2020-07-02 - Riviera Heat

It's morning on the French Riviera and Lilith made good on her promise to sleep in, even though she kind of planned to get up for the sake of seeing the sunrise view from a balcony before going back to bed again. She forgot to set an alarm or look up the sun's rising time and slept right through that idea, but it's not really a big deal. She needed the sleep, jet lag and quick jaunting all over France is lovely, but taxing if you aren't properly pacing yourself. They've been trying to make the most out of their trip and time thus far, in truth, it was bound to catch up to them at some point if they didn't take advantage now.

The bed is superb in their chosen room, which actually took some deciding considering they had the whole run of the huge French villa Byron has borrowed. But when Lilith finally crawls out of it to stumble sleepily into the bathroom mid-to-late morning after a kiss aside on Byron's face, she suddenly echoes from inside the doorway, "... I did not check this bathroom. That is the biggest shower I've ever seen." Immediately, she comes back out to fetch her phone, already butt ass naked from sleep, telling Byron what else she just found, "... there's a bluetooth speaker in it and twelve sprayers. Excuse me. I need to dance and sing in the shower."

Honestly, she's still kind of veering and groggy from waking up and moving immediately, but this new development has decided what's happening right now for Lilith. Here's hoping she doesn't get too into it for a slip fall death on the wet, slick slab tiles. Once back in the bathroom, she leans and pokes her tousled head BACK out to look at Byron again, "... I forgot my razor. Bring it when you come in?" Then she's gone from view again and a club beat mix connects to those speakers from her phone, some retro remix of an Erasure song that she starts singing along to audibly with echo and the soft hiss of constant waterspray underneath the noise.

I try to discover... a little something to make me sweeter.
Oh, baby refrain... from breaking my heart.
I'm so in love with you...
I'll be forever blue...

Someone might not need her coffee this morning, Lilith is still clearly high on Byron and the trip environs. (She still wants coffee, though.)

Byron's an early riser, but that doesn't mean that he can't be lazy and enjoy the warmth and softness of having Lilith laying against him. He's been mostly awake for a good hour now, simply enjoying the moment and allowing himself to drift back to a light slumber now and again. He'd checked his phone several times over the course of the hour or so. No news yet on anything. He was waiting for information on several issues, though he didn't expect to hear anything from Joey Kelly. Not while Byron was on vacation. Alexander, yes. His security detail team, well, those he brought on vacation with him. He hoped to not hear about any cause for alarm back home regards to security.

All of this goes through his mind in bouts of dozing off again after laying in rest for so long. When Lilith properly awakens, Byron's been up for a good fifteen minutes, simply lounging beside her. So when she stirs, she's greeted by a lazy smile, meeting her kiss with his own lips and rather than rising immediately, he just lays there, perfectly happy to observe that bare ass of hers as she heads to the bathroom. He doesn't make a move even when she announces every gadget, every luxurious wonder that she finds within. Though when she brings up the dozen sprayers there, he has to roll his eyes, "That's, what? Four more than ours?" Look, the penthouse bathrooms were no joke! They had an overhead rain shower head too.

The only real movement he makes is to shift where he lays, just so he can reach for his phone and check his messages once again. This was his vacation. He should leave any bit of trouble behind, but he can't help it. He's a man whose mind is constantly shifting gears, preparing himself for anything that's to come.

When he hears her call out for her razor, that's when he finally gets up in full, dragging his legs over the side of the bed, setting his phone down once more. He's as bare as the day he was born as well, padding along on bare feet to go through Lilith's toiletries until he finds that razor. "Got it. Do you really think it's a good idea to shave on the same day that you're going to the beach?" Yes, he's planning on joining her in the shower, something which she probably expected.

Seeing as she's singing along to some old 80's song under the flow of hot water, he calls out again, louder this time, "Do you really think..." But rather than continue, he just laughs and shakes his head. Stepping into the shower itself, he hands her the razor, handle-side first.

Soul, I hear you calling
Oh baby please give a little respect to me

His tone rising when he adds in his own voice, leaning in for a drenched kiss.

It's not a quick shower in any sense. There's a lot of hot passionate fondling to go with his pinning Lilith against the shower wall. Of course, he wanted coffee. But coffee wasn't going anywhere.

Lilith loves it when Byron showers with her. In fact, she loves it so much, she puts off shaving until after the beach because she'll have to wash the salt and sand off anyway, it's fine. The whole feel of his hands gliding with soap over slick skin as they wash (and pleasure) each other... along with the eventual pin of passion, things like razors are soon forgotten. Through all the music and the echoing thumps, Lilith herself also echoes with her own noise that isn't singalong. She turns it down once they're out to dry with towels, though she doesn't turn it all the way off, she just makes it more ambient to hum along to while briskly rubbing the towel over her body. She's also full of more pep now that her body has been sexually kickstarted into giddy.

"Alright, so this is what I think for the morning and early afternoon..." While speaking, the brunette bends forward to flip her dark, wet hair and vigorously rough it up into a towel dried tangled mess for brushing out anew. Briefly, she pops out to get her hairbrush and lotion and toothbrush, then comes back in and continues, wet tangle of hair pitched over an eye as she makes a purring noise at Byron's body in passing back to the mirror and vanity, "I think we have a cup of coffee to feel functional here, but we don't eat. Instead, we go to this charming French Market I read about, get some little french ingredients, make a brunch together, and eat it on one of the terrace patios. It'll let me see a little town and it'll be fun to have kitchen time together like we do at home in this kitchen."

Putting the brush to her hair to start working it wet and smooth with comb through, Lilith looks at Byron in the reflecton while carrying on, not bothering with wearing her towel when she's totally through with it, "So by then it'll be a nice sunny summer afternoon and we can hit the beach and lounge and whatever else you have in mind? I don't really know what's available for water entertainment besides dolphin swimming, which I've done in Miami, and snorkeling, which... I don't give a shit about fish so much unless I'm catching or eating one."

Tossing the brush aside, she starts her lotion routine on her bare body, limb by limb to ensure signature silken and fragrant Lilith skin. Byron's probably seen her do it so much at this point, he knows exactly which limb she starts with, what comes next in which order, and where it all ends, "I do know that I want drinks that aren't wine while sun soaking, the kind with fruit and a good buzz. I don't usually go in on the sweet stuff when boozing, but it just feels appropriate to cocktail like that on a beach. Or, you know what? Beer. Is there a signature French beer? I can't think of one... doesn't matter, though. Also..."

Eventually she gets to where she's going for her toothbrush to stick under the water then into her mouth when she's done going on and on with what she's into for the day. It all still gives leeway to Byron, though, that whole afternoon and evening if he has plans or preferences before she claims him to 'gift' on return for the night.

"Which swimsuit should I wear? The teeny red two piece string bikini? Or you know... I have that one piece that isn't quite a one-piece, with the stomach drop front and all the cutouts to bare skin in style, it's black and snazzy and sexy too."

The master bath at his penthouse is no slouch compared to this, but it definitely didn't have the charm that one would find in a luxurious Italian villa. One could argue that they both had similar ocean views, but unlike in Gray Harbor, the sky was clear and sunny here. Another thing that the penthouse doesn't have is a sound system in the master bath. Or in any bath. It's something to consider, he supposes, along with getting a few more jets.

He'll help Lilith towel off before doing so himself, then he gets changed into French Riviera casual, throwing on a simple white oxford shirt with the top several buttons left undone and a tailored pair of chinos with some comfortable loafers on his feet. His hair is mostly left undone and natural rather than being gelled back the way he'll often wear it. Of course, he's wearing an expensive and stylish watch to go with similarly expensive shades, so while he may be dressed down, there's no denying that he's a man of some wealth.

"Gotta be honest, I can't wait for that first sip of coffee. The coffee here is excellent." Byron also has no problem with what she has on schedule for earlier in the day. A shopping trip into town was a great idea. They could snack on pastries before returning back to the villa to conjure up a delicious lunch. Staring at his reflection in the bedroom mirror, he runs a hand over the bristles of his beard, turning to view one side of his then the other. "There's a microbrewery somewhere around here, so if you're tired of wine and champagne and want something, well simple, we could drop by there and pick up a few bottles.

When he's asked the big question about swim attire, he pauses in this observation of himself (one might call it admiration), to turn and look over his shoulder to regard Lilith and her options. "I'd say to go all out and prepare to wow people, so the sexier the better." Returning to the mirror, he tacks on, "Not that you'd have a problem with that no matter what you wear. A sexy and stylish one piece sounds elegant enough, but what do I know? I expect you to turn heads when wearing a sack." To this he smiles, his gaze looking at Lilith's reflected image in the background.

The coffee and danishes were a success, giving an added pick-me-up to go with their late morning sex session in the shower. They even have time to pick up some French microbrewed beer after obtaining various ingredients that they'll need to make lunch. He informs her during the trip, "I've rented a boat, so we can swim out in the ocean and away from everyone if you'd like. Or just to see the magnificent views of all the beachfront villas."

After showering (and detouring to kiss Byron after his compliment and swimsuit advice), Lilith slips on a white peasant skirt that's airy with tiered ruffles and hem embroidery in splashes of color. There's a matching halter top with cropped stomach and bare back to match this long, billowy and stylish summertime skirt, sexy and sweet and semi-casual all at the same time. Sandals lace up her feet and her hair is left to air dry after some scrunching with product, letting it be a free spilling riot of waves in beachy fashion, further tousled by sea breezes blowing into the town while they shop and snack and prepare for later with beer (which Lilith is now excited about as it came from a French microbrewery).

Naturally, there's a leaning toward fresh French bread and cheeses like brie, grapes from the region, etc. as they shop, but there's also fresh eggs and green chives, butter and cream from a local farm for sale. She had checked for spices and dry ingredients that tend to stay in a kitchen and decides she's going to make a quiche when they get back to the villa. Meanwhile, they snack on all the breads and cheeses and shaved meats like deconstructed sandwiches (fancy Lunchables for adults).

"... you did? Then yes, and yes, both of those things! Laying in the sand with the public masses can't hold a candle to lounging at float on... what is probably a pretty nice boat, hm?"

Of course it's a nice boat, Byron wouldn't take her out there in a kayak or fishing trolly. How nice, though, she's unsure, given it's just them. Once they're back in the kitchen, Lilith sets to work on her quiche project while the man gets a call from his security guard that stayed with delay to keep tabs on Scarlett and Laurent. There's a few things imparted that don't seem urgent so much as suspicious, but the guy says he'll fly to catch up and go to their next stop ahead in Monaco.

He suggests this because Laurent Martin is apparently taking a flight to Monaco in two hours. See, the pair had been followed, but mostly they hadn't done much. They weren't staying in the hotel where they were bar lounging, they were staying at one a couple of blocks over. However, they showed around again the next day before Scarlett herself took a cab from there to the chateau they'd been put up at to supposedly prepare for a dinner party in the next day or two. Laurent stayed in Paris, went visiting and shopping, etc. It wasn't really that suspicious and the man was about to give up on tailing the night before and just go meet the rest of the security crew with Lilith and Byron.

But then Laurent came back to the hotel bar after Lilith and Byron were already gone on travel and apparently asked at the desk when they checked out. So the man stayed behind and followed the other man more closely, which lead to the airport, which is where this security guy is updating Byron from. Something is either very coincidental (it may be) or fishy for some unknown reason. Other than these details, though, the tail himself couldn't tell Byron anymore. There's been no Turner sighting (the guys know the photo).

Also, really, it's a good thing they had those danishes and bought such a variety of grazing for lunch-- Lilith's quiche skills are not good. It's raw in the middle and rough and rubbery on the edges and the bottom is burnt from uneven heat because she did some weird setting on the oven. Though she wanted to give Byron a French experience with lunch like a native or something, she can't help but laugh given the state of her quiche when it comes out-- the dish looks so wrong, it's not even really worth a taste unless the man is daring and trying to be silly sweet by eating some of it anyway.

Who can be upset about a damned quiche when they have a Riviera boat waiting on them?

One of the best things about vacationing in France is the food, so as they go about their day, Byron is happy to munch on some fancy cheese and breads while carrying anything and everything Lilith decides to purchase for lunch. The marketplace smelled wonderful with the aromatic scents of various spices. At her surprise by the fact that yes, he got them a boat, the dark haired entrepreneur can't help but beam with pride, even if he informs Lilith that the boat belongs to the guy who owned the villa they were staying at. "He's sown interest in the casino when I last spoke to him, so you might get a chance to meet him if he shows up in Gray Harbor. Right now, I believe he is in New York and apologized for being unable to meet, but he also wished you a Happy Birthday."

Once they back at the villa and everything is unpacked, Byron reaches for his phone to check for any messages. At that exact time the phone rings and he lets Lilith know that he has to take the call. He won't be long. The information given him is quite interesting and he's not quite sure how he feels about what was told to him. He thanks Harold for the heads up and lets him now that they'll meet up at some point. There doesn't seem to be any other messages which is annoying.

Returning to the kitchen, he lets Lilith cook for him and simply watches or hands her some ingredient or other, but for the most part, he remains hands-off... hands off on the cooking, not hands off from the chef. See, when the quiche is served looking rather sad, of course Byron will take a small portion for himself. He even makes light of the issue, lifting up his newly opened bottle of beer in a toast before digging in, "If anything, I'm sure the beer will be more than helpful, lending the quiche some flavor."

He then takes a little bite. While it's not overly terrible, it is somewhat bland. He tries his best not to show it, but he sure is eating the dish slowly. "Just think, this is your first step in preparing French Cuisine." He then goes to chug on some special Frenchie beer.

After lunch and gathering a basket full of snacks with beer and wine and lots of bottles of water, he leads the way to the docks where their boat awaits. It's a sleek beauty of a boat, seats six and has adequate indoor and deck seating. He even gets to show off his boating skills, something he'd picked up when spending time with Vivian's parents-- her father, really.

"Make yourself at home and I'll take us out."

When Byron goes being cute and eats the quiche for the sake of amusing/humoring/charming Lilith, she stands there with her hands on her hips watching him a moment. Her lips press into a flat line like she's trying pretty hard not to break into a laugh anew, then she decides she should probably try it too in the sake of fairness. Also she should probably try to taste what else she might have done wrong to make it cook so funny. She leans in and opens her mouth for the man to feed her a bite, then makes a skeptical, uncertain face while she chews. Afterwards, a drink is pretty due, that really is bland and the texture is all weird. But even though the main course of lunch isn't happening for them, it doesn't make a dent in the mood.

In fact, Lilith even comments while going for the stairs to get into her suit without much dallying now that she knows they have a whole damn boat to water lounge and sightsee with, "I'm actually a little glad that I ruined the quiche..." Stealing a glance over her shoulder at the man with a vague smile, she finishes with, "I get nervous when everything is going too well at length, generally, as a rule. At least now I know this is absolutely all real and not me in a coma having a French dream avec toi, mon amour."

The woman is pretty fascinated with the boat when they get there and immediately loses her shoes, then regrets it when part of the decking she walks on is hot from the sun. It makes her skip hop laugh with 'ow ow' and turns her focus to the shaded areas for now. She goes all over checking this and that after dumping off their supplies, then immediately tosses off her billowy white suit cover-up to throw onto the deck with dramatic flutter. Turning to model her suit properly in the sun, Lilith half-spins and juts her hips while turning to look at Byron with slide of her dark sunglasses down her nose. It's barely a one piece, there's so much cutout and mesh and cleavage and bared side, back, and stomach, but she was right about it being an amazing suit.

Then she fully turns with a sudden realization that it's seriously going to just be her and Byron because he's going to pilot the boat, which she shouldn't find that surprising, but apparently, it's hot. After looking at the man with a sudden lopsided and utterly charmed grin, she pushes her sunglasses back up where they belong and turns back to the view, purringly commenting, "Hottest damn boat captain I've ever seen. Sail me to the moon, baby."

Some of Lilith's words has Byron pondering about the events leading up to this vacation. All her life she had to worry about one thing or another and with the shadows looming ever closely in the hopes to snuff out her light, or so he believes, she had every reason to be paranoid. He lets her know that this was no a dream (Not even a Dream with the capital D), reassuring her with a kiss. He then flashes her a playful smile, "I won't go as far as to say that the quiche was ruined. Maybe if we heat it up some more, the gooey innards might be more edible. And toss in a bit more chives." Not that he expects them to eat leftovers for dinner that evening.

As they board the boat, he pauses i his step when Lilith feels the burn of the deck against her newly bared feet. "I should've warned you that the deck would be sizzling hot. I have some bottles of water in the cooler if you want something to drink. You can cool your feet off in the bathroom below deck." As he speaks, his sunglass shielded eyes follow the length of Lilith's curved form in the swimsuit he'd helped her choose.

While they were alone aboard the boat, there were other boats and yachts very much like theirs that are both sailing and floating in the waters. Their privacy was limited unless Byron drove out further away from shore, but he settles for a nice middle ground. Part of the fun was to admire the other boats and their partying crew and there's the occasional speed boats and jet skis that zoom on by.

When at the helm of the boat, Byron looks all serious. Not wanting to mess anything up, but he does call out to her, "I'll get us out there, but if something goes haywire we might need to call the coast guard. Just a warning." Obviously, he's teasing and eventually, when he picks the perfect spot, he joins her back in the shaded seating area, plopping down beside her as he reaches for a beer in the cooler.

"Need help reapplying sunscreen?" It was /hot/ here, which makes it a great location for sunbathing. As it's been on his mind for past hour or so now, he will casually bring up, bottle of sunscreen in hand, "We might see some familiar faces when we get to Monaco. I'm told that Laurent had taken a flight there. Curiously, he even inquired about when we'd checked out." He pauses after squiring some of the goo in his the palm of his hand, "Did you message you with a 'Sorry I missed you'?"

Lilith seems to like watching Byron maneuver the boat as much as she likes looking out at the view. She doesn't tease him for his serious face or play any sexy/touchy/kissy/naughty distractions either, which is nice and responsible of her. She just kind of grins while watching with her chair turned, expression fond for him and enthralled with the scenery and excitement of motion propelling over water on such a boat in such a place. And when they setup to float and lounge there with gentle rock of the water, she seems to like looking at the boats around them too, what the others are doing on those boats, etc.

Besides. If the moment called for it, she'd probably get naked with him right here on the boat anyway, people or no people, all for the thrill. Privacy in full is not necessarily needed for such things. And they're far enough away from others anyway that she can turn on their own music through the boat's bluetooth using her phone and drown out most of whatever mixes of music are coming from others, setting their own personal soundtrack for the afternoon on the Riviera waters. She doesn't turn on the club beats, though, instead she puts on a more ambient rock to fill the air around them at a comfortable level, mostly Pink Floyd.

Then after swigging from her already cracked into beer, she shifts over to share Byron's seat with him as an answer to the sunscreen question, already gathering up her hair to hold. Initially, she looks back over her shoulder to kiss the air in thanks at the man as he prepares to work her over with sunscreen starting where she definitely can't reach on her own. But then she does a bit of a double take at his words after, "No, I honestly haven't used my phone to text anyone since we've been on trip, even work. I told the shop only to call if they got robbed. But.."

With her face turned just so, Byron can see Lilith's lashes batting behind the lenses of her glasses in profile and the sudden confused bother and subsequent hard thought that comes afterwards, "Seriously? I suppose it's not that odd to want to try and catch me for another drink or something while he knew I was staying there. But talking to the desk in combination with a trip to Monaco right before we show there?" After wetting her lips, though, she admits, "I don't see why he'd be in Monaco for us, though. He really might just have work there. You-know-who wouldn't need to hire him to do surveillance. It's bizzare either way, honestly, coincidence or no. Was he alone?"

Though he's sure that Lilith already knows, Byron does decide to remind as he rubs her shoulders and down her bared back, "If you really wanted to get an all over tan, no one will be upset if you took it all off." His touch is gentle against her skin, covering every inch of her soft flesh that's exposed to him. "Most of all, not me." That is said with a cheeky little grin.

From playful to curious, Byron isn't about to make a huge deal about this new development. He comes out to agree with Lilith here, "I'm sure it's a work thing. Still, it's good to be cautious, but not to the point of paranoia." Says someone who tends to be paranoid about certain aspects of his life. And for good reason." Once his hands are clear of sunscreen, he grabs his own bottle for a much needed drink. "I'll have to inquire further, but I believe he's alone." He then asks, "Why? I'll assume that he and Scarlett don't always work together?"

Putting a rest to the lathering up of Lilith with lotion, not that it's a daunting task or anything, he settles in closely beside her, "Hopefully, it's nothing. For all of our sakes. My guy is heading straight to Monaco to meet us there. I mean, the last thing that I want to hear on our vacation is a play-by-play of someone from your past."

"No, but I thought maybe he was escorting someone else there, or..." Lilith doesn't say it, and she doesn't really expect it so much, but paranoia flashed the idea that maybe he met up with Turner. But the security guys would know the man, most likely, and would have told Byron that. Looks aside, the billionaire developer tends to take up a lot of air in the room and stand out with bearing alone, he's hard to miss, especially when someone is literally being paid to know that face and name.

After a click of her tongue, Lilith turns in full to nab the sunscreen to stand with, moving around the back of the chair to give Byron his turn of rub and sunscreen protection in doting turn, "But you're right. There's better things to focus on. For instance, I am going to get naked out here on the water, but not yet because I still feel sexy in the suit." Her eyes behind the sunglasses look out at the other boats distantly positioned at various places in the water around where they've parked to float and lounge, "Also, I'm afraid to swim in the ocean without one in case a fish bites my nips. We're going to do that swimming thing before I strip down-- then we can keep the nip-situation all yours when it comes to teeth."

While it's kind of a ridiculous paranoia, she actually seems a little serious about protecting her lady bits while immersed in the ocean, on principle. Most people would be more afraid of the sunburn and attention and eyes while piddling around in public naked (if distanced from others). Lilith may not be a huge narcissist, but she gets exhibitionist rises, it would seem, when it comes to her and Byron. She seems to be turned on by the very idea of having him in front of others, having it known he's taking her, so if there's ego about her showing off, it is partially tied to feeding his ego and showing off what a piece of man she has.

But for now, she seems content to lounge and talk and drink beer before hitting the water, not at all dwelling on the matter of Laurent or any other sketchy potential matter, "What's your favorite part of France?"

Byron didn't want to worry Lilith about Turner or nonsense like that and they still had a few more days left of this trip. Does he regret bringing Laurent up? There is a part of him that wanted to withhold that bit of information, but he felt that Lilith would know Laurent better than anyone he sent over to spy on the guy in such a short span of time. And she wanted him to be truthful with her. She'd said as much when she threatened to walk home that one night in his car.

With his turn being up for being slathered by sunscreen, he unbuttons the rest of his shirt to lay neatly off to the side. There's one thing that he makes sure to say in regards to whatever Lilith felt like doing be it for swimming or sunbathing, "Admittedly, I enjoy watching you in that swimsuit. It's damn sexy. You can keep it on and wave over at," His chin lifts to direct her attention to one of the closer floating vessels. A boat similar to the one they were in now.

However, when she goes on about fish biting at her nips, Byron's mood lightens considerably. "If that's the case, it's probably not the best of ideas if I said, I was considering going all-in." And when he says all-in, he means completely naked. After she sunscreens his back, he turns so that she can run her hands over his chest. Of course, this is something that he can do himself, but he knows just how much Lilith enjoys touching every part of his body. So it was like a treat for them both.

"Mmm... What do you think my favorite part of France is? It's not the commute from city to city that's for sure." He honestly doesn't have to think too hard on this even if his answer is awfully cliche, "That I got to visit one of the most beautiful countries in the world with the most beautiful woman in the world."

Lilith is certainly hands-on thorough about the sunscreen on Byron's body. UV protection is so important, right? Really, she's hamming it up with those fingers and palms, though, while applying the coconut-tinged sunscreen. It's as much a wandering tactile roam of the man's back, shoulders, and chest and torso that's turning into a thorough drag of rubbing massage, eyes briefly following to where Byron is indicating. And when she's finished tending to him, she looks at the view and the man in turns, then down at herself with a vague twist of lips in considering, clearly formulating an idea.

It's interrupted for a good few heartbeats, whatever that idea is, because Byron's answer to her question seems to actually surprise her, cliche or not. He's very likely to say such things, so it's not so much what he said, so much as... well, she was expecting him to actually name a place since he's been to France before for good comparisons, not say something sweet. Timing definitely matters when a man wants to schmooze. She doesn't roll her eyes or grab him into speechless kiss, instead, she pushes the glasses up onto her head, then reaches to do the same to his so they're eyes for eyes, because she knows exactly what he means-- the places are nice, but at the end of the day, they're immersive backdrop, it's how you spend the time and who you spend it with that really packs the happy vacation punches.

"That's my favorite part too. Let's swim naked like brave hedonists. But before we do..."

Lilith goes to strike a pose at the front rails of the boat with all the lovely backdrop and models for photos after yes, waving at the nearby boats when she catches on she's being watched. Then she makes Byron do the same, along with a posed stint in the boat's captain seat. Then it's time to drink beer, lay out, listen to music and get nice and hot under the sun's rays, because Lilith says it will make the swimming better and she needs to be brave to fight all the fish away. Lazily and happily, they lounge themselves to buzzed level before stripping down near the ladder off of the boat into the water with absolutely no cares given for the vessels and viewers in the varied distance all around.

But do they use that ladder to get in? Of course not. They jump with carefree vacation-style splash, near simultaneously. They do, however, use the ladder as a support to fuck in that water before some bouts of floating, splashing, and swim racing around the boat until their limbs are jelly, naked as can be. The naked perpetuates even onto the deck where they lie out in the dropping late afternoon sunshine on the deck loungers with more music and beer and bliss.

But eventually, they return to the docks and Lilith slips into a skirt to go with her coverup and sandals, hair beachy tangles and waves while drying. Instead of having a fancy dinner, they have a very nice light dinner at a ritzy cafe with a sunset view after all the beer, then bring a decadent dessert home that they saw in the window of a closing local bakery while walking. Once they're inside with that dessert, though, they leave it in the name of showering off the salt and sand, then come down to eat the layered (pretty) cream cake improperly with forks from the box while still in bathrobes, champagne accompanying. At some point, though...

Lilith seems to have lost an earring? After some bats of lashes, before they can even get romantic, she feels at an earlobe. Then the hunt is on, because it's one of the diamond ones that Byron has gifted her and she likes that pair! She puts the man on downstairs, step-retracing search duty that includes a flashlight out on the walk, all the way out into the sidewalk and garden detour they took on the way inside during dusk. It's something that takes him a while and he doesn't find an earring. Lilith is searching the bathroom and upstairs and second floor, but when he comes up to find her and see if she had any luck, the bedroom door is closed.

Byron's not the sort to burn, but he tans nicely enough. And the sun in Southern France at this time of year is brilliant in the clear sky. It's not often that he has the time to go swimming out in Gray Harbor's bay (or the pond with the dead bodies), so he's been itching to dip more than his toes into the ocean this summer, being so used to the California weather during his university years. The day was both relaxing and invigorating all the same, especially due to literally rocking the boat in fiery summer passion. There's no doubt that other boaters may have caught glimpses of what was going on, but hey, this was France! The calm and cozy dinner was a welcome change. It meant that Byron didn't have to dress himself up which he expects to do once they hit Monaco. For now things moved at a wonderful slow pace.

Despite having some odd run-ins with a suspicious pair of escorts, everything was going by perfectly... until Lilith is missing one half of an expensive pair of earrings. Of course, Byron wants to go looking for it. Not that he's cheap, but as someone who wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth, expensive luxuries were something to be cherished and he didn't want Lilith feeling terribly for having lost something that valuable on their trip.

Backtracking to everywhere that they'd been, save from returning to the boat just yet, though he figures she wouldn't have been wearing something that extravagant on a boating trip, there's a rise of frustration building up in him because he doesn't like to lose nor disappoint, especially with how important this trip was for her. He even tasks some of his security team to help look. That's how important finding the earring was to him.

He hesitates to return to her with bad news, but the later it got in the day, he figured he'd let her know that he had put his team on it, just so they both didn't have to go searching all through the night. He even wonders if one of the villa staff may have taken it. Everyone is suspect in his mind. Finding the door to the bedroom closed, he recalls Lilith was supposed to be in there searching. Maybe she'd given up and was resting. Either way, he brings a hand up to knock, but rather than give her some warning, he slowly pushes the door forward. Did he think something was wrong or that things felt off? Maybe. In his mind, it's always best to be cautious even if it means skulking around.

Lilith never lost an earring, Byron's senses that something else is amiss or askew is pretty on point. Of course, he wouldn't much suspect she'd lie about such a thing in the name of sending him on a frustrating wild goose chase. Would she...?

(She did.)

When Byron pushes open the door to the master suite of the estate, he comes into a space that's been partially transformed from the villa bedroom it was when he was in there prior. The lights are dimmed to a sensual, ambient level and there's some indie low ambient rock that's dark, droning, and sexy playing over the speaker system to fill backdrop space and set mood. The doors to the balcony are pushed open to let a balmy summer salt breeze fan through, occasionally flickering a multitude of gently fragrant candles she's collected from around the villa to light in varied places around the bedroom space.

There's other differences and key items and details too, but Lilith herself is a major detail in the room. The woman clearly was expecting Byron would be up at any time and she has taken the time she was supposed to be searching not only to transform the room space and prepare for an evening, but she's also transformed herself. Even with her back and side mostly turned toward the man when he walks in, he can see it, the way she's curled and dried her hair and put on red lips with sultry sweeps of eyeliner and darkened lashes. With a lock of the arranged hair tucked behind her ear, he can also see she's wearing the diamond earrings (yes, as a set).

Lilith is also wearing full dominatrix lingerie attire in some black leather approximation. The tiny, cleavage pushing bra top is chased by a corset waist cincher as a separate piece on her torso, gap of flat and smooth abdomen flesh bared low to the triangle of tiny, sexy panties she has on. There's a garter belt with snaps down on black lace mesh thigh highs, but her tall boots come up almost to the bands of the hosiery. And while she stands waiting with killer sexy and confident posturing, she continues to look at the view instead of the man, even though she hears the door. Her head, however, turns toward her shoulder with knowing acknowledgement of the expected party.

The brunette doesn't say anything yet, or turn. Instead, she waits for Byron to catch on that he's been had by design. She clearly needed to occupy him fully if she wanted to spring this on him unsuspecting, and she did just that. But eventually, she makes a slow turn and he can see her hands are playing with one of his red silk ties.

<FS3> Lilith rolls Dominatrix+Presence: Amazing Success (8 8 8 7 6 6 6 5 1 1) (Rolled by: Lilith)

Byron is slow to enter, taking careful steps as the door is slowly pushed open. Perhaps it's his being a part of the criminal element that makes him ever cautious. You never know what enemies you've made-- then again, the same can be said about entering the game of the filthy rich. Those who had enough power (and money) to crush anyone. Grant Turner falls into that category.

The low mood music isn't too unusual and he can only assume Lilith had put it on to keep her mood up while searching. The change within the room, though, is something that he immediately recognizes, being as attentive as he is. However, that minor staging pales in comparison to the figure that captures his attention in full. He can recognize that figure and that perfect ass anywhere, so if the woman in the room were anyone other than Lilith, he'd probably be able to tell unless she were of an incredibly similar height and build.

Well, this was amusing... Whatever annoyance and frustration he'd felt just moments ago seemed to have faded, despite seen the twinkling of those expensive diamond earrings at her lobes. To that, he has shake his head slowly, a tight grin at his lips. "I swear..." Yes, he spent quite a while searching!

The outfit was one thing, complete with those tall boots that cover the entirety of her shapely long legs. He's see her like this before in glimpses of memories attached to that one silk cord that she'd given him. She just never dolled herself up in full gear in his presence. There was something dangerous and exciting about it all and with a brief look over his shoulder, taking a single step back, he calls out to the security guy closest to the door, "Call off the search. You and Grinnich keep watch for the night. Monty takes day shift." With that, he quietly shuts the door behind him.

Now that they won't be bothered by his security detail unless in dire emergency, he takes a slow approach towards Lilith, his gaze sweeping over the magnificence of her form as he draws near. "You could have tasked me with something less frustrating if this were your game, Lilith." A quick, dramatic pause, "I am allowed to call you Lilith?"

Lilith doesn't apologize for the ruse and pointless search she sent Byron on like she might any other time. The brunette doesn't even break expression to smile at the man or look at him with any playful posing, sweet fondness, or sexy doting, as typical, even on their more daring and rough nights. Part of what makes sex between them so charged is the way he can feel her wanting so wholly and even when she's in control, he feels her pride in being hishishis. All those dirty, naughty things she does to him, what she does for him, what she bids out of him, it's all catered to and driven by Byron even when he doesn't have the reins.

Right now, her allure is different, her posture is different, and she's ungodly sexy at the moment, yes, but she's not his woman right now. It's the difference he can't quite explain, the way she's went and changed the game to make herself untouchable somehow, while standing right in front of him. There's a serious air about her that is utter control, and when she finally moves from survey into a slow walk his way, he sees it all shift into motion, seeping through her posture into her very demeanor, rolling through her hips and thighs when she strides.

"Je suis ta maîtresse. Je n'ai pas de nom... tu n'as pas de nom."

It’s very well practiced French.