Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 125140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
His face falls. “What the fuck are you doing here?” He snarls.
“What?” I whisper, shocked by his venom.
“You can’t be on here! I docked the boat to get you to safety and you fucking came back?” He’s angry, furious, in fact.
“I missed you, too,” I whisper through my hurt.
He shakes his head. “This ship is about to become a fucking nightmare and I can’t protect you. I got you off this boat for that reason.” He growls.
“I came to protect you,” I whisper.
“What?” he screams. “I don’t need fucking protecting.”
“Y-yes, you do,” I stammer, trying to calm him down. “I forgot to tell you that I overheard Stucco planning with someone else to murder you.”
“What?” His face screws up as if not believing my story.
“It was the night that you went to Chelsea and I was so upset.”
“I didn’t go to fucking Chelsea,” he snaps. “Stop going on about Chelsea. You are pissing me off with it.”
“They are going to call a maintenance call in the middle of the night and push you overboard.”
He frowns.
“And I remembered that I didn’t tell you and I was freaking out.” I pick up his hand and hold it in mine. “I had to warn you and coming back onto the ship was my only choice. I didn’t have your number to call,” I whisper.
“I don’t need your protection. I can handle myself.” He sighs and I can see a glimmer of forgiveness.
“I know you can.” I pause and try to sweeten the deal. “I wanted an excuse to see you.” My eyes search his.
He stares at me as the last words I said roll around in his brain.
“You wanted an excuse to see me?” He narrows his eyes. “I thought I was just the guy who kidnapped you?”
I smile softly as I gently cup his face in my hand. “Maybe not. Maybe you’re more.”
He moves close and I know I may be forgiven. “How much more?” he whispers against my lips.
I smile up at him. “Stop asking stupid questions and thank me.”
He roughly grabs my behind and kisses me, and I laugh into his lips.
“Stop doing stupid things.” He growls.
“I can’t, it comes naturally,” I reply.
He throws me onto the bed and I bounce with a laugh.
“So, you are here by choice now?” he asks darkly as he slowly undoes his belt from his pants.
Desire runs through my blood and I nod. “Aha.”
“Here for me.” He pauses and raises his brow. “By choice?”
“Yes,” I breathe as I watch his pants slowly slide down his legs.
“So, I can legally do whatever I want to do to you now.” He purrs sexily.
Shivers run down my spine. “Yes,” I whisper in anticipation. “What do you want?”
His dark eyes hold mine. “Fucking everything.”
* * *
The pager wakes us from our sleep. I glance at the clock to see it’s 4am in the morning. Stace rolls over and looks at the clock. I know he’s thinking the same thing as me.
He gets up and reads the message on his pager.
I sit up. “What does it say?”
He doesn’t answer and goes to the bathroom, flicking the light on. “What does it say?” I call after him.
“There is a problem in the engine room,” he replies dryly.
Oh no, I jump out of bed. “It’s a trap. This is it. I’m telling you, it’s a trap. This… this is what I heard them talking about,” I stammer.
“It could also be a problem in the engine room,” he replies.
“Don’t go. You can’t go.”
He zips up his pants and pulls his shirt around his shoulders. “I can handle myself.”
“I’m coming with you,” I snap as I try to find some clothes.
“You are not fucking coming with me. What are you going to do?”
I put my hands on my naked hips in an outrage. “I can fight, you know.”
He smirks and kisses me quickly on the lips. “I can fight better. Go to bed. I will be home soon.” And with that he leaves the room.
Oh no. Oh no, no, no. I grab some clothes from the drawer and pull them on, and then I get down on the floor and slide my rifle out and attach the silencer.
I click it up to ready the ammunition.
I warned that fucker not to mess with him.
I open the cabin door and peer out into the darkened hallway.
Game on.
14
I creep up the hall in the darkness until I get to the staircase, then l look back down from where I came from, relieved there’s still nobody around. I glance at the staircase going up, and although it feels like the safer option, I know that side of the ship is the enemy at the moment. If you go overboard, you’re toast. The thought of the cold, hard maintenance level is freaking me out, but I head down anyway with my gun gripped tightly in my hand. I tiptoe down the stairs that are lit only by the exit sign. The sound of the engine is loud and obnoxious. My heart is beating so fast and I have no idea what I am going to be faced with when I get to the bottom. Fuck’s sake, why did I let him come back here to this hell ship?