The Power Trip

by Jackie Collins

  Furiously, Bianca leaped to her feet and followed him. ‘What is it with you and that girl?’ she demanded. ‘Do you want to fuck her? ’Cause if you do, just tell me an’ I’ll make out with Flynn. He’s quite the hunk, in case you hadn’t noticed.’

  Aleksandr stared her down, his eyes cold and disapproving. ‘What is wrong with you?’ he said at last. ‘Are you so insecure that because I talk to another woman you think I want to be with her? What kind of nonsense is that? I do what pleases me, Bianca, and never forget it.’

  Bianca scowled. Her plan of getting Xuan to leave Aleksandr alone was failing dismally.

  * * *

  Luca and Taye decided to organize a Jet-Ski contest. Later in the afternoon they rounded up everyone who wished to participate.

  ‘Girls against dudes,’ Luca suggested with a cheeky grin. ‘Where’s Bianca?’

  ‘I’m here,’ she said, joining them. She was not prepared to spend the afternoon with Aleksandr. It was about time he realized he couldn’t talk to her in such a dismissive way. He’d called her insecure and that didn’t fly. Insecure indeed. Screw him.

  ‘You can head the girls’ team,’ Luca said to Bianca. ‘An’ Taye – you up for playin’ Captain?’

  ‘Are you kiddin’ me?’ Taye said, running a hand over his shaved head. ‘It’s my job, so get ready – ’cause I’m gonna kick everyone’s arse.’

  Soon the crew had assembled a fleet of Jet Skis – and they were off.

  Lori raced Ashley and to Lori’s surprise she actually won. Then Bianca went up against Xuan – and to Bianca’s extreme annoyance, Xuan beat her.

  After that it was the guys’ turn. Luca and Cliff raced – and Luca was the winner. Then it was Flynn and Taye – a hard battle until Flynn ruled triumphant.

  Everyone threw themselves into it, except Aleksandr who wasn’t present, Jeromy, who hovered on the sidelines looking thoroughly bored, and the Pattersons who were not around.

  Guy helped the proceedings move forward even though he was humiliated beyond belief. At least he still had his job, no thanks to Jeromy Milton-Gold.

  Guy couldn’t even glance in the English man’s direction. He hated him with a deep intensity and was starting to think about how he might get his revenge. Surely there had to be a way?

  The final race was between Luca and Xuan. When Xuan lost, Bianca could hardly conceal her delight.

  Karma’s a bitch, bitch.

  Bianca smiled her satisfaction.

  * * *

  The moment of reckoning was near. Sierra was well aware that it had to take place soon, and she was not avoiding it; in a perverse way she was even looking forward to it. Standing up to Hammond was something she should’ve done a long time ago. He’d cheated and lied his way into her life, she’d lost Flynn’s baby because of him, and he’d kept her a prisoner with his dire threats against her and her family. Well, no more. It was over, and she was finally ready to break free.

  They met up in their stateroom. She’d gone straight there after her underwater adventure, taken a shower, dressed, and waited for him to appear.

  Hammond walked in wearing dark glasses, which he immediately removed to show off a serious black eye. ‘This is because of you,’ he said accusingly. ‘This is what your piece of shit boyfriend did to me for no good reason.’

  ‘He’s not my boyfriend,’ she said evenly. ‘And I’m sure you gave him an excellent reason.’

  ‘You think so, do you?’ Hammond sneered.

  ‘I understand you were both drinking.’

  ‘Where did you hear that?’ he said, his tone bitter. ‘Did your boyfriend come running to tell you?’

  ‘No Hammond, he didn’t,’ she replied, determined not to break. ‘And I’d appreciate it if we can conduct an adult conversation for once.’

  ‘Go ahead,’ he said coldly. ‘Say what you have to say.’

  She took a long drawn-out breath and went for it. ‘I’m sure you know how unhappy I am, and that we’d be better apart, so I’ve made a decision. I will stay with you for the duration of this trip, present a united front to prevent embarrassing you. And then, when the trip is over – so are we.’ She swallowed hard. ‘I want a divorce, Hammond. I mean it.’

  ‘Really?’ he said, surprisingly calm.

  ‘Look,’ she continued, her words tumbling over each other, ‘I understand this has political implications for you – only surely you can see that it doesn’t mean the end of your career? These things happen. Divorce is not uncommon amongst politicians—’

  ‘You vapid, asinine bitch!’ Hammond exploded, his voice filled with venom. ‘God Almighty, I knew you were stupid, but this kind of talk goes beyond stupidity. Don’t you understand that it’s not possible? I repeat – divorce is not possible.’ His voice rose to a vicious shout. ‘One day I am going to be the fucking President of America, and you – my dear wife – are going to be right up there next to me. Otherwise—’

  ‘Otherwise what?’ she said bravely, holding her ground, trying not to revert to the weak-willed Sierra who’d put up with his bullying and threats for too many years.

  ‘Otherwise,’ Hammond said ominously, ‘you’ll be dead. And so will your fucking boyfriend.’

  * * *

  Listening outside their door, Mercedes felt a shiver of excitement. Drama on the high seas. Only this drama would mean nothing in comparison to what was to come. Little did they know what was in store for them.

  Guy had sent her to deliver a message to Senator Patterson about someone trying to reach him via satellite phone. Guy was in a shitty mood, barking orders as if he was the Captain. Idiota. He would never make Captain, he didn’t have the stones. Besides, he was gay, and how many gay men made Captain?

  Probably this wasn’t a good time to interrupt the Pattersons. She knocked on the door anyway. What did she care that the imbécil was threatening to kill his wife. The puta probably deserved it, seeing that she was jumping the bones of the sexy journalist guy, or at least it looked that way.

  Hammond flung open the door. ‘What?’ he said curtly.

  Mercedes stared at his mother of a black eye, handed him the neatly typed message and enquired if he’d like her to accompany him to the communications room.

  He barely glanced at the message, said a short, sharp ‘No!’ and slammed the door in her face.

  What a cabron. Mercedes thought, switching her allegiance to the wife, who seemed like a nice enough woman, unlike the other putas on the boat who all acted as if they were better than everyone else, especially the blonde with the big tits and the hot black husband.

  Yet another hot guy. If she wasn’t working, this could be quite a trip. However, work always came first. And at the conclusion of this particular trip she was going for it, taking everything she could get her greedy hands on.

  Money and jewelry. She considered it her bonus.

  Chapter Sixty-Two

  On any boat at sea in close quarters – albeit extremely luxurious ones – friends are made, idle gossip abounds, and all thoughts of the real world drift away. Aleksandr’s ploy of enticing everyone to give up their iPhones, BlackBerrys, iPads and computers for a delicious uninterrupted week of lazy bliss was a solid one. For emergencies there was always satellite communication.

  A successful vacation equals relaxation – and Aleksandr expected his guests to leave their everyday lives behind.

  Personally he was enjoying himself. Sex with Bianca was spectacular, although her nagging about Xuan was annoying. His conversations with the Asian woman were interesting and in a way quite challenging, and in spite of Bianca’s objections he had no intention of giving them up. Trust Flynn to have come up with a woman who was not only very attractive, but smart too. And he was most impressed that Xuan wasn’t intimidated by him, not at all.

  If he wasn’t with Bianca, Aleksandr realized that he might have entertained different thoughts about Xuan. Sexual thoughts. However, he was in a committed relationship with Bianca, so all fantasies of sex with Xuan were
banished to the back of his mind. Besides, she was with Flynn, and he would never disrespect a man like Flynn, whom he considered a true friend.

  He was disturbed that Senator Patterson had behaved so badly the night before. The man had deserved to get hit. Quite frankly, Aleksandr was pleased to see Hammond receive a black eye, for he’d already decided there was something about him that he didn’t like. Hammond possessed a pleasant and ingratiating exterior, but lurking beneath was a deep hard core of something else.

  Aleksandr had always considered himself to be an astute judge of character, and he didn’t trust Hammond. He decided he would keep an eye on the man’s further rise to power, then he would act accordingly when the inevitable request came to donate money and support for the Senator’s campaign.

  Yes, Aleksandr knew for sure that the day would eventually come.

  * * *

  After the race, Bianca hung out with Luca and Taye by the pool. She wasn’t about to run back to Aleksandr’s side. He could sometimes be unpredictable and bossy. It pissed her off. How dare he get mad at her! He was the one paying too much attention to Little Miss Intensity.

  She was particularly irritated because she’d never treated a man as well as she’d treated Aleksandr. Shouldn’t he be kissing her beautiful tight ass like everyone else?

  Didn’t Aleksandr get it? She was Bianca. A super-star in her field. She was not used to being lectured and told what to do.

  Damn him! And damn Flynn for bringing his Asian girlfriend aboard. The two of them were hardly the same calibre as the other guests.

  Bianca sighed. It was her own fault, she should’ve vetted the guest-list more closely. Xuan and Flynn were not a good fit for the rest of the group, although she had to admit that Flynn was wildly sexy with his action movie-star looks – not all groomed and perfect as was Cliff Baxter. Flynn was more edgy – like a roughed-up Ryan Reynolds with a touch of Alex O’Loughlin, the actor who played Steve McGarrett on Hawaii Five-O.

  Another time, another place, and she would’ve definitely hit that.

  And talking of hitting that . . .

  Mischievously she leaned over to Taye who was busy sunning himself, his black skin soaking up the sunlight. ‘Hey sexy,’ she said in a low seductive whisper. ‘Remember way back when you and I got it on?’

  Taye shot up, startled. Oh shit. Where was Ashley? If she even suspected that he and Bianca had done the dirty, she would have his frigging balls for breakfast, even though it had taken place long before he and Ashley were together.

  ‘You don’t have to worry,’ Bianca crooned. ‘Wifey’s in the hair salon getting all prettied up for you.’

  Taye breathed again.

  ‘We would’ve made incredible babies,’ Bianca mused, having fun playing with him. ‘Can you imagine how gorgeous they would’ve been with our genes?’

  ‘Jesus, Bianca!’ Taye muttered, totally alarmed. ‘It was years ago, right? Best keep it to yourself, okay?’

  ‘If you mean would I tell Ashley, of course not,’ Bianca said guilelessly. ‘Although we were both free agents then, so we’ve got nothing to feel guilty about. It wasn’t like we were cheating on anyone.’

  ‘Who’s guilty?’ Taye said, manning up. ‘The problem is, my wife has a raging jealous streak. She still goes on and on at me about my first girlfriend, way back when I was a twelve-year-old kid!’

  Luca surfaced from his nearby lounger, a huge grin on his tanned face. ‘How come you never told me?’ he said, directing his words toward Bianca. ‘Keepin’ secrets, huh?’

  ‘Oh fuck!’ Taye groaned.

  ‘My lips are shut tight,’ Luca said, still grinning.

  ‘They’d better be,’ Taye grumbled.

  Bianca stood up and dived into the pool. Revealing other people’s secrets always made her feel so much better.

  * * *

  What next? Flynn didn’t know and it was driving him crazy. Apart from his brief underwater interlude with Sierra – where talking was obviously not an option – he had no idea where her head was at.

  Did she feel the same way as he did?

  Had any of those old feelings resurfaced?

  Was it even possible to go back?

  He didn’t know. It was up to her.

  Hammond’s words still reverberated in his head. She never loved you and she never will.

  Bullshit.

  * * *

  Cliff was behaving like a changed man. Lori wasn’t sure what had come over him, although it was definitely something. She’d never known him to be this affectionate and attentive.

  Was it because of the Senator’s blatant flirting with her?

  Was it because he was on vacation and the pressures of always playing Mister Movie Star were turned off for once?

  She didn’t know and she didn’t care, for this was a whole new Cliff Baxter. This was the man she’d fallen in love with.

  After the afternoon’s water sports and the under-the-sea spectacular, Cliff had taken her by the hand and suggested they repair to their room.

  That was fine with her. She knew what he wanted and was prepared to oblige. But no, getting blown was not what he had in mind. His intent was to please her.

  She was shocked and surprised, for making sure she was satisfied was not high on Cliff’s agenda. When it came to bedroom activities, he was always the star.

  Today things were different. Today Cliff was heading in a whole other direction.

  He started kissing her the moment they entered their room. The kissing was dreamy, and soon led to him removing her bikini top and caressing her breasts, paying special attention to her nipples as his mouth moved downwards.

  Lori shivered with the unexpected pleasure of it all, revelling in his touch. After a while she reached down to fondle his crotch. He quickly pushed her hand away. ‘Not yet,’ he said, his voice a husky drawl. ‘Lay down on the bed, baby. I want to look at you.’

  She did as he asked, feeling totally turned on.

  Cliff stood over her, gazing at her taut body clad in nothing but the bottom half of her bikini. ‘I never get to see you like this,’ he said. ‘You have a really beautiful body.’

  Compliments too! This was unbelievable.

  Then he bent down and began slowly peeling her bikini bottom off until she was completely naked. Next he rose and stood back, once more admiring her, his eyes taking in every inch.

  Lori shivered with the intensity of it all. She’d never felt more exposed and yet filled with so much excitement.

  She gazed up at him as his hands settled on her thighs, gently pushing her legs apart. And after that he did something that he’d only ever done to her once before, and that was the first time they’d made love. He actually began performing oral sex on her.

  Lori threw her hand across her eyes and writhed across the bed.

  ‘Keep still,’ he commanded. ‘You know you like it, baby. You know you do.’

  Who wouldn’t? Cliff Baxter, star of a million women’s fantasies, was going down on her, his tongue darting in and out of her most private places.

  A mind-blowing orgasm was swift. And the moment she reached the pinnacle, he dropped his shorts and moved on top of her, lazily fucking her until she came again.

  It was the best time they’d ever had in bed.

  Somehow, Lori had a strong suspicion that dumping her was no longer on Cliff’s mind.

  Chapter Sixty-Three

  Sergei grunted like a soon-to-be-satisfied pig as he screwed his ex-beauty queen girlfriend doggie-style. Ina was getting fat. It didn’t bother him; he got off on squeezing the rolls of flesh gathered around her waist, then digging into her giant ass with his penis which was not as large as he would’ve liked, although who needed a big cock when a man had endless drug money and a certain amount of power?

  Ina was adept at providing other girls for sex when he was in the mood, which was a bonus, for his skinny American cunt girlfriend Cookie felt that she was too special to be shared, and Sergei had always been partial t
o a threesome.

  Lately he’d been thinking of cutting Cookie loose. All she ever did was whine, complain about inconsequential shit, and spend his money shopping for ridiculously expensive shoes and bags.

  The upside was that she was an American girl who’d once been in a successful movie, therefore showing up with her boosted his ego when he was invited to grand functions in Mexico City. She was the arm-candy to get him noticed.

  Over the years Sergei had done ‘favours’ for a lot of important people, including well-placed politicians and high-ranking members of the police force. In return he was invited everywhere. It was a side of his life he enjoyed; it swelled his chest with importance, and a dressed-up Cookie was the perfect girl by his side. Ina wouldn’t cut it – too obvious and trampy.

  After finishing the task at hand, he pulled out and favoured Ina with a couple of hefty slaps on her generous butt.

  ‘You’re a sow,’ he growled, not unaffectionately.

  ‘’Scuse me?’ she said, reaching for her robe.

  ‘Big titties. Big ass,’ he guffawed. ‘I like it all.’

  ‘So does everyone else around here,’ she boasted, flouncing across the room, not sure she was down with his so-called compliments.

  Sergei’s eyes went dead. ‘I’ve warned you, and so’s your brother. Stop paradin’ around the pool shakin’ your stuff at the workers.’

  ‘What’s wrong with them looking?’ Ina argued. ‘They can look, but they can’t touch.’

  Sergei grabbed a fistful of her hair, causing her to cry out in pain. ‘I look. I touch,’ he spat. ‘You stay in the goddamn house when I tell you. Got it?’

  * * *

  ‘What’s that leafy shit your guys chew on all the time?’ Sergei wondered.

  Cruz shrugged, a cigarette hanging precariously from his bottom lip. ‘Khat. It’s a stimulant – calms ’em, keeps ’em alert an’ happy.’

  ‘You want ’em calm? Happy?’ Sergei snorted his disgust. ‘What th’ fuck?’

  ‘I want ’em ready t’do anything I tell ’em to do,’ Cruz replied, taking a long drag on his cigarette, his small eyes ever-watchful.