* * * *
Beau was standing on deck talking baseball with several guys including Sy. He was anxiously waiting for Sandy to appear, but he wanted to look cool and collected. He didn’t want the anticipation that was crawling up his spine to show. The urbane Mr. Bainbridge was enthralled by a mystery woman. Monday night in the pirate’s cabin had been incredible—probably the best sex of his life. She had been amazing even though he had felt that she held something of herself back. She sort of watched them from the sidelines so to speak. Game night and their trip to the French Bordello theme room after her loss at strip poker had been fun, too. Although she was still a little reserved, she did participate in both the poker and their sexual activities. She had come like a house on fire in the theme room. He didn’t know if it was due to the exotic location, but he would take what he could get if it led to solving the mystery of Sandy Sinclair.
He turned slightly and saw Sandy from the corner of his eye. She looked gorgeous. She had apparently gotten some more sun that afternoon, and the short, yellow halter top sundress she wore with straw sandals brought out the color of her skin and golden hair. She wore another piece of her designer jewelry—this time a strand of large, yellow quartz beads interspersed with large, lustrous golden pearls. Devon looked good in a short black dress with white piping and an industrial zipper bisecting the front, unzipped to mid-chest, with a strand of small, rough-cut black diamonds that gleamed and sparked against her skin. She walked right over to Sy, took his hand, kissed his cheek, and led him away.
Beau was trying not to appear too excited as Sandy walked across the deck—and went right past him without a glance in his direction and over to a car dealer from Athens, Georgia. He thought the guy’s name was Sam Jackson or something. He was a big, bluff though not bad-looking guy who was a little on the loud side. He had been one of the men bidding on Sandy at the auction. Beau was dumfounded. Was she playing around, teasing him? She had to be kidding after Monday night in the pirate’s theme room and last night in the French bordello theme room. She couldn’t be planning on picking another guy and leaving him standing there with his thumb up his…No. It isn’t possible. She couldn’t do that to him. It just wasn’t right.
He knew his mouth was open when Sandy walked up to the Jackson guy, shook his hand, put her arm through his, and walked over to the open bar on deck where she got a glass of wine and Jackson got a beer. Beau was shocked to the point he couldn’t speak, and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to gulp down another breath. What was there to say anyway? The woman he had spent two nights screwing the living daylights out of had passed him by for someone else. But that wasn’t quite true. He had spent the time making love to Sandy, not screwing, fucking, or humping. Yes, it had been BDSM play, but it had been more to him than that. He didn’t know what, but it had been more. To tell the truth he was devastated. He couldn’t believe his eyes. This did not happen to Beau Bainbridge. He knew he had to man up. He couldn’t let his feelings show on his face. If ever, now was the time for a poker face.
He turned away and looked out over the railing while he attempted to get his emotions under control so that he could continue the conversation he had been engaged in before Sandy had appeared on deck. He took a deep swallow of his drink. Finally, after a monumental effort to talk to the guys still in the group, he was approached by one of the other women, a short, cute girl with curly dark hair and an open smile. He didn’t know her, but he thought she was a member of his club. It was all he could do to be pleasant to her, although he was glad he wasn’t left standing there all by himself as the crowd began to split off into couples.
“Hi, my name is Jennifer. Would you like to have a drink?”
Beau was so grateful to her at the moment that he gave her his biggest smile. “I’m Beau. I’d love to have a drink.” He knew he didn’t want to take this woman to the dungeon and scene with her, not after last night with Sandy, but everyone didn’t have to know that. He would find a gentle way to make his excuses later, but everyone was going to think they had left the deck together.
* * * *
Cassie had seen the shock and dismay on Beau’s face when she had passed by him and walked up to Sam Jackson. She had a momentary qualm about what she was doing, but the last fifteen years of feeling inadequate, even after she should have been able to let it go as an adult, had taken their toll on her self-esteem. She was going to see this through whether she really wanted to or not. She would have her revenge. After all, it was best served cold, or so they said.
She smiled up at Sam and said, “Hi, let’s have a drink and get to know each other. I have to be honest and tell you that I’m not ready for a scene, so if you would rather wait for another offer, I’ll understand.”
“No way, pretty lady. I’ve had my eye on you for four days, and I’m happy to get the opportunity to get to know you. I’m Sam Jackson from Athens, Georgia, and your name is Cassie St. Clare, right?”
Oh, no. This is not good. “Actually, my friends call me Sandy.” Cassie sipped her glass of pinot noir and tasted a canapé while she tried to gather her thoughts. She was having a hard time getting the food and drink down her throat. “I’m from Savannah.”
“I love Savannah. Where do you live?”
“I have a shop with my apartment upstairs just off Oglethorpe Square. I love the historic district. I’ve always lived there. I make handmade jewelry for the shop.” Cassie could see that Beau had been visibly upset by her snub. He had finally been approached by a dark-haired woman and had left the deck with her. She guessed everyone thought she would be picking him and had stayed away because of the sub auction on Monday night and game night yesterday. When she had moved past him, he had become fair game for the other ladies. Good. Now she could spend some time with Sam Jackson and then let him down easy. She didn’t want to be responsible for any other hurt feelings. She was already feeling a little guilty about Beau. She had never hurt another person on purpose in her life. She knew too well how it felt herself to do that to someone else. This was a special circumstance, she assured herself. He had earned this retribution fifteen years ago, and now it was time to pay the piper.
Cassie had disengaged herself from Sam Jackson after about an hour or so of pleasant conversation. They had discussed his multiple car dealerships and things to do in Savannah. She said that perhaps she would see him tomorrow as she was tired and needed a good night’s sleep. She was pretty sure she wasn’t going to get one though. After Beau had disappeared with the dark-haired woman—Cassie thought her name might be Jenni—she had been unsettled. She didn’t want to admit it, but she didn’t like the idea of him being off with some other woman, as ridiculous as that sounded. She had no claim on him, and any claim she might have had, she had just thrown overboard.
Chapter Eleven
The Golden Dolphin, at sea in the Gulf of Mexico, May 15, 2014—Thursday Morning, Day Six of the Cruise
The following morning when Cassie woke up, she poked her head into Devon’s cabin, but she wasn’t there. She wondered where Devon had spent the night. In a theme room? In Sy’s suite? Cassie thought Beau and Sy were sharing a suite, so that might have been a problem. She had no idea how roomy they were and wondered if the accommodations might not have been a bit tight for two couples.
When Devon returned to their cabins at ten o’clock to invite her up on deck for breakfast with her and Sy, she was ready to get out of the room. She had implemented the final stage of her plan—the grand reveal as they liked to call it on the cable television decorating shows. She had tamed her hair down and braided it in her habitual French braid, put on the bare minimum of makeup—a brush of mascara, some light pink lip gloss, and a touch of blush over her cheekbones, and topped the look off with a pair of denim shorts, tank top, and sandals. She couldn’t have looked more like the seventeen-year-old Cassie, or maybe her older sister, if she had tried. Let’s see if the bastard recognizes me now. It would be interesting to see Beau’s reaction. She had a feeling he would just
ignore her. He might not acknowledge her at all since she knew she had dented his self-esteem a little bit—or a big bit, she hoped, although at the moment she was feeling more remorseful than vengeful.
* * * *
Cassie seated herself at the table on the deck with Devon and Sy after filling her plate from the breakfast buffet. There was no sign of Beau, and she was more than a little nervous at the confrontation she was sure was coming. Sy gave her a questioning look but didn’t pry. It was obvious he was wondering what the hell had happened the night before. She gave him a tentative smile but didn’t attempt to explain.
As she was about to try to engage in some intelligent conversation with Devon and Sy, she caught sight of Beau out of the corner of her eye. He walked past her to the buffet without glancing in her direction, and she could see him smiling a greeting at the dark-haired woman, Jennifer, who was sitting with a group of women Cassie thought were from the Atlanta Le Club. God, he looks good. The well-worn but expensive jeans fit his butt like a glove, and the tight, white tee shirt stretched across his chest made her mouth water, as did the dark scruff of beard on his cheeks and chin. He did look tired, and he hadn’t shaved. This was the first time he had neglected to do that. Obviously, he was perturbed by last night’s happenings to say the least.
As he turned back in their direction with his filled plate, Cassie could see when the look of shock came over his face. He shook his head and closed and opened his eyes again. It was actually comical if she hadn’t known that this was the moment…the moment he recognized Cassie St. Clare.
He walked purposefully toward their table where he set his heaping plate down. Without saying a word, he pulled her chair out and took her arm in a grip that brooked no resistance. He raised her out of her seat, giving her no opportunity to object, and hauled her over to the railing where they would have a little, but not much, privacy. Devon and Sy were sitting at the table with their mouths open in shock.
“What the…Is that what this was all about then? Are you really Cassie? God, you must hate me to do something like this after all these years.” He looked like he had literally been bowled over, but he also looked mad as hell. “How could you do that to me?” His blue eyes were as cold as ice, and his face and the tips of his ears were red with temper.
“Well, Beau, you’ve finally gotten one thing right. I did hate you for all of these years. It’s taken me all this time to get over what you did to me fifteen years ago. How did you like the feeling of being left standing there? How do you think a seventeen-year-old girl dealt with being stood up on the most important night of the senior school year—prom night? All my friends knew I was coming with you. I was dressed in my ruffled turquoise-blue prom dress with my brand new braces-free smile waiting for you. I waited for hours before my parents were finally able to convince me that you weren’t coming, and that you probably had not had an accident. You didn’t even have the decency to call me with a lame excuse for standing me up. All I could think was that it was somehow my fault—that I had done something horribly wrong. Yes, I really hated you. You’re damn lucky you never ran into my father—believe me. You probably wouldn’t still have that pretty face if you had, especially right after it happened. But now, thanks to last night, I just don’t feel anything for you at all. I finally feel free of the whole painful, humiliating experience. And believe me, that alone was worth every minute of scheming and planning after I saw you on deck that first night of the cruise.” That was not quite true, but he didn’t have to know that she still had a lot of feelings about what had happened fifteen years ago and about him as well.
Beau still looked stunned. He opened his mouth to refute her and then closed it again. He was speechless for the moment. He took a deep breath, seemed to get his temper under control, and had the grace to look ashamed. “There isn’t much I can say in my defense about prom night. I have always felt rotten about what I did to you that night, but I didn’t think there was any possible way to make it right or fix it.” He sighed. “And I was embarrassed by my exceedingly bad manners. The truth is that I had been dating another girl, a sophomore like me, up at school while I was still seeing you. I’m just a guy, you know? We’re not too smart sometimes.” He looked chagrinned at the admission. “I was crazy about you, Cassie, but you were really too young. She was a cheerleader and was actually a lot more sophisticated than I was. We were having regular sex, and when she found out somehow that I was planning to go down to Savannah to take you to your prom, she freaked out, threatened to break up with me, and just made a big scene. She said I had to choose between the two of you. I admit I was a stupid guy and was thinking with my dick—which is something young males frequently do. It wasn’t fair to you to leave you in the lurch like that with no notice on prom night. It was a completely shitty thing to do, and I was not then, nor have I ever been, proud of it. If I could take it back now, I would, and I sincerely apologize for what I did to you.” He scowled at her then. “However, two wrongs don’t make a right. What you did last night was also inexcusable.”
“Like hell it was. You earned every bit of that paltry payback. It was nothing compared to what you did to me. I was so crazy about you…never mind. What’s done is done.” Cassie wasn’t going to spill her guts and tell him just how crazy about him she had actually been and that he might actually have gotten lucky on prom night.
“Look, we’ve both grown up in the last fifteen years. I wish you hadn’t gone with Jackson last night, but…”
“I didn’t go with him. I excused myself after about an hour of conversation on deck and went to my cabin. You on the other hand were true to form and went off with that Jennifer.”
“No, I didn’t. I just left the deck with her, and then told her I was too drunk for a scene and went back to my suite—to steam and stew and wonder why you would do something like that to me after the time we spent together. I was totally floored.”
They stood there just glaring at each other. “Well, it’s too late now to make any of it right. I’m glad it’s over, and I can finally go on with my life without that humiliation hanging in the back of my mind. You have no idea what something like that can do to a vulnerable, and yes immature, teenage girl’s self-image and confidence, which is extremely fragile. It was devastating. I just want to forget the whole thing.”
She realized she was being a little dramatic, and when she said it out loud, she felt a little foolish. Why hadn’t she been able to put it completely behind her? In truth, she had moved on and had a successful life for the most part. Just sometimes the self-doubts crept in and rattled her cage, affecting her adult relationships like a self-fulfilling prophecy. She was sure she wasn’t the only person who had that happen to them. Maybe none of them had gotten over it either.
“Well, you did some damage to a vulnerable thirty-four-year-old man’s self-image and confidence. I’d spent more than two days making love to you and thought we might be making a connection although I couldn’t understand your anger and standoffish attitude.”
“Oh, please. A bulldozer couldn’t dent your self-esteem, never mind little ol’ me.”
“You know, that’s just not true.” It looked like neither of them was going to back down, and after an uncomfortable minute of silence, Beau finally relented. “Do you think we could have a truce, and maybe just be civil to each other for the rest of the cruise so neither of us will be uncomfortable?”
“I guess…” It was going to be a long day at sea before they arrived in Cozumel the next morning, and she planned to keep out of Beau’s way if she could. Maybe a day reading and sunning on her private deck would give her an opportunity to gain some perspective.
* * * *
Devon turned to Sy when he gave her the one-cocked-eyebrow look of a pissed-off Dom. She knew he would want an explanation of what had happened to his friend, and she really didn’t want to give him the full story. “Sy, I don’t know…”
“What the hell has been going on here? Beau was ready to go through the roo
f last night. I heard him pacing in the living room long after you had fallen asleep.”
“I’m sorry, Sy. Please don’t be mad at me. I couldn’t tell you that Sandy Sinclair was really Cassie St. Clare and that she and Beau had some bad history back when Cassie was in high school. He stood her up on the night of her senior prom. It wasn’t my story to tell, and I had to keep Cassie’s confidence. I hope you understand, but Cassie and I have been best friends since kindergarten. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for her short of murder—no secret I wouldn’t keep, no lie I wouldn’t tell. That’s just the way it is.”
“I can understand that close bond, but you know you are going to pay for this when we go to the dungeon this afternoon.”
She smiled her kitten-licking-cream smile. “Yes, Master.”
Chapter Twelve
The Golden Dolphin, Cozumel Harbor, Isla Cozumel, in the Caribbean Sea, State of Quintana Roo, Mexico, May 16, 2014—Friday Morning, Day Seven of the Cruise
Due to the abundance of cruise ships docked at the Punta Langosta pier at the foot of downtown San Miguel on the west side of the island of Cozumel, Con had elected to anchor the Golden Dolphin outside the harbor proper and to utilize the tenders to transport passengers and crew to shore. The crowded piers were the main reason, but general security concerns for the ship played into the decision. It was easier to secure the ship when it was surrounded by water.
The security team of stewards and ABs who were all ex-military black-belts was headed by ex-SEAL, Greg Dempsey. In addition to their regular duties, they had the difficult job of making sure the passengers, crew, and ship were safe. They guarded the gangplank, monitored the GPS signals for all aboard, kept an eye on the security cameras, and patrolled the decks at night. On two occasions they had to be deployed, once to retrieve a kidnapped passenger, and also to deal with a threat from the Russian mob. A boat like the Golden Dolphin frequently garnered unwanted attention from rowdy local vendors and or miscreants of every nature. The ship was a rich target with wealthy passengers ripe for the picking. Con had to laugh at that. Sometimes, they brought their own miscreants along—like the international jewel thieves, Barbee and Baylee Baxter. Although he liked both of them immensely, he was determined to keep a close eye on them, especially Barbee. He just thought that she was the ringleader of that two-woman gang. She had a tougher aspect than the much sweeter Baylee. He had enjoyed scening with Barbee, however. She was a formidable opponent, and as a Dom, he sometimes liked a challenge.
Cassandra's Revenge [Golden Dolphin 4] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 9
