Punishable Offenses

Chapter One-2

Jason, meanwhile, had sat down on an adjacent lounge and pulled Carly toward him. Tugging the aqua bikini aside, he began to lick her. Soon, she had falling against him with one hand roaming through his dark hair, her other holding onto his shoulder for balance as her s****l arousal became more intense.

“Damn, baby, I love you,” she kept on in a breathy whimper.

Already, Madeleine’s crotch was burning with heat in a pleasant sort of way. The music, the rum and the motion of the gentle waters managed to crowd out the anxiety mounting beneath the surface of her inebriation. A light breeze tickled the skin. She wanted to come—but not like this, not like Robbie’s whorish friends—she was sober enough to know that much.

For a while as they tried to avoid the s****l scene taking place just a few feet away, Robbie engaged her in small talk about matters that she wouldn’t remember minutes later but enough to fill a menacing void. Finally even he would decide that his f*****g friends were a bit much for a first date with the sexy but refined Endowment Coordinator from the office. He had to thank the reggae, the rum and her good-natured spirit for not ruining the date he’d dreamed about since he first laid eyes on Madeleine Danes months before. At last, in an effort to distance them from the s****l tableau, he pulled Madeleine to her feet and drew her to the far side of the deck where they gazed out on the water and the lush Long Island shoreline.

“I hope that’s not too much,” Robbie said. “I mean if you’d like, we can move into one of the salons.”

“I’m fine,” she smiled with an air of kindness after noting the look of anxiety on his face. She was about to take him up on his suggestion when suddenly the sound of a woman’s voice made them both turn back toward the deck where a pretty redhead was waving at Robbie and approaching fast.

“Robbie, darling!” the woman fell into his arms. She was small, a bit plump with a vivacious smile and mischievous eyes. She turned briefly to acknowledge the four f*****g friends, then turned back and looked at Madeleine briefly. “Hi there,” was all she’d said, before her eyes came to rest on Robbie’s windswept face.

“You don’t mind if I grab this guy away for a while?” she gushed, “I haven’t seen him in ages.” Even given her own inebriation, Madeleine could smell the liquor on her breath.

The bubbly female pulled Robbie from the deck railing, fully intent on taking charge. Falling against his chest, her navy blue bikini top became dislodged enough to show a bright pink n****e before she laughingly tucked it away. “Damn thing doesn’t want to stay put!” she joked.

“Sally, really, I can’t abandon Madeleine here,” Robbie tried to object.

“Oh, she’ll be just fine. We have catching up to do, darling.”

“No, really, she’s with me tonight.”

“Then she’ll have to get used to your other girlfriends, won’t she?” she glibly came back.

“It’s okay. I’m fine,” Madeleine offered, “I’ll just have a look around while you two catch up.”

“See? What did I tell you, Robbie dear. She’s not half as smitten with you as you are with her. Maybe I’ll make her jealous and that will work in your favor.” She winked at Madeleine then commandeered the boy and moved toward the forward deck.

“I’ll be back soon,” Robbie mouthed. Dragged off by the irrepressible Sally, he left Madeleine uncomfortably alone on a deck with two f*****g couples and another couple she hadn’t seen before who’d just emerged from the rear salon. That pair had begun to dance with their hips locked in a tango as mesmerizing as the night itself. For a good two minutes Madeleine stood hypnotized by their show until she looked away feeling dizzy. Robbie had disappeared and with her stomach turning somersaults, she grabbed the rail and made her way toward the small salon at the front of the yacht. Once the door closed behind her she leaned back against it and took a deep breath, letting the cooler air of the dark room close in on her heated body.

Maybe if she just sat a while she’d be fine. Her mind was spinning, thoughts tumbling together in a confusing mess. Then suddenly a voice leapt out at her so fast that her entire body jumped in fright.

“What is it? The wild goings-on have you fainting?”

Her eyes shot open and she stared across the open space, passed the well-appointed luxury cabin and its fine furnishings to where a man was reclining comfortably in an easy chair, sipping a martini.

“Oh my, I’m sorry, I had no idea anyone was here,” she stammered. “I was just…just looking for the restroom.” The back of her hand brushed against her brow while she tried to rally back from the brink of complete madness. She pulled herself up, standing straighter.

“Relax, I’m not going to bite. The john’s through that door if that’s what you want.” He pointed to the closed door on the far side of the room.

Madeleine remained unmoving, forcing back the urge to retch.

Then as if reading the truth in her pale face, he said with a smile that only seemed to mock her more, “Or maybe you need a bucket to puke in.”

“No, I’m fine, fine. I just needed a breath of air.”

“A breath of air you can get on deck. A little less savagery, that’s what you’ll find in here.” He suddenly sprung from his chair and slowly walked her way with the Martini glass in hand. He was a fine looking man, perhaps in his late thirties, his short sandy colored hair with just a touch of grey at the temples. He’d be more distinguished the more he aged, but for the moment, he was doing enough to send Madeleine’s s****l angst into further turmoil.

“Savagery?” she repeated the word, as if to do so might help her conquer the weird sensations rising up inside her body. It wasn’t so much that she was feeling sick as overwhelmed. And the man in the white trousers, green tropical shirt, casually toting his martini did nothing to quell the feeling. It would seem that savage was a very good word to describe the moment.

“Must be getting crazy out there,” he added.

“Yes, just a bit.”

This made him laugh. “And our Robbie has abandoned you.”

“Not abandoned, really. He took off with a woman, an old friend…Sally I think. I suppose you’re another of his good friends?” Something about the possibility seemed unlikely, as she couldn’t imagine Robbie hanging out with a man this… well, settled or this old.

“I’m an old friend of the McKellar family, Daniel Prothero,” he introduced himself.

She had heard of him. A writer and newspaper columnist with national recognition, known for his wit and biting satire. “Madeleine Danes. I work for the…”

“The McKellar Endowment. I’ve known your name for some time.” The way he spoke, the way he looked so intently into her eyes—as if he knew the inside of her thoughts and had intimate knowledge of who she was. This too left her shaken.

She had not yet budged from her position at the back of the door, and Daniel Prothero was getting closer with his cool, dispassionate saunter, dangerously close.

“If you don’t need to use the bathroom, maybe you’d like to sit down? A drink, perhaps?”

“Oh no, the rum has already made me queasy enough. But that’s not unusual. I should never have accepted the drink in the first place.”

“You’re sure it’s just the rum?” He lifted his martini glass to the window looking out on the aft deck where it was possible to see through the dark glass and the half-closed blinds that the three couples were still going at each other, their clothes now stripped away. They f****d in the nude against the backdrop of the rising moonlight, their youthful bodies gleaming and erotic.

“Here.” Daniel Prothero reached out and took her hand, leading her further into the room, between the plush white linen couches. She thought he might offer her a chair, but instead they ended up facing the windows where on the deck the couples were screwing, and beyond the railing the Long Island Sound skirted by. He stood behind her. “There’s really nothing to be afraid of about them. It’s just s*x. The raunchy sort.” He said this as the two watched Zack slapping his girlfriend’s ass until it was a toasty red hue.

“Really, Mr. Prothero, they are not my problem. I just drank too fast.”

“Call me Daniel, please.”

She could feel him behind her, the powerful force of his solid body, heat emanating from his loins, his breath hot against the back of her neck. She wanted to turn around, but he would be too close if she did, their lips too near.

“Excuse me, Madeleine, but I get the distinct impression that what you’re feeling right now is very much erotic, desire leaping on desire, and you have no way to let that go. You and Robbie McKellar are on a first date, and for that reason you’d never screw him. No, you’ll wait for the fourth or fifth date for that. That would be a lot more appropriate, more reasoned in your mind, even if Robbie will be avidly urging you to that end. He’s young and without much restraint. But when you do f**k him, and I’m sure you will eventually, it will be good. Rich young boys like Robbie have plenty of time to study the moves. They have plenty of time to practice, and lets say, well, I’ve seen him in the locker room and he’s well-endowed enough to please any female.”

“Mr. Prothero!” she whipped around, finding him to be just as close as she imagined, although he did take one step back to relieve the tension—but just barely. “I beg your pardon. This is not something I choose to discuss, not with anyone, let alone a total stranger.”

He laughed. “Oh, don’t look so incensed. Makes you sound like a priss. Or is this whole scene really shocking for you?”

“Your comments are way over the line.”

“I’m sure for you they are.”

She trembled miserably as her anger grew. “In fact, you may be the most objectionable man I’ve ever met.”

“That’s quite a compliment. Thank you.”

Would anything she said faze the man? She wanted to slap his face so much that he picked up on her impulse. Suddenly, his face darkened and his eyes narrowed with a menacing glare. When she lifted her hand no more than an inch or two, he caught her wrist. “I wouldn’t advise you do that,” he bit off tersely.

She shook him off and moved away. She should have run out the door, but that would only have put her back on the deck with Robbie’s raunchy friends. Rather than heading off into another part of the yacht, she stupidly moved further into the room, making herself a captive of this man. He was like poison to her and yet she could not bring herself to disentangle from his presence.

“Obviously you like my company enough to stay,” he noted with a wry grin before he returned to his chair and sat down.

“I don’t like your company at all.” She took a number of deep breaths to calm her emotions. “But let’s just forget this ever happened, shall we? As soon as my stomach settles, I’ll leave.”

“Suit yourself. But as far as forgetting this ever happened,” he said with mocking amusement, “I certainly won’t forget a woman as vibrant and passionate as you are.”

She stared at him unable to reply, then nervously turned away, looking again out through the windows, though this time she chose to close her eyes and shut out the scene before her. She breathed in softly, trying to be as nonchalant as the man behind her, though all the while, she felt Daniel Prothero’s eyes riveted to her back as if they were boring into her soul.

What the hell was she to do now? Managing some kind of exit would certainly be a fine idea. Set off to find Robbie an even better one. No sooner had these thoughts crossed her mind, than a door on the far side of the salon burst open and Robbie’s bright face appeared. “There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you.”

She was so happy to see him. “I’m sorry, I was feeling sort of…” she didn’t finish.

He moved forward concerned. “Are you okay?”

“Miss Danes is just fine, Rob,” Daniel Prothero chimed in, “just a little seasick, isn’t that right?”

“Yes, a little seasick,” she said weakly.

“How about something to eat? That might actually help. There’s a buffet at the back of the boat.” He put his arm around her waist and led her toward the door. “You coming, Daniel?”