Sophie (The Boss 8)

I skidded to a halt when I saw when Neil was up to. The sex toy cabinet doors were wide open, displaying the custom collection I’d had made to match the room’s cool neutral decor. I’d gone all out, fully extra, and definitely overboard on this ship. The toys Neil had arranged on the bed blended in with the duvet cover. Hmm...will that make them difficult to find in the heat of the moment?

I should have thought of that before.

“So…” I began, strolling over to view the toys he’d selected. “Do you have big plans or…”

“Taking inventory. No definitive plans. We’re on vacation, aren’t we?” He asked with a mischievous smile. “How soundproof, would you estimate, is this cabin?”

He tossed the suction-action vibe on the bed, and I clenched up.

“Judging from your expression, we’ll need this.” He pulled out the beige ball gag and dropped it beside the flogger.

Faster than I could react, his hand shot out and closed firmly over my throat. Not a painful gesture, but a warning of how easily my Sir could control me. He leaned down and kissed me hard, his thumb and forefinger exerting precise pressure over my pulse points until I was lightheaded both from his grip and his tongue ravaging my mouth.

He released me without notice, and I stumbled.

"Oh, so it's going to be like that tonight?" I giggled.

"I think we all need to let off some steam," he confirmed. "And what is a vacation for, if not to relax?"

"I would feel weird doing this on a family vacation if we weren't in a floating palace." A gentle shudder went through the floor. "With lots of ambient white noise."

El-Mudad appeared at the door. "We're underway!"

"Oh my gosh, this is Molly's first time on a yacht!" I gasped. “I forgot the sailing away part!”

Neil moved as quickly as I did. "Olivia's, as well! She's likely saying something adorable, and we're missing it."

El-Mudad laughed as I frantically searched for my clothes and dressed while hopping on alternating feet. Neil hurried down the stairs ahead of me, while El-Mudad followed behind at a more reasonable pace.

We found the girls on the pool deck, clustered in front. Molly and Olivia waved like mad, while Amal and Rashida watched them with worldly amusement.

"Bon voyage!" Molly shouted to the bronzed socialites lounging on a ship we passed as we glided slowly away from the pier.

"Bon voyage?" Amal asked with a wry twist of her lips. "We're the ones moving."

Molly playfully stuck her tongue out at her. "Shut up; I’ve always wanted to do this."

I held my breath, waiting for cosmopolitan Amal to roll her eyes. To my surprise, she joined in, smiling and waving, as well.

"Look, Afi! We're going too fast!" Olivia didn't seem panicked by our apparent boat-speeding. She would love it when we made it out onto open water.

Neil took a knee beside her and put one arm around her back to give her reassurance she didn't seem to need. "We'll be fine, my sweet girl. The captain knows just what he's doing."

Molly bopped over to me, her eyes practically sparkling. "Thank you so much for bringing me. This is amazing. You're amazing."

"This is less to do with 'amazing' and more to do with 'rich.' But thank you for not pointing out the wastefulness of owning this boat and burning up fossil fuels," I joked.

She paused thoughtfully. "You know, I kind of see how that happens, though. I was thinking about that time we went to the mall, and I went bonkers having no budget. And I decided...capitalism is fucking hard, dude."

"Are you sure you're going to go into performance art and not radical left-wing organizing?" I arched a brow.

She gave me an almost mirror-image of my expression back. "Don't give me too much credit."

"Dad, look! Dolphins!" Rashida called excitedly. Amal and Molly ran to join her and her father.

"I see them," El-Mudad said, peering over the railing.

But Rashida turned back to Neil and said, exasperated, "Dad! You're missing it!"

The bottom fell out of my stomach, which was convenient because it made plenty of room for my swelling heart. Neil's expression froze, lips slightly parted as though he'd had the wind knocked out of him. Tears rose in his eyes, and he blinked them back.

I took his hand and squeezed it.

He cleared his throat, but his voice still sounded strained with emotion as he said, "Yes, yes, all right. Olivia, let's go see the dolphins."

I stood back from them; I'd seen the dolphins racing the ships out of the marina before. I'd just witnessed something far more breathtaking. Rashida beamed as she looked up at Neil and pointed out to the sea. "I've seen them before, but I like them every time."

I exchanged a glance with El-Mudad. Whatever worries we might have had about making our family "official" seemed a lot smaller now.