by Kim Baldwin
Switch noted that TQ was assigned to the Olympus Suite, one of the premium cabins in the front of the ship. Those doors had all been closed when they’d passed by on the tour.
She found no special instructions for TQ on the guest page, at least not her version of it. Not surprising, since the bitch didn’t seem the type to waterski, Jet Ski, or participate in any of the other water-related sports the bosun oversaw. Switch found no notes for planned excursions to shore, either. But one other note on the guest list caught her eye. Beside the name Yu Suk was the notation: Rothschild domestic / Crew quarters 9F.
She needed to access the chief steward’s guest records, which would be much more comprehensive. Shouldn’t be too difficult, since his office was just two doors down from hers and the locks down here were pathetic.
Switch wished she had time to swing by the Olympus Suite right now, but it just wasn’t possible. She’d never get all the way there and back and still have time to get the Jet Skis ready. She shut the door to the hall, dug through the half-empty wastebasket for past guest lists, and discovered that Rothschild had arrived only the day before. The trash didn’t go back further than three days, so she had no way to know specifics about TQ’s previous visit, when she’d no doubt struck the deal with Lykourgos as they stared up at the Holy Mountain.
This current visit, she concluded, was probably to deliver the stolen icon and receive her payment.
She checked the time and hurriedly changed again, this time into her casual uniform—a bright-blue polo shirt with the ship’s logo emblazoned on the chest, white shorts, and boat shoes. She was thankful young males in Greece had taken to shaving their legs during the hot months, because that meant she no longer had to worry about that when she had to pose as the opposite sex.
She went aft and found the personal-watercraft lockers adjacent to the transom. Another deckhand helped her maneuver four of the Jet Skis to the hydraulic davit, a small crane installed to lower them one by one into the water. She was tying off the last one when a voice hailed her from the deck above.
“Hey.”
Switch looked up to find Ariadne bent over the railing, watching her. The sight of Lykourgos’s daughter in her barely there bikini, just a few feet away, made her immensely grateful she’d put on her sunglasses. Those dark pieces of plastic were the only things that kept Ariadne from noticing that she couldn’t stop staring at that magnificent cleavage. “Beautiful day.” She tried to sound pleasantly nonchalant. “You’re all set to go.”
“Great.” Ariadne smiled.
Switch could barely manage the breast situation, but that incredible smile was just too much. She knew she should look away, or say something, or just simply breathe, but she couldn’t do anything but gawk at her.
Ariadne frowned. “Do I have something in my teeth?”
“No,” Switch mumbled.
“You’re staring.”
Switch casually put her hands in her pockets. “Oh, that. Sometimes I do that when I’m running a mental checklist.” She turned to look at the Jet Skis. “Want to make sure I didn’t forget anything.”
“Pretty intense.”
“Scary, right?” Switch hoped Ariadne was buying it.
“Are you that intense with everything?” Ariadne raised one eyebrow.
Boy, would I love to show you. “No.” She shrugged. “Not everything.”
“Name something that makes you tick.”
Your breasts. I can be passionate about those. “The sea, art, and…” Switch couldn’t come up with anything else, at least nothing appropriate. “And that’s about it.”
“Yeah, I thought so.”
“Hmm?”
“Art. So obvious.” Ariadne snickered. “Stupid question.”
If Ariadne was insinuating something, Switch wasn’t getting it. Why would she say art was obvious? Had she been made? Had Ariadne recognized her from her gallery? She didn’t think that was possible. She was careful to keep a low profile there, viewing her new pieces always in the back room to avoid being seen by the wealthy visitors she might have to deal with some day as Switch. “Why is art so funny?” She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the answer.
“Well, most gay guys are into art,” Ariadne replied.
“Gay gu…I’m…” Switch stuttered.
Ariadne looked away when she heard voices approaching from behind her. “Hey, took you long enough,” she called out, and soon another three women stood next to her, all brunettes. They peered down at Switch.
“Guys,” Ariadne said, “this is Alex, the new bosun.”
“Hi, Alex,” they sang in unison.
“Ladies,” Switch replied.
“This is Jo, Melina, and Natasa.” Ariadne named them from her right to her left.
“How old are you, Alex?” Melina bent over the rail so far she was nearly face-to-face with Switch. The oldest of the women, probably in her late thirties while the others were a decade younger, she was very attractive and had impressive cleavage, too, but Ariadne was still the clear winner.
“Twenty-four,” Switch replied.
“Single?”
“Yes.”
“Since when do you care?” Ariadne asked her friend.
Melina stood upright again and lifted her hands in dramatic surrender. “I’m trying something new.”
“Good luck with this one.” Ariadne said it under her breath, but everyone heard.
“Be careful,” Melina shot back. “You’re sounding like a bitter spinster again.” She returned her attention to Switch. “Take off your sunglasses.”
When she complied, Melina bent over the rail again for a closer look. “I love your eyes. They’re an amazing shade of blue.”
“Thank you.” Switch put them back on, trying hard not to laugh at Ariadne, who was rolling her eyes and looking away in exasperation. “I’m glad you think so.” She couldn’t help but encourage Melina’s flirting. Ariadne’s comical frustration was too precious.
“Watch out.” Jo pointed her thumb at Melina. “This one’s dangerous.”
“Dangerously hot,” Melina said. The woman didn’t miss an opportunity.
“Dangerously desperate,” Ariadne chimed in.
“You’re just bitter…a little bitter…a spinster, and, oh, yeah…almost forgot…bitter.” Melina addressed the others without taking her eyes off Switch.
“You know you can’t stop her,” Natasa said drolly to Ariadne. “And I don’t blame her.”
The other three women turned in unison to look at Natasa with shocked expressions.
“My God!” Melina squealed. “She has a libido.”
Natasa smiled timidly. “Screw you, slut.”
“I’d do him, too,” Jo, the petite one of the group, offered.
Switch didn’t know where to look. She sure didn’t expect her first day on the yacht to be this uncomfortably pleasant.
“How about you?” Melina put her arm around Ariadne. “I know it’s not your cuppa gender, but would you, if you…” She waved her hand, trying to come up with the rest of that. “…you weren’t so resolutely gay?”
Switch had read about Ariadne’s preferences way before she’d ever met her. Lykourgos had given an interview a few years back saying how he supported his daughter’s lifestyle and choices. Until now, she’d been handling the playful, girlish insinuations and even open advances just fine, but once Melina involved Ariadne, the situation grew suddenly more awkward. Switch didn’t want to hear the answer, because for some reason she didn’t want to risk disappointment.
Ariadne checked all of Switch out, as if looking for something, and stopped at her eyes. Her direct gaze was unnerving. “I…I…uh,” Ariadne stuttered. “I don’t sleep with guys.”
Melina looked knowingly at Switch. “Well, it’s not like she’s been sleeping with girls either.”
“I’ve slept with—” Ariadne stopped. “It’s irrelevant.”
“You mean infinitesimal.” Jo laughed.
Ariadne took a step bac
k, looking uncomfortable. Why were they ragging on her? Switch wondered. Not all twenty-something women were obsessed with sex. Some had too heavy a burden or responsibilities weighing on them to worry about whether they got laid.
“So, unless you need my assistance…” Switch turned to the Jet Skis.
“We’re fine,” Ariadne said coldly, sounding almost irritated, as the four women descended the few steps to the transom. But hey, it wasn’t Switch’s fault her friends had chosen the bosun to have fun with.
She’d started to walk away when Melina stopped her.
“Except for me.” Melina waved. “It’s my first time, and—”
Ariadne cut in. “No, it’s not.”
“Like I was saying, it’s my first time.”
Switch walked back to them. “It’s quite easy,” she said. “Easier than riding a bike.”
Melina laughed like she’d heard something hysterical. “Bike? I can’t ride a bike.”
“You seem to ride everything else,” Natasa said.
Switch didn’t like where this was going. “It’s very simple, really.”
“Show me, will you?” Melina replied provocatively.
“I…” Switch wanted to decline, because drawing attention to herself wouldn’t do, but then again, she was already heavily on the map for this bunch and it would be highly unprofessional to say no. “It would be my pleasure.”
“Can you give us a few minutes, Alex?” Ariadne asked.
“Of course.”
Switch headed away a discreet distance to give the women some privacy, but not before she heard Melina say, “I am so going to score.”
“What has gotten into you?” Ariadne asked in a low voice as soon as the bosun was out of earshot.
“I was going to ask you the same. Well, almost the same.” Melina peeled off her shirt to reveal a skimpy bikini top. Even though she was wearing sunglasses, Ariadne could see where her friend was looking as she undressed. Alex had his back to them, and Melina was eyeing his tight, firm ass like a lioness scoping out her next meal.
“I’m just having some fun, that’s all.” Melina folded her shirt. “Where between the breakfast table and the deck did you drop your sense of humor?”
“You made him uncomfortable,” Ariadne replied.
“So? It’s not the first time.”
“Why can’t you stick to men of your own standing?”
“Because they’re boring and self-involved. We’ve already gone through this.” Melina turned to her, clearly annoyed. “For God’s sake, it’s not like I’m going to marry him. I simply want to have some fun before the summer’s over.”
“Weren’t the islands enough?” They’d spent most of the previous month skipping between their favorite beaches—on Santorini, Mykonos, Ios, and Paros.
“I don’t know if you noticed,” Melina replied, “but I spent my nights with you and the others and not with some hot guy.” She dropped her shorts. “And I refrained for all of you.”
“For us?”
“Remember last summer?”
“You hooked up with some waiter.”
“That’s right, and I wasn’t about to go through the same ordeal again. Listening to you guys go on and on about how selfish and self-centered I am for wanting to spend time with a cute boy toy.”
“We hardly saw you last summer. You were constantly off with the waiter when it was supposed to be our annual fun-in-the-sun time. I got three weeks of vacation to make up for the rest of the year in England, and I wanted to have fun. Not worry about who you’re with and if they’re going to kidnap you.” Abductions of kids from rich families had escalated since the economy plunged and remained an ongoing threat. Ariadne wasn’t particularly fond of having bodyguards around when they went ashore, but she recognized the need and agreed to the increase in security for her father’s sake.
“I’m a big girl, Ariadne, and I refuse to live in fear.” Melina caressed Ariadne’s cheek with the back of her hand. “You need to start living, too.”
Ariadne had to admit her friend had a point. Too many months had passed since she’d been intimate with anyone. She’d been preoccupied with finals and the increased pressure her father had placed on her to learn the intricacies of his shipping empire. “I know. It’s just…I don’t have time.”
“More like you still haven’t gotten over that bisexual floozy who broke your heart.”
She didn’t want to think about the past, though it still stung to remember how thoroughly Eva had used her to get what she wanted. Ariadne had spent a fortune on the woman to keep her happy, mostly on shopping sprees and expensive restaurants. “Be that as it may, I—”
“Well, you know what?” Melina raised Ariadne’s chin. “We have a few weeks left and we’re going to make them count.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“We’re going to start with some light and fairly innocent flirting.” Melina walked over to the Jet Skis. “Observe and learn.” She waved over the bosun, who was standing by the aft pool bar.
“I can’t believe you.” Ariadne laughed and removed her shorts.
“He’s young, handsome in a ridiculously beautiful way, and has a killer bod.”
Ariadne observed Alex as he walked toward them. He was definitely a good-looking guy, and had she and the bosun been straight, she would have probably let her hair down and taken advantage of every square inch of him, too. “He’s gay, you know.”
Melina raised an eyebrow. “He is definitely not gay.”
“Look at him. He’s too pretty and too charming to be straight.” She waved her hand. “And he’s into art, for Christ’s sake. Even Manos wants to hit that, and I’m sure he’s going to have more luck than you.”
“Ah, to be young and clueless.” Melina adjusted her bikini top so that her ample cleavage was viewable from the moon. “Alex is not gay. I can tell by the way he looks at you.”
Ariadne couldn’t hide her shock. “Me?”
“Yes, but since you’re not into dick, and I am…” Melina licked her lips as Alex joined them.
“Ready?” Alex asked Melina.
Ariadne had to admit that Alex had the most amazing smile. But almost too…something, for a guy.
“Ms. Lykourgos?” Alex interrupted her thoughts. “Is there anything you need?”
“Do you have a sister?” Melina answered for her.
Alex smiled that too-beautiful smile again. “No, I don’t.”
Melina pressed on. “Cousin?”
“I don’t keep in touch,” Alex replied, looking at Ariadne and not Melina.
“She’s…she’s kidding.” Ariadne had to turn away from Alex’s scrutinizing gaze. “For some reason, her deprived-of-oxygen mind thinks I need a matchmaker.”
“I’m sure if I had a sister, she’d be very enamored with you,” Alex said seriously. “Though I find it hard to believe you need a liaison to meet someone.”
“Don’t let the dimples fool you,” Melina said. “She’s a hard-ass and painfully calculating.”
“I don’t blame her. The paparazzi and rags will do that to a person’s private life,” Alex replied.
Satisfied and surprised by the remark, Ariadne couldn’t help but smile at the bosun. “And on that perceptive and intelligent note…” She walked over to one of the Jet Skis. “Later, man-eater.”
“Where did the other two go off to?” Melina looked around for Jo and Natasa.
“Over at the bar.” Alex pointed.
“Shall we…instructor?” Melina practically purred the words.
Ariadne jumped on the machine and revved hard to make sure both Melina and Alex were left soaked.
A few seconds later, Melina and her boy toy were riding alongside her, Melina’s arms wrapped tightly around Alex’s waist.
“I’m feeling vengeful,” Melina shouted over the roar of the engines at Ariadne. Then to Alex, she added, “Make her pay.”
Alex smirked. “I don’t want to get in trouble,” he yelled back, looking
over at Ariadne. “She may be a sore loser.”
“To the rocks over there.” Ariadne pointed. “And back.”
Melina practically wrapped her breasts around Alex’s neck, much to Ariadne’s annoyance. “Beat her, and I’ll reward you.”
“On the count of three,” Alex shouted.
When the bosun reached two, Ariadne gunned the engine and shot ahead of them, swerving the Jet Ski to spray them both as thoroughly as possible.
Switch had a hard time breathing the way Melina was holding on to her. Though an impressively sexy woman wearing nothing but a skimpy bikini was pressed up against her, Switch couldn’t take her eyes off the backside of the woman a few feet ahead of them. Thoughts of Ariadne pressed against her instead of Melina distracted her, and she didn’t swerve in time to avoid Ariadne’s next splash. She was drenched now, and so was her passenger.
“Stop staring at her ass and do something,” Melina shouted in her ear.
“Damn right,” Switch yelled back.
She opened the throttle and soon they were racing all-out, both drivers trying to splash the other as they sped for the rocks. Switch barely made it there first and had just turned the Jet Ski to race back to the yacht when she saw Lykourgos’s helicopter rise from the top deck. Was he going somewhere? If so, then now would be an ideal time to try to get into his quarters. She had to get back on board and ask Manos to relieve her.
Switch reached the transom with Ariadne close behind and cut the engine.
Melina pumped her arms with excitement. “We won! We won!”
Ariadne, like Switch, didn’t react to the outcome. She, too, was fixed on the helicopter.
“Is Mr. Lykourgos leaving?” Switch asked.
“No,” Ariadne replied. “I’m sure it’s that nasty excuse of a human being.”
“You mean that horribly cold associate of your dad’s?” Melina asked.
“Yeah, the Rothschild bitch.”
Holy crap. That close, and Switch had missed her. The helicopter headed off toward Thessaloniki and all too soon was just a speck in the distance.
“You’re lucky you didn’t have to deal with her,” Melina said to Switch.
“Yeah, well, let’s just hope she’s gone for good.” Ariadne frowned.
Switch wanted to ask more, but that would be too obvious and unprofessional.
