Chapter 27

Chapter

Twenty-Seven

Oliver watches me gingerly sit on the massage table the next day, smirks, and then proceeds to snort-laugh when I flip him the bird. I stretch out on the table, grumbling while he pulls himself together.

"Tender?" His lips twitch as he pours some oil into his palm.

"Glad I amuse you." I huff and close my eyes, trying to shut him out. I hear his palms rubbing together and crack an eye open. "You know, in the land of normals, losing your virginity doesn't make the evening news."

"Fair enough. I'd like to point out that, in the land of normals, losing it to someone as hot as Darien is more fantasy than reality."

"You have a point."

Oliver works wonders on my muscles. When I flip over, he spends a long time on my shoulders before moving down my back. It's with a bit of chagrin that I enjoy his attention to my butt. There must be a few red marks from the prior evening because he's extra gentle and applies a balm that feels fabulous.

By the time my spa session is over, I'm relaxed and ready to see Darien. Zed leads me toward the beach, and I stop to gaze at the building that houses the Spice Room. He follows my stare. "You're not meeting there tonight."

"Oh." My nemesis, Insecure Eden, tries to convince me it's because I turned him off somehow. I duct tape her mouth. I walk next to Zed, my mind consumed with snippets from the night before, part of me aching that I can't enjoy more of them today.

We get closer to the shore, and he steers me toward a dock jutting into the crystal blue ocean. I have a sudden urge to jump into that water like I see others doing. "Why aren't I allowed to swim?"

"You haven't asked."

"Am I allowed to swim?"

"If it were up to me, I'd let you."

Interesting. Darien is pulling the strings. Of course he is. He sure pulled mine last night. Every single one. "Where are we going?"

"There." He points to the end of the dock, where a catamaran is waiting with an insanely gorgeous man standing on its deck.

I've never been on a boat before. Sure hope I don't get seasick. Darien, all seventy-five delicious inches of him, hops off the boat, meeting us halfway down the dock. My stomach flips as I recall how good his body felt last night.

He dips his head to Zed, who wishes us a good day, leaving me facing my Master. God, that word has so much more meaning now .

Darien takes my hand and kisses my knuckles, keeping his lips hovering above them while he looks at me from beneath his brow. "How do you feel today?"

My attention flicks from his mouth to his eyes. It's hard to focus. Does sea air cause mental lapses? "What?"

"How do you feel?" He presses his mouth to the back of my hand, his thumb rubbing in a slow circle where it rests on my palm. When he lets go, I feel the loss. It's as good as a splash of cool water. Darien's eyes drift down, and I realize what he's asking.

"Oh. I'm okay." There's no point in sugarcoating it, so I admit, "Tender."

"I thought so."

Crap. Does it show? Am I waddling or something? "You can tell?"

He chuckles. "No. You don't look like a duck."

How does he do that? I must be really transparent. "I'll check that worry off the list."

He leads me onto the boat. It's a sleek design and looks fast. Hopefully it's not too fast. I'm unsure about the whole open-water thing when sharks could be involved. It's an irrational worry, but all I hear is Roy Scheider saying, you're gonna need a bigger boat. "Is this safe?"

He looks surprised. "Haven't you been on a boat before?"

"Nope."

"What a pleasure it is to be the first in many things." He winks at me and untethers the catamaran.

I grab onto the edge of the boat as we set off, my death grip loosening as the sails take the wind. My stomach remains calm. I point my face toward the horizon and into the spray of the sea. Relaxing, I look up at Darien, finding him watching me from the helm, his hand on the wheel.

Smiling, I say, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For this. For last night."

He shakes his head. "I believe the appreciation should be reversed. It's you who've given so much. You chose me. I'm not worthy of you, but I'll take you anyway."

"I don't know about the whole worthy thing, since you like your secret identity, but I'll take the compliment." I grin at him. "I deserve it."

Darien laughs. "Do you now?"

"Definitely."

"I may need to spank some humility into you?"

"Promise?" I giggle when he lunges for me.

I'm no match for his strength as he positions me across his lap, smacking my bare ass with a series of sharp slaps. I writhe beneath his hand, groaning when he rubs his fingers over the skin, flaring with delicious stings. I feel his cock harden, and heat pools in my stomach.

"You've no idea what you're doing to me."

"Tell me." I wriggle, parting my legs as his hand dips into the crack of my ass.

His fingers lightly trace the lips of my pussy. "I want to cuff your wrists and tie your legs open to the railing. I want you helpless. Exposed. Then I want to lick your clit, and fuck you until you scream."

Holy shit. I want that, too.

Darien moves his hands away from my crotch, and I whimper.

He whispers, "But I won't. "

"Why not?" I ask in a voice little more than a breathy plea.

"I'd hurt you."

I crane my neck to look at him.

"You're too tender. You need time to heal."

Oh. Well, crap. He's right, but I'm not happy about it.

He slaps my ass. "We can't until I can fuck you as hard and fast as I want to." His fingers trace spiral on my buttocks, interspersed with pinches and slaps. "But there are other things you're going to do for me. Other things I'm going to do to you. Right here on the open sea."

Aye, aye, captain!