The Boyfriend (The Boss 7)

“Into what?” Neil asked, stepping back inside. He lifted the lid on the panel for the glass and punched buttons until it smoothly retracted, letting in the breeze off the marina.

“Yacht week,” El-Mudad said, and Neil completely understood, so apparently it was a thing all the billionaires knew about.

“Oh, of course, we’ll have to take this next season,” Neil said, sounding a bit disappointed. “It’s a shame we couldn’t take her when she’s new.”

“She’ll still be new next year,” I said with a laugh. “And why am I all of a sudden talking about it with pronouns? It’s a boat.”

“It be the call of the sea,” Neil said, affecting a hilariously bad pirate accent. “Yer already talking like an old salt.”

“Stop!” I covered my mouth with both hands. “It’s making your earring even worse!”

“Now, I hope you haven’t overlooked the most important part of this craft,” El-Mudad said sternly. When I met him with silence, he said, “A bed big enough for all three of us.”

I gestured to the stateroom doors on either side of the elevator. “Right this way, gentlemen.”

The bed I’d asked for was more than enough room for the three of us. The size of two king-sized beds together, it was outfitted with a brown duvet and mounds of gray and beige pillows to match the cool, neutral tones of the decor. On either side, doors led to the en-suite bathroom and the closet, which, while not as big as the one we had at home, would do just fine on a trip.

“There’s a steam shower and a his-and-his-and-hers sink set up,” I explained. “I’m not sure how we would explain that at yacht week.”

“Good point,” Neil agreed. “At least one deck would have to be off-limits to the public.”

“I don’t care,” I said with a happy sigh. “Everything in the world is made for two. It’s nice to have a place where it can be for three, and everyone else can just suck it.”

“Speaking of,” El-Mudad said, and it was his turn to get elbowed.

“There are so many other things I want you to see,” I told them. “Like the cigar lounge. And the matching little speedboat thingy. It can go right inside this boat!”

“That will be handy if we want to visit any islands,” Neil said.

“Right now, though, I really want some food.” I batted my eyes at El-Mudad. “Please tell me that you saw the captain, and he said everything was ready to eat?”

“The captain doesn’t have much control over when we eat,” he informed me. “But yes, there are light hors-d’oeuvres set up on the sundeck on the second level, and your daiquiris are melting. I thought it would be a lovely place to relax while dinner is prepared and we get underway.”

“When do we sail?” Neil asked, and I wondered how it counted as sailing when the thing had such fucking huge engines.

“In about half an hour. The stewards will bring up our luggage and unpack it—”

“Not my bag!” I gasped at the same time Neil said, “Not the carry-on!”

“So, we haven’t come on this trip totally unprepared,” El-Mudad said with a laugh.

“Um...no, not exactly. And if we had…” I went to one of the armoires and opened the doors, revealing a collection of necessary implements that was admittedly modest compared to what we had at home. “I know it’s not a lot, but it’s everything we really need. Whips, plugs, paddles, restraints…”

“You’ve thought of everything,” Neil said with a laugh.

El-Mudad came over and picked up a sizeable gray dildo. “My god. They match the room.”

“I told you, I’m good at style.” I’d figured that if the smaller boat that lived inside our boat matched exactly, so should our sex toys. “It’s a theme. And on second thought, I could stand for people to see that during yacht week.”

* * * *

After dinner, I couldn’t wait to get into the private hot tub. Sure, the prospect of sex was a factor, but I’d been dreaming of relaxing naked beneath the stars ever since I’d seen the design.

I stood on the deck in front of the dining room, breathing in the warm sea air. It amazed me how quickly land had disappeared from view, leaving us in a little bubble of light out in the darkness. I leaned on the railing between the staircases and sighed in pure contentment.

Neil came to stand beside me. “Enjoying yourself?”

I shifted closer to him. “I’ve never felt so small and insignificant and alone in my life. In a good way.”

“It does put quite a lot into perspective, doesn’t it?” He looked up at the sky, filled with more stars than I’d ever seen even at home on Lake Superior. “Nothing we do down here is particularly earth-shattering.”

My lips quirked in a naughty smile. “I don’t know. You’ve done some earth-shattering things to me.”