The Daddy P.I. Casefiles: The First Collection by Frost, J (great novels .txt) π
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Within five minutes, I wish Iβd followed him. No one else sits at my table; maybe I scared them away. The presentation is just a sales pitch for some of the cruise services: the spa, the private dinner cabanas, the bondage marketplace. After a super-perky presentation by Jason-the-Masseur from the Spa, I tune out and start to reach for my tablet.
The appearance of an Indian lady, in the most gorgeous red and gold sari, behind the chair across from me makes me put the tablet back down.
βThatβs my name,β she says, pointing at a place card.
βHello,β I say, remembering Loganβs admonition. βMy nameβs Emily.β
She shyly offers her hand, covered in a swirling, floral design. I develop instant henna envy, even though Iβve never wanted it before. βVashi,β she says.
I shake. βI love the design on your hands.β
βThank you.β She ducks her head as she smiles. Is she as shy with strangers as I am? Jeez, this will be a quiet lunch. I hope the other two at our table are chatty.
But the other two, Amy and Sierra by their place cards, never show up, and Vashi turns out not to be shy at all once we break the ice over breadsticks and lemon-water. Vashi not only doesnβt drink, but sheβs a vegetarian, something the cruise doesnβt really cater to all that well, I realize as I read over the printed menu thatβs been left at each place setting.
When I lift my eyes to Vashi, sheβs not perusing the offerings and I wonder if thatβs because it is so limited: just two appetizers and one entrΓ©e selection marked with a little pepper for vegetarians. There are eight of each for those of us who eat meat.
βKind of a limited menu for vegetarians,β I say.
Vashi glances at the menu and nods. βI would not want any of those anyway.β
βWhat are you going to eat?β
She colors, a delicate rose staining her smooth, coffee-with-cream cheeks. βMy partners have arranged a special menu for me while I am aboard. They are very good to me.β
They? Sheβs part of a poly group? That shouldnβt surprise me as much as it does, but in her traditional dress and with her demure manner, I wouldnβt have guessed sheβd be part of a non-traditional grouping. But what do I know? Sheβs on a kinky cruise. She canβt be all that traditional. Unless kink is traditional in India. I have absolutely no idea, but I have a vague memory of reading about Indian erotic religious carvings. Iβll have to Google that when I get back to my cabin.
βYou are here with your partner?β she asks.
I nod. βLogan. Heβs my Dom.β
She gives me another of her shy, half-hidden smiles. βI could tell. I saw him standing with you earlier. The way he had his arm around you. Heβs very protective.β
Can total strangers see how wonderful Logan is? On a boat full of submissives that might not be a good thing. βHe is.β
βHave you been together long?β she asks.
βNo, we just met before the cruise. You?β
She blushes again. She blushes almost as easily as I do, only with her coloring, she just looks healthy and glowing, while I look like Iβve fallen into a vat of red paint.
βSunday is our fifth anniversary. That is why my partners gave me this cruise. To celebrate.β
βThatβs so nice of, um, them. And five years together? Thatβs great.β
She nods. βI am very lucky. My birth chart was very inauspicious. That is why I was sent to live with my aunt and uncle in America when I was a little girl, so that my bad luck would not ruin my sistersβ chances for good marriages. My aunt and uncle had only boys.β
She falls silent as a waiter bounces over. Heβs wearing a pink bow tie to match his pink thong, with black Nikesβwhich Iβm sure are practicalβbut are a little silly-looking with the thong. He takes my order, then turns to Vashi. βYour special meal is ready, madam. Would you like it served now?β
βI will wait for Emily,β she says, smiling at me.
I grin back.
Once the waiter leaves, she continues without me prompting. βIn my country, it is very important for women of my caste to be educated. My aunt and uncle encouraged me in school so that if my horoscope prevented me from marrying, I could still be useful to my family. Shaan was my teacher in nursing school. Heβs an anesthesiologist. I was very lucky he did not mind my horoscope, and his partner Niall accepted me. I am a very lucky woman.β
Wow.
βI had no idea astroββ Whatβs the right word? Astrology? Horology? Isnβt that watchmaking? βUh, star charts were so important in India.β
Vashi nods. βIn love, the stars control everything. My parentsβ charts were an eighty-six percent match. That is considered very auspicious for a good marriage.β
βDo your, um, parents know? I mean, about you and your partners?β
Vashi gives me a sad smile. βNo. Shaan and Niall were kind enough to take me back to my village where Shaan and I were married. Niall stood as Shaanβs brother, since Shaan has no family. My parents were very happy because I married a doctor, despite being influenced by Mars. That is a very bad sign. I was happy to see my family happy, and happier when we flew to Sri Lanka for our honeymoon and had a second ceremony with Niall. That was my true wedding.β
Her happiness glows out of her, brighter than her blush.
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