by Jill Shannon
Cameron choked, and began coughing, reaching for his broken ribs. “How long have I been here?”
This time Doc understood every word. “They brought you in yesterday about 3:00 pm, and it’s 11:00 pm now. I sent everyone back to his or her cabin. This is the first time since they brought you on board you’ve been alone.”
“What happened?”
“Seems someone didn’t like the fact that you beat Arcola to a pulp, so I’m told. They took a shot at you. Had you not been jumping down, the shot would have hit you dead in the middle of your back.
You were very lucky, because of the blood loss, and your body already feeling the effects of the fight, it took a little longer then we expected for you to wake.”
“Who’s we?” Carmon reached for more water, testing the wound in his shoulder, he pulled back immediately pain shooting in every direction around it.
“You’ll need to wear a sling for a few days, it was a clean shot, but it tore through some flesh. Like I said, very lucky.”
“Who was here, Doc?” He needed to know if Sadie had been to see him.
“Well, let’s see. There was Dimitri, Madison, oh and Issy, I like her she’s so sweet. Um, Nicolas, Caleb.”
“Stop stalling, Doc, you know what I want to hear, was she here?”
“She was in the beginning.” Doc pulled a chair over and sat next to Cameron. “She was in pretty bad shape too, bruising all over her face, dehydrated, exhausted. I treated her, then sent her back to her cabin with Madison and Issy.”
Cameron started to sit up, but the doc pushed him back down. “No you don’t. Not yet, at least.”
“I need to tell her what happened.”
“No, you need to earn her trust again. All you had to do was tell her. None of this might have happened. From what I hear, she’s pretty tough. She could have been more aware of her surroundings. By not telling her, you left the door open for Arcola”
Cameron laid his head back on the pillow, a defeated look on his bruised face. His lip was swollen, his cheek was a nice shade of purple, which led up to his just about swollen closed eye. He wasn’t a pretty sight.
“I thought I was protecting her, that’s a Dom’s job too. How do you know when to choose one over the other?”
“Trust is always first, that is how you protect her. Without it there can be nothing serious between you. She needs to know that no matter what comes out of your mouth, it’s the truth.”
“Do I have a shot at fixing this?” He let his head fall back to look at Doc.
“I think you do, but it won’t be easy. Once you hurt a sub, they tend to wear it like a shield. You care about this one don’t you?”
“I think I might even love her. I just know I need to be with her. I’m better when I am. I have no baggage now, I cleared my past.”
“That man must’ve scrambled your brains if you think you’re clear of your baggage. Everyone has baggage, all different shapes and sizes, but baggage none the same. Just because you dumped part of yours doesn’t make you bag less.”
“I understand what you mean. I will file that bit of information, thanks, Doc. Now, can you get someone down here? I need some help getting up to my cabin. I’d rather recoup in my bed, nothing personal, Doc.”
“None taken, I’ll call Dimitri. Let me get that sling, then I’ll help you sit up.” Doc headed for the cabinets next to his desk. Picking up the phone, he called Dimitri, and requested his assistance with transporting Cameron to his cabin.
He then found the sling and a wheelchair. “I’m not going to need that, Doc,” Cameron told him.
“You will if I say you will. I’m not going to have you rip the stitches out I worked so hard on. Now, pick you head up so I can work this on you, then we’ll get you sitting up.”
By the time Dimitri walked into the sickbay, Cameron was in the wheelchair ready to go.
“You weren’t kidding when you said he was up and ready to go huh, Doc?”
“Thanks again, Doc, for the stitches and the advice.”
“Let’s go. I’m sure your back is killing you from that metal bed and foam mattress.”
“Hey, you’re the one who designed it, not me,” Doc yelled back at Dimitri.
“You have a point, Doc, I’ll bring it up at the next meeting,” Dimitri said, laughing as he pushed Cameron past him.
***
They reached Cameron’s cabin and Dimitri helped him into bed. “When are you going to tell me what happened?”
Dimitri turned from the bar with two glass of Cameron’s finest whiskey. “I figured you might need this.” He gathered both glasses in one hand and wrapped his fingers around the neck of the bottle bringing it with him.
“Stop stalling and get to it, what took them so long to get the women?”
Dimitri handed Cameron his glass, then sat in the chair opposite the bed with the table. He put down the bottle then downed his shot. Refilling his glass, he began telling what had happened.
“Jim and Mad Dog found the yacht that the women were on, but there were too many guards on board for them to handle, and keep the girls safe. They needed to wait till our teams got there.
“Once we arrived, they had already determined a plan of attack. Still, we needed to wait. We knew that half of them would leave with Ryan and his entourage. That would leave only four guarding the girls. Those were better odds.” Dimitri took another drink.
“We could only board from the dock side of the yacht, they had traps set on the water side. Jim and Mad Dog watched as they set them.
“Jim and Mad Dog took out the two upper guards, while Grayson and Caleb took care of two inside. They found the women. No one knew about the fifth guard. He got a hold of Madison and threatened to slit her throat.
“Dominic was able to sneak behind him. A knife, slicing along his neck had him seeing things our way.”
“I didn’t even ask. Were Madison and Isabella all right? Doc said they came to see me,” Cameron said.
“They were fine, Sadie however, well you saw. She tried to yell for help when they transferred the women from the van to the yacht. Dwayne gave her the first shiner. Then while they were on board, she broke Ryan’s nose. That earned her another slap, and the final blow to the other side of her face was Dwayne again.” Dimitri leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
“Isabella had released Sadie from the bondage cuffs attached to the bed. They were getting ready to leave when Grayson stuck his head in the room. Thank God he has good reflexes. Sadie almost took his head off with a statue.”
“Is it wrong for me to say I’m proud of her?” Cameron asked. “I never meant for this to happen. I was trying to avoid it. What did they do with Arcola? Tell me he’ll be in prison till the day he dies.”
“Yes, you should be proud of her. She didn’t let fear take over. That’s why she craves being a submissive, to surrender herself to her Dom completely. She can leave all the decisions in his hands, to turn her entire body over to someone who will master it, and bring it to life, like no one else.”
“I had that, and I want it back. What do you think? Will she submit to me, as she did before? Or will she hold back?”
“You won’t know till you ask her. And with that said, I’m going back to Madison. She was acting strange. I’m afraid of what this experience has done to her.”
“Hey! You never told me who shot me and why?”
“We’re thinking it was Ryan. Tia, Dwayne and he were the only ones not accounted for after the shooting. Martoni has people looking for them. Seems they ruined his event or some bullshit like that.”
“I hope Madison’s okay. I’ll see you tomorrow. Thanks for the drink.” Cameron downed the rest of his glass. Dimitri put them both on the table.
“Get some rest. You still have her confined for one more night,” Dimitri commented as he left the room.
Cameron lay back on his pillows, closing his eyes smelling Sadie with every breath he took. He craved to have her by his side, just
to have her close. He fell asleep with that thought in his mind.
***
Madison had called Sadie’s cabin when Dimitri left. They knew that Dimitri would get the call from Doc, letting him know when Cameron was awake.
Sadie had pretty much stayed to herself in her cabin after seeing what her face had looked like. The swelling had gone down, but the array of different colors, could scare someone.
It did come in handy though. She had gone to see Christy at guest relations again requesting a key to Cameron’s cabin, one look at her face and she just handed it over.
So now she just needed Dimitri to leave so she could get some answers. She pretty much figured things out, but she needed to hear it from him.
The door opened, and Dimitri left heading to his cabin next door. Sadie went to Cameron’s door and she froze. Should she do this or wait for him to come to her?
Everyone had told her he had moved her to protect her. That didn’t explain Queenie, and her going to his cabin. “Oh, what the hell!”
She put the key in the slot and twisted the handle, pushing the door in as she quietly entered. The cabin was dark, the moonlight reflected on the bed from the windows. The soft light fell across Cameron, quietly snoring in his bed.
The sheet rested at his waist when Sadie sat on the edge of the bed. His head was turned to the left side; she could see how his eye was a similar color to hers.
She reached out and touched the hair that had fallen across his brow, moving it back in place. “Sadie?” Cameron murmured in his sleep.
“I’m right here, Sir,” she whispered by his ear.
“Will you be there still when I wake?”
Sadie wasn’t sure if he was asleep or not. “I would like to be, Sir. I’m just not sure.”
Sadie moved around the bed and climbed on trying not to move it too much. She slid as close to Cameron facing him and just watching him sleep.
“I really thought we were different.” She traced his bruised knuckles. “I think I fell in love with you the first time I met you in the lounge. You kind of scared me a little too, but it excited the hell out of me.
“I couldn’t believe someone who looked as good as you, could ever be serious about someone like me. I’m just that ordinary girl in the back of the class who everyone knows about, but doesn’t know at all.
“It really hurt, the feeling of being tossed aside without any explanation. It can really do a number on someone’s self-esteem.”
Sadie traced the sling holding his shoulder. “You didn’t deserve this. You fought a great fight. I wish we had gotten there sooner, at least then you might not have had as many bruises.
“Dimitri told me you were holding back, that you needed to know I was safe before you would really fight back. You could have lost everything! You could have died.”
Sadie started to roll gently off the bed, “I just wish you could have trusted me. Maybe I could have helped, or stayed out of the way. But I would have been following my Dom’s commands.
“You know the day we were in Jamaica, I bought a pin because it reminded me of my two favorite people my grandma and you, but I’m going to leave it with you and maybe it will remind you of me.” She leaned over him and kissed his brow before she left him to sleep.
His eyes opened when he heard the click of the door closing, he looked down on his chest to see the angel wing pin encrusted with black and white diamonds.
“Yes, it will remind me of you,” Cameron whispered. “But I won’t need it because I will get you back.” Cameron closed his eyes and went back to sleep.
Chapter Sixteen
“You have to come, Sadie, you’ve been holed up in this cabin since we got back on the ship. This is the last after party; it’s the Black and White Masquerade. I can only imagine some of the costumes people will wear tonight.”
“Thank you guys. I’m not ready to face the rest of the ship. I’m sure by now every passenger and crewmember knows what happened or at least some version of it. Plus, look at my face.” The swelling had gone down, but it still looked bad.
Madison and Isabella had been checking in on Sadie throughout the prior day and night. She refused to leave her cabin, but they were determined to get her to the party.
“You need to get out of the cabin and it’s a masquerade. Your face will be covered.” Madison looked around the cabin.
“No I don’t, if I want to go outside, I walk through those doors.” Sadie pointed to the balcony. “If I need to eat, I call room service. Dimitri gave me the rest of the cruise off, and I’m quite content to stay right here.”
“Well, I would suggest you forget that kind of thinking tonight.” Isabella pulled open the garment bag she had put on the hook when she arrived.
“We weren’t sure if you would want to go elegant submissive or alluring?” Madison said as she helped Isabella get the costumes out of the bag.
Sadie watched as they pulled out a bunch of outfits. One after the other each had its own uniqueness. One was a full-length gown of white with a black lace overlay from the shoulder across the chest ending at the apex. Stopping there, the lace picked up again, just behind the knee moving around the bottom and over a small train.
Another was all white, spandex material; with a black trim about two inches wide, running along the bottom and the collar that clasped up the neck area. The one that caught Sadie’s eye however, was a long sleeve, vee-neck as well as a vee down the back, all black lace. She picked it up holding it to her body and looked in the mirror.
“This is beautiful, simple but elegant, slutty but alluring. This would be the one, if I were going.” Sadie stopped talking at the knock to her door.
She looked to see who it was, then turned back making a face at the two women, changing said face as she opened the door with a big smile, “Derek, nice to see you, what are you doing here?”
Pushing past her to get into the cabin, which was starting to get crowded, “I was summoned, to be here at this time to work my magic, on that not so lovely face.” He set his make-up case down on the couch. “So, were do I set up?”
Sadie loved Derek; the man worked make-up like an artist paints a picture. Everyone wondered where Derek’s sexuality laid, because it didn’t matter the sex, if he was invited to join a scene, he did. On top of that, no one ever saw him with anyone, but saw him with everyone. He was just one of those guys.
Isabella spoke up, “I think the bathroom will have the best light.”
“Bathroom it is.” Derek headed that way.
“Wait a minute, I didn’t say I was going…” Sadie spoke up.
Another knock at the door brought what she was going to say to an end, answering this time without even looking. There in the doorway stood Skylar; she was the hairstylist for the show, and helped Raven in Kink Haven.
“Hey, Sadie, how you feeling? Madison and Bella said you could use a little pick-me-up. So here I am, ready to help.” She gave Sadie a sad face that brightened to a smile when Sadie waved her into the cabin.
Holding the door open she looked in the cabin and said, “Anyone else I should leave the door open for, you know like Chuck from lighting or Owen from set design. No, no, Asher to set the background music?”
“Oh, hey, Sadie, I didn’t expect you to be holding the door,” Ivy the manicurist from the salon said as she walked in the cabin. “Oh, hello everyone, am I late?”
“No, you’re right on time.” Isabella held up the black lace dress. “This is what we are working with. Sadie which mask, I like this one for this dress.”
Isabella held up a silver mask that had cat eye cut outs, and covered the upper half of her face, from the tweak nose to above her forehead. It had swirl etchings with diamonds placed throughout the designs. What made the mask so stunning was the cluster of feathers intricately woven through a metal swirled design, with pearls and diamonds delicately placed. The silver and black feathers pecked out above the metal approximately five inches above her head on the right hand side.
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br /> Sadie’s mouth dropped open when she looked at the mask, it had a sensual as well as a mysterious look to it, but it also called to the daring side of a person.
Madison announced to the others, “I think we have a winner, let’s get started people, we have two hours. Then all mayhem broke out in her cabin, each one of the stylists pulling her in a different direction.
Madison and Isabella also used the stylist to help them get ready. Madison had chosen the long gown while Bella chose the spandex dress. Madison’s mask was held in her hand with a short stick. It was white with black flowing feathers trimming the top and around the side, while Bella’s had a strap like Sadie’s; its design matched her dress. Where the dress was white with black trim; the mask was black with white trim.
“Are you guys almost done? We have fifteen minutes and I don’t feel like running to be on time. Dimitri hates when I’m not on time.”
The door to the bathroom opened at the end of Madison’s comment. Derek, Skylar, and Ivy all came walking out with Sadie following at a slower pace.
It was Madison and Bella’s turn to drop their jaws. Sadie looked like a delicate flower. The lacy dress allowed her cleavage to show, but kept the nipples just covered teasing those who looked. The front vee ended just above her belly button, the back vee just above her ass. The hem ended at the apex of the thighs, and just covered her butt. There would be no bending over to pick anything up tonight because she wore nothing underneath it.
Skylar had piled her hair on top of her head, and Derek accentuated her eyes that showed through the cat eyeholes in a smoky color, and Ivy had painted her nails and toenails in a black and white design that peeked out the toe hole of her four-inch black heels.
“Wow, you can’t see any bruising, and that dress. It’s like it was made for you,” Isabella’s voice praised her.
“I agree; Cameron won’t know what hit him when he sees you tonight,” Madison blurted out.
Sadie’s posture changed at Madison’s statement. “Cameron will be there?”
Isabella smacked Madison in the arm. “You and your big mouth,” she whispered to her. “I would think he will be, it’s the last night of the cruise. I would think everyone will be there, that’s why you have to come, and besides you’re already dressed. Would you want their hard work to go to waste?” Isabella waved her hand at the crew heading for the door.
