Chapter Eleven: Dinner and Stuff
Hawk
When I finally got back to the cabin, Gretchen and Lisa were waiting for me with open arms. I was whisked into the bedroom, stripped, and all but frog-marched into the bathroom to clean up. For once, I was in no mood to argue.
Lisa drew the bath and made the water as hot as was safe before she and Gretchen helped me slip into the whirlpool tub. Then they washed my hair. It felt sinfully decadent to let someone pamper me that way. I should've told them to beat it and washed my own hair, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. My time with Gretchen had made me understand that it was okay to let someone else do things for me, and that complaining about it stole the pleasure from them as well as me. So instead of whining, I simply lay back and enjoyed the attention. When my hair was finished, they proceeded to bathe the rest of me.
Every time I started to tell them what we'd found in Skip's cabin they shushed me. It was almost spooky, since both of them were usually rabid to know what I was up to during an investigation.
"What's going on?" I asked suspiciously. "Have space aliens replaced you both with pod people?"
Gretchen laughed. "No, dear. Tonight we're having dinner and enjoying ourselves. I told the rest and now I'm telling you; I don't want one word about any of that stuff. It'll wait until tomorrow. We came on this cruise to enjoy ourselves and, for tonight at least, that's exactly what we're going to do." She kissed me softly on the lips. "And if you're a good girl, you get dessert."
I raised an eyebrow. That sounded promising. I looked at Lisa and she just grinned silently. I turned and gave Gretchen a little grin of my own. "Okay, I promise to be good. Have I mentioned how much I like whipped cream with my dessert, though?"
Lisa laughed and Gretchen smiled wickedly. "We haven't determined if you deserve dessert yet, so talking about whipped cream is a bit premature." She held up a hand as I started to protest. "Besides, I think there's going to be a lot of cream flowing tonight. I'm not sure if it's going to be whipped, but I think you'll probably still want to lick it all up!"
Lisa laughed again. "I think she topped you, Hawk."
I bit back 'No, but I wish she would' and just shook my head. I didn't need to win all the time. Not with Gretchen, anyway. "You're right, Lisa. Gretchen, honey, I'm going to be a good girl and earn my dessert. No business talk tonight. I wouldn't want you to spank me."
Gretchen got a gleam in her eye. "You know, you're the second person to mention spanking today. I might just have to find a paddle. Though you're not in shape for anything like the time we made love in Kat's office."
I laughed. "No, I don't think I could dish it out like that right now. And if we destroyed the cabin like that office, the bill would be pretty high."
Gretchen laughed again. They helped me out of the tub and dried me slowly.
The soft caress of the towels quickly became arousing. Gretchen knelt at my feet and ran the soft towel over my legs while Lisa dried my torso. My nipples became almost painful as she dried my breast and my breathing seemed to race in my chest.
"This is so unfair," I complained without much force. "We have to get ready for dinner and you two are working me up."
Lisa glanced at Gretchen and then kissed my cheek and headed for the door. "I need to go get dressed, if I'm going to be ready on time, and I think you two need a moment alone. See you in a few minutes."
As the door closed, I pulled my wife into my arms and kissed her deeply. Her arms rubbed my back as we melted against each other. I wove my fingers through her hair and gloried in the taste of her mouth.
Only when she started down my jaw line and toward my neck did I growl and push us apart. "Everyone's going to be waiting for us. I want to toss your ass onto the bed and have my way with you, but it'll have to wait. And there's no way that I'm going to sit through dinner all hot and bothered."
Her eyes smoked at me as she smiled and turned to walk into the bedroom. The sway of her hips trapped my eyes like a bear trap held onto a rabbit. I took a deep breath to steady my nerves and followed her.
Gretchen was stripping out of her clothes, and I had to stop again and watch her. By the time she was down to her frilly red bra and panties, I was falling into that hot and bothered state I'd been trying to avoid.
The graceful movement of her body reminded me how awkward I felt next to her. I knew how badly I bumbled around the dance floor. I was only graceful in a fight. She was poetry in motion. How in hell had I gotten so lucky?
She looked over her shoulder and smiled at me as she sat down to do her makeup. That smile melted my heart all over again. "You need to pick out something to wear. I suggest something fancy tonight. We're all dressing up."
If only she knew how much of a civilizing influence she was on me. I wouldn't dress up for just anyone. "Fine," I grumbled, "but only because you asked nicely."
I dug through the closet and pulled a set of black Georgette Palazzo slacks and a silvery silk blouse with sheer sleeves. I considered wearing a thong but decided with my belly it would look ludicrous. The image of me in the thong started me giggling, and the idea that I even knew what Georgette Palazzo slacks were made me laugh all the harder.
I was just starting to calm down when Gretchen poked her head out of the closet. "What's so funny?" she asked, sending me back into paroxysms of laughter. She shook her head and went back to getting ready.
I finally caught my breath and settled on black panties and a matching bra. As I slipped a pair of nursing pads into the cups of my bra and settled it in place, I shook my head. I sure hoped these weird moods would end when the pregnancy did. I was acting like an idiot.
"If you're done giggling, sit down and let me do your makeup," Gretchen said as soon as I was into my underwear.
"I was not giggling, and I don't need any makeup," I objected. "I'm already dressing up."
Gretchen simply rolled her eyes. "Sit," she commanded.
With a sigh, I sat down. She used all the obscure implements of female torture on me. I hoped she didn't make me too girly. I hated that. This was like playing dress up and I'd never been into that. I definitely wasn't a lipstick lesbian. Thank God the hormones didn't seem to affect that.
When she was done, I looked in the mirror and the first thing that jumped out at me was the black eyeliner and the dark red lipstick. I would've complained about it but all I could see was the way her eyes shined at me. If it made Gretchen happy I'd just have to accept being dressed up like a Barbie doll.