I concentrated on who was there, faces I knew of, names I’d heard in the last few hours, weaving them together in a map of characters to be able to sift through later.
Marcus never appeared, neither did Chad Baker.
I mixed drinks, passing out cards forCòctels, trying to charm the guests like any good bartender should. Champagne still flowed, canapes carried round by waiters trying to make sure some of the alcohol was soaked up, and the beat of the music became a bit quicker.
The heat rose. I heard Jameson’s laugh a few times, but I didn’t look for her.Que sera seraand all that shit.
I found her by accident.
Livi told me to close up and ‘have some fun’, a late decision made to sail around Formentera. I’d had enough of being an entertainer, making some small talk, responding to more. I had nowhere else to be tonight, just this yacht with its mix of the famous and the rich.
I found Jameson with her sister, the two of them looking over to the sea, Formentera in the distance.
Lala wore a bikini, her lean legs so similar to her sister’s, her hair just as long, but her curls were wilder. Jameson was still in her yellow dress.
I coughed, not wanting to startle them, and they both turned round. Mask-less and without their audience for which they were both practiced performers, there was something free about them, that I hadn’t even seen in Jameson last night.
The surprise meant they hadn’t had chance to put on their invisible masks.
“I’m going to leave you both to it.” Lala kissed her sister’s cheek and gave me a grin as she left me alone with Jameson on the quietest part of the yacht.
“You okay?” I didn’t go any closer.
She nodded. “I’m fine. Enjoying tonight.”
“Good.” I stuffed my hands into my pockets, knowing she wasn’t mine to touch, not without her permission.
“What do you want, Tommy?” Her chin tilted up, her jaw firm. There was a stubbornness to her eyes that made me almost smile.
“Time with you.” No point lying.
“You mean you want to sleep with me again?”
“Yes.”
She turned back around, facing the sea.
I closed the distance between us, shifting behind her so I could feel her body heat.
“I want to sleep with you again, but somewhere I can take my time. Learn how you taste, have you underneath me, find out what happens when I touch you here.” I whispered the words to the exposed skin of her neck.
She didn’t move. Didn’t say anything.
“Tell me no, and I’ll go away. You can enjoy your evening without me.”
Her hands left the rail, arms lifting so she could move her hair over one shoulder, exposing more of the tender skin there.
“Persuade me.”
I didn’t touch her with my hands, even though I wanted to feel those soft curves again. It was just my lips, pressing a gentle kiss to the slope between her shoulder and neck, a kiss that turned into a bite, that turned into a mark.
Then my hands did go to her hips.
“Do you want me to stop?”
“No. I know I should, but I don’t.” She turned her head for messy kisses, the sort that came with desperation and denial.
My dick had hardened already. I pressed against her back, knowing she’d be able to feel my erection. My hands trailed up from her hips, over the soft material of her dress to her breasts, my fingers trailing over them, feeling her nipples harden.
