, and then walk quickly past him, making it down the hall and up the stairs in the matter of a few seconds.
Once I reach the fresh air above, I take a deep breathe and immediately start to feel better, calmer, less affected. I quickly make my way to the back of the yacht and lean against the cool wood. But before I can fully calm myself down, the boat engine roars to life beneath me and causes an entirely different sort of panic to seep through me.
I don't know why but the thought of being stuck on this boat with Zayne, with no way of escaping, sends me into a mild panic attack.
Resisting him is hard enough. Resisting him when I can't get away from him is an impossible situation. I look back towards the cabin to see Zayne approaching. Taking a deep breath, I do my best to plaster on a carefree smile but I know as soon as I see his eyes that he can see right through it.
“Why do I get the feeling that you are considering jumping off the back of this yacht before we make it too far from land?” He asks, an amused smile lighting up his face. Leaning against the railing next to me, he looks down at the water just as the boat begins to pull away from the dock.
“Because I am.” I admit, mirroring his stance and looking down at the water.
Before I have time to process anything, he grabs me from the side and spins me towards him, successfully pinning my body between his and the railing, the wood digging into the center of my back as he pushes his body firmly into mine.