by Anthology
I knew we were taking a huge risk. Still, I wasn’t willing to walk away…especially after our night together. We were breaking the rules that could jeopardize our jobs. The risk could ruin my promising career. That possibility made me angry. I should be able to be with someone I cared about, in spite of our job titles.
Sleep never came, and I ended up lying in my bed the rest of the night, replaying every kiss and touch between us. I could still smell him on my sheets, and I buried my head farther into my pillow to inhale his delicious scent. When my alarm clock read five a.m., I stopped pretending sleep would come. I decided to go for a run on the upper deck before our scheduled staff meeting.
The deck was deserted, except for a few die-hard runners. Even if there were thousands running with me, it wouldn’t interrupt my thoughts. I spent the time imagining future rendezvous with my boss. I watched the sun rise over the ocean, allowing the warm rays to encourage my euphoria.
My good mood stayed with me all the way back to my cabin, while dressing for the day, and heading to the staff meeting. I got there early to have my choice of seats. With coffee cup in hand, I sat at the end of the table, waiting for the rest to arrive. Next one through the door was Ricky, grinning from ear to ear.
“Good morning, bella.” He sat beside me, his smile never wavering.
“Don’t call me that.” I only wanted Marco calling me that. “And, stop smiling like that. It’s creepy.” I couldn’t help but to grin back like a fool. It was a good thing we were alone. Otherwise, we’d look like escaped mental patients.
“I’m allowed to smile. I’m happy. I am a very, very smart man. I wish people would listen to me when I tell them that I know what’s right for them.”
I gawked at his self-righteous rant. “We could get fired,” I whispered desperately. His response was to kiss my cheek. He handed me a piece of paper with the day’s itinerary.
“You’ll note there’s been a change in plans. You need to cover the Not-So Newlywed Game instead of the line-dancing lesson. This will give you off from three to four.”
“Okay. What am I doing from three to four?”
“You’ll be so exhausted, you’ll need a nap.”
“This is so wrong.”
“Nope, it’s so right,” he argued.
The rest of the team started to filter into the conference room. Ricky waited until everyone arrived to open the meeting. It was normal for him to review itineraries before Marco took over. It wasn’t normal for Marco to be late. When twenty minutes passed without any sign of him, I started to worry. Ricky didn’t seem at all fazed. He looked at his watch and said, “I thought Marco would be done by now. Do you have any questions before I end the meeting?”
Everyone shook their heads, and Ricky dismissed them. I loitered, waiting for us to be alone. “What’s going on?” I asked.
“He moved his three p.m. meeting to now so he could be free then. Keep up, Stanton.”
Wow, we were really doing this. My mood improved with each hour that passed until it was five minutes to three and my heart started pounding with anticipation. I was about to have a full hour with Marco, and I couldn’t wait. I went back to my cabin, hoping he wouldn’t be late since we only had an hour. At two minutes past three, he knocked on my door.
“Hi,” I said as I opened it and he quickly entered my room.
“Ciao,” he responded before kissing me sweetly. “How’s your day so far?”
“Great, once Ricky filled me in on the plan.”
“We may be pazzo for giving him control.” At my confusion, he added, “Crazy.”
“Are you having doubts?”
He wrapped his arms around my waist, linking them behind my back. “Sì, but it doesn’t mean it’s because I don’t want to be with you. I just worry.”
“I know. I appreciate your concern. I’m scared too, but I’m not sure ignoring this is the answer.”
“No, hai ragione.”
“Translate, please.”
He kissed me chastely and added, “You’re right. It’s not the answer. We still need to be careful.”
“We will.”
He looked down at my face, as I remained entwined in his arms. He moved his hand to tuck a stray hair behind my ear and then held my lobe between his fingers. “Tell me about your life, Rebecca. I want to know everything about you.”
This man couldn’t be real. Here he had me in my cabin for the taking, and he wanted to talk? Not wanting him to think I was a complete floozy for wanting him naked on my bed, I smiled and conceded. “Okay. Let’s swap stories.”
We sat on my bed and I filled him in on my parents, my siblings, and my friends. I admitted how lost I’d felt after graduation and how I viewed Sunset as my own personal lifesaver. He told me about Florence and his family. His married older sister had four children. His parents shamelessly hounded him to settle down. He wanted a family someday, but for now, his career was his life.
“Tell me about Italy,” I asked as he played with my hair.
“Ah, Italia is so beautiful.” There was a faraway look in his eyes as he described Florence, Tuscany, the beaches, and the mountains. “Everything you need is a car ride away. In a day, you could travel from the snow-capped Alps to the beaches of Sicily.”
“La vita è buona,” I repeated what he’d said to me at Orient Bay.
He looked down adoringly. “Sì, cara Rebecca. It’s very good.” He held my face and kissed me passionately. Just like that, our chat was over. Long, openmouthed kisses where our tongues alternated between anxious tangles and slow strokes. His hands roamed, and with a firm touch, he held my breast or hitched my leg over his hip. We spent the rest of our time together making out on my bed, and it was the most erotic make-out session I’ve ever had. The alarm on his watch beeped, cutting through the air like a big-ass gong.
“Un'ora non è sufficiente con te,” he said after reluctantly pulling away.
“What does that mean?”
“One hour is not enough with you.” He stared right into my eyes, the passion smoldering in his, turning them to a dark brown color. “I’ll be thinking of you, bella.”
“Me too.” All day…all night, I thought to myself.
“I’ll see you at on the Promenade. Wear your black gown.”
“You like that one?”
“It’s my favorite,” he whispered into my ear before leaving my room and leaving me a horny mess.
I had just enough time to masturbate, shower, and get ready for Captain’s Night.
***
“HMM, YOU’RE WEARING his favorite dress. Coincidence?”
I shook my head at Ricky and his constant need to get a rise out of me. He knew damn well I was with Marco earlier, and he knew damn well that I was wearing Marco’s favorite dress. He stood next to me at the entrance of the Promenade while I greeted passengers passing by. Ricky was a very handsome man. A mix between a Ken doll and Zac Efron, he got plenty of looks from females walking by as well as quite a few from some men.
“Ricky, do you have someone special in your life?” I asked. I was finally comfortable enough in our relationship to ask him what I’ve been dying to know. He was so loyal to Marco and his job, but how could he not be lonely?
“I did. I’m not the monogamous type anymore.” He met my eyes and tweaked my nose. “Don’t look at me like that. Happily ever after isn’t in the cards for me, and I’m okay with that. Thus my need to get everyone else there.”
My heart ached for him. I placed my hand on his arm and said, “Promise me if you ever want to talk about it, vent about it, or get drunk over it, then I’m your girl.”
“I promise, sweetie pie.” Something in the distance caught his eye, and I looked over to see what had him frowning.
Across the Promenade from where we stood, a very touchy-feely Dina was all over Marco. He grabbed her hands and removed them from the lapels of his tux. He then shook his head and walked away. Dina looked upset for a minute before she saw Ricky smirking at her. Her
facial expression morphed into anger, and she stormed off in the opposite direction.
“She is like a foot fungus that won’t go away.”
Seeing her with Marco suddenly forced a realization to hit me. “They had a relationship, didn’t they?”
Ricky met my gaze and smiled. “It was a mistake. He knows it, and she refuses to admit it. It was before he got promoted.”
“That explains a lot,” I said distractedly. Dina must have picked up on a vibe between Marco and me.
“Hey,” Ricky said, taking my hand. “If you waste one brain cell in that beautiful head of yours, I’ll hurt you.”
“Okay, no more talking about depressing shit. So, what’s the agenda tonight, boss?”
“After dinner, I assigned Warren to emcee the concert because Marco’s new training program has kicked in.”
“New training program?”
“Delegating 101. Marco feels it’s his obligation to his staff to groom them to step into his shoes at any moment. Great idea, right?”
“Brilliant. What if they start becoming suspicious that suddenly we’re always off at the same time?”
“Don’t worry about that. That’s for me to worry about. You just show up at Marco’s cabin in that dress once dinner is over. He’ll be waiting.”
I felt a flutter from nerves and excitement for what was to come. I had so much sexual tension built up that I felt I would embarrass myself if things didn’t progress between us. I knew it’d only been a few days since we started whatever this was, but the pressure inside had been building since I’d first laid eyes on him.
“Where will Dina be?” I asked, unable to hide my curiosity.
“She and Leslie are hosting the slot tournament.”
“Good planning.” I gave him props. That tournament went all night.
“Of course, I’ll need to make it up to them tomorrow, but such is life. One day at a time, my love.”
One hour at a time, I thought to myself. My time with Marco literally needed to be planned one hour at a time.
Chapter Ten – Marco
SHE STOOD AT MY DOOR, an absolute vision in her formal black gown. “Come in,” I said, moving aside to allow her access.
She looked around my cabin and smiled. “Perks of being the cruise director?”
“Sì,” I said, a bit embarrassed by my accommodations.
My cabin was much larger than most. The staff had their own cabins, but they were molto piccolo…very small. They could be compared to the size of a closet with an even smaller bathroom. With enough room for a single bed, one dresser, one chair, and one tiny closet, the space could barely fit two adults. Which is why the crew cabins were even worse, because two people were forced to share the tiny space. It bothered me that I was living in such plush conditions compared to my team.
Besides Ricky, Rebecca was the only other person to have seen my stateroom. I stood in the doorway as she perused the room with a smile. “This is really nice.”
“It’s just a room.” I closed the distance until I stood before her. “You look stunning. I saw you earlier and fought the urge to come over and wrap you in my arms.”
I could see her hair hanging in a silky curtain down her back through the reflection in the mirror behind her. I dug my fingers into the chestnut strands above her ear and ran my hand down until I reached the curly ends.
“Are you okay?” I asked. When she looked up at me, her big blue eyes shimmered in the dimly lit room.
“Yes. I’m more than okay.”
Her words contradicted the sadness in her eyes.
“Rebecca, something’s wrong…no?”
She sighed and skimmed a hand over my face. “I saw you with Dina. Ricky filled me in.”
“Nothing is going on between me and Dina,” I immediately explained.
“Oh, I know. I just have this bad feeling about her. She is great at her job, but…”
“I know, bella. She has a bad attitude. I’ve been on the receiving end many times. If it’s interfering with her job performance, as she’s your direct report, you would need to write her up.”
“I will. Forget her, I’m so glad we’re alone now. I’ve been looking forward to seeing you all day.”
I chose not to harp on Dina. I didn’t want to spoil our time together. The moments we stole were precious. She cupped my face with both hands and stared into my eyes before pulling me down for a kiss. The instant our lips touched, I felt the familiar desire for her coursing through me with the blood in my veins. My hands tangled in her hair while holding her body against mine. She felt like a precious, fragile gift to treasure and worship. The skin on her back felt warm beneath my touch.
“Rebecca, I really want to make love to you. I worry it’s too soon, and if you want to wait, I’ll...” She began shaking her head before I finished my statement.
“No. I want the same. I’ve wanted it for a while and there isn’t anything that I want more.”
With my hands on her back, I found the zipper of her dress and began lowering it slowly. Her lips parted and her eyes widened in anticipation. I bent my head to take her bottom lip between mine.
In slow motion, she pulled the end of my bow tie until it dangled around my neck. In slower motion, I lowered the black silk of her dress until it pooled at her feet. I stepped away to take in the exquisite sight of Rebecca in her black lace bra and thong. “Oh, Dio mio.”
She blushed and said, “For you.”
Behind her, the mirror showed a scrap of lace above her perfect, exposed ass. The erection in my pants grew with each second that passed. Once the pressure was too much to bear, I distractedly rubbed myself for some relief. She followed my hand with her eyes and stepped closer to finish removing my clothes. Sweet, delicious torture was the only way to describe what I was experiencing as I waited patiently for her to remove my tie, cuff links, and shirt. She ran her tiny hands over my chest before reaching the button of my pants. Instead of unbuttoning them, she placed her hand over my hard excitement.
“You need to hurry, bella. I’m not Superman.”
With a stunning smile, she followed my command and removed my pants. I watched her reflection bend when she removed my shoes and socks. I skimmed the smooth skin of her back until my hand cupped her beautiful ass as it pointed upward invitingly.
She placed openmouthed kisses to my thighs and on the fabric of my underwear that covered my erection. Gently, I reached for her hands, pulled her to a standing position, and lifted her to place her in the center of my bed.
“Ho bisogno di fare l'amore con te…ora!” I removed my briefs, retrieved a condom from my bedside table, and lay beside her.
“The sound of you speaking Italian is the best kind of foreplay,” she teased. “Now tell me what you said.”
“I need to make love to you, right now,” I clarified.
She watched as I rolled the condom on my very hard length. I didn’t bother removing her bra or thong. There would be time for that later, and seeing her in them was a visual I wouldn’t soon forget. At that moment, all I wanted was to be inside her. She understood my urgency and smiled when I moved the lace strip between her legs to the side. I touched her softly to be sure she was ready for me. She was more than ready. I groaned in anticipation when I felt her slick warmth. I groaned louder when I slowly slid in and felt her heat surrounding me even through the condom.
She called my name once I was fully settled inside her. For several long seconds, I couldn’t move or break eye contact. The connection both physically and emotionally was like none I’ve ever, ever experienced in my thirty years on earth. This gorgeous young woman was holding me hostage with her body, beauty, and aura. It was at that moment I realized I was caught in her net.
***
“WAIT.” I PULLED HER into the room and moved around her to slowly open the door. After looking both ways down the hall, I quickly kissed her before letting her leave my cabin. If anyone saw her leaving the cruise director’s stateroom at five a.m. in her
ball gown, I’d never forgive myself.
Last night was amazing. We spent hours learning each other’s likes, wants, and needs. I discovered she loves to suck on me as I’m feasting on her. I immediately knew when my tongue hit the perfect spot or when my mouth applied just the right pressure based on her enthusiastic moans that vibrated through her mouth onto my flesh. She also loved when I played with her hair, and I loved when she traced the lines on my chest. She fell asleep in my arms, and I loved watching her relax against me.
The one thing I hated was waking her up to send her away. Thoughts of her spending every night with me filled me with a longing for things I never knew I wanted. It must be my libido talking. I usually could go long stretches of time without sex, but whenever I do finally have it, I then become insatiable. But sex with Rebecca was different. It wasn’t just a desire or lust that had me wanting more. I missed her presence, her smile, and mostly her sweet laugh.
Her absence had me planning ways we could openly be together. We were definitely playing a dangerous game. If management found out, then they would insist on moving her to a different job. Company policy would forbid me from supervising my girlfriend. That was the problem. There weren’t any other jobs on The Horizon suitable for Rebecca.
I quickly showered, dressed, and headed to my office. It would be hours before our staff meeting. Ricky usually appeared first, and I was hoping today wouldn’t be an exception. I needed his logic and problem-solving skills to help me figure things out. In the meantime, I spent the time on the corporate website reviewing policies regarding relationships between staff members on Sunset Cruise Lines.
Ricky entered my office with my double espresso. “Hey, boss. How was your night?”
“Ricky, shut the door.”
He did as I asked and sat across from me with a wide grin on his face. “I suspect you had a good night?”
“Very good…too good.” My facial expression contradicted my words.
