Chapter 18
‘Right, we better go,’ Brain says sensibly after he’s placed my tatty suitcase beside me. ‘I better get this coach back to the campground, and you guys will have a lot of dishes to sort out.’
‘I feel so bad leaving you short-handed,’ I say, giving Monica a big hug.
‘We’ll be fine,’ she reassures me. ‘I’ll phone the office tomorrow and get them to send me some keen bean fresh off a tour to come and be our slave.’
‘See ya, Tim. Look after Monica, won’t you?’ I warn.
‘Will do, Bella,’ he says, squeezing me goodbye.
‘You’re going to be great, Tara,’ I say as I hug her goodbye.
‘Thanks for all you’ve taught me, Bella.’ Tears well in her eyes, mine join in sympathy.
‘Brain,’ I open my arms and walk towards my now former driver. ‘Bring it in. I’m going to miss you, buddy.’ I wrap my arms around him, using the shoulder of his denim shirt to dab my eyes.
‘You too, Bella,’ he hugs me tight. ‘Right, you lot. Hop on,’ he orders .
We stand and watch as the green bus pulls away, no doubt headed straight for the motorway.
I wave until it’s out of sight. Jock takes my hand in his, dragging my suitcase with the other.
As we pass the bench I pick up his guitar and together we walk towards the Rock Star.
The crew are lined up on the swim platform to greet us, each resplendent in their sky blue polos, crisp white shorts and tan boat shoes.
‘Welcome aboard, Bella. I’m Stefan, captain of the Rock Star. It’s a pleasure to have you on board,’ he beams.
‘Thank you, Stefan, it’s lovely to meet you,’ I try to match the wattage of his smile.
‘Please, let me introduce you to my crew. This is Alan and Stan, the deckhands,’ he starts.
‘Hi,’ I smile, ‘sorry you didn’t get to see my best side the other Stan.’
‘This is my 1st mate, Paul and the ship’s engineer, Antonio. Arguably the most important person on board, Chef Luigi,’ Stefan continues. I shake each hand as it is presented to me, I wonder briefly if this is how Princess Diana feels on the daily.
‘Chao, Bella,’ Luigi greets me. ‘Name means beautiful, and it suits you.’ Luigi brings the back of my hand I’ve put in his to shake to his mouth, kissing it gently.
‘Easy on, Luigi,’ Jock warns good-naturedly.
‘Last but not least,’ Stefan says, ‘this is Suzy. Suzy has just been promoted to Chief Stewardess after we had to let the previous one go suddenly.’ I notice Stefan and Jock swap looks.
‘So we are a little short staffed for this charter but Suzy will do everything in her power to make sure you have an enjoyable trip,’ he promises.
‘It’s nice to meet you everyone,’ I smile. ‘Can’t wait to get to know you all better and if there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know. I’m pretty handy with dishes and pulling pints.’
Jock gives my hand a reassuring squeeze and whispers in my ear, ‘I pay them enough money that you shouldn’t have to be doing the dishes,’ then quickly kisses my cheek.
‘And these two lovely ladies,’ Jock draws me to two women standing to the side who are not in uniform, ‘are Laura, who is my PA, and Vanessa, who is working with me on a new style for the band. As you can see, not tall, or blonde.’
‘Alright, no need to point out my shortcomings Jock,’ Vanessa says, pulling me into a hug. ‘So nice to meet you Bella. Jock hasn’t stopped talking about you every minute we were in Milan this week.’
‘Hi Bella,’ Laura greets me warmly, ‘it’s really nice to have you with us. If you ever need anything, please just ask.’
‘Thanks,’ I smile at both of them.
‘Let me take your luggage,’ Stan offers, dragging my tatty suitcase off the swim deck and into the bowels of the boat. Probably wanted to get it out of site to stop it lowering the tone, I smile to myself.
‘Dinner is ready, where would you like to have it Mr Jock?’ Luigi asks.
‘The sun deck?’ Jock replies, ‘Is that okay with you, Bella?’
‘Sounds delightful,’ I reply. Where did delightful come from? I don’t think I’ve ever said ‘delightful’ in my life. I don’t even know where the sun deck is, let alone if it will be delightful. Must be my inner Eliza Doolittle bubbling to the surface.
10.30 pm
A ‘delightful’ dinner started with a tiny round of yellowfin tuna tartare decorated with micro greens and tiny edible flowers, served on crostini and a crisp New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.
The main was a medium rare, herb-crusted rack of French lamb with a truffle jus, served on a bed of parmesan and wild mushroom risotto.
On the side were juicy, sweet baby carrots and green beans, and it was topped with a parmesan crisp.
A large glass of Tuscan red helped to wash it down.
For dessert, a lavender crème br?lée, topped with caramelised sugar and a violet petal, with a small glass of sweet dessert wine, finished off a spectacular meal with a bang.
‘I hope you still like me when I’ve gained 10 kilograms,’ I half-joke. ‘If I’m going to be eating like this for the next two weeks, there’s a high chance.’
‘I’ll just throw you over the side a couple of times a day and make you swim after us,’ Jock laughs.
‘Don’t you dare, Jock Douglas. I’m terrified of sharks… and jelly fish… and big fish… and deep water,’ I shiver at the thought.
‘I’d never.’ He smiles at me, gentle at first, almost shy. But as his gaze drops to my lips, it twists into something else entirely. The warmth doesn’t fade, it smoulders. That smile wasn’t sweet anymore. It was a promise. ‘Ready for bed?’
‘This is your bedroom?’ I shriek as Jock leads me into the master suite.
‘Our bedroom,’ he smiles. ‘Let me show you around.’
‘This room is bigger than our entire house on the Gare Loch,’ I look around, stunned.
A king-size bed’s floor-to-ceiling headboard separates the sleeping area from the ensuite.
The bed is covered in an ornate woven gold duvet cover, more pillows than I’ve ever seen in one place, butt up against the headboard, illuminated by downlights for reading.
On each side of the bed are cream veneer bedside stands, each with a lamp.
Opposite the bed are two large matching cream veneer dressing tables.
‘The one on the right is yours,’ Jock informs me as I stand stuck in the middle of the room, mouth agape.
‘Where’s my suitcase?’ I ask.
‘Suzy will have unpacked it.’ Jock pulls out the top drawer to confirm that’s the case.
‘Suzy went through my undies? I hardly know the woman.’ I slip out of my sandals and walk barefoot into the ensuite.
Accessible from either side of the bed, the wall backing onto the bed has his and hers basins and large mirrors with a ledge for toiletries.
I can see Suzy has also unpacked my toiletries, putting my well-worn toothbrush into a stylish holder alongside a fancy electric toothbrush, which I assume is Jock’s.
The sight of our toothbrushes together makes me feel all warm inside.
In one corner, a toilet is behind clouded glass for privacy.
I say a silent thank you for that. On the back wall, a large claw-foot bath, big enough for two, if not three people, has a stylish free-standing tap and a large ornate mirror in a frame above it.
Across the middle of the bath, a bamboo shelf holds luxury bath bombs, bubble bath and two champagne flutes, not very subtly hinting at the bath’s purpose.
The other corner is a wet area, tiled walls on three sides with all manner of shower heads on each of them.
I tilt my head, trying to work out what you could possibly do with so many shower heads.
Jock moves behind me, pressing his body to mine. ‘Want to give it a try?’
My mouth is instantly dry, and I can’t speak, just nod.
Jock reaches down, takes the hem of my shift dress, pulls it up slowly and gently up, and over my head, tossing it on the tile floor.
He returns his body to its place against me, and he reaches around me, tenderly cupping my breasts with his fingers.
I gasp as his thumbs brush over the lace, keeping my nipples from standing to attention.
As he circles my nipples rhythmically with his thumbs, his hips sway, his groin rubs against me, and he gently nibbles his way from my neck to my shoulder.
I close my eyes and lean back into him, and the sensation, as he sways, he slowly turns us both 180 degrees.
‘Open your eyes,’ Jock says huskily.
I’m in such a trance it’s hard to prise my eyelids apart.
When I do, I’m confronted with our image reflected in the long bank of mirrors.
I see my long, slender legs slightly apart, my feet, with their pink painted toenails, are keeping me somewhat grounded, although I feel like I’m floating.
High-waisted, white, lacy underwear sits just over my hip bones, and the pale skin of my belly reaches up to a matching white lacy bra.
Jock’s hands cover most of the lace, his thumbs still slowly circling.
We watch each other, watching each other in the reflection, lust dark in our eyes.
Jock reaches in between us and releases my bra.
I let it slide down my arms and onto the floor.
‘You’re so beautiful, Bella,’ he whispers in my ear before sucking the lobe into his mouth, teasing it with his tongue.
I hear a low, long groan emanate from my body as he gently tugs at my nipples.
Releasing them, he slides his strong, tanned hands down the length of my belly, then moves them onto my hips before bringing them back to the front of my body and slowly putting one hand between my legs.
‘Look how beautiful you are,’ he says, taking his hand, not slowly rubbing against the crotch of my underwear to take my chin, tilting it forward again so I can watch the show.
‘Oh, Jock.’ My breath is coming in gasps, my brain foggy.
He moves his hands to my side, places his thumbs under the waistband of my underwear, tugging them down a little to reveal my pubic hair.
I wiggle until they come completely loose and join the rest of my clothing on the floor.
He kisses my neck, snagging the skin gently with his teeth, as he does, his eyes don’t leave the mirror as he studies every inch of my body.
Moving his hands to my shoulders, he turns me around and moves me to step backwards.
In one swoop with his arm, he removes everything from the wide ledge behind the basins, including our cosy toothbrushes, which clatter onto the bathroom floor.
Putting his hands in my armpits, he lifts me to sit on the ledge.
I wrap my legs around him as he lowers his mouth to mine.
The simmering pressure of the volcano of passion inside me rises as our tongues dance.
Jock moves away from my mouth, slowly kissing down my neck to the middle of my chest. He pauses for a moment, one at a time, taking each nipple into his mouth, sucking it further in and teasing with his tongue.
‘Oh fuck,’ I groan, arching my back against the cool of the mirror, now catching our reflection in the mirror over the bath.
Jock trails his lips down my stomach until he’s kneeling on the bathroom floor between my legs.
He looks up at me and sees that I’m watching in the far mirror.
He moves his head to the side against one of my knees so that I see myself as he does, splayed and on full display for him.
The smile that I saw earlier, the one that smouldered and was more of a promise, is back.
He lifts a finger up, touching it gently to the downward point of my triangle of pubic hair.
A jolt of pleasure shoots up my spine at his touch.
‘My tongue is about to go there.’ He touches his finger to my skin again, sending another thousand volts of electricity through me.
When it does, I’m lost, and I’m not sure I ever want to be found again.