without crowding. I'd like to raise a small stage at the stern there-maybe hire an accordionist to keep the customers happy.'
'What about the cabins?' Regina asked. 'Will you turn them into dining rooms, too?'
'Not at first-at least, not until we see how business goes. We'll just keep them as living quarters and expand the galley to-' Whit broke off and strode over to the rail.
'Seasick-after two years of destroyer duty?' Greg hooted.
'That's the second time that car has driven past here.' Whit frowned, staring after a pair of rapidly disappearing tail-lights along the bend of the water front.
'Same car? So what? Maybe they like the view,' Greg said offhandedly.
'Maybe.'
'You don't think it might have been that dreadful Mr. Smith, do you?' Barbara asked.
A sober expression had settled over Whit's face. 'No, it wasn't Santa Claus. I got a fair look at the driver the second time he cruised by. It could have been Buck Younger.'
Barbara and Regina exchanged puzzled glances. The name meant nothing to them.
'Your twenty-twenty is going back on you, pal,' Greg scoffed. 'Younger must be a thousand miles away from here by this time. A guy doesn't crash out of the brig and then hang around playing tag with the Shore Patrol.'
'Younger is a Texan,' Whit recalled, rubbing his chin. 'Now that I think about it, the voice in the phone booth did have a pronounced drawl. 'And,' he added, 'the person who phoned the Dodson's also had a drawl.'
'Coincidence,' declared Greg. Nevertheless, he seemed a bit disconcerted. 'Look, Whit-Younger hated every second he spent in the Navy. Why should he hang around the water now, when he could be down in Waco rustling steers?'
Whit had no answer to that. He merely repeated that there were some coincidences that even Jonah's whale would have trouble swallowing.
'Who is Buck Younger?' Barbara asked, her curiosity piqued.
'Fellow we knew in Port Dixon. He fought,' Greg said briefly.
'Brawled,' Whit corrected. 'Not the sort of character you'd bring home to meet Mother.'
'Or even Father,' Greg said with finality, and the conversation swung to a more pleasant topic.
It was decided that Barbara and Regina would ride home with Greg while Whit remained aboard the houseboat overnight.
'I want to talk to Mr. Dodson again first thing in the morning. He's to transfer all the papers for the Albatross to me then,' Whit said.
It was a reasonable explanation-but after a look at his set expression, Barbara guessed that he intended to batten down the hatches and stand ready to repel boarders.
'He could do it, too,' she told herself. Somehow she felt as if her acquaintanceship with Whit had spanned months, instead of one short evening.
I'd hate to see anything happen to him, she thought, shuddering a bit despite the balminess of the June night. Unbidden, a vision of the anonymous 'Mr. Smith' arose. She would be a long time forgetting his scowl as he stalked in fury out of the cabin. And then there was Buck Younger, perhaps. Someone else, certainly, who had displayed an undue amount of interest in the Albatross.
There had to be a reason-and an awfully good one, too. Some very definite purpose lay behind the various attempts to gain title to the Albatross.
Something is on that houseboat! The words exploded from Barbara's subconscious. The longer she mulled over the idea, the more certain she became that this was the explanation. What else could account for the houseboat's vast popularity? But what could this 'something' be? And what was it doing aboard the Albatross?
While Greg and Regina lay in bed later that evening, they talked about the Albatross, but they didn't worry themselves with what might be aboard the houseboat. They talked instead about what a nice restaurant the place could eventually turn into.
'We'll have to go there and eat all the time. After we're married, of course,' Greg said.
'Yes, after we're married,' Regina replied. 'Oh, Greg, I'm so glad you're home now. I missed you so much.'
'It's great to be back, honey, believe me,' Greg said. 'I've been dreaming of being with you for so long.'
To emphasize his words, Greg pulled her closer and kissed her hard on the lips. Regina hugged him tightly and refused to let him go. While Greg lay next to her, Regina smoothed her hands down his back and slipped her fingers beneath the elastic band of his pajama bottoms. She clutched his buttocks for a moment. Then Greg rolled his hips to the side, enabling Regina to massage his semi-hard penis.
Regina thrilled to the feel of his cock growing in her hand. While she stroked it up and down, it grew hard and thick. Soon, it was throbbing mightily in her grasp. She could feel the veins engorged with blood.
Breaking off their kiss, Greg rolled to the side to catch his breath. Regina still clutched his penis.
'Come on, honey,' Greg gasped. 'Suck it just a little bit. Just like you used to.'
That was just what Regina had in mind. She eagerly responded to her fiance's request. In seconds, she was lavishing his warm prick with long, sweeping caresses of her tongue. She didn't neglect his scrotum, paying special attention to his testicles. She sucked the fragile balls into her mouth and nibbled on them tenderly.
'Perfect,' Greg gasped. 'Honey, that's just perfect!'
Knowing that she was pleasing Greg so well gave Regina a special warm feeling of delight. She liked nothing better than making her man feel good.
Taking his penis into her mouth, Regina thought about how great it was to have Greg back with her. She was thrilled about their marriage and their new life together. If the pleasure they were experiencing just now was any indication, she was certain their future would be a happy one. Not to mention a sexy one.
'There, now do it harder,' Greg requested. 'That's it. Move your head faster.. ohhh, like that. Nice, honey. Really nice. Man, that feels good!'
Regina was giving Greg her all, trying everything she knew to turn him on. From the way he was groaning and moving his hips, she knew she was doing a good job. Any moment now he was going to come, that she was sure of.
Greg gripped the back of her head to hold Regina in place. Then he concentrated on his orgasm until he was able to abandon himself to the overpowering sensations that were flooding through his body.
'This is it, baby!' he grunted. 'I'm coming. Ohhhhh!'
Tightening her lips around his shaft, Regina prepared herself for the flood of sperm she was sure would soon erupt. Even if she hadn't been so fond of the taste of a man's semen, she would willingly have swallowed Greg's to let him know just how much she cared for him. She knew it turned him on to shoot his jism down her throat, so she did her best to accommodate him. After all, there were plenty of things she liked him to do for her that she was certain he wasn't too fond of that he did anyway. That was one of the things their relationship was based on, she knew: sacrifice.
While shouting out his pleasure, Greg unleashed his sperm. He came again and again, while Regina swallowed fast to get it all down. When he was done, she lovingly cleaned him off, draining him to the last drop.
After she finished, Regina scooted back up the length of Greg's body and gave him a big kiss. Then she took off his pajamas, leaving him naked. Playfully, she toyed with his soft penis, flipping it back and forth between her fingers.
'It looks so sad,' she said. 'Are you sure he's ready for more?'
Greg grinned at her lewdly. 'Of course. The way I feel, honey, I could go all night.'
'Oh, yeah?' she teased. 'You could have fooled me. I need more than this soft little thing.'
'Just get your nightgown off and be patient. I won't be soft for long.'
Greg wasn't kidding. By the time Regina peeled off her nightie, his penis began to grow.
'Rub your pussy against it. Like that. Feel it?' Greg asked.
'Yes, honey,' she replied huskily. 'It feels marvelous. Oh, Greg. I love you so much. Now put it inside me. Ohhhh!'
Greg did as she asked, mounting her easily. And true to his word, Greg was prepared to fuck her until sunup.
His long cock went in deep, and Regina loved the way it plunged to the depths of her cunt. She wrapped her
