"I think you already have," she mumbled.
"What was that?" he asked.
"I didn't take you for a killer," she said as she looked at him now. "So, where is she docked?"
"Private marina," he answered.
"Of course," she whispered again.
They drove for what seemed a considerable time, but considering they were leaving the heart of New York City, she didn't expect them to get to the sea that quickly. She rolled down the windows and let the wind play with her face as the car cruised along. What seemed like an hour later, the car turned off the main thoroughfare and enter a narrow dirt track. Five minutes later and she could detect grains of sand lining the roadway at the same time she heard the slight ripple of water. She loved the ocean and she knew she would love being on the water today. Especially with him, and what better way to go sailing than on a private yacht with a billionaire.
The car rolled to a stop and she alighted from it and walked a little way ahead. "This way," he told her as he headed in the opposite direction.
"When I was a boy my father used to take me here all the time. We would go fishing sometimes, and other times we would just go sailing around that quay over there," he said as he pointed to her left. She turned and saw the little island a stretch away and she wondered if that was where they would be going. "I developed a love for the sea from a young age, and I forced him to send me to scuba diving lessons, water surfing and biking.
"So you know how to scuba dive?" he asked as her face lit up.
"I do, and it is something I do every chance I get. Under the sea is so beautiful sometimes I wish I were a fish," he laughed. "Would you like to?"
"Who me? I barely know how to swim," she told him. She couldn't say she wasn't thrilled that he was sharing some personal information with her. She had always seen him as just her employer, and someone who didn't have any family or anything interesting to share with the world; he just used women and moved along. Now she didn't know what to believe. All she knew was she was fast developing different opinions about him.
When they rounded the bend, after a long stretch between mangroves and palm trees, they got to a mini pier where she saw the great white beauty tethered there. "Wow," she exclaimed as the words involuntarily fell from her lips.
Ethan smiled. "Her name's Opal," he told her. "My mother named her after her favourite gem stone."
"That's a lovely name for a yacht; she is a gem," Selena agreed.
"Come, let me take you for a tour," he said as he held his hand out for her.
As they neared the vessel, an old man became visible on the main deck and he stood now as he saw them approaching. "G'morning Sir," he waved to Ethan.
"Morning Mitch," he called back. "That's the Captain," he told Selena. "He has been in my family for so long he is like a fixture. I don't know how I'd manage Opal without him. He has taught me a great many things and is often like a second father to me."
Selena smiled as he led her on board and introduced her to the old man. "A pleasure to meet you Mitch," she said as she extended her arms to him.
"A gem aboard a gem," he grinned revealing a few missing teeth. "Nice to meet you Ma'am. So where to today Sir, the quay?"
"Yes Mitch," he said to the man. "I want to show the lady how we sail around here."
Mitch chuckled. "Very well Sir," and then disappeared into the Captain's quarters.
Selena walked to the rail to stare at the still and blue waters. It had been a while since she had gone to the beach and she now soaked it in as if she would never come back. Ethan went to untether the yacht and by the time he climbed aboard again, she felt a slight movement as the vessel began to move. Her heart pounded in her chest as she stood there at the helm, watching the water make waves on the side of the yacht.
"Beautiful," he said to her from behind.
"Absolutely," she agreed as she turned to face him.
"I was talking about you," he said to her as he got to her and used his hand to snag a loose curl that was blowing across her face.
Selena blushed at his words and then adjusted herself as he brought his lips to hers once more. This time she didn't resist as she let him take control of her emotions. She may have had doubts before about coming, but as she felt him surround her with his essence, she knew she had made the right choice.
Chapter 9
Selena changed into a blue and green bikini suit with a chiffon skirt that fell to her ankles. That however did nothing to hide her shapely body and Ethan couldn't take either his eyes or his hand off of her. It fascinated him to see how her face lit up as she watched the vessel move across the water.
"Are we going to the quay?" she asked him.
"That's the idea. It's one of my favourite places and I wanted to show it to you," he smiled. "You should feel special; I don't take just anyone there.'
Selena wasn't sure whether to take that as a compliment or as empty words. "But isn't the quay public to everyone? How could it be your special place?"
Ethan chuckled. "Oh my dear Selena, do you think I would amass that many properties and not own an island somewhere? They quay is mine."
Selena's eyes popped. And then she was flattered. She knew he had money, lots of it, but she couldn't fathom the length and breadth of it. How did one come to own an island? From whom did he buy it? Possibly the government, but still, wow! The more he talked, the more he took her breath away, in more ways than one.
"I can't believe it. You need to start giving me better lessons because I need my island too," she laughed.
"It doesn't take skills to buy one," he said.
"No, but it takes skills to get the money to be able to buy one."
"I see your point. Well I have no doubt you will earn enough in no time." then he glanced around the main deck as if he was looking for something.
"What is it?" she asked him.
"Oh there," he said as he ignored her and went to get the folding chairs hidden in the corner. He brought them to the shade of where they were standing and opened the chairs. "Forgive my rudeness. I forgot to offer you a seat; you seemed so at ease standing there it slipped me."
"Oh that's alright," she said even though she came over to sit. "I did enjoy standing there. Everything is so beautiful."
"Champagne Sir," Mitch asked as he appeared with a tray with two glasses.
"Yes, thank you Mitch."
"Ooh," Selena said as she took hers and immediately took a sip. She closed her eyes as she felt the smooth liquid race down her trachea. "I missed the taste of that."
Ethan smiled inwardly when he saw how much she was enjoying herself. Selena sat there sipping her drink and watching the stretch of blue colliding with the clouds in the distance and she couldn't remember the last time she felt that at peace. She was grateful to Ethan for introducing her to his world and giving her a taste of the finer things in life she had always dreamed to be hers one day.
It took them another thirty minutes of cruising to get them to the quay; what had seemed such a tiny speck from sure turned out to be a massive land mass. Selena was astonished when she walked ashore to discover a beach house on the property. She could smell food being prepared and instantly her stomach started rumbling.
"Look what you caused," she said when she saw him look at her with shock. "I haven't eaten from morning. I was so nervous."
"Nervous? There is nothing to be nervous about," he told her as he held her hand and led her to the house.
That's what he thought; at the moment Selena was a basket case, but she regained her composure long enough to meet the house staff. She couldn't help feeling like the woman of the house at present, and she fought not to let her emotions get the better of her. The day was spent eating the variety of foods and fruits that were prepared for them followed by Ethan giving her a tour of the island. Not once did he make any sexual advances on her, and seeing this softer side of him only made Selena fall for him even more.
Close to dusk he brought her back aboard Opal and she almost fell asleep as she grew comfortable under the rocking and rolling of the vessel. She didn't want to leave and she dreaded that the day had to end. He pulled her to him as they docked and locked her in a tight embrace before sealing the moment with a kiss she had hungered for since the last one. She wanted to stay with him, but she didn't want to be the one to ask.
The car had barely rolled up to her apartment, where she shared another brief kiss with Ethan, when she saw two heads peeping from the curtains upstairs. Her apartment faced the street and gave her snoopy friends way too much access to her now private moment.