The cold water and the light breeze carrying the sea air enlivened Nancy's senses, inviting her as she waded a few steps further out. It was so refreshing and arousing, yet, after some minutes, the peace Nancy sought, the peace from life in general that she'd experienced while wading the day before didn't come, and this was due to what had happened in the basement with the four mysterious and incredible crystal columns. The two potent, but tasty drinks she'd had on the veranda helped her to deal with the experience in the sense of not being overwhelmed by it, making the whole incident seem like a dream, but she knew it wasn't and this stubborn knowledge disallowed the momentary peace she longed for.
She'd had sex with them, loved them and had shared herself with them on a level that was hard for her to define or understand. Trying to define this, or how they'd managed to lure her to their lust, made her mind spin in circles.
Nancy, during all of her adventures, had run across many strange things, things that at first seemed to have no explanation, some of them seemingly un-natural or paranormal, but which had ultimately revealed themselves to not only have explanations, but quite rational ones at that. Usually, they turned out to be hoaxes perpetrated by people who wanted to scare others away from some secret they wanted to remain hidden. While her fear in such situations would sometimes make itself known, in time, Nancy had come to firmly disbelieve in the supernatural, to disbelieve in a realm that science and observation couldn't explain away as some mundane thing or clever trickery. For her, the world was as black and white as the newspapers and nothing in it would hold any real surprises once it was examined closely enough.
The crystal columns, however, were presenting a very serious challenge to this viewpoint. They hadn't frightened her, they'd seduced her. They'd made her do incredibly lewd and unladylike things without any control whatsoever. In a sense, they'd taken over her will, creating of her an almost mindless sex fanatic who wanted only the wonderful, powerful explosions of pure pleasure that her vagina could give her, that the columns had actually taught her were possible.
Nancy wondered if even that was natural. Aunt Eloise, when she'd sat her down for 'the talk' a few years before, had never mentioned anything about these pleasure explosions, and Ned had certainly never come close to producing such sensations as she'd had while wantonly pile driving the phallus that one of the columns had sprouted for her.
The immediate question of whether it had really sprouted that glorious protrusion for her, or if it had been there all along and only missed by Nancy's initial examination of the columns, was shoved aside by the exciting and arousing shame of having impaled herself on it over and over, legs spread and groaning... drooling... like a total, wanton slut... The way she'd lifted her dress and unapologetically ground her clitoris against the perfectly textured surface...
Her vagina was suddenly licked by the cold water, causing her to gasp. Looking down, she found that she'd waded in over the tops of her stockings and the swell of the gentle waves had soaked the crotch of her white cotton panties. Smiling, she waded out a little further, heisting her dress high enough to see her garter belt, until the next wave soaked her panties completely. Another step took her over a short ridge and she dropped a foot, letting go of her dress in surprise to spread her arms for balance and buoyancy. Her smile, having faltered, returned at the sight of her dress floating around her, spread out like the petals of a flower as it quickly soaked. She felt herself becoming aroused again and, as another wave swelled almost to the bottom of her bra, she giggled.
Concerns over the columns faded, replaced by the clean sensation of the surrounding cold water. This, Nancy thought, was why people went on vacation, to get away from the worries and cares of their everyday lives, to forget for a time that concerns of reality existed, to recharge their emotional and spiritual batteries by simply letting go of all their cares. She now felt close to the peace she'd had the day before and knew then what she must do to attain it. Stepping out further, she gasped again at the shocking cold as her chest was swamped by a wave, looking down with an incredulous smile before wading so deep that only her head remained above water. The next wave lifted her right off her feet and she giggled again at the carefree feel of the temporary weightlessness. Feet back on the sandy bottom, her arms waved, her body now completely surrounded by the crisp, cold, cleansing waters of the North Atlantic as she watched the next wave slowly rolling in.
Once again she was lifted from her feet, momentarily bobbing with a wide grin as her arms waved around her, feet kicking in order to prolong the feeling. When her feet again touched bottom, she walked out a little further, pushing off and propelling herself with her head still above the water to a depth where she could tread water, watching and waiting for the waves to lift her up while enjoying the bracing cold all around her, the physical sensation of her arms and legs working to keep her afloat. She giggled again when the next wave came in to momentarily elevate her. She felt wonderful, like the only person in a universe of cleanliness and simplicity, the water and the clear blue sky above stretching out endlessly, forever and ever without any other thing in existence.
Now Nancy had found the peace she'd sought, all thoughts of anything that was relevant to anything having been washed to the shore somewhere behind her where things had to make sense. She realized that this was the closest she'd ever come to being alone, truly without the ever present press of others, their lives and all the harsh and noisy concerns that came with them. Treading water, all these things had slipped from her, leaving her weightless in a world where only refreshing, cleansing cold could touch her.
Eventually, she tired, arms and legs becoming too sore to continue. She sighed, turning herself and swimming back until her feet could touch bottom again, grounding herself in reality. Another wave came in and lifted her off her feet for a second or two, a gentle reminder that the ocean and the peace it offered would always be there for her. She walked slowly against its weight and resistance, not struggling against it or forcing her way through its deceptive solidity, rather moving through it as her body gradually rose from the surf. She was tired, but in a satisfying way, the kind of way one feels after a good workout combined with that weightless feeling one has just before drifting off to sleep.
A carefree smile remained on her face as the world seemed somehow new, the sand massaging the soles of her feet as she walked up the beach, approaching the foot of the stairs that would take her up to the veranda. Her mind was a blank, almost as though it had been wiped clean of worries, stresses and cares to start all over again with a clean slate.
At the top of the stairs, she found the Colonel to still be there, standing at the railing, but once again with company. Beside him was another man of about the same age with black hair and dark brown eyes. He was taller and, while large, his height made it come across better in his dark trousers, green shirt and off white blazer. He had a Mediterranean look about him and, like the Colonel, a bulge in his trousers as they both stared at her. The Colonel was the first to shake himself out of his trance, displaying a smile that somehow didn't go with the words he spoke as his eyes still roamed Nancy's body.
"Er, Nancy, this is, uhh, Gul Ghanem. He lives here at the Faldor."
As expected, Nancy walked closer, smiling politely and offering her hand to the tall, dark and handsome older man.
"Gul, this is Nancy Drew."
"Delighted to make your acquaintance," Gul greeted in heavily accented English, taking her hand and bending to kiss the back of it.
Impressed by this, Nancy's eyes danced as she replied, "I'm so pleased to meet you, Mr. Ghanem."
His eyes glancing up and down her body, he replied, "The pleasure, I can assure you, Miss Drew, is all mine."
Looking down at herself for the first time since coming ashore, Nancy understood. Her thin, rayon dress was plastered to her body, showing every curve of her bust, narrow hips and trim waist. The outlines of her bra, panties and garters were clearly visible, as were her nipples, hard and pressing outward from behind her cotton cupped bra.
"Oh, my!" Nancy exclaimed as water dripped from her red dress to form a puddle where she stood on the veranda's decking. "Please excuse me, Mr. Ghanem! I was-"
"Make no apologies," he urged. "Such youthful beauty owes no explanations."
He was still holding her hand, now patting it with his other one as he smiled down at her. His accent and presence made Nancy swoon just a little and she clamped down on a giggle that rose from her throat.
"Gul's right," the Colonel reinforced. "You don't have to apologize for being beautiful. Christ knows, old fellers like me and Ghanem always need help with our circulation. Here, Nancy, have a drink. We ordered it for you while you were out swimming."
He gestured to a full glass sitting on the railing between them and, without thinking, Nancy moved between the two men to pick it up and take a sip.
"Mmmm... Thank you, Colonel, Mr. Ghanem. That was very thoughtful of you."
"Go ahead and down it," Marks advised from her left. "It'll keep the chill off and Elora will bring another."
After displaying another polite smile, she took his sound advice, placing the empty glass on the railing seconds later.
"My, it's so nice here," she said, already feeling the initial effects of the drink as she looked out across the water, past the islands to the distant horizon.