The Most Valuable Gift

Ed nodded but felt somehow responsible.

The small boat began ferrying the passengers back to shore. Kat gave Ed a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek before she joined Sergo on the small craft. Ed got one more glare from Sergo before the boat left.

"Should I have let him drown?" Ed asked no one in particular and Dale chuckled.

Soon it was their turn. They were picked up by their shuttle and went back to the hotel. After getting cleaned up they met for dinner in the main dining hall.

Ed immediately ordered a Piña Colada and was delighted to hear they served them on the beach as well. Dale had booked a small cabana for the following day so they could enjoy the beach in style. Ed wasn't sure how he felt about that. He might want to lie on his towel in the sand. After all this was another first.

Dinner arrived and they talked and ate until the restaurant began to shut down. As they had all had a long nap they moved over to the bar and continued to talk. Now drinks were involved and Ed was discovering which drinks he really liked. The rest were discovering what a light weight Ed was when it came to drinking. It got away from him and he became very drunk. At 1AM Rachel announced it was time to take Ed to bed. They were all feeling a little happy but Ed was very mellow. She put his arm over her shoulder and guided him out. Tristan had to take his other side, Dale getting the doors.

Ed began to purr from the softness pressing on both sides of his body and something woke up. Tristan noticed first as she was looking down to watch their step on the stairs.

"How is that possible with all the booze in his system?" she commented to Dale.

"Ah, never underestimate the power of the young, male libido!" he quipped and Rachel snorted.

Dale and Tristan left them at the door and Rachel got Ed inside and onto the bed. He tugged her on top of himself and ran his hands down her back. His kiss wasn't that skilled but he made up for that in passion. Soon Rachel had her dress off and was sliding his hard cock into her mouth. She was already wet but she wanted Ed good and slippery in case he was a little too aggressive. She climbed on top of him and slowly impaled herself on his thick shaft.

"Ooooh Rachel... you feeeeel sooooo gooooood. You're sooooo sexy!"

She grinned down at his euphoric expression. She felt so sexy and it felt pretty incredible for her too. She wasn't getting the depth she got when he was driving down into her from above with her legs held back but this was pretty damn good too.

She began to rise up and drop down until she got into a steady pattern. She felt the build-up begin as sparks shot through her.

Ed's need was a runaway train. He couldn't take the slow pace Rachel was setting. He reached up and took her large tits in his hands. He squeezed them and tugged on her nipples.

"FUCK! OH FUCK EDWARD!" she wailed as lightning shot between her abused nipples and her pussy. He was being so rough but she was so fucking turned on! She gave in to the pressure on her nipples and lay across his body. His hands were in her hair next and he was kissing her, hard. Ed's hips began to thrust up on their own, driving his thick cock deep into her. He released her hair and his hands moved to her ass. He squeezed the flesh there, feeling its delicious firmness, and his pounding became more insistent.

"AAAHHH! OH GOD! TAKE ME, EDWARD! TAKE ME!" she yelled as she was swept up in his desperate need.

Ed moved one hand up to squeeze one of Rachel's incredible tits as his other hand slipped down between her ass cheeks. He rubbed the sensitive flesh between her pussy and her ass and she began to grind herself against his pelvis, moaning constantly.

When he sucked her nipples into his mouth and gently scraped his teeth across the sensitive areola Rachel went into convulsions. Ed resumed his pounding up into her pussy as he was so very close. It only took a dozen or so thrusts for him to reach his release. Rachel was clinging to him making incoherent sounds as her body trembled. He took her head between his big hands and kissed her lips tenderly. She moaned once more and he felt her pussy squeezing down hard on his spent cock.

Ed sagged to the bed and Rachel lay stretched out over his body. She had no energy to move and neither did he. So that's how they fell asleep.

-=-

Breakfast the next morning found four people with different levels of hangover. Dale was the best off and only had to limit his morning run to three miles.

Next came Tristan who seemed to have excellent rebound capabilities. She'd taken her pain killer and had drunk a huge bottle of water before going to bed the night before.

For Rachel it wasn't so much the drink as the enthusiastic sex afterwards. She was aching badly though just thinking about the previous evening's sex sent gentle waves of bliss through her body. As long as she didn't move. Or put too much pressure on her ass. Or walk too fast. Or touch her nipples. She had to get home again so the other ladies in Ed's life could share in this and give her a little respite. She allowed herself another trip down recent memory lane and sighed. Tristan watched her with mixed feelings.

Ed. Ed was suffering. He'd forgotten to drink water while he was drinking booze and he was majorly dehydrated. His head was pounding and the thought of food wasn't sitting well with him. He had a large bottle of cold water in front of him which he was sipping at constantly. Rachel promised him he would feel better by lunchtime. He'd taken painkillers in the room before they marched over to the restaurant. Worse, he saw she was in pain this morning and he had no memory of what they'd done. His recollection ended sometime in the bar the previous night. He'd apologized a number of times but she told him she didn't regret a second of it and he should let it go. He still felt bad... in that way too.

"It's a very good thing we didn't plan anything energetic for today. The beach cabana is ready and waiting. It's number 3," Dale said.

The smell of the food in the restaurant was getting to Ed. "If you don't mind I'm going to head over to the cabana now."

"Don't forget to put your lotion on," Rachel reminded him.

He nodded then winced. He got up gingerly and made his way out of the restaurant.

"Do you think he'll ever drink again?" Dale grinned.

"Oh yes! He said as much this morning. He will be smarter about it next time though. His words," Rachel smiled.

That drew a chuckle from the couple.

"What about you? You seem a little shaky this morning," Dale asked obliviously.

Rachel smiled gently. "Remember his excitement last night? We got a little carried away. Actually more than a little. Having him all to myself has proven to be more than I can handle." She looked over at two red faces. "Oh my god! Too much information! I can't believe I just said that! Please forgive me! I've just become so comfortable in your company. It already feels like you're part of my circle of friends."

Dale and Tristan were secretly delighted that Rachel felt that way but she was right about too much information. Dale was trying to keep the image of Ed and Rachel having sex out of his mind. Tristan was trying to deny the image of Ed making love to her.

They had their breakfast though conversation was rather subdued then went out to the cabana. They found Ed passed out on a lounge chair on his stomach. He'd tried to put lotion on his back but fell asleep trying. Rachel pleaded for Tristan to do it as she was still feeling too sore to lean over Ed's large body.

Tristan rubbed the lotion on as efficiently as she could and did her best to think of things other than how strong he felt under her hands. Ed woke up and thanked her for finishing the job. She barely resisted the urge to give his butt a spank when she finished. She looked over at Dale who was wearing a grin on his face as he saw his wife's flustered expression. Amused was he? Tristan gave Ed's ass a slap after all. "All done," she said and went to lie down on her own lounge chair avoiding everyone's shocked looks.

Ed's ass cheek was smarting from the hard slap and Tristan's hand was sore for quite some time though she ignored it. He looked over at Rachel who just raised her eyebrows. The four did their best to relax after that.

The wait staff were diligent in ensuring the guests were offered drinks and snacks at reasonable intervals and just before lunch Ed graduated from water to pineapple juice.

When lunch rolled around he was ravenous and practically dragged the group over to the beach bar. He ordered a burger and fries. He insisted to Tristan that she order her own fries this time and she giggled. All was good again.

They were discussing Ed's drinking strategy for the party cruise the following day when two police officers walked into the Beach Bar and were directed over to their table. Dale recognized them as the two friends of Captain Dan.

"Hello. I'm looking for an Edward Walters," one of the officers said.

"That's me," Ed said.

"I'm Constable Broome and this is Constable Reid. Do you know a Sergo Zoidze?"

"I met a Sergo on a catamaran cruise yesterday but I never got his last name."

"We understand there was an argument on the trip between you, Miss Katrina Melua, and Mr. Sergo Zoidze." Broome said.

"They were arguing and I asked them to keep it down and they walked away. Not much of an argument really," Ed said reasonably.

"Did the witnesses also mention Edward saved Sergo's life?" Rachel said exasperated. The officers looked at each other.

"No, that was not mentioned. What happened," Constable Reid asked Ed.

"Tristan and I were snorkeling and we heard Kat, I mean Katrina cry for help. I dove under and pulled Sergo up. He wasn't breathing. I pulled him to the catamaran and performed CPR on him until he started breathing on his own. I'm surprised you didn't find any witnesses because it felt like everyone was watching," Ed explained.

Once more the constables shared a look. "One last question. Where were you between the hours of 10PM and midnight last night."

"We were all in the bar last night from ten until one in the morning. You can ask Victor the bartender and the waitresses who worked last night," Dale said and frowned. "What's this about?"

"Mr. Zoidze died last night. His body was found on the rocks at the base of a small cliff a few kilometers east of here. The fall killed him but it looked like he was in a fight. Miss Melua is also in the hospital. She's unconscious and has been badly beaten. She was found on the side of the road not far from where Mr. Zoidze's body was found. They were likely together when the attack occurred."

"Katrina broke up with Sergo on the boat trip. She was going to move back in with her mother when they flew home. He wasn't very nice to her. He kicked her." Ed said with a scowl.

Eyebrows went up and more notes were taken. "So Mr. Zoidze was abusive to Miss Melua?"

"Well... we witnessed one example of this behavior." Dale asserted.

"Can we go see her?" Ed asked.

"She's unconscious so today is probably not a good day to do this. We still have to take her statement so it would be better if you gave her a couple of days." Constable Broome indicated. "Thank you very much for your cooperation." With nods and smiles the Constables left and headed in the direction of the bar. No doubt looking for the staff who could confirm their alibi.

The table was quiet for a minute.

"I should have let him drown."

Dale looked sharply at Ed who wasn't angry as he expected him to be with such a statement but instead he looked deeply distraught.

"Son, there was no way you could have known this would happen. You can't see into the minds of others and know their intentions. Sergo was obviously a troubled man. She's free of him now at least."

"At what cost?" Ed asked.

More silence. Finally Rachel broke it with a suggestion. "How about we go visit her on Friday? That gives her some time to heal and the police time to get her story."

Ed's funk lightened considerably as he looked over at Rachel. He nodded. The rest did as well. They finished up their lunch and went back to the cabana.

After relaxing for a bit Ed got fidgety so he decided to go for a walk along the beach. This turned into a jog and lasted for more than an hour. When he finally got back Rachel looked relieved.

"You were gone for quite some time. I was getting worried," she said.

"Sorry about that. I just needed to burn off some energy. That story about Sergo and Kat really upset me," he explained.

"Are you feeling better now?" Rachel asked.

"Much better. Thanks! I'm still looking forward to visiting the hospital on Friday."

Rachel smiled at him. He ran down the beach and into the water to cool off. He swam around and saw Tristan was in the water too. He swam over to her.

"The water is beautiful!" he called out and she started from the daze she had been in. She turned to see it was Ed.

"Yes, it's very refreshing!"

"I've never been on a party boat before. What's it like?" he asked, thinking about their scheduled activity the next day.

"I don't know. I've never been on one either but it looked fun in the brochure," she replied.

Ed grinned and bounced to rise over an incoming wave. The ocean really was more interesting on this end of the island. He couldn't imagine spending time on the still side of the island.

They bobbed in the waves for a little while longer then made their way back up to the cabana. After he dried himself off Rachel directed him to sit at the end of her chair and she put lotion on his back again.

Ed found himself zoning out again. The fresh air, the soft breeze, the sun and heat, and Rachel's gentle touch combined to lull him into a calm state of Zen. She had to give him a push to get him to move over to his own chair before he flaked out.

When he woke up the others were chatting quietly. Rachel noticed him blinking sleep from his eyes.

"Hey there sleepy head!" she smiled.

"This is the most relaxing place in the world," he sighed getting chuckles from the others.

"It's almost dinner time. We were thinking of taking a taxi to a local restaurant for some fresh lobster." Dale said.

"Sounds good!" Ed replied.

They went back to their rooms and got dressed up nice. Dale called them to indicate they had reservations. Rachel was wearing her sexy gold cocktail dress once more and Ed's attention was naturally drawn to her beauty. The thought of making love to Ed in her current state wasn't so appealing. She actually considered changing outfits to tone down his excitement.

"You know I can see that look of fear in your eye and I'm not so dense that I can't tell you're in pain," Ed said quietly.

Rachel froze.

"I would never force myself on you and I don't have to have sex every night. I do like to appreciate your beauty by looking though, if you don't mind," he said quietly.

She felt ashamed. She'd been treating him like a wild beast instead of a reasonable man.

"I'm sorry Edward. Of course I don't mind you looking. I love you looking. I just can't keep up with your drive," she apologized.

"I guess I haven't been very gentle. I'm truly sorry about that. It's hard to control myself around you and the booze certainly doesn't help."

She moved close and gave him a tender kiss.

"I love you, beautiful lady" he said when she pulled back and tingles went through her body.

"I love you too big man!" she replied huskily. He pressed his lips to her forehead.

They made their way down to the lobby and waited only a few minutes for Tristan and Dale to join them. The taxi ride to the restaurant was very nice as they got to see the nearby hotels lit up. They drove down a small road to stop in front of a lovely restaurant on a small bay. They were shown to a table overlooking the water and spent the first few minutes just absorbing the ambience. It was a magical night as the stars were out and the lack of light pollution allowed them to see them so much better than at home.

The lobster was yet another unique experience for Ed and the others had to show him the proper methods for extracting the meat. Occasionally, the over use of force caused lobster meat to become airborne and giggles issued from the ladies.

"This meal involves too much work!" Ed finally announced.

"But it's good?" Dale asked with a grin.

"Oh yes, the food is delicious but if it weren't for this napkin I think I'd be wearing more of my meal than I'm eating," he said with a wry grin.

Afterwards he checked and he'd spared his clothes from a butter bath. He sighed until he saw the chunk of meat stuck to his knee. He had no idea how it rolled down there.

"Damn! These are my last clean pants," he grumbled.

"We'll send them out for cleaning tonight. You'll have them back for tomorrow night when we get back from the party cruise." Rachel insisted and Ed smiled at her in thanks.

They took a taxi back to the hotel and made plans to meet for breakfast the following morning.

When they got to the room Rachel found the laundry bag and asked Ed to put all the clothes he wanted washed into it. Ed knew he was almost out of swim trunks so he added those to the bag. Tomorrow morning he'd put on the ones he'd left on the balcony to dry.

They ordered some drinks and once they arrived they sat on the balcony looking up at the stars. The drink went to Ed's head and he decided to go to bed. He gave Rachel a kiss as she wanted to stay out just a little longer as she was enjoying her wine.

She sighed with happiness. While she wasn't looking forward to going back to the cold at the end of their trip she wasn't dreading going home to an empty home or being alone any longer. It was a miracle she never failed to thank the stars above every chance she got. She did her little ritual of thanks then got up to go inside. She noticed a pair of shorts on the floor of the balcony. She picked them up and saw how sandy they were. Boys! She carried them inside.

Ed was already snoring softly so she went to the room's door and confirmed the laundry bag was still there. She tucked the dirty pair of trunks into the bag then went to bed. Snuggling in next to the big man she was able to fall asleep in less than a minute.

-=-

Ed was becoming very frustrated. He'd had his shower and padded out to the balcony wrapped in only his towel to get his shorts but they weren't there. He looked over the edge of the balcony at the bushes below thinking maybe the wind blew them off the balcony. Maybe? Nothing.

He went back inside and checked the dresser drawers once more. No shorts. No bathing suits... well, one but he wasn't wearing that one. He went into the bathroom and checked the hooks behind the door but no suit. He heard movement in the bedroom. Ah! Good, Rachel was up. He went out to ask her.

"Are you done with the bathroom?" she asked him.

"Yes, it's all yours. Did you see a pair of swim trunks on the balcony last night? I can't find them."

She thought for a second. "Oh! Yes, I picked them up off the floor. They were filthy so into the laundry bag they went."

Ed's face dropped.

"What- what's wrong?" Rachel said seeing his expression.

"Those were my last trunks."

Rachel pulled open his drawer and saw the jammers right on top. "What do you mean? You have these- ohhhh."

"I'm not wearing those on a party boat with a bunch of strangers!" he said with an annoyed tone.

Rachel looked at him and saw the frustration on his face. "I'm sorry Edward. The shorts on the balcony were very dirty. I had no idea you planned on wearing them." She thought for a moment. "You could put these on and wrap your towel around your waist like a kilt. That could work."

"What do I do when I want to go in the water?" he asked.

"Take off the towel and get in the water. No one will see you underwater. Put the towel back on when you get back on the boat."