Taken (Dark Desires 1)

‘What? That’s not what I meant. Surely you’re not going to take this out on your own?’

‘Not on my own – with you,’ he replied, resisting looking up at her to see the look of shock on her face and adding, ‘Come on then, hop on.’

‘With me? I’m of no use, believe me,’ she warned, though accepting his hand and stepping on board.

The next half an hour progressed just as Kurt had envisioned. Him appearing deliberately far too laid back about taking the yacht out to sea, in order to keep Darlene permanently poised between being impressed and alarmed. Watching her shoulder some of the responsibility was also fun, as he casually requested she take over the controls for a couple of minutes on their way out. Of-course he was not giving her any real command, only the illusion of it, but it was enough to make her feel high with having the control of a luxury yacht at her fingertips. At the same time, taking the controls back off her just as the panic was about to become unbearable made him feel heroic.

Soon they had negotiated their way passed all the other vessels, then subsequently the navigational buoy that indicated they were out on the open ocean. Kurt didn’t happen to mention that aiming for the buoy allowed him to be confident that none of the incoming vessels were going to hit them, only saying ‘Trust me, it’s all going textbook’, every time Darlene tried to call for caution in case one of the other yachts suddenly swerved their way.

‘I do this all the time,’ he assured, wondering whether having her put so much trust in him would lead to her letting him man another kind of ship before the night was out.

Eventually he stopped trying to make her nervous and, taking advantage of a calm and open water, shut the engine off so they could float and take in the view.

‘Come on, let’s take in the open ocean,’ he suggested, with Darlene having been hovering over him in the control room up until then, too nervous to throw caution to the wind and stand out on deck. His ruse seemed to have the desired effect. Darlene stooped looking like a frightened bunny the moment they stepped out from cover and took in a wider view. He had yet to meet anyone who didn’t enjoy being at sea once you got them out there. Especially on such a glorious day. The waters around them were taking on many irresistible shades, thanks to the dying light that, for some reason, often makes color appear more vibrant. Kurt had thought of everything, however, taking advantage of his date’s speechless state and disappearing into the cabin, only to reappear with a couple of cocktails.

‘Oh, my!’ was Darlene’s response as she took hold of the beverage, which he handed over without asking whether or not she wanted one. He thought that the best way considering how timid she was, though usually he would have had a hard time getting the girls not to drink. ‘Is this strong?’ she asked.

‘It’s a Sea Breeze,’ he told her. ‘I thought it might be ideal.’

‘What’s in it?’

‘That would be telling,’ he teased, feeling that a bit of mystery would sound more impressive than replying ‘vodka, grapefruit and cranberry juice’.

Watching Darlene take her first sip of the concoction, while holding it with both hands as if it might explode, Kurt tried his best not to laugh. He was liking this girl, he realized, more than most. There was nothing pretentious or fake about her and, though she was nervous of the adventure, she clearly looked determined to defeat whatever intimidation plagued her. Most probably she had been dreaming of stepping out for some time and his free spirit was just what she needed.

‘So does it beat the East Coast skyline?’ he asked.

‘Oh! You bet!’ she replied. ‘Don’t get me wrong, Boston’s impressive, but I didn’t expect this. We’re so close to the water on this vessel; I’ve always felt so up high before and looking down at everything.’

‘This is much better, huh?’

‘Def

initely!’

‘That’s why I’m not that keen on the bigger vessels,’ he told her. ‘They’re more for private parties than for the sea, but this is more personal. I feel at one with the ocean a lot more.’

‘I think I understand now, why this can become so addictive – and why you love spending so much time out here.’

‘This is my favorite place,’ he admitted.

‘I think I thought it was something to do with….’

‘With what?’ he asked, seeing that she was unsure of the summation she was about to make of him.

‘Well, with having a big toy to yourself, I guess,’ she said, ‘but I can see now it’s a lot more than that.’

‘Ha! I guess that does come into it,’ he admitted, ‘but everyone who spends time on the water has to take pride in what they’re doing. Negligence leads to accidents, but our parents’ business would sink pretty quickly if anything like that started to happen.’

‘I see now why they have such faith in you,’ she reflected, taking another sip of her cocktail.

‘Oh, but I don’t tell them everything,’ he admitted. ‘They might raise a few eyebrows if they knew you were here for example.’

‘Tell me about it,’ Darlene agreed, looking a little abashed. It was his first subtle move towards taking their date to another level and he liked the fact that she was blushing, even though nothing particularly forward had yet occurred.

‘Darlene, there’s something I’m curious about,’ he then said, before backtracking, ‘but actually I don’t want to ruin a good sunset.’

‘It is beautiful, isn’t it,’ she agreed. ‘But go on, I’m not that secretive – at least I don’t think so.’