Wrapped Up in Stripes Read online

  “Good morning, girls,” her dad crooned, before leaning over to give her a kiss on the cheek. “What has you two up so early and on a Sunday, no less?”

  “Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s trouble…” Hector grumbled without looking up from the newspaper. Good thing, or he would have seen the eye roll Julie threw his way. The rest of the table just shook their heads.

  “Well, Mr. Jennings, I actually surprised Heidi with a cruise trip for her birthday this year. My cousin Lindy—you know, my Auntie Colleen’s oldest daughter? She works for a cruise ship as an aesthetician, doing hair and nails, girl stuff like that, and she was able to get me a great deal, so we’re leaving tomorrow!” Julie rambled on in one long sentence. “So I’m taking Heidi shopping today, you know, because dinner is always formal so we need some dresses and stuff.”

  “A cruise? And you’re leaving tomorrow?” Her father’s face creased in concern.

  “I have no idea how a woman can spend an entire week on a ship getting facials and mud baths…” Derek mumbled as everyone’s eyes followed Carson as he set the platters of food down on the table.

  “Oh, but there’s tanning and make-up lessons and musical theater…” Julie droned on as she helped herself to a huge cup of coffee—no doubt not her first of the day, judging by how chipper she was. Julie’s caffeine addiction issues were rather notorious.

  “Okay, then.” Her dad smiled, clearly hoping that her bestie would stop listing off super girly stuff so he could get back to the pile of bacon in front of him. “You two be careful and make sure that you call me every day so that I know you’re all right.”

  “I will, Daddy.” Heidi tucked into her own plate of breakfast, wondering how Julie had gotten so good at manipulating the men in her family.

  ****

  Julie had brought her tablet along so that they could fill out the sensual volunteer intake forms while they were trying on clothes. She’d just stuffed Heidi into the change room with an armful of colorful bikinis before starting to ask questions.

  “So, I’ve already filled out all the boring parts of the forms while I was waiting to surprise you with your gift. Now we can get to the juicy bits.”

  In her head, Heidi could picture her friend rubbing her hands together in anticipation.

  “Are you interested in BDSM? Checkmark.”

  “Are you interested in exploring multiple partners? Checkmark.”

  “Are you open to exhibitionism? Check—“

  “Hey? Aren’t I supposed to be answering these questions?” She stuck her head out of the room, making sure the curtain was drawn tight around her neck. “All these swimsuits you gave me are tiny. As soon as I try to swim, I’m going to be flashing my bits all over the place!”

  “That’s the point, and who’s going to be swimming anyway? You know all those European shifters will be sunbathing nude, so technically you’ll actually stick out more if you’re wearing a suit.”

  “I am not sunbathing nude, Julie.” She continued digging through the swimsuits until she finally found one vintage-looking red bikini that looked perfect. “It would be just my luck that someone would post a picture on social media and I’d end up grounded for the rest of my life.”

  She flung open the curtain and struck a pose in the deep red two-piece.

  “You might end up grounded anyway if your dad saw you in that,” Julie whistled. “Wow, you look like some kind of pinup model!”

  “It’s pretty fabulous, right?” Heidi had to admit. While in the past, there may have been times when she cursed her curvy frame, now she’d learned to embrace it. “I think I really like the retro look—it’s super cute. Did they have any dresses in the same style? Oh, and I also need a cover-up for the pool. You might as well give me the tablet so I can fill it out while you’re finding me clothes.”

  “Me? Why do I have to do all the grunt work?” Julie handed over the tablet with an exaggerated sigh.

  “Because you have all the shopping skills, that’s why.” Heidi made a shooing motion with her hand. “Go forth and conquer, bestie.”

  She snickered as Julie bounced away. “Oh, and I need cute lingerie sets, too!” she yelled out after her.

  Chapter Four

  Heidi was both nervous and excited when she woke up on Monday morning. The previous day’s shopping venture had been an enormous success, sending her home with several bags of clothing. The rest of her booty was smuggled by Julie in her own suitcases—which turned out to be a genius idea, as both Hector and her father had been curious about what she’d purchased and couldn’t keep their noses out of her luggage as she packed.

  “Kiddo, Julie’s here,” Carson yelled up the stairs as she tried to lug her bags all in one trip down the hallway, grunting when the top one kept slipping off.

  Her brother laughed and shook his head. “Honestly, Heidi,” he peered at the wobbly tower of suitcases stacked precariously on top of the one that had wheels, “what were you going to do when you got to the stairs, just push them all down and hope for the best?”

  “Lucky for me I have lots of in-house muscle.” She winked at him as he grabbed them all and carried them out the front door for her, just as her dad walked up to see her off.

  “Pop the trunk, Jules.” Carson cringed at the beat-up hatchback sitting in the driveway. “Can this hunk of junk even make it the two-hour drive to Chapple?”

  “Hey! Don’t judge the ride, this little car has gotten me through a lot of crap.” Julie came around to use the key on the trunk lock—since the release latch was long gone—only to have about a dozen old Starbucks cups tumble out onto the ground when she opened it.

  “Jesus, you have more luggage than Heidi.” He blew out a breath before trying to figure out a way to fit all the bags in the trunk. “You know you’re only going for a week, right?”

  “You guys have no idea what we have to pack to look this good.” Heidi kissed her dad goodbye and dropped her purse in the passenger seat. “Two of those bags are hair products and makeup alone.”

  “You don’t need any makeup to look beautiful, baby,” her dad gave her one more big hug, “now remember to be careful if you leave the ship when it docks, and don’t go anywhere alone, and make sure that you call me every day.”

  “We will, Daddy, love you.” She kissed him on the cheek and could’ve sworn she saw a tear in his eye.

  “Love you, too, baby girl,” he gently closed her door and gave Julie his stern Alpha-look, “and mind your speed on the highway, Missy. This car is barely held together by duct-tape and coffee cups.”

  “I will, Mr. Jennings. I promise.”

  Heidi was finally able to exhale as they drove out of town, her family none the wiser that she was on her way to a week full of much-deserved hedonism. One hour and forty minutes later—speeding aside—they were almost through their second round of singing along to the entire Burlesque soundtrack when they finally arrived at the Wild Desires terminal.

  It was quite a sight out here in the middle of nowhere. Chapple wasn’t a large city by any means, but it was shifter-run. So naturally, it made sense to build the terminal for the only full-shifter cruise line in a place where humans weren’t likely to go poking about. The building was all glass, sitting right along the water's edge, the huge docking terminal extending far out into the ocean. There were three ships docked at the moment and Heidi’s excitement rose even further as she recognized the newest ship in the fleet—the one they would be boarding for their vacation.

  The brochures for The Wild Side boasted tons of amazing amenities: shopping, spas, restaurants, theaters, and three dance clubs … not to mention the clubs designated for more specific fetishes. Her blood heated at the thought of finally getting to indulge her curiosity when it came to sex. This would be the safest place to let go and leave her inhibitions behind, not having to worry about who knew her father or her brothers. She could finally have the anonymity she’d always craved while growing up in the small town of Blue Valley.

  “A
re you ready for this, girl?” Julie threw her a grin as they gathered their bags on a trolley and made their way inside.

  “I’m so ready.” She smiled back.

  “Oh, yeah! Come on, Lindy says the volunteers have to register at the staff security gate.” Julie steered them to a smaller gate on the right side, away from the larger crowd that was lining up. “To infinity and beyond!”

  Heidi laughed at her enthusiastic cheer that got them a few chuckles from those close enough to hear it.

  “I’m not sure that particular phrase is appropriate considering what we’re going to do this week. What would Buzz Lightyear think?”

  “Ah, come on,” Julie winked. “You know under that cute little space suit he’s a super freak—his best friend’s name is Woody, for crying out loud.”

  There was a little bit of a lineup for the staff gate, and while they waited their turn, Heidi noticed another gate that was in between theirs and the one that was for the general passengers. She saw a small sign declaring it the VIP security gate, and when her gaze wandered to the much smaller lineup, it stopped abruptly on a set of extremely broad and muscular shoulders.

  Her breath caught in her throat and her heart began to pound as she took in the wavy jet-black hair that reached his collar, the golden skin over strong, taut forearms, and the way she could see the delicious muscles moving under his dress shirt as he loaded his suitcase onto the conveyor belt with ease. Then suddenly, as if he’d felt her gaze upon him, his head slowly turned toward her until she could finally see the deep golden-hazel eyes set in a classically handsome face.

  Their eyes locked for a second, and the lioness inside of her almost knocked her to her knees in her enthusiastic response to this unknown male. When a slow smile tipped up one side of his lips, Heidi couldn’t help but send a shy smile back, wondering what in the hell was going on that had her cat pacing inside her from just a flirty smile. Then all too soon the spell was broken as he turned his attention to the security attendant. He looked back at her once, then briefly spoke with the employee processing his luggage, seeming to nod in her direction. When the attendant answered, the handsome stranger’s smile returned, and he turned back to wink at her before moving through the gate beyond her sight.

  “Holy balls,” she whispered, catching Julie’s attention. That single confident wink from him had things tingling in her lower extremities that hadn’t tingled in a long time.

  “What’s up?” Her friend looked at her and frowned. “Are you okay? You’re all flushed and—panting.”

  “What?” she snapped back, a little embarrassed by her reaction, “I’m not panting.”

  That only received a smirk and an eyebrow raised in question from Julie.

  “That guy.” She was desperately trying to get control of herself, but her cat still wasn’t calming down. “Did you see him?”

  “What guy?”

  “Over at the VIP check in.”

  “Oooh, I see that guy and he’s super-hot.” She followed Julie’s leer back to the VIP lineup just in time to see a second man laughing with the attendant as he lifted his bag onto the counter. His hair was a little bit lighter than the first man’s, but it was longer, reaching his just-as-wide shoulders. He was as equally mesmerizing as the first man, but in a different way. He seemed more rugged, more relaxed.

  “I’d take a bite out of that fine ass any day.” Julie pretended to bite and instantly a low growl came bursting out of Heidi’s mouth and she slapped her hands over her lips in shock. Julie’s eyes went wide, then she burst out laughing. “Oh, my God, Heidi! Since when is your lioness such a stingy bitch? No sharing, huh?”

  “I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s wrong with me! I think my cat is having a hormonal breakdown from lack of sex or something.” She was mortified at her reaction—she’d never lost control of her other side like this. What was it about those two men that had her so wound up?

  “Well, get control of that pussy, my friend.” Julie winked at the handsome young man who’d laughed as he overheard their conversation while loading their luggage. “We’re going to the perfect place to cure what ails you.”

  Heidi almost died of embarrassment when they cleared security and Julie yelled out, “Sex-starved lioness coming through! Clear a path or risk losing your important dangly bits.”

  Chapter Five

  Mason was still thinking about that sweet little blonde from the terminal when they arrived in their luxurious suite and put their bags away.

  “What is going on with you, man?” Wade laughed at him. “You’ve had this ridiculous grin on your face since we boarded. I’ve seriously never seen that expression before—except for maybe that summer we turned fourteen and you finally lost your virginity to Lucy Van Meyer.”

  He threw one of the tiny liquor bottles from the mini bar at Wade’s head before that damned smile was back on his face once again.

  “I don’t know—I think I met someone, I mean … I saw someone.” He stumbled uncharacteristically with the words. “It was a girl. I saw her as we were going through security. There was something different about her, something special, I think.”

  “Special … how?” Wade froze as his mind no doubt jumped to the same conclusion that Mason’s had.

  That it was possible that the sweet little curvy blonde who smiled so innocently at him … was his mate.

  “I’m not sure, but I aim to find out.” Mason’s smile moved from awestruck into a grin he used for seduction. “The attendant said she was in the employee line, but since most of them should have already boarded hours ago, she must have been taking the cruise as a sensual volunteer.”

  “Well, lucky us. Let’s go and take a look around—I’ve got a tip already. One of the porters mentioned something about an exclusive wristband we can purchase for extra cash up front that means we don’t have to pay for anything in the clubs.”

  Mason stopped short and stared at his friend, “But we don’t offer any kind of program like that—everything is supposed to be charged to the guest’s room.”

  “Exactly.” Wade looked smug. “When I tipped him a fifty, he said we’re supposed to find the events coordinator named Serena, she’s a cheetah. He said to ask the bartender for her tonight at the Diamond Club.”

  Mason’s mind was already trying to calculate how much money was getting pocketed by whoever was running this wristband scam. It would have to be someone in the top tier of management to even be able to pull off something like this, but they needed more information out of this Serena woman first.

  They both changed into shorts and t-shirts and made their way up to the pool deck to enjoy the sunshine and ocean air while the boat left the harbor.

  “Why haven’t we taken one of these cruises before?” Wade asked as they walked by a scantily-clad female who smiled and winked at him.

  The general pool area was filled with people, some already lounging in their shifted animal forms, enjoying the freedom of being away from humans. It was a rather bizarre scene when he thought about it. Tropical pool setting, cabanas filled with all sorts of large predators lying on lounge chairs next to sunbathers who were sitting enjoying their umbrella-decorated fruity drinks. Even he had to do a double take when they walked by another tiger lying in the sun, lapping at what appeared to be a huge bowl of Pina Colada.

  “I’m not sure—perhaps we should wander over to the other side of the ship.” He smiled back at the women giving them inviting looks, but he still hadn’t seen the blonde from the terminal. “That’s where the outdoor fetish club is. I’ve heard it's quite extraordinary.”

  “Lead the way.” Wade's eyes lit up with interest, and Mason felt some guilt that he hadn’t been accepting his friend’s invitations to go out and blow off some steam over the past few months.

  Work just seemed to be getting away from him these days. Sometimes he would look up at the end of the day only to realize everyone else had gone home hours ago, and only he and the night security guards remained in the building. Mas
on loved running his parents’ company, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t want other things in life as well. He needed to listen more to those who tried to pull him back out into the world, instead of losing himself in his work.

  They passed through the glass causeway that separated the two halves of the ship’s upper deck. The side they’d just left was filled with all kinds of recreation. Waterslides, surfing, hot tubs, several huge pools with bars, and a live band to entertain, but the deck area they were headed to now catered to a much more specific taste for entertainment. The mood instantly changed from that of a tropical holiday to a seductive retreat.

  Most of the extensive deck was draped in flowing white material that billowed hypnotically in the sea air, and he could smell the light scent of exotic flowers and sweet fruit coming from the main bar. The sun shades let the light in but protected the patrons underneath, leaving them free to play without worrying too much about the sun, while also creating a more intimate feel in the space. There were cabanas set up with massage tables, others with lounge-style beds stacked with pillows, some simply with a few cozy chairs to sit and talk.

  The attentive staff was milling about, serving drinks and food around the sparkling blue water of the swimming pool. On the far side of the water, the sun draping changed from white to a light gold, and underneath those covers was an elaborate display of various BDSM stations, many of which were in use by enthusiastic patrons.

  “I take back anything bad I’ve ever said about your brother Simon,” Wade’s tone was awed. “Seems that his playboy ways certainly make him qualified to create a space to remember.”

  “Indeed,” Mason muttered, trying to take in everything his eyes were seeing. It was a heady scene. He and Wade had frequented private fetish clubs many times and enjoyed the lighter side of BDSM with many partners, but this environment was so different from the dark clubs he was used to. Enjoying a taste of the lifestyle out in the open sun and warm summer air added another layer of decadence he hadn’t been expecting.