“I still don’t think it’s worth that much. If you can’t move too much on the boat, how about the price for the engine?”
“What are you looking for, total, and I’ll see if I can reach that?”
She shook her head. “Not finished yet.”
He spread his hands wide and sat back again. “Shoot.”
“The trailer.”
“What about it?”
“We’re never going to use it, so why do we need it? Why can’t you bring it down on one of yours each time?”
He smiled at Julia and she knew she’d just made a mistake, not that she could see what it was.
“Let me tell you a couple of things about boat trailers.”
She crossed her legs and sat back, knowing her skirt hem would be raised by the movement—not by much but enough to act as a distraction. Any card was worth playing. Her boss, Simon, had drilled that into her—always play every card you have. Julia knew her legs were good, so why not use them a little. “Shoot.” She echoed him from a couple of minutes earlier.
“Firstly, every trailer is custom fitted to a particular boat. Sure, there are other fifteen foot boats out there, but they won’t fit on, or launch properly, from a fifteen foot Sandpiper trailer. Actually, it’s not so much the launch, but the capture onto it to haul it out of the water.”
“Okay.”
“Secondly, where do you think we store them in the yard? You might sail the boat seventy days a year, and if you do, you’ll be among the most frequent boat users we look after. Some do so only thirty days. The rest of the time the boat is sitting out of the water, it has to go somewhere. So they sit on the trailer, unless we’re testing the boat or the trailer, or painting the hull.”
Julia mentally kicked herself. What he was saying was blindingly obvious.
“So, you need the trailer. Sorry, it’s a vital part of the deal. I will come down to ten and a half on the boat.”
“And the engine?”
He winced. “Do you ever give up?”
“Nope.”
“Seventeen fifty, final offer. The trailer has to stay at a thousand, though.”
“What about the fees for storage, et al?”
“You want me to arrange insurance cover? It’ll be cheaper on a group rate.”
“Sure.”
“Pay your fees up front for a year, that’ll enable me to do a good deal?”
“Just give me the figure.”
“I’ll do the first year for a round thou, but subsequent years will be thirteen hundred on the same basis. That’s an unlimited number of delivering and retrieving the boat each year.”
“And if we want to sell the boat later?”
“I’d sell it for you.”
“And your commission rate would be?”
He chuckled. “Sorry, that one I won’t answer, otherwise you’ll be asking me to sweeten the deal by cutting into my commission on this sale.”
“Can’t blame me for trying.” She grinned at him.
“Of course not. All’s fair in love and war.” He leaned forward again. “Look, let me put my cards on the table. I know I’m the only game in town in that I’m the only boat yard on the lake. But long term customer relationships are more important to me, much more important. I want you and your husband to be ongoing customers for however long you keep this cabin. That means you have to be happy with my service and my prices.”
Julia nodded, then injected a little saccharine into her voice. “Is that the bit they call the heartfelt pitch?”
He winced. “That’s a little harsh.”
“Sorry, I sell in the city. It’s a harsher life out there.” Julia decided to change tack. “Would you like another coffee?”
“I’d love one, but could I ask for a little sugar in it this time? As you say, it’s instant and it’s a bit sharp as a result.”
“No problem, I know what you mean. Next time we come up we’ll be bringing a new coffee machine. Didn’t have room in the car this trip.”
He laughed and she bent forward to pick up the cups. Too late, she remembered the front of the dress gaped and she’d just given him a shot down her cleavage.
Walking through to the kitchen, she refilled the kettle and rinsed out the cups. She noticed he’d followed her to the end of the L-shaped space and was standing quietly watching her. Julia bent over in front of the open fridge to grab the milk, then spooned coffee into the cups. Then she tried to remember where they’d put the sugar.
Neither she nor Max took sugar, and only a few of their friends did. As a result, it was something that didn’t need to come out of its hidey-hole very often, but she had insisted on buying a bag and storing it in a canister somewhere in the kitchen. Then she remembered top cupboard.
Hooking her foot through the legs of the small stool, she pulled it toward her across the uneven flagged floor then climbed up to reach the top cupboard.
“Ae you okay? Do you want a hand?”
“I’m fine…” The words had hardly left her mouth when events gave them the lie. As she reached for the sugar canister, the stool wobbled on the uneven floor. She started to lose her balance and grabbed for the cupboard door. That just swung open and she overbalanced. She shrieked, but a pair of hands caught her.
“Whoa, there. I’ve got you.”
She panted for a second and looked down at him. “Thank you.”
Julia noticed where his hands were. She could hardly ignore the fact that in grabbing her, his hands had slid up under her dress. One hand had slid up the back of her right thigh, almost as far as her ass, while the other was gripping the front of her left thigh, his palm only an inch below the level of her pussy. Of course, the skirt of the dress had hiked up with his arms, exposing almost the full length of her legs to him. She swallowed hard. It could have been a totally innocent thing—he’d just grabbed her to stop her falling, after all. She looked down to see he wasn’t looking up, he was staring at her legs. He unconsciously licked his lips, and she knew he liked what he saw.
“Come on, let me help you down.”
The stool felt stable under her again, now her weight was centered over it.
“I can manage.”
“I insist. What would your husband say if he came back to find I’d let you fall and break something? No, let me help you.”
Again, it was just on the edge of propriety. He was right in what he said. The heat of his hands on her bare legs, so high under where her skirt should be, wasn’t right at all. That heat was soaking into her flesh as she stood there, her skirt rucked up, exposing her legs. She shivered a little then swallowed hard as he swung into action.
“Put your hands on my head for balance.”
He slid his hands around behind her and, picking her up, lowered her to the floor again. She ended up standing facing him, his hands on her butt, and her skirt around her waist.
“Thank you.”
“My pleasure, believe me, my pleasure.”
He didn’t move, didn’t take his hands away, his palms cupping her ass cheeks. She could feel the heat of his hands through the thin lace of her panties and that heat was doing things to her. She felt silly with her hands still on the top of his head and lowered them, pressing her palms against the front of his shoulders. She could feel the way his muscles moved under the skin. That also did things to her psyche she didn’t want to think about.
“I think you can let go now.”
He chuckled. “Oh, I don’t know. I still want to make sure you’re safe. Can’t be too careful.”
As he said that he squeezed her butt, pulling her tighter against him. She could feel her breasts squash against his chest, her nipples already hardening from the contact.
“I’m fine, honestly, and thank you.”
“I’m quite comfortable like this, and I think you are too.” His hands started to move in circles on her ass, and her breathing quickened as a result.
“It’s not appropriate. I’m a married woman.”
He s
miled down at her. “If that really bothered you, you’d be pushing against me by now, but you’re not.”
“Don’t be presumptuous. I’m just trying to maintain my manners.”
“No, baby, you’re not. If you were that worried, you’d have slapped my face by now.”
She pulled one hand away from him and lifted it to the side. He turned his cheek, presenting her with a perfect target, while at the same time slipping his hands higher under her skirt. He continued to knead and caress her cheeks and she could feel the way her body wanted to respond, her own heat rising in response to his.
“My husband will…”
“…be ages yet. Liam and Jim will keep him busy at the far end of the lake for a long time. That’s their job, making sure he can work the boat properly.”
“While you work me over? Was that the plan?”
“No, baby. Not until that stool started to topple and I didn’t want you to break those gorgeous pins of yours. I can’t wait to see them in all their glory.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. I have some plans for you that will truly earn you a discount. Mind you, I’m a little concerned you might be a little vanilla for what I’m going to suggest.”
“Oh, what makes you think I’m all that vanilla?”
Her eyes challenged him and she smiled. She hadn’t intended to have another of her adventures this weekend. She’d intended to keep Max sated instead, but now the opportunity was there. His hands were still working on her ass and she couldn’t help the reaction it was stoking within her. Already her panties felt tight, and her thin lace bra was irritating the hard little points that were her nipples. They were still sensitive from what Max had done to her earlier, even if she had initiated it. Now they, like most of her body, were shouting for more of the same.
“For another five hundred discount, I want you naked.”
She shook her head. “Not in this cabin. This is ours and ours alone.”
“Not a problem. I’ll get you naked, take you out to my truck and tie you to the side of it and take you that way.”
“What?” She didn’t believe she’d heard him right.
“That would be worth seven fifty.”
She smiled and slowly licked her lips. If he truly wanted to play some light bondage game, she was happy to oblige. “At least a thousand.” She waited until he nodded. “But no marks.”
“No problems. I’m a sailor. I’m very good with ropes.”
He let go of her ass and grabbed her hand, leading her over to the front door and then out onto the porch. The dress fell back down into place, but she knew that it wouldn’t stay on for long.
Once outside, he pulled on her arm, twirling her around and into his arms. She barely had time to regain her balance before his mouth was crushing down on hers. She felt tiny and almost powerless in his arms, that feeling exacerbated by the way his tongue took possession of her mouth. The pressure of his kiss wasn’t enough to hurt, but it was more than she was used to. He held her tight, one arm around her back, one arm around her butt, pulling every part of her body into close contact with his own. She could already feel his reaction to the closeness as the bulge in the front of his pants started to grow.
By the time he broke the kiss, withdrawing his tongue from her mouth, she was breathless. He let go, stepped back, and then cheekily reached forward with one finger, hooking it into the front of the neckline of her dress and jerking down. His move exposed a lot of her cleavage and the inside curves of her breasts, as well as the lace of her bra.
“Nice. I like lace, and you paired the top and bottom, a matched set.” He let go of her dress and brought his hand up to the soft curls at the side of her face. “Is this a matched set too? Or are you fully shaved?”
She felt like a deer caught in his headlights as if she was unable to move. She wanted to yell “None of your business” at him, but she knew he was going to see her naked very shortly, so he’d know the answer to the question then. She licked her lips, then replied in a low whisper, “I shave.”
“Never mind.” He grinned down at her, his hands grabbing her arms, bringing her hands in front of her. He backed her up against one of the porch supports while simultaneously lifting her hands above her head, pushing them back against the wooden post. He held her there with one hand, trailing the other hand down her body as she shuddered.
“Would I be right in my belief that your husband is an observant man?”
The way he held her, the way he fondled her, was driving her to a fever pitch. She should feel humiliated, but she didn’t, she couldn’t. As his hand brushed across her lower stomach, she could feel her hips thrusting forward, intensifying the contact. She knew he could feel her trying to grind against his hand. “I guess so, yes. Why?”
He grinned. “Because I think he’d notice if you were wearing a different dress when he came back, so I suspect you won’t want me to rip this one off you, will you?”
“No.”
He let go of her hands, stepping back. “Take it off, then.”
Julia shivered but dropped her hands toward her knees and started gathering up the hem of her dress. As soon as she had brought the hem up closer to the top of her thighs, she crossed her arms and pulled the dress up. Just as Max had done earlier with her T-shirt, she half-expected him to use her dress around her arms to pinion her, but Chris made no such move. He stared at the white lace panties that fit snugly over her hips and mound. As the dress slid up her body, she watched his eyes track it until she revealed the thin lace of her bra. His eyes locked in on her partially covered breasts and didn’t rise any further. She knew the darker color of her areolas would be visible through the lace as well as the points pushed into the fabric by her hard nipples. She finished pulling the dress off and draped it over the porch rail.
“Very nice. I was right about you, you are a little sex bomb.” He stepped close again and she waited for him to grab her hands and pin them above her head again. He didn’t do that, nor did he pull her into another close embrace and kiss her savagely again. Instead, he took her hands gently in his then walked down the steps leading her toward his truck.
“Where…?”
“No worry. Those wind break trees will stop anyone seeing you.” She didn’t think that was entirely true. The trees had shed their leaves and you could see through the thin double line of small trees. In the summer, they formed an impermeable barrier, but at this time of year… She shivered, but obediently followed him as he led her to the side of his truck. Turning her around, he pushed her against the passenger door, holding her there with one hand while his other hand trailed up one thigh and down the other. She couldn’t help shivering, not just from the touch of his searing hot fingers but also from the cold metal pressing against her back.
“Stand still.”
She gulped and nodded, turning her head to watch as he took a couple of paces away then leaned over the side of the truck and grabbed a length of bright red nylon rope. She gasped. He’d meant what he said when he said he was going to tie her to his truck.
“What are you doing?”
He was standing in front of her again, his hand reaching for her left hand, his right hand freeing up the rope.
“What do you think I’m going to do? I’m going to do what I said I was going to do.”
“But…”
“Sshh. Now I’m going to give you a choice, just like I did with the dress. Do you think your husband would notice if you weren’t wearing a bra?”
In truth, she wasn’t sure, not with this dress, and he hadn’t seen her get dressed, so he didn’t know for certain she was wearing one. There again, she didn’t want to take a risk. She knew Max would probably be cool with this, but she didn’t want to let on he approved her occasional infidelity—although, over the last few weeks, it had been a little bit more than occasional.
“Yes.”
“Then take it off.”
“But…”
“No buts, baby. Take it off, because if I
take it off after tying you, I won’t be able to do so without ruining it.”
He let her hand go and she stared into his eyes for a second and then reached behind her back to undo the clasp. He grinned and watched as she started to blush then stripped the straps down her arms, letting the thin lace fall away from her proud breasts. She shivered at the cool air, feeling her nipples tighten even further.
“You want to save your panties too?”
She glared at him but hooked her thumbs in the waistband and stripped them down her legs. As she straightened, he took both pieces of underwear from her hands and tossed them inside his truck through the open window behind her.
“Hey.”
“You’ll get them back, but you’ll have to earn them, baby.”
He wrapped the end of the rope around her wrist three or four times then tied a knot. He took the other end of the rope, tossing it high over the cab of the pickup, letting it fall down the front having neatly passed around the support for the row of spotlights mounted on the roof. He fished that end back and wrapped it around her other arm and tied a knot. She had a lot of freedom of movement, but her arms were held above shoulder height.
“Not too uncomfortable, right?”
She forced a tight smile. She’d had visions of him spread-eagling her in the flat open portion of the truck, tying off her arms and feet and then driving off with her helpless. That had given her some concern, ever since he’d told her what he intended to do. The fact he couldn’t drive off like this was a relief, although she wasn’t sure what he was going to do.
That became obvious as he moved in close, grabbed the back of her head with one hand and started kissing her again, with as much demanding passion as before. His free hand drifted down to her breast, cupping and squeezing it until she gasped into his mouth. His tongue took possession and she moaned into his mouth as he took his hand away. With both hands now free, he could plunder her body at will.
For a while, he worked both her breasts with his hands, before dropping one hand down and cupping her mound. He pressed his fingers along the line of her wet slit and she groaned and shuddered as he pushed one finger between her outer lips. She bucked against his hand, thrusting her pelvis forward to capture his finger, either drawing it into the opening to her channel, or into contact with her clit.
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