Chapter Nine
Valzar waited for them on the dock when they arrived in the Caymans two days later. He was dressed in an immaculate white linen suit, his eyes shielded by dark glasses. With his black hair slicked back and hands tucked in his pockets, he was the picture of a Latin playboy.
Once again, looks were deceiving. He was all business as he shook Sean’s…no, Joe’s hand. She repeated the new name to herself again and again. He was Joe and she was Shannon. That was her new reality and she had to get used to it.
“I see you haven’t decided to take care of your little liability yet,” he said as soon as they came close. He looked over her coolly, but this time he seemed less hostile. More bemused, and perhaps a bit curious.
“I find that I enjoy her company a great deal,” Sean said. “You have no idea what it’s like to have a companion who isn’t always asking for things.”
“That’s certainly true,” Valzar said, and he gave a rusty laugh that startled her. “My women tend to be fairly high maintenance. Always some new jewel or toy. Speaking of toys, I think you’ll enjoy the boat. I had some special modifications made in the interests of meeting your needs.”
Together they stepped into the boat, Sean turning to help Sandra. It wasn’t large, but still bigger than she’d expected. There was a wide, flat deck broken by a cockpit that thrust up out of it, sort of like a small house. They walked over to the hatch and she stepped in, stumbling at first. Valzar and Sean caught her at the same time, their strong hands pulling at the fabric of her blouse and nearly choking her.
“You need to be careful,” Valzar said, his tone low and silky. “It doesn’t have steps; it’s more of a ladder. You’ll do better to go down backwards.”
She took a deep breath, steadied herself, and slowly climbed down into the darkened interior of the ship’s cabin. Her eyes took a moment to adjust, and then she was able to see around her. It was lovely.
Everything was done in natural woods and brass.
She was in a small galley, everything tucked away neatly against one wall. A little table curved against another wall. The men joined her, and she shuffled forward uncertainly. It was cramped with all of them in the same small space.
“Go on through the door,” Valzar said, nodding to an opening just past the table. She opened the door before her and stepped into another room, this one dominated by a king-size bed. Small doors flanked either side of the cabin.
“The head is through there,” Valzar said, nodding toward one of them. “This will be your room. There’s another small one behind the galley, where the crew sleeps. I’ve stocked it with everything you’ll need, and I’m sure you’ll be very comfortable.”
“What’s that other door lead to?” she asked, and then bit her tongue. The last thing she should be doing was opening conversations with Valzar. The man was a snake, and he would swallow her whole given half the chance. She knew it instinctively.
“That’s the communications room,” he said. “Normally it would be another sleeping cabin, but I’ve had it converted. You will not be in that room.”
“Please don’t take that tone with her,” Sean said in a cool voice. “You’re a good friend Valzar, but you’re overstepping your boundaries here.”
Valzar bristled at his tone.
Sandra pressed back against the wall, wishing herself invisible. They were like two large, caged cats, both filled with coiled tension and seeming to take up far more space than was available in the small cabin. The moment passed, and Valzar nodded his head at Sean.
“I see how it is,” he said. “You’ve made your choices. I’ll respect them. Just don’t forget that I warned you.”
“I won’t forget,” Sean said, his voice equally chilly. “You’ve done many things for me, but this is something I choose to do for myself.”
“I’m sorry,” Valzar said. “I’d hoped we could go back into business together, but I can see now that that isn’t going to happen. I won’t allow her to destroy me, too.”
“I don’t plan on destroying anyone,” she said suddenly, and then clapped one hand across her mouth.
She’d done it again. Why the hell couldn’t she keep her mouth shut? Both men looked at her, startled.
“I’m just trying to stay alive and make my way in the world like anyone else. Destroying either of you isn’t part of my plan. I have no idea how I’d go about it for one thing. Heck, I don’t think I’d want to. At least not in Sean’s case.”
They looked at her a moment longer, then turned away.
“Wait for us here,” Sean said, as if she hadn’t spoken. “Valzar and I need to go over the communications equipment.”
She nodded her head, feeling as if it was all some surreal dream. They treated her as if she didn’t exist in her own right, as if she weren’t a full human being capable of making her own choices. Neither of them seemed to realize she was more than a doll.
It was extremely frustrating.
The men disappeared behind the door, Valzar having keyed in a series of numbers to the small, electronic lock. She turned, surveying the room once more. This time she noticed more details. There was an inlaid headboard with shelves at the top of the bed, seemingly built right into the structure of the boat. There were several small portholes lining the cabin walls, barely large enough to let in the light, but it would be enough to let the inhabitants tell if it were light or dark.
Behind her, flanking the opposite wall from the bathroom, were drawers and what appeared to be a small closet, all made of the same smooth, highly-polished wood that most of the interior featured. She opened on of the drawers, and was only slightly surprised to find it already full of women’s clothing. She pulled out a lacy black bra and checked the size.
They’d definitely been ordered for her, she noted. Valzar and Sean were nothing if not thorough.
She turned and left the cabin, feeling a bit rebellious. She passed quickly through the galley and then climbed up the ladder-like stairs. On the deck were two large, tough-looking men in suits similar to Valzar’s. One of them nodded his head at her, his eyes drifting down her body in an appreciative if distant manner. She didn’t bother saying anything to them. They were there to keep her from running away, she understood that. She wondered if they would also be the crewmembers. It seemed odd, as they were hardly dressed for sailing.
The boat rocked slightly as someone stepped on board, and she turned to see a small, scrawny man with a scar running across his cheek hopping over to the deck. He carried a black rucksack and wore only a pair of shorts. The two men in suits bristled.
“Don’t worry,” he said, nodding at them in a friendly manner. “Valzar sent me. I’m one of the new crewmembers. The other’s on his way.”
The suits still looked skeptical, as did Sandra. This man hardly looked strong enough to work, let alone run a sailboat as big as this one.
“Oh, I know what I’m doing,” he said, giving her a crooked smile and spitting briskly into the water. “I grew up in these islands, lived my entire life on the water. Have my own boat, too. Only came out because Valzar begged me to help his good friend Joe.”
She cocked her head, trying to imagine Valzar begging anyone.
“Call me Skip,” he said, moving quickly across the deck and reaching out one hand to her. She took it, and he leaned in close to whisper in her ear. His voice was hardly friendly and harmless now.
“Valzar’s told me all about you, chippie,” he said in low tones. “I have a great deal of respect for our mutual friend, and don’t think for one moment I’d hesitate to slit your throat if I thought he was in trouble.”
He leaned back, all smiles again.
“We understand each other?” he asked, his tone friendly once more. She nodded her head quickly, feeling faint. Valzar’s presence hung around her like a dark shadow. The man wanted her dead, and she had no doubt that given enough time he’d find a way to make it happen.
Skip nodded to the men in suits and walked quickly over to the hatch. Within seconds he was out of sight, and she stood on the deck once more, looking at the boats around her and wondering if anyone on them could help her.
She thought about screaming, jumping off the ship into the water and making for a friendly face. But none of the boats around appeared to have anyone on board, and the two men in suits had their eyes glued to her. She wrapped both arms around her body, a part of her wishing they were still at the villa. At least there she’d known she was trapped. She’d hate it, but in another way it had been strangely comforting.
There had been no hope of escape, and that meant she didn’t have to worry about it. All she had to do was lie back, relax and enjoy the bizarre situation in which she’d found herself. It was a place out of time, out of space.
Now she was back in the real world. There were other people around her, places she could run. There were probably even policemen in the harbor, if she could just think of a way to contact them.
Of course, given the way things had gone for her so far, they were on Valzar’s payroll, too. Everybody seemed to work for that man.
* * * * *
Three hours later Valzar was gone, and they were slowly motoring out of the harbor. She sat up on the bow, watching idly as they passed a variety of other vessels, occasionally waving to a friendly face on another boat.
Sean came and sat down beside her. Surprisingly, he wore a ragged pair of cutoffs and nothing else. He cocked one eye at her startled expression.
“What?”
“I’ve never seen you look so… casual,” she said after a moment.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been this relaxed,” he replied, leaning his head back against rise of the boat’s cabin “Do you realize that we don’t have to do anything?”
“Well, we have to leave to sail the boat,” she said.
“Yes, but we don’t have to do it right now.”
“How long will the crew be with us?”
“I haven’t decided yet,” he said, reaching one arm around her shoulders to pull her close. “Why, do you dislike them already?”
She looked back to where Skip sat at the wheel. Their second crewmember, a youngish man named Jose, scampered about, checking ropes and tightening things.
“No, I don’t like them,” she said. “Did you know that Skip threatened me?”
“I’m not surprised,” Sean, dropping his head to kiss the top of hers. “We already knew how protective Valzar is.”
“I think he’s jealous of me,” she said suddenly. “He wants you to work with him again, and he thinks that I’m the reason you’re not. Is that true?”
He stayed silent, rubbing the top of her head with his fingers instead.
“It is true,” she said softly. “You can let me go, Sean. I don’t want to hurt you. I want you to go on with your life, and I want to do the same.”
Once again he didn’t reply. Instead, he reached down and tilted her head up toward his. His lips dropped down, kissing her softly on the mouth, and then straying across her cheek. His hands started a restless crawl across her body, reaching down and grasping her hips, turning and pulling her until she straddled him. She could feel the length of his erection through her shorts. Liquid fire jetted through her and she melted against him. Why was he able to do this to her so easily?
“Don’t,” she whispered nervously.
“Why not?” He asked, his tone bemused.
“Because they’ll see us,” she said, her voice tense, eyes darting across the horizon at the other boats.
“I don’t care if they see us,” he said softly into her ear. His clever fingers slid her zipper down, even though her hands batted at him, trying to stop him. He took no notice.
“I care,” she hissed back. “And I’ll bet they care, too. Why should they have to put up with that? You’re sick.”
His hands were inside her shorts now, cupping the curve of her buttocks, rubbing her back and forth against his cock. She shuddered in need, and then took a deep breath before pushing at his shoulders hard to catch his attention.
“I’m not going to do this,” she said firmly. “It’s simply not going to happen.”
He cocked his head at her then lifted his hands.
“You win,” he said.
She sniffed, pulling herself free and sitting beside him on the deck. Her pants were still loose, but she couldn’t quite figure out how to fasten them without sitting up on her knees, and that would give the two men behind them too much of a show.
They sat together quietly for a time. The sun started to lower in the far horizon when he reached over and pulled her into his lap again, this time facing away from him.
She started to fuss, but his hands came up and stilled her.
“Just sit and enjoy the moment,” he said softly. His strong fingers rubbed her shoulders, easing the tension of the moment. She relaxed, and it seemed entirely natural when his hand drifted down her shoulders until it cupped her breast, rubbing absently at her nipple through the soft cotton fabric of her shirt. She leaned back against him, enjoying the sensation. For some reason it didn’t seem as threatening as before…
perhaps because they were out of the harbor. She could feel the bulge of his erection growing beneath her bottom, but he wasn’t intent on rubbing it against her this time. He seemed more inclined to simply be close to her, enjoying her presence and the touch of her body.
She felt each breath he took against her back, his muscular chest swelling and falling in time. She let her head loll back against him, enjoying the warmth of the sun as it washed over her with a gentleness that hadn’t been present in the jungle.
His hands left her breasts, moving slowly down her body to her stomach to loosen her shirt. His finger slipped under it with deceptive ease, and then started rubbing the soft skin of her belly. It felt so good.
She knew she should make him stop, but she couldn’t seem to make herself move. Just breathing had become an effort.
Gently, the fingers of one hand slipped beneath her panties. She tried drawing her legs together. Before she got far, his knees came up between hers, and his legs levered hers apart with a gentleness that belied the firmness of his touch. She found herself draped across him, butt in his lap, legs sprawled across his, and she knew in that instant that no matter what he did to her, she wouldn’t try to stop him. It simply felt too good.
She shivered when his fingers grazed against her *. He knew how to touch her, knew how sensitive the little nub was. So sensitive that it was almost painful at times, but his hands were soft. Back and forth, squeezing and working, his fingers slipped across her *, their way eased by the flood of moisture seeping out of her. When his hand dropped lower, his fingers slid into her opening with a gentleness that was almost embarrassing. So much for her earlier protests. At that moment she didn’t care who might see them, all she wanted was to make sure he kept touching her.
Then he pulled his hand away, and she gave a little whimper of protest.
“Wait,” he whispered in her ear, and then he wrapped one arm around her waist and lifted her body ever so slightly. His hand dipped down behind her. Then it came back around and he pushed her legs together a bit, pulling her shorts down from behind. When they were around her upper thighs, he brought her back over his lap.
“Just hold still,” he said, and she could feel the hot length of his cock against her ass. He lifted her body, and to her surprise, his cock slid neatly into her vagina.
He was big, and he’d always filled her completely, but this time was different. Perhaps it was the strange position, or the fact that her legs were nearly closed, but he seemed to be larger somehow. She could feel every delicious inch of him coming into her, a slow slide from behind that almost made her gasp several times. His hands came around front again, and this time he reached up inside her shirt to work her nipples. She hadn’t worn a bra, leaving her breasts completely exposed to his touch. His fingers sought out the stiff little peaks, massaging and pulling on them as he slid into her waiting body with slow determination. She tried to move, tried to wiggle her hips, but he clamped down on her, pinning her to his body with his hands.
“You do what I tell you,” he said softly. “I’m in control here.”
She nodded her head, a secret thrill running through her. After long seconds of slowly sinking, she reached bottom. She felt his belly against her ass, and unable to control herself, she squeezed him once with her internal muscles. His hips bucked up involuntarily, and he gave a muffled groan.
Not completely in control, she thought wickedly.
He head still lolled back against his shoulder, arms at her sides and her breasts being worked by his hands. He cocked his hips a bit, and then whispered, “Touch me.”
She nodded her head, knowing instinctively what he was asking. She flexed herself within, and felt an answering twitch from him. One of his hands left her breasts and drifted down, fingers diving between her legs to the tiny nubbin of her *. As he plucked at it, and then rubbed her firmly, she arched her back and gasped. Inside she clenched him once more, wringing a moan of satisfaction from him.
“That’s what I want.”
She nodded her head against him, and squeezed him again. She supposed she should try and do some kind of steady rhythm, but that seemed impossible. There was a tension within her, spiraling out with every tantalizing rub of his fingers, and she could only respond by clutching him tighter. Every few seconds she forced herself to release, concerned she might be hurting him, but he never said a word.
Instead his fingers worked her, rubbing in small circles while pushing with just enough pressure to drive her mad.
Tiny twinges built in her body, and suddenly she was filled with a sense of terrible energy. She couldn’t move, couldn’t shake it, even though she desperately needed to. She shifted restlessly, clenching and unclenching as his fingers continued their slow, terrible torture of her body.
She was close to the edge. She shivered in tension, and with every breath she clutched at his cock, the solid pressure and presence driving her crazy. She wanted him to move , needed him to move. She wanted him to push her forward on the deck and pound into her, crushing her with his weight and filling her with his seed. She wanted that terrible tension to ease, and she’d do anything to make it happen.
She moaned out loud, and he gave a long, low chuckle. His fingers stopped moving, and he whispered in her ear once more.
“What do you want?”
“I want you to f*ck me,” she said, each word a gasp. “Oh Sean, I need it so bad. Please.”
He laughed, wrapping one arm firmly around her waist and holding her to him as he shifted. As if he’d read her mind, he lowered her before him face first to the deck. Somehow he managed to pull the shorts off her completely, although she had no clue how. She found herself on her hands and knees on the prow of the boat, speared by his cock and poised on the edge of insanity.
“Do it now,” she demanded, her voice hoarse with frustration. His hands gripped her hips, pulled back, and then slammed forward into her with a force that nearly dropped her.
He was huge. He pushed her delicate tissues open, a marauder set on taking her for his own. Eyes closed, it was easy to imagine she was on an old sailing ship, prisoner to a pirate’s lust and subject to his every whim. Again and again he pummeled her, each stroke bringing her closer to the edge. His fingers reached around her, dancing cleverly across the center of her desire, and then she exploded into a thousand pieces. She felt her limbs give way, and he lifted her by the waist, torso dangling forward. He swung her around, laying her face down across the top of the cabin, arms spread out before her and knees braced on the deck. He started thrusting into her again, and her sensitive flesh cried out for relief. It was too much, she couldn’t take any more. Again and again he thrust into her, and she hovered desperately on the brink of another orgasm.
He rode her hard, never giving an inch. Her muscles clenched and unclenched, grasping at him as if she could hold him into her body if she just tried hard enough. Each time he pulled away from her before slamming into her again.
Finally, right on the edge of her orgasm, her head lolled to one side and her eyes drifted open. Standing before her were both of the crewmen, their faces intent. To her horror, Skip rubbed an enormous erection through his pants. Jose stood behind the smaller man, arms wrapped around him, nuzzling his neck. The two men must be lovers.
She wanted to scream at them, to wilt in shame at being seen this way, but all she could do was focus on breathing. She closed her eyes again, pretending they weren’t there. Sean thrust into her one more time and she was done.
Starbursts exploded behind her eyes, and every bit of her seemed to cease for one brief, shining moment.
She could hear Sean crying out behind her as his seed burst forth into her body. He shuddered against her, and then collapsed over her, sucking in deep breaths of air.
Gradually she became aware again of the rocking of the boat, and the soft sighing of the wind as it whispered through the empty rigging. Sean lifted himself, and then pulled her back into his lap, cradling her and kissing her face softly. She felt tears building up and welling out of her eyes, and then it washed over her. Everything that had happened, from her kidnapping to this strange new existence hit her at once. She missed her old life, that was true—but what scared her the most was she’d just allowed herself to be f*cked by the man who’d captured her, in front of his crew, and all she could think was how much she wanted it to happen again.
What had come over her, what kind of person was she deep down inside?
She sobbed quietly in his arms for what had to be an hour, and he simply held her, rubbing the top of her head and giving her small kisses on her face. Then he led her slowly around the deck to the ladder, taking her down into the cabin. She realized later that she still wasn’t wearing her shorts, and that the two other men had seen everything .
It doesn’t really matter, though, she told herself that night as she looked in the mirror. Once two men watch you f*ck doggy style on a boat deck, a little casual nudity isn’t all that serious in comparison.