The Power Trip

* * *

As soon as she’d finished servicing Cliff, Lori decided she did not wish to sit around watching him snore. He was almost fifty, he needed his rest. She was twenty-four, she needed to explore the yacht. Why waste a single moment of such a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ experience?

After changing into a polka-dot bikini and skimpy cover-up, she put her hair up in a ponytail and left the room.

A helpful steward directed her to the swimming pool, where she came upon Bianca and Luca Perez in the middle of a full-on laughter fit.

She was reluctant to disturb them, but Bianca waved her over and said, ‘Pull up a lounger and come join us. We’re catching up on old times.’

Lori immediately felt at ease. Even though Bianca and Luca were both enormously famous, she didn’t feel intimidated. Besides, they were way nearer to her age than Cliff.

‘You’re with Cliff Baxter, huh?’ Luca said. ‘I’m a big fan.’

Oh God! She was so sick of hearing those four words. Didn’t anyone have anything original to say? And surely he could come up with better than that?

Apparently not.

‘How long have you and Cliff been together?’ Bianca enquired.

Another much-asked question.

‘A little over a year,’ Lori answered, settling on a lounger.

‘Hmm…’ Bianca mused, stretching out a perfect leg. ‘You think he’s marriage-minded?’

Lori bit her bottom lip. Wasn’t that a somewhat personal question coming from someone she barely knew? Besides, she was sure Bianca must read the entertainment rags, and it was a well-documented fact that Cliff Baxter had no intention of ever getting married. He was anti-marriage. He drove the point home in every interview he gave.

Before she could come up with a suitable reply, Luca saved the day. ‘Stop pestering the girl with questions,’ he said. ‘I want to find out if Aleksandr is marriage-minded — that’s what I want to know.’

‘Aleksandr is still married,’ Bianca pointed out, turning quite frosty. ‘He’s in the middle of getting a divorce.’

‘That’s what they all say.’

‘Don’t piss me off,’ Bianca snapped. ‘You know better than that.’

‘I guess that means no giant ring for Bianca,’ Luca teased.

‘And no giant ring for me either,’ Lori said, quickly taking the opportunity to bond with the famous super- model. ‘Cliff isn’t into the whole marriage bit. And quite frankly, neither am I. I’m too young.’

‘Oh honey,’ Bianca advised, nodding sagely, ‘a man like Cliff Baxter, you need to put a ring on it.’

‘Yeah, a cock ring,’ Luca said with a raucous chuckle.

Bianca dissolved into peals of laughter. ‘You’d better not talk like that around Aleksandr,’ she warned when she’d finished laughing. ‘He doesn’t appreciate dirty talk.’

‘What’s dirty about a cock ring?’ Luca asked innocently.

‘And I thought stardom might’ve changed you,’ Bianca chided. ‘But no, you’re still the same old potty mouth — thank God!’

‘Careful with the “old”,’ Luca warned. ‘Have you forgotten we’re almost the same age?’

‘I’m guessing you two have known each other a long time,’ Lori ventured, noting the camaraderie between them and wishing she had a friend like Luca.

‘Right,’ Bianca said. ‘I was nineteen and doing a swimsuit show in Rio. Luca was one of the boys in the background. Oh my God, he was totally edible!’

‘And how about you, missy,’ Luca said, joining in. ‘You were like a black Bond babe with a major kick-ass attitude.’

‘I couldn’t wait to jump his luscious bones,’ Bianca confided. ‘Only he wasn’t interested, even though he was supposedly straight at the time. Course, I understood immediately. Gay as a fruit fly — although he didn’t come out until years later, and that was only after one marriage, one son, and a red-hot career. Finally he emerged from the closet and I was vindicated.’

‘I love this woman,’ Luca said, raising his glass to toast her. ‘She never changes.’

‘You’d better believe it,’ Bianca said, calling for another round of champagne.

* * *

Flynn and Xuan were shown to their stateroom together as if they were a couple. Flynn was so shocked at seeing Sierra, that he didn’t really notice until Xuan demanded to know why they were supposed to share a bed.

‘This is ridiculous,’ she said, quite angry. ‘Did you plan this, Flynn, just to get me into bed? If you wanted to fuck me so badly, you should’ve said so.’

‘What?’ He stared at her, his mind taking him on a trip that he had no desire to go on.

‘We must have separate cabins,’ Xuan said firmly. ‘I demand it.’

‘You do, huh?’ Flynn said, narrowing his eyes.

‘I most certainly do,’ she retorted. ‘I will call for the steward.’

‘No,’ he said quickly. ‘You can’t do that.’

‘And exactly why can’t I do that?’ Xuan demanded.

‘Because I’m uh… kind of caught in a situation,’ he muttered, trying to get his head straight.

‘What situation?’ she wanted to know.

He didn’t care to tell Xuan the sad story of him and Sierra, but if he expected her to stay with him, then he’d better tell her something. And she had to stay with him. There was no way he could face being on this cruise alone — he had to at least give the impression he was with someone.

Why hadn’t he asked who the other guests would be?

Why had he walked blindly into hell, because seeing Sierra with Hammond was exactly that. Pure hell.

He was trapped. The yacht had sailed, and it was too late to get off.

* * *

15 years earlier

Sierra was not easy, like most of the girls Flynn encountered. After getting her number he called her several times. She blew him off. Finally he ran into her at a frat party, and when they got to talking, she offered to fix him up with her roommate, a raucous party girl who was more than hot to do whatever he fancied.

He fancied Sierra, and only her. There was no doubt about it. Not only was she cool and smart and achingly beautiful, she apparently had old-fashioned values, and his reputation as a player had obviously reached her.

But he persevered, and when they eventually began to date, he wasn’t that surprised to discover that sex wasn’t on the menu. ‘I’m not a casual girl,’ she informed him. ‘And I do not intend to start being one now.’

Surprise, surprise.

Was she a virgin? He didn’t dare ask. Instead he developed a close relationship with his right hand and kept the faith.

Sierra Snow. He would do anything for her, and eventually she would do anything for him.

They were together six months before they had sex. And it wasn’t just sex. It was a mind- blowing, loving, incredible experience of epic proportions.

Suddenly he’d dropped his plans of trekking around the world when he finished college. He only wanted one thing, and that was to be with Sierra forever. She told him that she felt the same way.

They swore to each other that even though they were both young, they would never allow anyone or anything to split them apart. They would drop out of college, travel the world together and share every