The Barter System (10 page)

Victor was indeed a simple
man, different from Sean but she had to be careful not to compare the subjects
to one another.  After the last few days, she realized she may have
underestimated her emotional risk during the project. 

She had to talk to Sean
about the next leg of her journey and she wasn’t surprised to find it made her
nervous. 

Sean was in his sunny
kitchen, making chicken Caesar salad for lunch.  He gave her a big smile when
she came in.

After a weak smile in
return, she blurted out, “Sean, I have to be in Savannah in a couple of days,”
before she lost courage.  Sean paused in dicing the chicken breasts and stared
at her sadly. 

He gave a small grimace and
nodded, “I knew it would be soon.”  Sighing, he added, “I’m not happy about it,
I can’t…I won’t lie about that.  Anyone could get used to having a woman like
you around, Riya.”  He resumed his task, more slowly this time, “But I’ve got
everything set.  We can leave in the morning.”

Riya said, “Thank you, Sean”
before turning away.  She could feel the lump in her throat and cursed
herself.  After she’d sent a confirmation email to Victor, she went back to the
kitchen and sat at the bar.  She was surprised when Sean came to sit beside
her.  He was smiling again.  She didn’t feel like smiling right now, but she
made the effort.

“I haven’t told you how I’m
getting you to Savannah.  I think you’re going to like it.”  He leaned in and
gave her a light kiss.  She appreciated what he was doing, trying to make it
easier on her.  “We’re taking my boat up the coast.  I have her fully stocked
and ready to go.  It will take about thirty-six hours to get there by water. 
If we leave in the morning, we’ll have time to dock at the marina I called and
spend some time together before you leave.”

Riya hugged him.  “Thanks. 
I mean that, Sean.  This isn’t as ‘clinical’ as I’d hoped.”

His face tightened almost
imperceptibly, “I know what you mean.  I can’t say with any honesty that I’m
good with knowing you’re going off to interact, in similar ways as we have,
with other men.  I’m a man, honey, which means I can get territorial and I apologize.” 

Sean looked away for a
moment then added, “You’re young, Riya, and by your own admission, you’ve had
little experience with men.  You should have that.  And this is a great
project, what you’re doing.”  His next words came out sounding falsely
cheerful.  “Now go throw on shorts and sneaks because we have a bike ride
today.” 

They set out the next
morning at dawn.  They crammed so many conversations and sex sessions into
their time on the water it was a wonder they made progress at all. 

Nights were spent on an air
mattress on deck so they could sleep under the stars.  During the day, she
worked in the air conditioned cabin between meals and sex while he captained
the boat. 

They arrived at the marina
the evening before Riya was due to meet with Victor.  They strolled the
boardwalks together and ate at a raw bar.  When Sean held her hand, it was
firmly.  When he kissed her, it was as if he wanted to imprint himself on her. 
When they fucked, he never took his eyes from hers, like he wanted to stamp the
memory of his face above her in her every thought. 

Sean brought her to ecstasy
again and again, trying different positions and techniques every few minutes to
keep her disoriented and wanting.  He held back his own orgasms to give her
more, something that must have taken Herculean strength of will.  They were
physically exhausted and she felt dehydrated by the time they crashed out
around midnight. 

She realized as she drifted
to sleep that, as an alpha-male, Sean would be unable to resist the feeling of
‘marking her’ for any man that came after.  It was sexy, actually.

The next morning, it was
time to meet with Victor.  Riya’s emotions and her stomach were churning but
she put on a happy face for Sean. 

“Sean, thank you for
everything.” 

He said nothing at first,
just pulled her into a bone-crushing hug.  His lips were next to her ear and he
whispered, “I can tell you’re nervous, Riya.  You shouldn’t be, every man in
this study is going to love you…a couple more days and I really would have lost
my heart to you.  Thank you for choosing me.  I hope I get a chance in the
future to see how it all turned out.  I wish you the very best of everything,
baby.  Anything happens, you need help, all you have to do is call me.  You’ve
got my friendship for life.” 

She nodded against him and
felt like crying, which she hoped he didn’t notice.  He kissed her once more
then let her go.  Riya watched as Sean jumped back on his boat and pulled out
of the marina.  There were tears in her eyes.  She watched until he was out of
sight and then swiftly kicked herself for it. 

If she ran the risk of this
much emotional attachment with each subject, this was going to become her own
private hell…one she’d purposely created.

Chapter
Five – The Fisherman

First week of September…

Riya took a few minutes to
pull it together and gather her thoughts.  She sat on the bench in confusion. 
One subject and she was a mess. 

She pulled one of the
emergency cell phones out of her bag and called Tawny.  Her friend answered
before the phone finished ringing once.  “Riya?  Are you alright?  Riya, I can
tell you’ve been crying.  Based on the time frame, I’d say you just left the
first subject.  You got a little attached and you need to talk.  If you have
any hope of completing this, you’re going to need an outlet.  Come on…spill
it.”

And Riya unloaded.  True to
her word, Tawny said nothing, just let her get it all out.  How she felt like
the biggest whore to go on to another man when she was still tingling from what
Sean had done to her less than six hours ago.  That she was putting herself
through this over a fucking dissertation.  She finished with a huge sigh.

“Riya, I love you and know
you better than I know myself.  If there is one thing you are not, it’s a
whore.  The fact is you’ve been starved for male attention in the emotional and
physical sense for a long time.  Who knows?  You may be attaching more to what
you’re feeling right now than there is.  You’re greedy to have him keep fucking
you because you’ve been so hard up.  Eventually, you’ll publish a book and he
is going to see in gory detail everything you do or don’t do with the other
subjects.  That said, you have another subject waiting for you.  Sean isn’t the
only subject with a cock, I hope.  My advice to you, as your friend, is to keep
going.  Finish what you started.”

Riya sniffled loudly. 
“Surprisingly, that is the
last
thing I thought you’d say.  You are the
best friend anyone could ever ask for.”

“Yeah, I know.  I think you
may need to ‘download’ like this after each subject.  I promise not to offer
anything regarding the subjects themselves.  You okay now, Riya?” she asked
softly.

“Yes, I think I am.  I know
I will be.  Thank you.  I have to go clean up to meet Victor.  Tell the parents
things are great.” 

They said goodbye and Riya
rushed into the nearest public restroom to wash her face and put herself in
order.  Giving herself a onceover, she figured she’d do.    

She picked up her things and
walked out of the marina and onto the street.  The area bustled with activity,
even this early in the morning.  Victor was picking her up at the produce
market, just up the street.  She was dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, and her
favorite worn-in boots.  She hadn’t fussed with her appearance for the simple
reason that she suspected Victor wouldn’t either.  Her hair was pulled back in
a loose ponytail, neat but understated.

As she approached the
market, she realized she’d forgotten what Victor looked like.  Her mind had
gone blank.  Give her a few healthy orgasms and she was putty apparently. 
Loser.
 

“Riya, you’re an idiot. 
Cowgirl up before you totally jack up your project.”  She must have looked
deranged, standing in the middle of a busy market, bags on her shoulders and
muttering to herself.  She chuckled in spite of her nervousness.

She was about to take out
one of the cell phones to call Victor when a loud whistle caused the market to
go momentarily silent.  She turned toward the sound and, sure enough, she
remembered what he looked like now. 

There he was, standing on
the driver’s side step of his late model Chevy truck; waving at her like they’d
known one another for years.  When he yelled, “Riya!” she wanted to hide. 
Instead, she plastered a big smile on her face.

Deep breath, shoulders
back, and here we go.  

She walked with purpose to
the street as he walked around the truck to grab her bags and drop them in the
back.  When he turned back to her, he smiled. 

Okay, really big guy. 
Around 6’6” with dark everything…eyes, hair, and skin tanned brown from hours
spent in the sun.  Happy smile just this side of shy, but attractive.  Enormous
hands.  Hell, enormous period.  If she stood behind him, no one would catch a
glimpse of her.  Huge barrel chest tapering to slim hips and long legs.  He was
dressed just like she was, only he’d added a baseball cap.

She smiled, “You must be
Victor?”

He grinned crookedly, took
off his hat - they still did that here? – and raked a hand through his shaggy
hair, “Yes, ma’am.  I’m sure pleased to meet you in person.”  She didn’t have
time to reply before he was lifting her into the cab of the truck, going around
and jumping in himself, then tearing off down the street. 

He talked a mile a minute
while he drove city streets like an interstate highway.  Before they’d made the
first red light, she learned he’d taken a few days off to spend with her.  His
cousin, Jason, was going to cover for him, but only if he could meet her.  At
her startled look, he added, “They think we met during one of my fishing
charters to the Keys, they don’t know anything.” 

Some of his family would be
at the house the next day since his loud-mouthed cousin had spilled the beans
about her arrival. 

“Sissy is bringing her
famous fried chicken and Aunt Cyndi is making her cobbler.  You won’t want to miss
that.”  He gave her a sideways glance and said, “You look like you need to eat,
Riya.  Not that you’re not pretty, you sure are pretty.  God knows you’re
pretty.  Just a mite skinny’s all.”

Riya tried to respond but
could barely get a word in edgewise.  So she let him talk about anything and
everything.  When he asked how the first part of her trip had been, he looked
wary…maybe wondering if he’d measure up to the first guy?  Well that would not
be part of the equation.  Each subject had to stand on their own. 

She cut that conversation
off at the pass, “It was great, I’m glad to be here though.” 

Obviously he got the hint,
since the conversation turned to his fishing business.  A source of pride for
him and a big part of what defined him as a man.  He discussed his clients, his
boats, the weather, what different kinds of fish sold for, and so on.  She’d
give him one thing, he could hold a conversation. 

They’d left the main part of
town, taking a smaller county road.  In moments, there was nothing but green
farmland surrounding them.  When they turned onto a dirt track leading
seemingly into wilderness, she held on to keep from flying forward as they hit
one pot hole after another.  She was nervous and she wasn’t too proud to admit
it to herself.

They drove down the dirt
road for what seemed like a mile and suddenly entered a clearing.  On the other
side of it was a pretty farm house complete with a front porch and swing. 
“This used to be my Grandmama’s place and she left it to me when she died. 
Said I’d need a place to raise a family one day.”  Riya noticed the guarded
silence after this statement but didn’t push. 

They slid to a stop on the
gravel drive and he was around the truck, bag in hand, before she’d had a
chance to unbuckle her seatbelt.  He yanked the door open and manhandled her to
her feet.  She wasn’t in danger of falling but got the impression he’d been
around more men and dogs than women.  “Thanks,” was about all that came to
mind.