Faking It

by Nikki Bella

  “Quick! Quick!” I heard Keith snapping at me, reaching down to take Misty from me. I let him drag her up onto his craft.

  “I’m sorry,” I heard Misty moan, so at least I knew she was okay. “I’m fine,” she protested, as Keith slung her across the saddle in front of him. He gunned his motor and sped away from me, and I caught a glimpse of Misty’s face as they turned. She looked shaken but managed to mouth the words ‘thank you’, as Keith headed to the stern of the yacht.

  Henry appeared behind me and helped me up onto the back of his Waverunner. He turned in his seat and threw his arms around me. “Give me a heart attack, why don’t you?” he moaned at me. “You don’t always have to be a hero, do you?”

  “I’m sorry, buddy,” I patted his back as he hugged me. “Next girl I see drowning, I’ll leave her in the water.”

  “Promise?” he smiled, turning around to drive us back to the landing platform.

  Misty was escorted up the steps back to the sundeck by Keith. Brett supervised as I climbed, to make sure I hadn’t hurt myself in the dive, with Henry and a faintly amused-looking Bella. We were made to lay in loungers while the rest of the crew appeared on deck. I thought Captain Harper would be all over me, ensuring I wasn’t going to sue him, his crew, or his employers but, to his credit, he went straight over to Misty, making sure she was okay first of all. It must have felt strange to her, being laid down and fussed over by a group of half-naked girls that she was supposed to be taking care of. There was a cut on her arm where some broken glass had got her, which Sarah attended to with the first aid kit.

  Brett had some first responder training as well and was very quickly able to confirm I hadn’t hurt my neck or back, or given myself a concussion when I dived into the water. As soon as Brett was done, the captain squatted down next to me.

  “I want to thank you, Mr. Harcourt,” he said, very warmly and offering me a hand to shake. “Only poor captains lose shipmates. I’m grateful you prevented me from becoming a poor captain. However, please let us look out for you from now on?”

  “I’ve no problem with that, sir,” I told him, shaking his hand.

  Ada shook his hand too, then remained glued to my side. She praised my bravery while simultaneously cursing my foolishness, as she tried to towel me off and cover me with kisses at the same time. I asked her to go and find me a scotch, then made my way over to Misty.

  “Are you okay?” I asked her, still out of breath a little.

  “I’m fine, Mr. Harcourt,” she smiled weakly up at me, “but you really shouldn’t have dived in like that. You’re so brave…”

  Goddamn! I cursed inwardly. I felt my chest tighten and my loins tingle as she smiled directly at me. Why is she so bewitching? Why did I dive in so quickly after her? She wasn’t in any real danger, not with calm seas and a whole crew on hand to save her. Still, she looked more stunning than ever, now. Soaking wet, vulnerable, and helpless. I couldn’t help the feelings I was having. I was physically attracted to her, sure, but it was more than that. Something inside me wanted to care for her too. It felt like there was something in her that called out to me, making me feel responsible for her and that was maybe why I’d been avoiding getting too close with her. I felt like I wanted to be with her, to love her, far more than I wanted to be with Ada. And, right then, I was afraid that both of them could tell.

  Misty

  While Tanya and Sarah served the evening meal up on the sundeck, I ate chicken and rice in the crew lounge. Captain Harper gave me the night off to recover from my trauma, but I insisted I’d be fine to pull the evening shift and sit up late with the guests, serving drinks and nibbles as required, until the last one went to bed. Tarquin was busy, and the deckhands had already eaten, so I sat and chewed by myself. It was bound to be a long night, but it could be an ideal opportunity to make sure I’d successfully hooked my target now.

  I knew I wanted him to leap in and save me. I needed him to. Needed him to become invested in my life and wellbeing but, despite everything, I couldn’t help but feel comforted by what looked like genuine concern. I was flattered that he would risk his life to save mine but I wasn’t, repeat wasn’t, strangely drawn to the sexy way his wet shirt clung to his thick, muscled torso. Nope. Not one bit.

  After dinner, Sarah left Tanya and I to serve the guests and retired. She had to be up early to prepare for breakfast and the next day. Tanya mixed drinks and flirted about, looking totally amazing in her evening uniform, an Asian-style black number that pulled tight across her slim waist to really make her heavenly butt and bust pop. And she was getting plenty of attention, not only from Paul, Henry, and D Cash, obviously, but one or two of the girls present allowed their gaze to linger on her sexy body for a little longer than was necessary.

  Tyler, though, stayed sat all night at the bar that I was working behind. Ada kept coming and sitting with him, whispering in his ear, then stalking off to go talk with one of the others, but Tyler remained stoically across from me, occasionally letting me refill his glass with 18-year-old Glenmorangie, and largely ignoring his girlfriend.

  “Really, Tyler?” I heard Ada breathe softly into his ear. “Isn’t it time we went to bed? After your heroics today, don’t you think you deserve some sort of reward? Or at least a little pampering??”

  Ada’s eyes flicked quickly over me but I pretended to be not paying attention. I wanted Tyler to stay at my bar, though. I wanted us to connect. And I felt sure we would, if only I could get him away from that Asian goddess.

  “I’m sorry, darling,” Tyler said to Ada, “I’m a little… I don’t know… something about this afternoon. I think I need to have another drink.” He tried to take her aside, “I’m sorry, baby, it just doesn’t feel right. Can we make it up tomorrow night?”

  For a second, Ada looked livid, ready to curse him out. She cast such a hateful glance at me that I almost dropped the glass I was drying. How did I end up in the firing line? Then, just as quickly, she returned to calm.

  “I can’t promise anything,” she said, loudly enough for everyone to hear, and walked off downstairs. D Cash, Ruby, and Britney slid away shortly after, only minutes before a loud argument broke out between Bella and Henry. As far as I could tell, Bella was berating Henry in Spanish, Henry was apologizing in English, while Paul, who knew both languages, was trying to sort it all out. Mercifully, they decided to go below, so Tanya escorted them. She fired me a saucy wink as she left me and Tyler alone on deck. Like she was giving me the go-ahead now there was no one else around.

  Aside from a few interruptions, Tyler and I had been having a light, fun and engaging conversation through the night. So much so that, once or twice, I’d almost forgotten my mission for revenge and nearly divulged a couple of things about my past and my family that might have upset the applecart.

  This is weird, I thought as we talked, he’s not arrogant or greedy. His friends seem to really like him. I thought he would be an asshole, bragging and talking my ear off about how amazing he is, but he just isn’t.

  “Why are you being so secretive?” he asked, after the third time I dodged a question. “I’ve droned on about my life and my past all night, but I still know so little about you.”

  “It’s the dynamic,” I answered with a smile. “The psychiatrist doesn’t divulge anything about herself to the nut-job on her couch, does she?”

  Tyler thought for a second, then burst out laughing. I half expected him to attack me for implying he was anything less than perfect, but it was such a joyous, infectious laugh, I couldn’t help but start to laugh with him.

  “I do know one thing about you, though,” he said, as his breathing returned to normal. I froze, my heart suddenly thumping in my chest and a horrible cold feeling running through me. Shit! Has he been playing me all along? Is that why he’s being so nice? I felt very scared, and couldn’t have been more surprised if Tyler whipped out a Luger pistol and shot me in the stomach. “I’ve seen you move about this boat all day, and I don’t think there’s any way
you could have accidentally fallen overboard this afternoon. You’re too much of a pro.”

  I smiled and looked him deep in the eye. This was going to be a gamble. “You’ve got me,” I put my hands up, “The truth is you were ignoring me and I didn’t like it. I wanted your attention. I wanted to see if you’d save me, that’s all.”

  “And what if I hadn’t?”

  “I grew up around boats, I can swim like a fish.”

  “And now that I have?”

  I looked quickly around the deck. We were alone. Before I knew what I was doing, I leaned in and kissed him, full on the lips. I held it for as long as I dared, then stood back up straight again. Tyler sat there, still and stunned.

  “Okay, closing time,” I sang, not able to look him in the eye. “You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here. Please, leave everything, I’ll clean up in the morning.” And, with that, I trotted hastily away. I didn’t look up until I got to my cabin.

  Did I really do that? Did we really do that? These were the only thoughts running through my mind as I lay in my bunk. Even the quiet rocking of the ocean, usually all but guaranteed to send me off to sleep, seemed like it was mocking me. A creak and the boat rolled to port, did I really do that? A gentle push to starboard, did we really do that? It was like the sea itself was questioning my decision-making skills.

  I had kissed Tyler Harcourt, a man I’d chased halfway across the world to confront and exact revenge on. A man whose family was responsible for the ruin of my life and the death of my father. And I had kissed him.

  True, I’d had been doing my best to get him to fall for me since he came aboard. Catching his eye with shy smiles; listening to his troubles over drinks late at night; pretending to fall overboard so he would save me. Okay, so that last one was a bit extreme, but the way he didn’t hesitate to dive in after me, it felt good to have someone risk their life for me.

  He was supposed to be a carefree billionaire playboy, a corporate monster that made needlessly huge amounts of money acquiring ailing companies and breaking them up, with no regard for the people who rely on those jobs, as his father had done to my father. Yet he leaped straight into the ocean to drag me out. This didn’t add up with the way I’d imagined he’d be.

  It's not fair, either, I found myself thinking, that he’s so damned good looking. Despite my confusion and surging emotions, the image of him after he’s pulled me out of the water, his thick, wet hair slicked back off his face, his thin, white cotton shirt gone see-through and clinging to his sculptured chest and hard, defined abs. I even felt a tingle in my most intimate parts. Thankfully, a snore from Tanya in the bunk above broke me from my reverie.

  You still know what you have to do, I reminded myself. Maybe the kiss was a good thing. If no one saw, which I was almost sure about, and if Tyler didn’t report me, I wouldn’t be fired and, almost certainly, I’d have him where I wanted him. I just needed to string him along for the day and then I could drop my bomb on him in the evening. It may end up being a private revenge, but if I could see just one glimmer of remorse, regret, or pain in his eyes over the way he’s lived his life and the people he’s hurt, it would all be worthwhile.

  Tyler

  I lifted the tantalizingly sheer, gossamer fabric up over her head. Her honey-blonde hair cascaded in curls over her delicate shoulders and down her smooth, slender back. She giggled coyly as I spun her around to face me, her arms crossed playfully over her bare chest and a shining smile of pure delight dancing over her enticing lips. She shyly dropped her slim arms and I marveled at the perfection before me. The glittering sunlight played across her naked form as I reached out and gently caressed her soft, rounded breasts. Her eyes closed, that bright smile still enchanting me. My cock felt fully engorged. She reached down and delicately placed her small hand on it.

  “God, you’re so beautiful, Misty,” I heard myself whisper. “I’m dying to be inside you…”

  “What did you say, baby?” Ada breathed by my ear. She caressed my cheek with one hand, lying on her side against me. Her other hand was gripping my rock-hard shaft.

  “Uh… what was what?” I answered, still groggy.

  “You’re dying to be inside who?” she teased me, squeezing the base of my upstanding dick enough to cause a slight pain.

  “Uhm, all you, baby, you know that,” I managed to smile at her, gasping lightly as she dug her nails in.

  “Well, maybe,” she purred, “it’s time for fantasies to become reality.” I felt her hot nipples brush against my skin. gliding down the side of my body as she slid under the covers. I felt her warm tongue touch the tip of me, then her soft lips envelop the swollen head of my cock. Still half asleep, I closed my eyes as the blissful sensation of her mouth on me flowed up through my body, only for my vision of Misty, smiling, naked, and still glowing golden, drifted back into my mind. I suddenly sat bolt upright, throwing the covers off us both.

  “What is it?” she demanded.

  “Sorry, darling,” I stammered, “gotta pee. You know how it is.” I jumped up and rushed to the bathroom, leaving her naked and kneeling in the middle of the huge, round bed. What is wrong with you? I asked myself, Have you not heard of Blue Balls? They can be fatal, you know?

  My heart was racing and I was finding it hard to breathe. Ada was the heir to an enormous Japanese corporation, young, intelligent, and constantly voted by Harper’s, GQ, and Vogue as one of the ten most beautiful women on the planet. Yet I was hiding from her in the bathroom because she was sucking me off. How fucked up was that?

  Why couldn’t I get Misty out of my head? Why did it feel wrong to be with Ada, when she was almost begging me to fuck her? It was crazy, I hardly knew the girl, yet I’d dived straight into the sea to save her, spent the whole night talking to her, and felt like the luckiest man in the world when she kissed me. She kissed me. I was too taken aback to do much about it at the time. All I remember is her, suddenly pressing those soft lips against my own, her intoxicating scent filling my senses, the warmth of her skin brushing mine, and me, sitting there like a jerk, thinking all my Christmases had come at once.

  Whatever it was, no matter how physically turned on Ada got me, I just didn’t want to be with her. I guess that meant I wanted to be with Misty? Like I felt that letting Ada get me off would be like cheating? Whatever. I needed to think. I was just beginning to wonder how Misty was feeling, she seemed just as thrown off by the kiss as I was, when there was a knock on the bathroom door.

  “Darling? Are you okay?” came Ada’s voice.

  “Yeah,” I called back, turning on the shower. “I’ll be right out.”

  “Well, hurry up. Breakfast is being served.”

  I sat on the toilet until I heard her using her hairdryer. I figured there would be less chance of her trying to jump me if she was started on her beauty regime. With any luck, she’d have quickly got herself off while she thought I was in the shower, so I should be able to get dressed and slip out without too much hassle.

  I needed to talk with her. It wasn’t fair to keep Ada hanging on. I’m sure sex with her would be amazing and, for fuck’s sake, I was horny enough. But, whether there was ever going to be anything between Misty and I or not, I couldn’t sleep with Ada and be wishing I was with someone else. The truth was I didn’t want to be with Ada. I wanted to be with Misty. And, regardless of if she felt the same way, I had to be honest about that, no matter what.

  Only, it was a bad idea to break up with someone as strong-willed and as used to getting what she wants as Ada, while we’re both trapped on a boat in the middle of the Caribbean Sea. I’d have to fend her off until we put into port.

  Misty

  Having been the final steward on duty last night, I was excused the usual early morning rush to get breakfast prepared. Not that there was ever that much urgency on charter mornings. Often guests wouldn’t appear before ten, usually with a hangover, which left the cabin crew plenty of time to clean up from the night before, re-stock the bars, take care of
any produce orders that Chef Tarquin needed, while he was on standby with eggs, bacon, pancakes, fruit, and so on, which he would prepare to order.

  Although I wasn’t strictly on duty, I was in the galley anyway. I couldn’t relax. I felt like I’d been awake all night, trying to decide if I’d kissed Tyler to drag him further into my web, or because I wanted to. I guess I must have drifted off eventually because I woke and got up to run with Tanya and Brett as usual. But I knew that lying in my bunk right now was just going to give me more time to think, which was something I was really trying to avoid at the moment. So I washed, ironed, and folded all the laundry, as Tanya and Sarah got ready for the guests to appear, and I sat, keeping out of the way, sipping on a delicious fruit smoothie Tarquin had made for me. The clock just ticked past nine-fifteen when Sarah descended the galley steps.

  “Paul and Veronique are up!” she announced, “Apparently, Paul was awake to see you guys running at dawn.”

  “Typical sporty-type,” groaned Tarquin, “Horribly disciplined and annoyingly fit. It’s enough to make one physically ill.”

  I giggled. Tarquin’s posh London accent only served to highlight his overtly homosexual mannerisms, but he was one of the main reasons all the girls felt so happy and cared for when they spent time in the galley. He was our confidant, our critic, and our gay best friend whenever we needed him to be. Even Azure, the small, quiet second deckhand, spent more time in the galley than the crew lounge. That place was much more of a haven for testosterone and was almost always either populated by deckhands Brett and Mike, Adam the engineer, bosun Keith, or all four of them, shouting, high-fiving, and playing Xbox in their downtime.

  “They want egg-white omelets with steamed mushrooms and spinach, plus fruit smoothies. Chef’s choice of ingredients.”