L. Marie Adeline- S.E.C.R.E.T

“I won’t do that,” I said. “But … would you mind turning around?”
“I don’t mind at all,” he said, facing the other way. He was tanned all over, though I
could see that his butt below the surface of the water was shining white. I hesitated for a
moment, and then shook o the remnants of fear. I was in charge of this fantasy, it
seemed, and no one was stopping me. I slipped out of my clothes, then carefully laid
them across a lounge chair. I eased into the water, which felt warmer because there was
a slight chill in the air, the kind of chill storms bring. The sun still shone hot, but there
were dark clouds on the horizon and a feeling of electricity in the atmosphere.
“Okay, you can turn around now,” I said, keeping my arms across my breasts, which
were below the water. Why was I so shy? I also realized he hadn’t asked me to accept
the Step, which had become almost Pavlovian to me. After uttering those words, I
slipped into a kind of trance that allowed me to go along with a fantasy. This time, I
was the one propelling things forward with a man not already earmarked, though he
should have been. I had never been one for blonds, but he was so masculine, his brown
arms reaching for me, pulling me towards him through the water’s resistance.
“Your skin feels amazing in the water,” he said, running his hands down my back,
lifting me onto his lap. I felt him stien. He bent to take one of my nipples boldly into
his mouth, and his hand squeezed my naked buttocks. Our bodies splashed against each
other as the pool water got choppier and choppier with our movements. At least that’s
what I thought was making the waves. I opened my eyes to the sky again and this time
it cast a very dierent glow, a more malevolent one. The sun was obscured by indigo
clouds, the kind that caused Captain Archer to stop nibbling at my shoulder.
“Oh jeez, that’s a bad, bad sky,” he said, standing up, toppling me from his lap. “I
have to get that helicopter o the boat or it’ll get tossed into the Gulf. You, my dear, are
going below deck and you’re not to move until someone comes to get you, do you hear
me? This was really not in the plans. I’m sorry for that. I’ll radio for some backup.”
He was out of the pool in a second. There was no time for vanity. He held up a towel
that swallowed me whole and placed my clothes in my hand. The wind whipped up a
frenzy, nearly taking us both over the side. He grabbed me and pressed me against the
wall of the bow, plucking a lifejacket off a hook above me.
“Go below, change, and put this jacket on!”
“Can’t I go with you?” I said, fear gathering in my gut again. I clutched the towel
under my chin and padded after him, dripping the whole way to the helipad.
“Too dangerous, Cassie. You’re better o on this boat. It moves fast. It’ll take you from
the storm. Go below now and don’t leave until someone comes to get you. And don’t
fret,” he said, pressing a kiss to my forehead.
“But does anyone know I’m here?”
“Don’t worry, all is well, my dear!”
I pulled the towel tighter around me as he red up the propellers. When the helicopter
lifted o the landing pad a few feet, a gust of wind took it for a little spin. I ducked into
the cabin and watched in amazement and horror as he expertly navigated through the
turmoil, grateful I wasn’t aboard to throw up on his shoes. I heard the yacht’s motor
starting up, the vibrations traveling up through my feet, setting my teeth chattering, or