The Lust Boat (20 page)

“That we do, but it isn’t our only investment. Actually, if I read those reports you keep putting on my desk correctly; it’s a small portion of our portfolios.”

“She thinks I used her, that it was all some sort of perverted game. Master pervert guides sweet innocent into a life of wicked debauchery.”

“Was it?”

“No.”

“Come back to the ship with me and tell her.”

The setting sun flared as it sank below the horizon and Ryan got to his feet. “I guess it won’t hurt to give it a try. Maybe she’ll cool off enough to at least let me explain.”

“Maybe. Did you call your brother?” They began to walk back along the path to the public beach.

“Yeah, I did. Sean and his team are coming out on the
Vixen
. They should rendezvous with
Lothario
tomorrow night.”

“That’s good. I think the little incidents over the last few months are too much of a coincidence. The fire today could have been a disaster if the staff hadn’t reacted as quickly as they did.”

“I know. That’s what worries me. Sean will get to the bottom of it, if there’s a bottom to find.”

* * * *

Halfway through dinner, Fallon paused with her wine glass in hand. “We’re moving. Richard must be back.”

“How can you tell?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “You get used to the little signs. I wonder if he found you know who?”

“I’m sure I don’t care.” Somewhere between agreeing to spend the evening with Fallon, and dressing in the evening’s dinner attire, another skimpy sarong, Candace realized part of her still loved Ryan. Not that she was ready to forgive him, but she didn’t wish him ill.

“I totally understand why you’re mad at the man. What he did was pretty low down, but don’t you think he deserves a chance to explain?”

“No.”

“Who exactly did you think he was?”

“Another passenger. He told me he was a friend of Richard’s and that he’s a Wealth Manager with two clients.”

“Nothing else?”

“No.”

“Well, at least he didn’t lie to you about that. He is a Wealth Manager. His two clients are Richard and himself.” She sipped her wine and set the glass down, twisting it in circles by the stem. “Did you give him a chance to explain?”

“No.”

“Do you think maybe you should have?”

Candace shrugged. Now that she’d calmed down some, she had reconsidered some of the things she’d said to him. Maybe she had jumped to conclusions. “Maybe, but not tonight. Tonight I want to see if what I felt for Ryan was for him specifically, or would any man who paid attention to me have made me feel the same.”

“So, how do you plan to figure that out?”

“For starters I’m going to Aphrodite’s. I hear lots of men go there.”

“You heard right. The waitresses are all female and topless, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.”

“What’s the rest?”

“You’ll have to see it to believe it. Eat up. You’re going to need fortification if you’re going to Aphrodite’s.”

Fallon wasn’t kidding. Candace thought she was beyond being shocked by anything on the
Lothario
now, but Aphrodite’s proved her wrong. The waitresses were indeed topless, and customers, men and women alike, were encouraged to fondle the goods. The bar menu included a list of goodies that could be served on a waitress’s breast for the customer to lick off.

“Oh, my goodness!”

“That’s the milk and honey special. From that position the customer can suck her breasts, or taste her honey, if you get my meaning.”

Oh, she got the meaning, all right. It was hard not to when the customer in question had his face buried in the woman’s pussy. “Tell me she isn’t a passenger.”

“’Fraid so. Customers can request anyone in here they want, but you have the right to decline the invitation.”

“And if you say yes, it’s a public display?”

“Uh huh. Boggles the mind, doesn’t it?”

“Excuse me,” one of the bar waitresses interrupted. She addressed Candace. “There’s been a request for you.”

“What do you mean a request for me?”

“A gentleman has requested your milk and honey.”

Her skin flamed. “Who?”

“The gentleman over there.” She pointed to a clamshell booth in the far corner. A single man occupied the plush bench seat.

“Tell him I declined.”

“Are you sure you want to do that? This is the perfect chance to see if someone else makes you feel the same way you know who does,” Fallon said.

Less than an hour ago, this had sounded like a good idea. Candace snuck another peek at the man in the booth. He wasn’t bad looking, if you liked the big football player type. She chewed her bottom lip and considered her options. She could go talk to him, see if there were any sparks there, but could she let him touch her?

“Well,” she turned to the waitress waiting for her answer. “Tell him I’ll come over and talk to him, but I’m not making any promises about the, you know,” she waved her hand in the air to encompass the atmosphere of the room. “If he isn’t okay with that, then I decline.”

The waitress hurried off to deliver her answer. “Are you really going to go through with it?” Fallon asked.

“No, at least I don’t think so. He’s not bad looking, but I don’t get any good vibes when I look at him, and honestly, I don’t think I could stand another man touching me.”

“You won’t know for sure until you try. He’s nodding his head, go on over there. I’ll wait at the bar for you. I promise I won’t let you out of my sight. If he tries anything, slap him, and I’ll be there before the welt comes up on his face.”

“Thanks Fallon. I’ll feel better knowing I have backup.” Candace crossed the room and the man stood as she approached.
So far, so good
. She extended her hand. “Hi, I’m Candace.”

He took her hand and briefly shook it. Candace felt nothing, except his cold and sweaty palm. “Bill, nice to meet you.”

They sat, but Candace made sure to keep a respectable distance between them. “I’m flattered by your interest, but I don’t want to do that, not that you aren’t, well, attractive, because you are, but,” she rambled.

“But you aren’t that kind of girl?”

Candace smiled, grateful Bill wasn’t too disappointed. “Right. Not that I’m a prude or anything, but this whole public display thing isn’t my style.”

“We can go somewhere private.”

“Well, uh…”

“No?”

She smiled again. “No. I’m sorry. I can’t.” Not with him anyway. A few short minutes in the company of an attractive man and she had her answer. Not just any man would do, it had to be Ryan.

“That’s okay. I understand. In fact, that’s the reason I requested you. I didn’t think you would go through with it, and I liked the idea of meeting someone on this ship who wasn’t into gratuitous sex.”

“Thanks. You’re a nice guy Bill. I’m glad I met you.” After that, they talked for an hour about their lives off the ship. In the back of her mind Candace thought, this is the way it should have been with Ryan, if he’d only told me the truth in the beginning. Bill ordered drinks for them and before long, they were talking like old friends. Eventually, Fallon came over and dragged Candace away, but not before Bill leaned over and planted a kiss right on her lips. Candace didn’t try to resist, nor did she return the kiss.

“It’s been nice talking with you, Candace. I’ll leave my number with the concierge, in case you change your mind and want to contact me when we get back to Miami.”

“Wow,” Fallon said later as the two walked on deck, enjoying the salt air and moonlight. “You really hit it off with that guy.”

“Not really. It was like kissing my brother.”

“What the hell is she doing?” Ryan yelled at the monitor.

Richard downed the last of his beer and from the safety of Ryan’s sofa, watched his friend suffer. “Ain’t love grand?”

“If this hell is love, I don’t want any part of it.”

“Too late. That’s the way it works. You fall in love, then whammy, you get the good news. Your life, the one you’re used to, the one where you control things, is gone. Now the woman you love has a leash on your balls, and there’s not a damned thing you can do about it.”

“Oh yes I can. I’m going to go down to Aphrodite’s and throw that sorry piece of man-trash overboard.”

“You can’t do that,” Richard reasoned. “For one thing, that guy is a lot bigger than you, and for another, it would be bad for business.”

“He kissed her. Did you see that?”

“I did. She let him, ole buddy. You can’t go throwing people overboard because your woman is kissing them.”

“I don’t see why not.”

“I know she’s got your dick twisted tight as a corkscrew, but you can’t stop her from socializing with the other passengers. She’s a paying customer, and so is that guy she kissed. What’s she doing now?”

“She left with Fallon.”

“Where did they go?”

Ryan scanned the various video cameras until he found Candace and Fallon at Pan’s. He let go a string of curse words that would make a seasoned sailor blush when Candace wrapped her lips around some guy’s cock. “That’s it. I’m going to go down there and get her and then I’m going to drag her back here by her hair if I have to.” Ryan stood, but his eyes remained trained on the monitor.

“No, you’re not. Turn that thing off. You don’t have any right to spy on her, anyway.”

“This is my ship and I’ll damned well spy on anyone I want to.”

“It’s my ship too, and I said turn it off.” Ryan glared at Richard, and then looked back at the screen one more time before turning it off.

“It’s driving me crazy. No,
she’s
driving me crazy.”

“I know. I know exactly how you feel, but you can’t do anything about it tonight. I’m going to my cabin. Tomorrow is our last full day at sea and it starts early for me.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Just stay in your cabin and out of trouble tonight. We’re in American waters now, and I don’t want to have to explain to the FBI why you threw a couple of passengers overboard.”

“I’m sorry. This being in love shit is new to me, and I’m not doing a very good job of handling it.”

“You’ll get the hang of it. It gets easier, if that’s any consolation.”

“I’m not sure I’ll live long enough for it to get easier. What if she won’t talk to me tomorrow? What if she hooks up with some passenger tonight?”

“If she loves you, she won’t. You have to trust her. If you can’t trust her, your relationship isn’t going to make it to the dock, much less a lifetime.”

“I guess you’re right. Why is she doing this? Why is she sucking someone else’s dick, and kissing guys who don’t have necks?”

“I don’t know. Maybe she knows you’re watching?”

“Yeah, maybe. If she’s doing it for payback, it’s working.”

“Keep the monitor off, okay?”

“I’ll try.”

“You do that. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Ryan had every intention of keeping his word, but midnight rolled around and he knew Fallon would take Candace to the Chocolate Buffet. The passengers loved it and Fallon went every week. He turned the monitor on and scanned the cameras in the main dining room.

* * * *

“How do they get the chocolate to stay on?” Candace asked. The display of live chocolate sculptures exceeded her expectations. There were dozens of carved and molded chocolate sculptures to admire, but the ones commanding the most attention were the live models covered in chocolate. There were a total of three women and three men, all posed in erotic tableaus, and covered head to toe in hard chocolate.

“It’s a slow process done in a very cold room. They save the genitals and faces for the last minute. They’re done minutes before they’re wheeled out here.”

“Is he really…?”