“Let’s celebrate.” She handed Lacinda a glass, clicked its rim against the rim of her glass and drank. “Tip up girl. It’s your big day.”
Instead of drinking, Lacinda lowered her glass. “I’m afraid I can’t do this island thing. Not only that, but I think I’ve been drugged since I’ve been on board.”
Mazie took Lacinda’s glass and set both back on the table. She turned toward Lacinda. “It’s me. I’ve been giving everyone on board a very small dosage of an organic aphrodisiac. No lasting side-effects, not habit forming, although you might like ditching those nasty inhibitions now and then.”
“Why would you not tell people?”
“I used a little yesterday because I wanted everyone to warm up to the cruise in a good way, especially on the first day. I think most people would have been afraid of an aphrodisiac they’d never tried before. It might be a little scary, given the kind of cruise this is.” Mazie grabbed Lacinda’s hands. “I didn’t do this to hurt anyone, especially you, Lacinda. I like you, and I can’t say that about most women.”
“How did I get it…I mean, I don’t want anymore of it.”
“No problem. I put it in your wine.”
Lacinda’s eyes popped wide and she glared at the wine glasses.
“No, no, no…not today. There’s nothing in our drinks today.” Mazie squeezed Lacinda’s fingers and then let go. “I’m sorry, Lacinda, truly. May I just ask one little question…have you been having a wonderful sensual experience?”
Lacinda thought over Mazie’s question. Hell she’d had her very first orgasm…actually two orgasms.
But it doesn’t make it right, does it?
“Tell me why you think you can’t do the island. Who’s telling you not to do this one thing that might be the best thing you’ve ever done in your entire life? Who is it, Lacinda? Whoever it is, I’m going to kick their ass all over this ship.”
Lacinda laughed. Mazie was serious.
Why couldn’t she be free like Mazie?
“I’m not you. I’ve never lived a day without inhibitions or feeling modest. The way I have acted on board this ship…I can tell you it isn’t me. I don’t know who that person is, and to be honest, she scares me.”
“Well, you had a bit of help in eluding your inhibitions. I’ve come clean on spiking your drink with something that allowed your desires to come out and play without you feeling modesty or shame. You’re really something Lacinda when you give up control over your body. This is definitely not the time or place for staying in control. Let go and enjoy yourself.”
“Like I said, I’m not you.”
“There is no one here that is going to judge you. No. One. Only. You. Stop judging.” Mazie went back to the drinks on the table and handed Lacinda her glass.
“I don’t know anything about the guy who won. What if he’s a rapist or worse? What will be expected on that island? What if the male winner is unhappy with me? What if I’m unhappy with him?”
“I personally know him and can vouch for his honor and respect for women. Besides, you can always phone the ship and we’ll come back to get you.”
“How well do you know the winner?” Lacinda gazed directly into Mazie’s face, connecting. After a deep sigh, Mazie came clean.
“He’s my business partner. It won’t take long before you feel familiar with him. Now, let’s drink up.”
“Wow, business partner.” Lacinda relaxed, knowing the male winner was someone Mazie personally knew. That counted for something. Maybe this whole dream vacation on a tropical island thing would be a good experience. She wanted to let go. She wanted to enjoy someone who would enjoy her too…maybe like her captain.
“Are you sure you didn’t spike this?”
“Would it be so bad if I did?”
Chapter Eight
Lacinda
Lacinda stood on the transport ferry with a small beach bag in hand. Mazie suggested Lacinda take her bathing suit, toiletries, and maybe a night gown in case her luggage got held up. No one had gone into her room to pack her things. She guessed that happened once she’d left the ship.
Salty mist sprayed over the rail every time the boat took a little dive into the next wave. The moisture cooled her skin from the warm tropical sun. Her stomach went into flip flop mode, not only from the up and down motion of the boat, but from the unknown components of the next couple of weeks. Her hand trembled when she raised it over her brow and watched the building distance between her and the cruise ship.
“Hello, Miss Gainesly.” Travis came through the doorway leading below deck on the small ferry boat. “Can I get you anything before we land? Mazie insisted I board with some of that Sangria you were drinking earlier.”
“I think the boat’s a bit too bumpy for me to drink and not spill it all over, but I’d love to take it with me for later.”
Travis left her only a few short moments and then came back toting a cloth bag. Lacinda peeked inside and saw two corked bottles of Sangria.
“This is great Travis. Please thank Mazie for me.”
The ferry docked ten minutes later. Lacinda followed Travis onto the short dock. The water looked turquoise against the white sand of the beach and the cloudless sky was the deepest blue. A blue not quite like midnight, but close enough to remind her of the captain’s midnight blues. A rush sparked down her body and nestled in her center. Her thoughts and the feelings he provoked confused her.
Lacinda focused on something safe, the palm trees lining the beach, or the sound of their long leaves rustling in the warm breeze.
Travis led her off the end of the dock to a small two-seater sand buggy parked nearby.
“Your carriage, fair maiden.” He took her small bags, set them behind the seat, and opened the passenger door for her.
She sat back against the seat. Part of her wished to be back on the ship having that massage she’d missed earlier, wondering if it would have ended up like the other encounters with the captain. But it hadn’t. She’d stopped it. Because she hadn’t been spiked with something that allowed her to let go of her inhibitions? Or because she had to control her own desires?
Now she’d never know. The man of her dreams awaited her arrival.
Travis shifted gears, slowing and speeding up as the bumpy dirt path through the cool jungle allowed. He focused on driving and left Lacinda to her silence.
Twenty minutes later Travis pulled the buggy around a bend. The sound of the surf greeted them. Travis stopped right next to the door of a quaint fieldstone cottage. It looked a bit out of place in the tropical paradise, shaded by palm trees on one side and open to the sun and the surf on the beach side. But the quaintness made it comforting.
“Go explore and make yourself at home. This will be your home for the next few weeks.” Travis handed over the bag of wine and her overnight bag. He gave her a quick hug. “Got to get back quick. Mazie’s got plans for me tonight. Oh, your guy won’t be here for a couple of hours. So enjoy a bit of alone time.”
“Thank you for everything, Travis.”
The thundering surf blocked out the engine of the buggy as Travis pulled away. Even though the beauty took Lacinda’s breath away, it also made her feel alone. She entered the cottage into a small bright kitchen area with white walls and appliances. A light sand-colored granite counter divided the kitchen and the living room. She stepped down two steps into a sunken living area decorated in a fresh tropical motif. A semi-circle couch set in the center of the room.
Lacinda plopped down on the couch and stared at the lovely designs in the stone wall fireplace, until she had to touch. Her fingers followed the intricate designs along the wall and hearth. She stood back again and realized the designs were letters. C-O-N-N-O-R-S-B-L-U-M-E.
So, Mazie’s family owns this little cottage or at least part of it.
She toured through a bedroom done in cool yellows. She opened a closet door and a bathroom door. A large sunken Jacuzzi took up the middle of the floor. The other bedroom was done in ocean blues, similar to her quarters on the ship. She opened a bathroom door and then a door she assumed was another closet, but instead found a small office.
Lacinda looked around before entering, like someone might see her. She checked out a stack of papers on the desk. An envelope addressed to the attention of Blade Connors fell on the floor. He must be Mazie’s business partner. She said his name out loud, “Blade,” and liked the feel of it on her tongue, how her tongue kissed the roof of her mouth.
She thumbed through the stack of papers, finding letterhead for a chain of high-end hotels called Montico Bay Rivera and other letterhead for two cruise lines, one of them using the same name as the hotel and the other name was under Connors.
So this Connors has money.
She noticed photos on the wall. A closer inspection showed Mazie standing beside…
No damn way!
Lacinda yanked the photo off the wall and looked closer. Mazie stood with her arms wrapped around the same man who had played Lacinda’s limo driver, steward, captain, and masseuse.
He’s Mazie’s business partner, Blade?
She saw another photo of Blade standing beside the steward named Travis. They were dressed in business suites leaning against a black Mercedes convertible. Another picture showed Mazie, Blade, and Travis standing in front of a Montico Bay Rivera Hotel.
Lacinda’s stomach lurched and a knot formed in her throat. What kind of game were these people playing?
So money gives them the right to pick and choose people to play games with?
Lacinda’s jaw tightened.
“Bring it. They want a game, I can play one hell of a game,” she said out loud, sounding cruel and vicious. Raging fury filled her head.
I can be one hell of an actress.
A glass of wine sounded pretty good about now, maybe more like the whole damn bottle.
Chapter Nine
Blade
Blade walked into Mazie’s quarters. She looked relaxed in a chair by the window with her feet propped up on an ottoman and a glass of wine in her hand.
“Was Lacinda on the ferry?”
“She was.”
Blade glanced at Mazie, wondering how she convinced Lacinda to go. Mazie returned his look.
“What?” she asked. Sometimes Blade had the eerie feeling Mazie knew him so well she could read his mind, like now.
“How? Tell me how she agreed to this whole get up?”
“She trusts me. I told you she was a good girl.”
“Well, she sure as hell didn’t act like one last night. I’ve never had such a considerate lover.”
“So she pleasured you, aye?”
Heat slapped his face. As much as Mazie talked in graphics about sex, it was hard for him to do, let alone listen to her. In fact, at this moment, he was sorry he’d shared anything about Lacinda. It seemed a betrayal somehow. Like the sacred time with Lacinda had just been scarred. In one day the woman had completely gotten under his skin and taken up permanent residency in his heart.
“I can’t believe I gave her a second glass of wine last night knowing you’d put something in it. She most likely had no control of herself. Did you spike her drink again? Is that how she agreed?”
“She might think I did because I admitted to putting something in her wine yesterday and she drank a glass of wine with me today before she left. But let me be perfectly clear with you, Blade, the natural organic aphrodisiac I use only opens a person to what they already feel, it doesn’t put ideas in their heads that aren’t there already.”
Blade clenched his jaw. The muscles of his chest and belly tightened. “Well, did you spike the wine she drank today?”
God, Mazie could be so exasperating.
“Be straight with me. Did you spike Lacinda’s wine or not?” He needed to know Lacinda would be on the island because of her own terms.
“No, she went on that ferry of her own volition.”
Blade’s body shivered and a deep sigh lifted from his lips. His muscles relaxed. He looked out the window and saw the ferry approaching. Now it was his turn to get on board with Mazie’s crazy scheme. Excitement blasted through his chest along with something else—fear of rejection.
“Do you want a little tidied up glass of wine? You know, get you in the mood before launching?”
Again, he wondered if Mazie told him the truth of not spiking Lacinda’s wine.
“I don’t think that will be a problem for me. Someone has put too much work into this whole escapade for me to take a back seat.” As soon as the word ‘seat’ left his mouth an image of Lacinda’s tight round ass seated on top of his swollen lap brought his cock to attention. He adjusted the uncomfortable matter.
“Yeah, it looks like you have the whole escapade thing in hand.” Mazie giggled. Blade thought it a titillating blend of fun and freedom, if those things had a sound, it would be Mazie’s giggle.
He turned to walk away and stopped mid-step.
“Hey, earlier, on the phone, it sounded like you had someone in mind on this trip for you. Since I won’t be seeing you again for a while, do you mind filling me in on your mystery man?”
“Ah, yes. Don’t get your panties in a bunch because he’s your best friend.”
“No, not Travis. Mazie, I love the guy…” Before Blade could finish Mazie interrupted.
“I love the guy, too. In fact, I believe I’ve loved Travis for a very long time.”
Blade walked back and kissed Mazie’s cheek. “Good luck and have fun on your cruise.” He couldn’t believe his player friend, Travis, would ever settle down, but then he never figured Mazie would either.
“You have fun, too, dear friend,” Mazie said.
He left her and found Travis at the gate with the luggage.
“Travis, take care of my partner while I’m gone.”
“Actually, I have something to share before you leave. That’s why I hung out here.”
Blade had a sinking feeling for Mazie.
“What is it?”
“I wanted you to be the first to know I intend on asking Mazie to marry me on this voyage.”
Blade exhaled and gasped.
“Well, hell, we’ve been footing around each other for years, neither of us wanting to make a ‘forever after’ commitment, until we realized we’d become exclusive…a monogamous couple, for God’s sakes. Who’d a thunk? Anyway, I’ll know for sure after this trip.”