Chapter 49: Cruisin’.

I have no idea what time we finally went to sleep and I really don't care. We slept in and showered before we were ready to face the world. It was after noon before we ventured out of the room looking for something or somewhere to eat. There was a casual restaurant off the Promenade Deck where we could have our usual fruit and cheese.

The selection was wider and different but it was still fruit and cheese and something we were both used to and comfortable with. They also had a selection of coffees but for me that wasn't as important as the coffee being fresh and not burned. I could taste the differences for the most part, but they really didn't do anything for me. As long as it was fresh and hot, I was happy.

"Rob, the only thing I know about OUR honeymoon is that we flew up to Alaska and boarded a ship. Are you going to tell me where we're going?"

"You and your mom planned the wedding, so I planned our honeymoon. Do you have any complaints?"

"No, not yet, but we've only had one night on here. I don't even know how long the cruise is. Where are we going to end up? Are we doing anything special while we're on the ship? Special beyond the cruise itself I mean. When did you put this all together? How much is this all costing?"

"Let me start with that last question first; it cost as much as it cost and how much it cost is immaterial. I put this together in my hotel rooms in Hawaii. The hotel computer systems there didn't need much work and I had some free time. I was able to do almost all of it on-line and only had to make one phone call once I got home. We'll be on board twelve nights in total and we're going to finish up in Vancouver. We're supposed to fly home on the Saturday before you have to go back to work. Does that all meet with your approval?" I said with a bit of sarcasm.

"It doesn't matter if I approve or not, you've already shanghaied me and brought me aboard. Do we stay on the ship the whole time?"

"You weren't shanghaied; you came aboard under your own power. I was with you, to be sure, but you came aboard under your own power. I didn't ply you with drinks or drugs before we came up the brow and as I remember, they're a required part of the whole shanghai thing, along with a knock on the head. Do you have any bumps up on top?"

"Okay, so you didn't shanghai me. You didn't answer me about whether or not we're staying on the ship."

"We can if you'd like but we have port stops in several locations: Fairbanks, Denali, Juneau, Skagway and Anchorage. We'll also be at the Hubbard Glacier. I don't remember the sequence of when we're where and there is probably one or two that I missed, but that's our itinerary in a nutshell."

"It sounds wonderful. Are these overnight stops?"

"One or two are but the rest are all day stops with the evenings and nights on board and underway. That's one of the main reasons the ship has some extensive night life with shows, dancing, movies and all the rest of the entertainment. I don't think we'll be bored."

"It sounds busy."

"It can be or we can sit around and not do anything if we prefer. I, myself, would like to see the glacier. I hear it's fantastic and awe inspiring, a whole mountain of ice."

"I don't know much about any of those places, do you?"

"No, I don't either, but the stewards' office has brochures for every port stop. We can stop by and pick them up before we go back to our cabin."

We stayed in the café talking about the cruise for a little while longer and then left to take a walk around the deck. We were arm in arm as we took our stroll around the outer walkways. Other than when we were on the sailboat we didn't usually have this type of relaxed time with each other. We weren't really going anywhere; we were just enjoying ourselves and looking at what was around us both on the ship and on the water.

We had been walking for a while when Kay asked, "Do you think the shops are open yet?"

"I would think so. We can walk through the Promenade Deck and look."

We changed our direction and headed that way. When we got there, the shops were open, so we went in. The shops were a lot bigger than the store fronts indicated. They weren't very wide but they were very deep and had a lot of merchandise in them.

"Rob, these are high end, designer label dresses and things. Do you think they're real or knock offs?"

"I'm pretty sure they're the real deal. A cruise line wouldn't want to be tagged as having imitation clothing and goods."

"They're so expensive, though. Who can afford to buy anything in here?"

"Anyone who has a cabin on the upper decks can afford them and probably has some already in the luggage they brought aboard. We can afford them for you."

"Why would anyone need clothes like these on board ship?"

"They'd only be down here for something they either forgot or was damaged somehow. There are formal dances on Wednesday evenings and the evening meal at the Captain's table is always formal. Speaking of the Captain's table, when would you like to eat with him?"

"If it's really formal, I'll have to come back here to pick up some things."

"SOME things?"

"Okay, okay, I'll have to buy everything, a whole new outfit, from the skin out. I'd beat you up about not warning me so I could bring things for it with me but I don't OWN anything that would be formal enough."

"I knew that when I booked the cruise. I expected you to have to visit the shops. I think you'll look stunning when you're all done up but, I don't think it could compare to what you looked like when I first saw you standing in your wedding gown framed by the doors to the barn. You were the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen or ever expect to see."

"That is the sweetest thing I've ever heard. I don't know what to say."

"There's nothing to say. I love you and I married you because I love you. I wouldn't care if we stayed in our cabin this whole trip or if we had dinner every night at the Captain's table. You'd be the most gorgeous woman there and would draw the same amount of attention no matter if you wore the fanciest gown in here or your birthday suit."

"Rob, can we return to our cabin, right now?" She raised an eyebrow and smiled at me.

I looked at her quizzically in wonder for a moment, and then I got it. "I see no reason we can't." I was smiling now, too.

We returned to our cabin in a lot less time than it took to get to the Promenade Deck. It had been serviced while we were out walking around. I stepped up behind her at the foot of the bed and wrapped her up in my arms. I started kissing her neck and she turned to face me, putting her arms around my neck. We kissed and this was no simple meeting of the lips; when our tongues met, they danced and dueled. We held our embrace and after a few moments, she leaned back to look up into my eyes.

"I think you forgot something," she said.

"Eh, what's that?"

"Isn't there a sign you want to put on the other side of the door?"

"Umm, that's probably a good idea." I broke our embrace and went back to the door to put the 'Do Not Disturb' sign out again and made sure the door was locked before I moved back into the cabin. I turned the cabin phone off and when I looked back, Kay was just finishing getting undressed.

"It seems to me you're a bit overdressed," she said.

I didn't waste any time catching up to her while she turned down the bed. She moved into the middle of the bed as I shucked the last of my clothes. I joined her and we were on our knees kissing when I tugged her sideways and we toppled over together, in each other's arms.

"Rob, I can't compete with you. I don't bring..."

I interrupted her, "Stop, stop, right there. We've had this conversation before, or one like it. You bring you to our relationship and I bring me. We aren't equal but very little in life is equal or fair. I'm happy with what you bring to our relationship, the question is, are you satisfied with what I bring to the relationship."

"Of course I am. It's you I'm worried about; I don't want you to think you're being cheated. I'm afraid you're going to wake up and think that and then run. I don't ever want to lose you, you're too important to me. It's not the money either. I've learned so very much from you and grown so much being with you. I'd be lost if you left me for ANY reason."

I pushed her onto her back and started kissing her stomach. I punctuated what I said with a kiss between each of my words as I spoke. "You – don't – have – to – worry – about – me – ever – EVER – leaving – you. If – you – get – tired – of – me – you're – going – to – have – to – drive – me – off – with – a – stick." I had been roving all over her belly and ended up working my way up to her breasts. After I said the last of my little speech I latched onto a nipple and sucked it into my mouth.

"Oh, I love what you do to me. That feels soooo good."

I continued to pay oral attention to her breasts, shifting from one to the other and then moving down again, stopping at her belly button, so it wouldn't feel neglected. I started to go lower but she stopped me by pulling on my shoulders.

When I looked up she said, "My turn."

I responded, "But I wasn't done."

"That doesn't matter. I'm the one that wanted this and I want to have my way, please?"

"I was having fun."

"I'll let you have fun later. It's my turn, right now."

I gave up my fight and moved up even with her. We didn't stay even though because she was kissing me, starting at my lips and then moving down my neck to my chest where she once again smothered my chest with kisses. She nipped my nipple and I jumped. "Hey, now."

"You do that to me all the time."

"You're the one that said you didn't want any visible marks."

"I DON'T want visible marks, ON ME. You can have marks, I can't."

"That doesn't seem fair."

"Didn't you say 'little in life is fair' just a bit ago?"

"Don't go confusing the issue by quoting me. You're not allowed to use my own words against me."

She blew a raspberry at me then went back to giving me kisses and love bites. She covered my chest and stomach. She continued moving down and when she got to my member she kissed it right on the tip before giving it lots of little kisses moving down one side, across the top and then up the other, ending with a kiss right on the tip again. She looked up into my eyes for a minute and then looked down again as she pursed her lips to suck me all the way into her mouth. She knew how much that affected me.

"Unh!" exploded from me. "Mmmm, that's good, so good. It's always, so good."

She sucked and bobbed her head, drawing me into her mouth and then pulling back before doing it again and again and again. She kept doing it, at a slow and steady pace. She ignored my hints to speed up. She looked up at me and even though her mouth was full and occupied she managed to smile at me. She was laughing with her eyes as she enjoyed torturing me, she always did.

I tried to coax her around to where I could pay some attention to her fun areas but she refused to move.

"I want to play, too," I said.

"Unh, uh, this is my time to play and I know what you like."

"You do, but why can't I play, too, so we can both have fun?"

"Because I'm thanking you for all you've done in arranging this cruise."

"You don't have to thank me. It's just as much for me as it is for you."

"That may be but I'm going to be buying one heck of an outfit for dinner with the Captain and I want you to know how much I'm going to appreciate it, even before I get it. I don't know that I'll ever get another formal gown or even have a reason to wear one. You are spending a fortune on me."

"It's not a fortune and it's not just you, I'm here, too. We're both going to enjoy the cruise."

"But I'm the one who's going to get a gown."

"You may be the one getting the gown but I assure you I will be enjoying it, just by seeing you in it."

During this back and forth she had crawled up the bed, so that we were face to face again. She swung her leg over me and got on top.

"Ahhh! I so wish I could stay right here, all the time." She leaned forward to place her hands on my chest then started rocking her hips, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. About every third or fourth time she'd stop to grind her hips in a circle or two. When she did I'd hear her go, "Mmmm," and then start her rocking again.

I reached up with both hands and played with the pair of toys in front of me, tickling, teasing, pinching, twisting and pulling. After doing that for a minute or two, I got hungry. I raised my head and sucked in a nipple to play with it that way. I sucked it in, then swirled my tongue around it. I knew that added to her pleasure. She was moving faster and faster. I decided it was time to break her concentration, so I pulled my mouth away and then reached under her arms to tickle her ribs on both sides. I knew there'd be consequences.

She shrieked and pulled away from me. It completely broke her rhythm. She balled up her fists and started beating on my chest. "You beast! You brute! You Neanderthal! Why'd you do that?"

I reached up and grabbed her wrists to stop the beating I was getting. "I did it for the fun of it!" I rolled us over without breaking our connection, so that she ended up under me with her legs to either side. I had her arms pinned over her head and was in her saddle. I brought my face down to kiss her and she tried to bite my lip but I realized what she was about to do and pulled back out of range. She snapped her teeth together trying to bite me. "Unh, uh, little girl, naughty, naughty." I ground my pelvis on hers.

"I was getting close before you took it away from me, that was mean."

"I didn't take it away so much as I'm just holding it back from you. You'll get it, eventually." I ground my pelvis on her again. "If you behave yourself I'll give it to you. Don't you know that?"

"But I want it now," she whined.

"Are you going to behave like a good little girl?" I was using a very condescending voice, intentionally. It was a fun game.

"I'll behave." She pouted.

"If I let go of your hands you won't beat on me anymore?"

"Okay, I won't beat on you anymore."

"And you won't try to bite me anymore?"

"I won't bite you but you're taking away all my fun."

"There're other ways to have fun."

"What ways?"

"We can play Parcheesi or Clue or some other board game." I was slowly moving in and out. If Kay were a pot on the stove she would be at a light simmer. I planned on keeping her that way for a while.

"That's not as much fun as what we were doing." She struggled to pull her arms free.

"Do you mean when you were beating on me?" I ground my pelvis on hers.

"I was only beating on you because you tickled me."

"A little tickle rates a beating?"

"No, the beating was for stopping me from what I was doing, and it wasn't a little tickle."

"I didn't stop you. You stopped on your own. I just tickled you a little." I was moving a little faster.

She was starting to breathe heavier and faster. "I couldn't keep doing what I was doing with you tickling me and you knew that when you tickled me, meanie."

"Would you like me to let you get back to what you were doing?" I was stroking deeper and harder, turning up the heat.

"Maybe, but not necessarily, if you're going to keep doing that." Her hips were twitching and pushing up to meet my downward movements.

"I'm not hurting you, am I? If I am I can slow down or maybe not push as hard as I am."

"You're not hurting me but you are driving me crazy, you beast."

"Are you in a hurry, or something? Do you have somewhere you need to go? Should I stop and get up, so you can get off the bed?"

"Don't you dare!"

I continued the long deep strokes but I didn't speed up. "I don't dare what? I'm getting conflicting messages here, Kay." I ground my pelvis against her, driving myself as deep as I could and squeezing her pleasure center between us.

"Unh! Oh gawd! Uncle, I give up. I'll do anything you want but PLEASE move faster or turn us over again so I can move faster."

"There you go again, in a rush. Don't you want to savor these wonderful feelings?" I was trying to maintain the same, slow pace but it was getting to me, too.

Her hips were still coming up in counterpoint to my downward thrusts. "These feelings are wonderful and you always give them to me, but you don't usually drag things out this way. You're torturing me and you're doing it on purpose."

"Haven't you ever heard of the principle of delayed gratification? When you finally attain gratification it's much more intense and pleasurable."

"The rate you're doing things I'll only be gratified once where I would be two or three times if you were going as fast as I want to."

"But I'm an old man and I can't come back again and again as fast as you can. I'm enjoying myself at this speed, drawing out my pleasure."

"And part of that enjoyment is my torture, isn't it?"

"Maybe." I leaned down and proceeded to give her a searingly hot kiss. I released her arms and she brought them up and around my neck in a hug to match the kiss.

After a bit I broke the kiss and said, "Mmmm, if you keep giving me hugs and kisses like those maybe I'll give you what you want."

"I'll give them to you all day long. Hugging and kissing you has really become something I like to do. If you give me what I want I'll give you more of them, lots more."

I decided I'd dragged things out long enough and turned up the heat by moving faster.

"Mmmm, that's what I'm talking about." Kay sped up right along with me. She didn't last more than a minute before she was loudly announcing her pleasure.

I froze, giving her something to squeeze against. As soon as I felt her relaxing I started moving again. She didn't have time to recover. I drove into her again and again, pushing her to another screeching pinnacle. I let her come down a little and while she was recovering hooked her legs so that her knees were at the crook of my arms. I pulled her up until her bottom was clear of the bed and then started moving again, driving almost straight down. I was close and knew I wouldn't be able to last long but I held on. When her breathing told me she was ready, I drove into her and ground my pelvis against hers, doing my best to bring her over the top with me. We both screamed.

I let her legs down and fell to the side. She rolled towards me and dreamily said, "Oh, thank you."

She threw her leg across mine and an arm across my chest. She was half lying on me with her head on my shoulder. I dragged a sheet up across us and we dozed off for a much needed nap.