Sensation of the Seas

by Cyndi Redding

  As soon as she got over the initial shock of her Miklos pretending to rape her, she was able to abandon herself and get into her fantasy role. He shook her to her core.

  He made sure she was feeling the pleasurable contact too. She pretended it was not what she wanted, but there was no escape from the sexual satiation building. It was the roughest and in some ways the best fuck of her life. She came over and over and when he untied her, she was as limp as a palm frond.

  Chapter Nine

  The next morning, Vicki came to, slowly, sensing her body being shaken out of its comatose condition.

  “Get the hell up. You have a job to go to, remember?”

  Vicki groaned and pulled the pillow over her head. “Simone, give me a few more minutes--just five more, please?”

  “No. With all the sex you had yesterday, you could probably sleep all day. Now get up.”

  Vicki couldn’t help smiling underneath the pillow. Then she grabbed a hold of it and threw it at Simone. “Jealous, aren’t you?”

  Simone folded her arms in front of her and tapped her foot. “Ha. I should let you oversleep. Look, I’m trying to be a good friend. You need to eat. You know we’ll be at sea all day, and we probably won’t get a lunch break. Now get your satisfied body out of this bed.”

  “Thanks.” Vicki sat on the edge and noticed an itch. It was the kind she couldn’t scratch in front of Simone. Oh crap. Honeymoon cystitis, probably. As soon as she hauled her body out of bed, she noticed the itch becoming stronger.

  Simone seemed to be through with the bathroom. Her hair was wet and she was getting dressed, so Vicki stumbled in and shut the door. She turned on the shower with one hand and scratched her crotch with the other. No relief. As soon as she had pulled her nightshirt off and tossed it on the floor, she glanced in the mirror. What the hell?

  Vicki’s entire genital region was covered in a rash of white itchy bumps. “Oh, my, God!”

  Simone called from the other side of the door. “What happened?”

  “N--nothing.” She ran her fingers over the bumps and fire sprang up. Tears came to her eyes.

  “Don’t tell me it’s nothing. Something’s wrong.”

  Vicki swallowed hard and opened the door enough to peek around it. “Can you keep a secret?”

  “Sure. What’s one more?”

  “Look.” Vicky stepped in front of the opening and glanced down.

  Simone sucked in a loud gasp. “What is that?”

  Vicki couldn’t hold the tears in anymore and they spilled. “I don’t know,” she wailed. She hung her head and let the tears flow. When she had finished she sniffed and reached for some toilet paper.

  Simone pushed her way into the tiny space and looked closely. “It might be some kind of VD.”

  “Oh, God, no! How could I have contracted VD? Do you know what kind it might be?”

  Simone shook her head, but her eyes were glued to Vicki’s painful crotch. Finally she said, “I think Herpes is a rash.”

  Vicki sat on the toilet and put her head in her hands. “God, no! What will I tell Miklos? I think he was under the mistaken impression that I was a virgin when he married me.”

  “Maybe he gave it to you.”

  “I doubt that. I think he was the virgin.”

  Simone stood up straight and said, “That, I find hard to believe. In case you didn’t notice, your husband is the hottest thing on this ship.”

  “He was until my crotch started burning. Oh, Simone, what am I going to do?”

  “I’m going to get your clothes. Wash up, and then go to the infirmary. They’ll give you some cream or something.”

  Vicki nodded as Simone left. She forced herself to the sink, soaped up a washcloth and had just begun washing the painful area when Simone returned seconds later. She glanced in the mirror and saw her standing there with a uniform.

  “I can’t work today. Not like this!”

  Simone tossed the uniform on the toilet. “You’d better. Gizela will demand a doctor’s note.”

  Vicki burst into tears.

  Her roommate patted her shoulder. “I’d give you a hug, but I don’t want to get that close in case it’s contagious.”

  Vicki wiped her nose on the toilet paper and said, “Oh, shit. Now I feel like a bloody leper.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel like that, but...”

  “I know. But, bloody hell, Simone!”

  “Seriously, you should get down to the infirmary as soon as possible.”

  * * *

  Miklos awoke when Ron landed on the floor with a thud and yelled, “Time to get up, Mr. St. James.”

  “What? Who are you talking to?” He raised himself to balance on his elbow and frowned at his grinning cabin mate.

  “You. You married a modern woman. I just figured maybe she’d want you to take her name instead of the other way around.”

  Miklos dragged himself out of bed and grumbled. “I’ve never heard of such stupidity.”

  Ron shrugged, still smiling, and headed for the bathroom. Miklos scratched his balls as he often did in the morning, but this morning, they were itching like crazy and as soon as he touched them, they began burning like a bonfire. He had heard of too much sex leading to painful consequences. Perhaps that’s what caused it. Maybe nature was telling him to slow down. Oh, God! Maybe his sex play displeased his ancestors. The ones who led him to his beautiful, eager wife in the first place.

  He waited for Ron to come out of the head and went in right after him. When he pulled down his boxers to empty his bladder he was startled by the appearance of a harsh rash. White bumps. Maybe they were responsible for the painful itch. If so, did too much sex cause these bumps? Maybe it was not washing afterward that made his skin break out. But with such a powerful itch? This wasn’t a blocked pore or hair follicle.

  He shook his head and washed the area. At first it felt better, and then the fire returned. This must be punishment. We rutted like wild beasts. I’ll be careful not to offend God, who created the beautiful act of lovemaking, from now on.

  Ron was rapping on the door. “C’mon, buddy. My turn to shower first.”

  Should he mention this to Ron? Don’t be foolish. His roommate would only laugh at him and would probably tell his friends about it. He didn’t want to shame Vicki that way.

  Vicki. Was she experiencing this?

  He exited the bathroom and avoided looking at Ron.

  “It’s about time. Do we need air freshener in there?”

  Miklos ignored his roommate’s remark and went to his closet. He laid out his workout clothes and thought more about what had happened with his wife the day before.

  He thought about how they shared everything. She probably shared his punishment too. Yet she didn’t seem to share his ability to sense his feelings or read his thoughts.

  He had heard that sometimes in a strong marriage that lasted many years a couple could almost read each other’s thoughts. Perhaps because he had practiced and sharpened his shamanic senses so diligently this had happened much earlier. It didn’t seem to go both ways, however. He’d have to talk with her and be sure of that. The idea of his woman reading his impure thoughts shook him to the core.

  Perhaps he should try to sense her thoughts now. He might know if she was also experiencing this affliction. He closed his eyes and concentrated so hard that he almost forgot the painful itch on his penis and scrotum.

  Nothing but a faint sluggishness. Either Vicki was barely awake, or too far away, or she wasn’t feeling anything powerful at the moment. He’d just have to get through the workday and talk to her tonight.

  * * *

  Vicki skipped breakfast and followed Simone’s advice to visit the infirmary. She took in the white walls and the pristine cleanliness, but it had an impersonal, clinical feel to it. There wasn’t even anyone there to greet her.

  Just as she was about to leave, a female officer in white poked her head around the open doorway.

  “Fill out a
form from the bin against the counter, and I’ll be right with you.”

  Vicki picked up the form requesting all of her personal information and filled it out right at the counter. She took a seat and glanced at the ticking clock. Seven a.m. If this didn’t take too long she’d be able to grab some breakfast. She wondered what the nurse would ask.

  Figuring she’d want to know all about her sex life, she muttered, “Bloody hell,” and mentally reviewed all of her sexual partners as she sat waiting. There were at least five or six--or seven. At twenty-three did that make her a slut? Did she need to worry or care what the nurse thought about that?

  Let’s see. William was first but that almost doesn’t count since he never had sex before either. She shook her head at the memory of their combined incompetence. How hard was it to put tab A into slot B? At least, difficult enough so that they needed a map and a compass. She doubted William was the carrier of any venereal diseases.

  Next was Randall, who deserved his nickname, Randy. He was constantly trying to drag her off behind some hill or rock to ‘do it’ but she fought him off most of the time. How stupid was it to try something like that on group dates or at the group hangout? They had almost been caught and her parents had been told. Vicki never knew who told them. The news spread everywhere like wildfire. It could have been anyone. That’s when her parents started locking her in her room at night. Her father was convinced that all young men were no better than pigs.

  The minutes ticked on. Cupping her chin in her hand and resting her elbow on her knee, she impatiently continued on with the list. Devon. At last, a memory that produced a smile. It was a summer romance and she had enjoyed the sexual explorations they embarked upon. William had taken her cherry, and Randy had given her a reputation, but Devon had given her relaxed, satisfying, if rare, sexual experiences with enthusiastic mutual consent and privacy. I doubt he was the culprit.

  Next was Ray. She took in a deep breath and smiled. He was a Ray of sunshine. He was older, and she had her first orgasm courtesy of Ray and his patience. She hadn’t known what she was missing until Ray came along.

  Unfortunately she became clingy, wanting him to meet the parents and deepen their relationship, but he extricated himself from her grasp, instead, after only a few months. They were important months. She learned to love fucking and rode him every weekend, when she was supposed to be “working.” Yet love never entered into it. Could he have given me herpes? She hated to think that he could have been the one.

  Then there were those parties. Especially that one night... She couldn’t remember how many may have taken advantage of her or if she had even known their names. Maybe she was in a blackout when they had introduced themselves, or perhaps they hadn’t bothered, but she couldn’t remember them now.

  How the bloody hell would she tell Miklos? He’d be devastated! Or, did she really have to? She prayed it was something else. Anything else. It could be leprosy as long as she didn’t get it from having sex with another man.

  She startled when the nurse called, “next.” Her heart raced and the burning attacked her mons acutely as she stood. Taking a deep breath, she smoothed her shorts and followed the nurse to the examining room.

  * * *

  Miklos was on his way to the crew mess hall when he noticed his heart racing and stopped abruptly. He could feel what she was feeling--scared. It had to be Vicki. He was linked to no one else.

  Where was she? He glanced down the long corridor. She should be in the crew mess having breakfast. What could happen to her during breakfast that would frighten her like this? He jogged the rest of the way there and burst in, bumping someone with a full tray.

  “Hey, look where you’re going!”

  The staffer had managed to hang onto his food and the only calamity was a splash of coffee overflowing its cup and dampening his napkin. Miklos mumbled a vague apology and searched the room for Vicki. She wasn’t there. Maybe it was his imagination. He blew out a deep breath, picked up a tray, and found the end of the line.

  He still wondered if something could be happening to her. The only thing that upset him at the moment, besides a fire in his genital region, was realizing that he was not only tied to her mind, but also to her emotions, and he felt, and knew, something was terribly wrong.

  He had been acquainted with couples close enough to read each other’s moods. His parents communicated with no more than a look--but to feel his beloved’s emotions without being in the same room? What could that mean? Had his Chovihano powers grown to that extent? Or was something else afoot?

  This kept him puzzled, preoccupied, and feeling helpless while he just stood there. He had to hold the tray with both hands to avoid absently scratching his privates. He preferred gritting his teeth to embarrassing himself in front of his crewmates. At last, he had made it to the front of the line. Not caring what he put on his tray, he took one helping of everything. Sudden panic gripped the pit of his stomach. Vicki. She really was experiencing something negative, and it felt like panic. She could be in real danger. He had to find her, now.

  He dropped his tray and rushed to the door, bumping the same crewmember on his way out. He heard the man utter something in another language, probably a Spanish curse word. It sounded like ‘bastardo,’ but there was no time for apologies.

  He stood in the middle of the corridor, closed his eyes, and mentally called to her. His concentration deepened until he reached a trance state. Everything around him seemed to fade into the background. The background noise dampened and ceased to warrant his attention. All he could feel was Vicki trembling deep inside. She wasn’t hurt, but she was terribly frightened. He felt a pull to his right. Turning in that direction, he opened his eyes, but remained in trance and let his senses lead him to her. A steady walk along the deck brought him to the place he had hoped not to go. The hospital.

  He opened the door with trepidation and came upon a waiting room. He didn’t see anyone, but she was in there--somewhere. This part was the clinic. A wave of relief washed over him. If she was in the clinic, not the hospital, her condition wasn’t life threatening--He hoped.

  His trance had been briefly interrupted by his own emotions, so he pushed them down and deepened his concentration again. He could sense her heart fluttering. He was close. As he walked through the inner door and around the corner, he could feel himself drawn even closer to her. He stopped in front of a door. He was confident that she was behind it and seized the doorknob, entering without a warning knock.

  A nurse whirled around and Vicki clutched at the sheet covering her thighs and yanked it over her exposed pelvis.

  “What are you doing in here?” The nurse snapped.

  “Coming to see what’s wrong with my wife.”

  “Your wife?” The nurse glanced at the folder lying open on the counter beside her.

  “It’s--it’s all right,” Vicki said. “We were secretly married. We haven’t told the captain because we haven’t told our families, yet. You understand, don’t you?”

  “Oh.” The nurse looked at Miklos, then at Vicki and nodded. “In that case, do you mind if he comes in?”

  Vicky said, “Of course not.”

  The nurse rolled off her rubber gloves and addressed Miklos. “I’m the nurse practitioner and I have a prescription for your wife. Have a seat in the chair Mr.…”

  “Roman. Miklos Roman.” He sat gingerly, shifted in the chair, and the nurse raised her eyebrows.

  “Are you infected too, Mr. Roman?”

  He stared at Vicki and she met his anxious gaze. “What’s wrong with my wife?”

  Vicki’s heart was pounding. He could hear it.

  “I was just about to tell Miss St. James, or Mrs. Roman, that she has a terrible case of stinging nettle rash. I have an alkaline salve for her. Now what about you?”

  She nodded at Miklos’ crotch, and he adjusted uncomfortably in the chair. He sensed Vicki was awash in relief. Then he heard her thoughts as if she had spoken them aloud. She was relieved to know
it wasn’t Herpes.

  She thought it was Herpes? But that’s a venereal disease. Miklos cleared his throat and tried to keep his voice steady. “What is this stinging nettle rash?”

  “Well, one, or both of you got into some stinging nettle, a very acidic plant found here in the islands. From the looks of it, I’d say you strayed off the beaten path and wound up horizontal with your pants around your knees.”

  Vicki burst out laughing.

  He turned to her in surprise, then frowned.

  When she had finally finished chuckling, she confessed to the nurse. “I wiped myself with some leaves after we had sex. There must have been some of that stinging nettle in with the leaves. Or it might have been that my panties wound up in a bit of it when we flung them into the rainforest.”

  The nurse lifted the sheet to take another look. “Yup. It grows all over the Caribbean, and especially in damp environments. You got into quite a patch of it I’d say.”

  Miklos was incensed. “How can you be so immodest discussing our marital relations with a total stranger?”

  “But, darling, why should I be ashamed? She’s a nurse. Our sex life is something to be proud of if you ask me.”

  Vicki looked at the nurse and pointed to Miklos. “He’s wicked in bed. Bloody out of the box. I never in all my life thought it could be like that.”

  The nurse chuckled. “Well, I’m happy to hear that, Mrs. Roman. Now, Mr. Roman, stand up, and drop your pants.”

  “I will not!”

  Both Vicki and the nurse looked at him in surprise.

  “I imagine your condition is pretty similar and therefore uncomfortable,” the nurse said. “You’ll only re-infect each other unless both of you are treated at the same time.” She donned another pair of rubber gloves. “Let me take a look at it.”

  Miklos stood reluctantly. He lowered his gym shorts and briefs exposing only a bit of himself to the nurse. She reached toward his shorts, and he recoiled, quickly hiding his private parts from her.

  “I’m only going to apply some salve.”