Hostage to Fortune

Chapter Three

Samantha didn't leave the cabin all day. She never felt hungry or even needed the toilet, all she could think about was that Will was dead. Murdered, just when everything was coming right again. Their whirlwind romance had been unbelievable. Will had pursued her relentlessly from the time he'd seen her in a TV advert. Flowers arrived daily and regular gifts of jewellery. He turned up at her door every night.

At first, she resisted his advances but she soon gave in and found that being wooed by Will Wainwright was a most pleasurable experience. There wasn't a restaurant that couldn't find a table for him, nor a theatre that would turn him away. They always had the best of everything. After their marriage, things had calmed down a bit, but for the first year Will neglected his business, to be with her but slowly he got back to business as usual. This meant foreign travel. At first, she'd gone with him but she soon got tired of spending her days in hotels or exploring new places on her own. At least if she stayed home, she'd have people she knew around her.

She'd thought about filling her time by returning to acting, but her agent hadn't been that successful at finding work for her. The trips down to Brighton had started as days out for Sam and her girlfriends, and of course, she had to impress them by showing them around Bee Jay II. That was when she first met Ryan. He was permanently employed by Will to look after Bee Jay. It was after one of these girl's days out that she found herself sitting on deck with Ryan sipping champagne in the late afternoon sunshine. Ryan had taken them out on a short excursion and they'd all been lying on deck in their swimsuits, Samantha was still wearing only her bikini. The alcohol had loosened their tongues and Samantha was bemoaning being left on her own for so long. Ryan looked at her.

'If you were my wife I'd never leave you on your own.'

'Oh Ryan, that's so sweet.' She reached over to stroke his cheek but as she did so, she almost tipped the chair over.

'Oh dear I'm feeling a bit squiffy I'd better not drive home.' She got out her phone and started to look for a hotel.

'There's no need for that. You can sleep on-board She's quite comfortable you know.'

'I hadn't thought of that, of course, I could.'

'If we order dinner from the Pavilion restaurant I could go and pick it up. Mr Wainwright often does that if he spends the night aboard.'

'Oh Ryan, you really are such a dear.' She reached over and squeezed his hand.

They had dinner out on the deck and continued drinking. Ryan started to talk about Will in negative terms. He wasn't a real sailor; the boat was all computerised to cover Will's lack of ability. She should really have a crew of four, but Will wouldn't pay for that. Samantha realised now that she should have slapped him down but she hadn't.

Ryan produced an amplified iPod and they started to dance on the deck. The alcohol she'd consumed took away her inhibitions and she sank into Ryan's arms.

'Oh, Ryan I shouldn't be doing this. I'm a married woman.'

'If he cared about you he'd be here instead of me.'

As the evening and the drinking went on Samantha became less stable on her feet. After one too many stumbles she hugged Ryan and kissed his cheek.

'I think it's time for bed.'

He put his arm around her waist and held her close as he walked her down the gangway to the cabin. He turned her and sat her on the bed. She put both hands behind his head.

'My hero.' she said as she pulled his head down and kissed him.

Ryan didn't need any more encouragement. He kissed her back a full open-mouthed passionate kiss. He pushed her back down onto the bed as his kisses moved down from her mouth to her neck then her shoulders. He untied her bikini top and revealed her breasts. His kissed moved further down until he was sucking on her nipple. Samantha knew she should stop him but it felt so good and she really needed someone. With both hands on the back of his head, she pulled him hard onto her breast as she moaned with pleasure. By the time she got around to offering resistance, it was probably too late to stop him and she didn't know that she wanted to.