For the first time since I'd stepped on board, our gazes locked. Trey's confident smile appeared. It was almost as if he had been reading my mind. A long stretch of silence fell between us, and it seemed each of us had our own thoughts racing around our heads. I knew my mind was itching with the idea that Trey might find me tempting enough to actually kiss me this round of the plan. I wasn't expecting much, just a light kiss with a quick tongue dalliance, that was all. Unfortunately, I was sure Trey's mind was only occupied with how this would work out for his company. Free and effective ad space was not something to take lightly when you were running a multi-million dollar business.
I decided to get back to work. "It's a beautiful room, but I guess I was expecting a few items or pieces of furniture." I stumbled over some words in my head, "at least a mirror on the ceiling."
Trey laughed. "I see. As the owner of Plaything, and as you've no doubt read on your Google search of me, notorious playboy, you figured I'd have some more—how should I say it, provocative elements in the bedroom of my pleasure boat?"
I shrugged, feeling a little foolish for bringing it up. Then Trey walked to a panel in the room that I assumed controlled lighting and music like in his bedroom at home. He pressed a button and a section of wall opened. An interesting chair rolled out. It had a slanted back and a seat that split apart in the middle. A pair of fuzzy blue handcuffs were draped over the top of the chair. He flicked his finger against the handcuffs. "These were an item in February's box. The theme was Captive Audience. Big favorite that month. The chair wasn't included in the box. I had that custom made."
I knew damn well I was blushing, but since it seemed to be happening all the time now, I didn't even try to hide it. "It looks . . . entertaining."
"You can give it a try later. I almost forgot—" Trey switched subjects, but my mind was still on the chair. It seemed just about any position could be achieved on the thing and there wouldn't be the usual problem of an extra arm or leg in the way. Custom made. So the notorious playboy hype wasn't just hype after all.
Trey walked over to the dresser and picked up an envelope, seemingly forgetting that he'd just showed me his highly erotic sex chair. The Plaything logo was in the corner of the heavy vellum envelope. "It's an invitation to the Plaything party tomorrow night." He placed it on my bag. "If you're interested."
"Thank you. I'll give it some thought."
"I'm going up top so we can go out to sea."
"Can I help?"
"Yes, you can be my first mate. And my second. In fact the only mate I need today. I know a quiet little cove not far from here. It's a great place for a swim."
Chapter Fourteen
Trey
The water was glassy as the Two coasted toward the cove. Georgie had decided to get some sun, and she'd gone in to change into her swimsuit. And I'd stood at the captain's helm, growing hard as I visualized her in that suit.
The cove was not as much a cove as an inlet along the shore where several miles of the coast had been deemed a wildlife refuge. There were no houses or buildings. The only signs of civilization were the kinds with wings and webbed feet. Aidan and I had discovered it one day when we'd taken our dates out for a ride. It was a great, secluded place to anchor and take a swim.
Footsteps sounded on the ladder up to the bridge. I looked back over my shoulder and couldn't hold back a smile. My shy little sex mentee had changed into her suit and had quickly covered the suit with her oversized t-shirt.
"It's easier to get a tan without the heavy cotton shirt," I quipped. The fruity scent of her suntan lotion was already supplying me with a variety of dirty visions of her smoothing the oil over her naked skin. I wasn't sure how she did it, and I knew she had no idea she was doing it, but everything the woman said and did made my mind go straight to sex.
Georgie came to stand next to me. "I haven't worn this suit in public yet. Still working up the courage."
"There's no public here. Just me." I decided not to remind her of just how much of her I’d seen the night before, stretched out on my bed. The memory did however remind me that my swim trunks were not going to be as good a camouflage as my jeans. I stayed facing the helm, waiting for yet another erection to disappear. The last thing I wanted to do was scare her off by letting her know how badly I wanted her.
Georgie crossed her arms over herself, for another layer of protection. I decided I needed to takeover on my mentoring duties. I leaned over to put my mouth near her ear. "You covering up sort of defeats the purpose of what we're trying to achieve here, namely finding your sexual self. And from what I saw last night, it's there. You just need to let it out."
Georgie lifted her chin, and it was cute as hell. "You're right. This big shirt is counterproductive and not great for tan lines either. I'm going to go up to the bow and get some sun."
"We'll be dropping anchor in the cove in about ten minutes," I called to her as she climbed down from the bridge.
Naturally, I had a perfect view of the sunning deck from where I stood, and I wasn't going to be covert about watching either. If I wasn't going to allow myself the pleasure of touching Georgie, I was at least going to treat myself to an eyeful. And she was definitely that.
I gripped the helm much tighter than I needed to in smooth water. Georgie stood on the sunning deck at the bow and kicked off her sandals. She turned toward the railing, placed her bottle of lotion on the ground and lifted off her shirt.
The bottom half of the suit was a small triangle of fabric, half-heartedly covering what amounted to the most perfect ass I'd ever seen. Her slender shoulders were shiny with oil. I imagined having her silky, lotioned skin under my fingertips.
Georgie shot me a slightly wicked grin over her shoulder as she wiggled her ass enough to cause my grip on the helm to tighten more. If I wasn't careful, I'd break the fucking thing with my bare hands.
Georgie turned around and held out her arms. It seemed having the distance between us had helped relieve her of any hesitation to show herself. The triangular pieces of fabric on the bikini bottom were the size of a ship's mast compared to the two teensy pieces covering her breasts. The curves of her ample tits showed on every side. My cock strained against the front of my swim trunks, yet again, trying hard to not be forgotten.
Georgie adjusted the lounge to her liking. I decided to use the opportunity for a little coaching. Especially because I needed something to occupy my mind with, something other than the image of me pushing her up against the starboard railing and fucking her.
I reached down to the megaphone I kept handy beneath the helm. I flicked it on and put it to my mouth. Georgie was about to stretch out on the lounge. "Stop there."
Hearing my amplified order startled her. She laughed when she saw that I was holding a megaphone. She stood next to the lounge and shaded her face with her hand as she stared up at me in question.
"Walk to the end of the lounge and face it. Captain's orders."
Georgie saluted me. The gesture nearly tossed a nipple from its hiding place. Which gave me an idea. "Untie that bikini top and take the damn thing off. Tan lines, remember?"
I barked my order confidently, but Georgie hesitated.
"Go ahead. There's no one around except a few seagulls and your captain, and he's giving you an order." I made my voice deeper. "Just think how good that sun will feel on those tits."
She shot me another grin over her shoulder. This one came with a brow lift. I held my breath as she reached behind her neck and untied the knot. She dropped the strings and reached back to untie the rest of it. Still facing the bow, her back to me, she held her arm straight out with the bikini top hanging off her fingers. She tossed it onto the lounge, then instantly crossed her arms over herself.
"Uh, the captain said nothing about substituting arms for the teeny bikini."
She kept her arms crossed over her breasts as she spun around to face me. Then without warning she dropped them.
"Fucking perfect." I'd muttered the words to myself, com
pletely forgetting about the device in front of my mouth that could broadcast anything, even a mutter meant only for my ears, over the entire deck.
I didn't need to guess whether Georgie had heard me or not. She bowed her head politely as a thank you.
The cove was straight ahead. I pointed toward it. Georgie walked, topless and sexy as hell, across to the port side of the boat to get a look. The inlet was surrounded by a curved piece of coastline, far too rocky to be used as a beach, which wasn't allowed anyhow. Tall, dense foliage provided shelter for the wildlife, while also providing a nice bit of privacy around the water in the cove. It was a great piece of paradise, but you needed a boat to reach it.
While I looked for the right place to anchor, Georgie returned to the chaise lounge. She stretched out on her stomach. I slowed the boat, shut down the motor and pushed the button to drop anchor.
I finished up on the bridge and walked down to the deck. I flicked on some music and walked toward the bow. Georgie had swept her hair to the side to make sure her back got full sun.
She didn't lift her head or look up. "You are casting a shadow over me."
I didn't move. I took a moment to gaze over her body, mostly naked save for the small piece of fabric covering her ass. "I don't recall me telling you to stretch out on your stomach."
"No? Well, I don't want to burn. And since my breasts have never actually seen the sun, I figured they might be a little sensitive."
"Do you mean to tell me you have never sunbathed naked before?"
She moved her head to the side to peer up at me from her forearm pillow. "Yes, of course. All the time. Some of the people in the apartment complex complain when I'm out there at the pool stark naked, but they eventually get used to it."
I sat on the adjacent lounge. "I was going to whip up a batch of margaritas. Sound good?"
"Absolutely." She reached down to the bottle of lotion. "But would you mind putting some lotion on my back. I don't want to burn. The sun seems extra strong out here on the water."
I took hold of the bottle and stared at it as if she'd just handed me a bottle of nitroglycerin. I'd just recovered from watching her strip off her bikini top. Touching her was a whole new layer of agony.
Georgie's face turned up to see what was taking so long. She looked slightly embarrassed. "You don't have to. That's all right. I'll just pull my shirt back on."
"No, sorry. I was just trying to decide if we should swim first."
"It's waterproof."
"Waterproof. Yeah, that makes sense." To my own ears I was sounding like a complete idiot, but I didn't seem to be able to stop myself. I had probably had twenty different women sunning topless on the deck of my boat, but today, I was acting like a fifteen-year-old who'd just gotten a glimpse of his first pair of tits.
I squirted a glob of lotion into my palm.
Georgie turned her face away from me, resting it on her arms. She startled and giggled as the cold lotion touched her skin. At first, the fragrant lotion provided a semi-solid barrier between my hand and her skin. But that barrier eventually disappeared, leaving only a thin layer of cream between my palm and her back. I moved my hands across her shoulders and down along her back, following the curve of her waist. I tried to ignore the urgency of my cock and every muscle in my body tensing. My hand slid over her hips. As much as I warned myself not to go farther, my fingers slipped under the triangle of fabric on her bottom.
Georgie breathed in sharply as my fingers slid between her ass cheeks, coming dangerously close to the apex of her thighs where her pussy stayed tucked beneath the flimsy bathing suit bottoms. I continued on over the exposed skin of her bottom, knowing damn well that I should have applied more lotion but no longer wanting that barrier that I'd been so thankful for just seconds earlier. Her skin was warm from the sun, and it felt as silky as I'd imagined. And I'd imagined it plenty. My body was getting dangerously close to the point of no return.
It took all my will to remove my hand. I saw her thin shoulders relax as I pulled my palm away. I heaved in deep, fast breaths as I stared down at her. "I'm going in for a swim," I said tersely, not waiting for her response.
I walked over to the railing running along the bow, climbed over it and dove in without looking back. The water wasn't nearly cold enough.
Chapter Fifteen
Georgie
The awkward lotion session had put a crimp in what had been shaping up to be a wonderful day. Trey went swimming and then climbed back on deck looking far more dark and brooding than I'd ever seen him. I wanted to kick myself for asking him to apply lotion. Avoiding sunburn hadn't been my only goal at all. I was just dying for the man to touch me, to show some inclination for getting physical with me. Apparently, he would have preferred if I had asked him to stick his hand in a pot of boiling water.
I had waited for Trey to climb out of the water before I jumped in. The water was colder than I'd expected, and after a few circles around the boat, I managed to freak myself out enough about the possibilities of carnivorous sea creatures swimming along with me that I quickly pulled myself up the ladder and back on deck.
I heard the distinctive buzz of the blender coming from the galley. Margaritas. Maybe the afternoon wouldn't be a total bust after all. The dip seemed to have cooled some of the grumpies out of the ship's captain.
Trey's eyes looked pale against his tanned skin. He'd managed to get a good shade darker in our short time on deck. Whereas I’d only succeeded in burning my bottom. The towel I'd wrapped around myself chafed against the pink raw skin, making the idea of wearing jeans unappealing.
"How was the water?" he asked.
"Cold and seething with sea life. Which is why I am back inside already." It seemed we were once again talking, even if it was just small talk. "That and the salt water was stinging the sunburn on my—" I decided not to finish my comment. I knew the damn bikini was going to be an impractical nuisance.
Trey seemed to understand what I meant and did a poor job hiding his amusement.
I pointed at him. "Don't laugh. You were in charge of suntan lotion back there. Who'd have thought Trey Armstrong, playboy owner of Plaything, didn't know how to apply suntan lotion." Humor had gotten me through this whole thing, and I decided it was the easiest way to wash away the awkward part of the day.
I wasn't quite ready to give up on the plan yet. I'd managed to write what I considered some pretty thought provoking stuff this morning, and I wanted to keep working on the article. Trey had already opened my eyes to one more thing today when he had asked me to take my top off. I was shocked that without much hesitation, I took it off. I was still grappling with whether or not I did it to try something new, something I had never dared to do before, or whether I did it hoping to excite the captain. The lotion fiasco proved that the latter was a complete failure. I was going to have to go with the daring myself to do something I'd never done before angle. I had to admit it felt good and freeing to be mostly naked lying out under the sun.
I'd always found the easiest way to get drunk was to have a tasty drink in my hand, and the margarita Trey had blended was delicious. It didn't take me long to get to the bottom of the first round and start on a second. We nibbled chips and dips while we sat on the inside couch sipping our drinks. I hadn't given much thought to my hair after the dunk in the ocean. It had begun to dry in the natural curls, ringlets that I'd spent a good portion of my life pulling through a flat iron to pretend that I had been blessed with straight hair.
After a few drinks, we'd both loosened up. Trey reached across and pushed one of the curls off my forehead. He did it with such care, I could have easily convinced myself that it was a tender moment that meant something. Particularly because he'd done it with a serious intensity in his gaze that made it feel as if we'd formed a connection. I quickly passed it off as my imagination, the tequila and a good dose of wishful thinking.
"You mentioned you got a good start on the story this morning." Trey put his drink on the coffee table and rested his a
rm along the back of the couch.
"I did. Surprisingly. I confess I wasn't too sure about it last night. I got home and was feeling a little out of sorts about it all, but I think I can do this. It's not as far out of my comfort zone as I expected. I guess I can thank you for pushing me to step out of that zone."
"Are you ready to try again?"
Yes, with you, I wanted to shout but just shrugged. "I suppose."
"I couldn't help but notice you were eyeing that custom chair."
I laughed. "That's because I've never seen anything quite like it before."
"Oh, then maybe I misread that parted lips look of wonder on your face."
"Well, I might have been a little curious. What I'd really like to do is wash off this salt water. Do you think I could take a quick shower?"
"Absolutely." I followed him into the bedroom. He stepped into the richly appointed bathroom, decorated with clean modern lines of pewter and dark gray tile. He pressed a few buttons in the shower and hot water streamed from three different shower heads. He pulled out several plush towels and placed them on the vanity, before quickly exiting the room.