Congratulating herself for not faltering when she came across him again, Everleigh lifted her chin, not breaking her stride, and slipped out of the sliding door on the west side of the room.
She glanced out at the vast ocean before her. Nothing but blue; blue water, blue sky. The immensity of it made her feel infinitely smaller and yet with the sun on her face, and the fresh sea breeze around her, she knew a moment of peace.
She lowered the towel and immediately dove into the shimmering crystal pool. She felt as if she were on another planet as she glided through the water.
She swam nonstop for a long while before her arms grew tired and then she lifted herself out of the pool, dried off, and laid herself down on a sun lounger.
The instant she became comfortable, Benny approached her with a slight blush on his cheeks, carrying a tray of delightfully colorful drinks, complete with little umbrellas, citrus swirls, and bright curly paper straws.
“Oh, thank you, Benny,” Everleigh said cheerfully. If it weren’t for her actual circumstances and the absence of her friends, she could easily imagine she was on holiday.
She picked a vibrant pink drink and sighed at her first sip. She wasn’t much for alcohol but was glad the raspberry syrup did an excellent job of sweetening the taste of the gin.
Cocktails in the middle of the afternoon, who would have thought?
“This is delicious,” she said, smiling genuinely at Benny. “Thank you.”
“It’s my pleasure, Mrs. Knight. May I get you anything else?”
“I’m good for now, thanks,” she replied. Benny nodded and disappeared.
She closed her eyes, taking lazy sips of her drink now and again, as she basked in the glorious sun. Her thoughts were not her best company because they always ended up with Parker.
She ran through his list of demands, issued when he had spanked her. Do this, and not that. Be that and not this.
She was a modern woman, and she should be enraged by his antiquated rules which basically amounted to shut up, sit down, and do as she had been told.
The sun-loungers graced the opposite side, so she had a clear view of the cabin. Her gaze immediately fell on Parker, watching her. He turned away from her for a moment when Benny entered the room and handed him what she thought looked like a black garment bag.
He seemed to issue the other man with an instruction, but it wasn’t long before Benny returned, and they started to talk again.
The need to do something utterly daring in defiance of his rules filled her up.
Maybe it was the alcohol in the cocktail that boosted her courage. Maybe it was because he made her come and she didn’t want him to stop touching her.
Whatever her motivation, with one flick of her fingers, the clasp on her bra was undone and her breasts were released.
She rose from the lounger and dangled her bra from her fingers as she strode back into the cabin.
She had been on a diet for three long months. Even when she fell off the healthy eating wagon, she climbed back on. She had worked out twice as hard in preparation for the trip and goddammit, her body had never looked better.
Her confidence grew with every stride she took. Nowhere in the patterns of her thoughts did she think she was stepping over a boundary Parker was not going to appreciate and that was putting it mildly.
Well too bad for him.
She wasn’t a doormat. She wasn’t going to stand down and obey the all-mighty Parker Knight.
Despite all her internal bravado, she couldn’t stop her heart from racing like a runaway train in her chest. Still, she added just a touch of a grin on her face and kept her steps firm and strong with both the towel and her bra dangling from each of her hands behind her.
She stared straight ahead as she passed them by in the lounge area. She even fought the urge to cover up when Benny went into some sort of a coughing fit at the naked display of her boobs.
From her peripheral vision, she noticed Parker’s jaw rippling.
Well, he should be glad it wasn’t her bikini bottoms she was also dragging behind her.
Besides, what was he going to do to her? Spank her again? She could handle him. The first time had been a novel experience for a virgin like her. The second time she would be completely unfazed, and he could spank her ass until his hand hurt.
Her steps still very much measured, she quietly slipped into the main bedroom, only because she had stupidly left her bag there instead of taking it into the room she had chosen to occupy.