Lucky for her she didn’t play games, otherwise I would’ve had to break the captain’s legs.
With a soft smile, she reached for my palm. The moment her fingers looped with mine, my cock thickened. I might be governed by my heart nowadays but having her delicate, very breakable touch in mine turned the man into a monster, and fuck I wanted her. I wanted her spread below me, bound before me. I wanted her gagged and chained, so I could worship her for hours.
Squeezing my eyes briefly, I kept a tight hold on my needs and very carefully grabbed her waist. Lifting her the small distance downward, I deliberately kept her body away from mine. I swallowed hard. “Tu vas bien?”You okay?
She nodded. Her lips parted, and the scent of mint and Tess’s unique smell enveloped me. “Yes. I’m always okay when I’m with you.”
I couldn’t help asking why? Why did she trust me? Why had she forgiven me? She’d been stolen when she’d been with me. Taken when I’d promised to keep her safe. My chest concaved with a quarry of guilt.
I turned to face the man who had our lives in his hands while crossing an ocean. Hell, I hated boats. “I don’t want to be on this piece of shit any longer than necessary. Let’s go.”
Bill jumped to action. Tess moved to sit on the back wraparound seat while Franco perched on one of the high seats by the control hub. His eyes were hidden behind dark sunglasses, and he’d taken off his black blazer, revealing the shoulder holster with his two guns.
Tess eyed the weapons but instead of looking distasteful, she looked relieved. I wanted to know what she thought. I wanted into her damn mind. If she didn’t start talking soon I’d have to use drastic measures to get information out of her.
I sat beside Tess. She instantly slid closer, pressing her hip against mine. I wasn’t one for public displays of affection but if she so much as touched me again, I would strip her in seconds and take her in full view.
Goddammit, the images in my head were thick and tempting. Her panting while I licked her pussy. Her tears streaming as I re-introduced her to pain and pleasure. My balls tightened in anticipation.
The captain unhooked the boat, coiled the rope, and headed to the instruments. The vessel started with a powerful purr and he nudged the acceleration lever so we coasted forward. A froth of bubbles were left in our wake, and we meandered our way around docked boats and impressive yachts.
The moment we hit open waters, he floored it.
“Crap!” Tess squealed as the boat went from sitting low in the water to almost hydro-planing. Okay, the piece of shit could go fast. I would still much rather be in the sky.
Waves crashed and shuddered with harsh slaps against the hull, faster and faster.
My heart thudded with a rush of queasiness. I was too hot. Too tense. Unbuttoning my shirt, I ripped it off, revealing the thin white t-shirt beneath. Tess’s eyes went wide; she licked her lips. I looked down to what she focused on, noticing the ink from my tattoo shadowed beneath the material, giving hints at the hidden design.
Her hand landed on my torso, trailing her fingers over my abs.
Sucking in a breath, I lifted my arm, letting her snuggle into my body. I groaned softly as her fingers clutched my t-shirt. My arm locked around her shoulders, restraining her against me. Rubbing my nose in her hair, I whispered, “You keep doing that, and you’ll be half-naked with my tongue between your legs in front of witnesses.”
She froze. “You wouldn’t.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Keep your hands in one place and I might be able to hold on until we have privacy.”
Tess gave me a look that shot my heart to pieces, then placed her hands in her lap demurely and rested her head against me.
The rest of the boat ride was fucking torture. The warm wind whipped Tess’s curls into a mess of mayhem, filling my mouth and tickling my neck and face. All I wanted to do was grab a fist of it and use it to hold her delicious lips over my cock.
Even now. Even after everything she’d been through, I still wanted to use her like a whore—like a slave. I was still fucked up. Still my father’s son.
I tried to focus on the expanse of ocean around us. Not one whitecap or wave in sight. The turquoise looked like glass reflecting the perfect sky I longed to be in. Islands popped up in the distance only to be passed in a whirl of salt spray.
Tess looked peaceful, resting against me. But the bags under her eyes and hollow cheeks spoke the truth. The moment she was on Volière I would make her happy again. I would spend my days feeding her delicious food to replace the curves she lost, and dedicate the nights reminding her how unbreakable she was. The ghosts in her mind wouldn’t survive out here. Nothing dark could exist in this vivid sunshine.
Finally the boat slowed. We bumped gently against a decrepit jetty jutting out from a wild and rugged island.
Everything about it looked vicious and untamed. There was no helipad, no landing strip, nothing of great luxury. When I’d bought it, I toyed with the idea of chopping it down and destroying the thick jungle to make way for a hotel or other commercial development. But then I fell in love with it. With its exoticness, unruliness. It was perfect in its untouchedness.
“This is your island?” Tess asked, her eyelashes fluttering in the sunlight.
Franco jumped onto the jetty, helping Bill moor to the post. Old tyres were the only things stopping the sleek sides from being punctured by rusty nails and splintered wood.
“Yes. In all its natural glory.” Standing, I bent down, wrapped my arms around Tess’s back and legs, and picked her up.
“What are you doing?” she whispered.
“Te porter pour passer le seuil.”Carrying you over the threshold. Cradling her in my arms, I made my way across the bobbing vessel and placed her ever so gently on the wooden platform beside it.
Climbing up beside her, I took a large lungful of air. The nausea I’d been battling since we took off miraculously stopped the moment my feet touched firm ground. The jetty wasn’t on buoys but anchored onto the sandy bottom of the atoll.
A large flock of local birds suddenly took flight from the thicket of trees, squawking and shrieking at us interrupting their wilderness. I instantly felt better. I didn’t want to change a thing, but one thing was a must—an airstrip—so I never had to step foot in a boat again.
“I’ll go make sure the house is still standing.” Franco gave me a look as he strode off. He knew where the path was, hidden by foliage leading toward the large six bedroom dwelling the previous investor had built for his family. Franco had been here with me while I worked, and the original home was well built if not a little rustic. It would be spotlessly clean thanks to a regular maintenance crew who came once a month.
Tess spun around in awe. “This place…it’s…”
I smiled; tension siphoned from my muscles. Blue ocean surrounded us, hemming us in like a wall-less cage. Intruders would have a hard time touching shore without the security cameras noticing them first. Tess would be perfectly safe. I would be untouchable for any bastard who wanted revenge.
“Q, I had no idea it would be like this. I visualized a tiny sandy island with one palm tree.”
I chuckled. “It has a fair bit more than one.” Moving closer, I ignored Bill and his hellish boat. “You don’t find it underwhelming…more suited for a boy’s fishing weekend rather than a wedding?” After all, from here it looked as if we’d need a machete and dynamite to make our way through the undergrowth. She didn’t know the house in the centre had manicured gardens and metres of idyllic paradise.
She laughed. “No. It’s perfect. More than perfect. Untamed. Animalistic. Completely untouched and unruined.” Her eyes dropped; she whispered, “Just like you. It fits you perfectly.”
I looked again at the thick palm trees, trying to see it through her eyes.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but it’s the home of a beast.”
I glared. “You think I’m a beast?” Fuck, what else did she think of me? What did she suspect I’d done while tr
ying to get her back?
She came forward, taking my hand. “No. But you’re unpredictable and dangerous and protect those you love fiercely. You should be proud. To me you’re more than a knight in some stupid shiny armour. You’re the monster who no one can tame but the woman he loves.” She moved to leave, but I went with her, stomping a few metres away from the captain.
I grabbed her shoulders, turning her to face me. “You’re right.” Wanting to share a part of myself she didn’t know, I murmured, “Do you know the moment I fell for you? The exact moment you tamed me?”
Her eyes grew heavy, glazing with overpowering love. “No.”
I let my mind skip back to the night I knew I’d found the one. The woman I hated to want. “When you offered to massage my migraine away in the conservatory. You didn’t have to do that—you should’ve hated me for what I’d done to you. But you offered to soothe me. You let me find peace under your fingers even while I was a fucking bastard.”
She sighed, raising her hand to rest over my heart. Her fingers irritated my brand, making me wince. “That was the first moment I let myself give into the overwhelming confusion inside. I wanted you so much, Q. I wanted you even then. I’d hoped by showing I cared, you’d be kinder, gentler.” Her eyes shadowed, remembering how the rest of the night played out. The police arriving. My drinking. The mind-blowing sex in my room.
“You’ve taught me so much. I’ve grown so much. I can’t even recall the girl I was before I was sold to you.”
I bristled. “Don’t use that word. You weren’t sold. Fate just brought us together a little unconventionally.”
Linking my fingers with hers, I said, “Come on. Let me show you the island.”
Tess stood on tiptoes and kissed my cheek. “I’d love that.”
We traversed the small jetty, only for Tess to freeze as a loud boom echoed from the centre of the island. Birds flurried from trees while leaves cascaded into the sea.
Her fingers turned to pinpricks of ice in mine; her entire body went from supple to trembling.
The noise was a backfire on the generator. Franco must’ve turned it on while preparing the house for us.
Tess lost all colour. “No,” she breathed.
I shook her, looking deep into her vacant eyes. “It’s okay. Juste le générateur.” Just the generator.
She didn’t respond. Her mouth opened in a silent scream as the ghosts she battled with every night swarmed her. Panic and fear glowed like black horror in her eyes.
Grabbing her cheeks, I snapped, “Tess. Stop!” Her panic attacks had to fucking end. This one was so similar. Almost identical to the way she looked in my office when she’d been taken.
The last time I’d slapped her to get her to return to me. This time, I kissed her. Smashing her lips with mine, I gathered her close, willing my energy and heat into her frozen form. I forced her to grab onto the present, dragging herself from her nightmares.
Her slack lips suddenly responded below mine, and she wobbled in my arms. I pulled away, never looking away from her. “Are you alright?”
She looked strung out and quivery but she nodded. “Yes.” Tears welled in her eyes. “Q, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
The way she trembled pissed me off but worse, it made me remember. Remember why she’d had the panic attack in my office. Why she’d shut down. She’d sensed the fucking bastards who’d come to steal her—somehow she’d known. There was no way anyone could be on this island, so the only other conclusion was an overload—a complete bombardment of new locations and people.
Shit, I’m a grade-A asshole.
Tess pushed me away, moving on unsteady legs to get some air.
“Come here, Tess.” I stormed toward her, capturing her shoulders again. “I didn’t think. I’m a fucking idiot.”
She blinked. “Think about what?”
I’d been so stupid. “Being here—in a completely new place. The last time that happened—” I couldn’t finish. I wouldn’t remind her. Not that she needed reminding—it lived in her mind, suffocated her lungs, itched her skin with memories.
“I shouldn’t have brought you somewhere so far from where you’re used to.”
Tess shook her head, clasping my hands on her shoulders. “That’s what you think? Q, it wasn’t the office that upset me. It isn’t a new place I’m afraid of. It was them. I knew. Somehow I knew.”
“And now? Do you sense them here? Are you afraid?” I wanted to yell at her to never be afraid again—unless it was of me. But I kept my temper tightly controlled.
“This wasn’t a full attack—just a memory.”
I would’ve killed for her to admit exactly what memory haunted her. “So being somewhere new isn’t filling you with fear?”
She pressed a finger against my lips, hushing me. “No. If anything, it’s helping. My instincts knew evil was close by that day. I should’ve listened instead of brushing them off. That’s twice I’ve ignored my sixth sense. And I promise on both our lives I will never ignore it again.”
I glowered around the island, seeing threats where there were none, suspicious of the swaying palm trees, contemplating annihilating them just for existing. I didn’t believe her—now I suspected everything and everyone.
Maybe it’s the fucking captain. I glanced over my shoulder. At the end of the jetty, Bill had on a headset talking through the radio. He looked innocent enough. If he wasn’t, I would break his neck in a second.
Yet more violence to protect the woman I’d dragged into the darkness to be with me. The guilt layered more rocks in my chest. I looked back at Tess. “That day in the office. I should never...I was an idiot to leave…I’ll never be able to tell you how sor—”
Tess’s residual fear morphed into hot temper. “Stop it. It wasn’t your fault. You need to let go of your guilt, Q.” Cupping my chin, she ran a thumb over a thicker cut that’d needed stitches. She lacerated my heart just like she lacerated my body.
I bowed my head, leaning into her touch. I felt like a wild animal letting himself be soothed. “I love you, esclave, but you’re a hypocrite.”
She cocked her head, squinting in the sunlight. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Trying to change the subject, she said, “Can we go? I’m dying to see the island and explore.” Her eyes sparkled with forced merriment.
My teeth clenched. She was a master at guiding subjects away from the ones she couldn’t bear. My voice was a growl. “Don’t try to hide what just happened.” Leaning closer, I ran my nose gently over her ear and down her throat. She shivered as I gently peeled the bandage away from the red mark on her neck.
My stomach twisted at the sight of the angry ‘Q’ branded into her skin for life. Eventually it would heal to a delectable silver and everyone would know she belonged to me. “I refuse to be lied to for another fucking minute. I sense everything you’re trying to mask. The mixed signals are giving me a headache, so stop it.”
She winced as the air touched her sore neck. “Fine.” The air grew static as her anger sprang from nowhere. Her temper fed mine.
“Fine,” I snapped. “Oh, and this?” I rolled up the bandage, shoving it in my pocket. “It stays off. I want to see the mark. I need to see the mark. You’re not to cover it up again.”
Tess huffed, crossing her arms. “Fine.”
Why the hell was she pissed at me? What the hell had I done? “Good. Glad we understand each other.”
She muttered, “Perfectly.” She looked away, cutting me off from her thoughts. The familiar burn of anger rushed down my arm, causing my fingers to lash out and imprison her chin.
Guiding her eyes back to mine, I said, “You think I don’t know what you’re living with, but I’m living with the same demons. You’re forgetting I have a front row seat to your unconsciousness in the form of your nightmares.” My fingers tightened, making her flinch. “Something else is bothering you. Spill it.”
Her eyes narrowed. “There’s nothing else.”
“
Don’t.” I tutted under my breath. “Dis moi la vérité!” Tell the truth.
We glared, fighting a silent war. A minute ticked past, then another, until Tess finally weakened. “I’m slightly overwhelmed.”
I held my breath. “Overwhelmed?”
She sighed, shifting her feet. “A little. This is happening so fast. It’s a crazy whirlwind, and I need time to breathe.”
I jerked away. “You’re saying I’m forcing you?” For fuck’s sake, was she marrying me only to keep me happy? All the promises I made in the limo of not changing my plans disintegrated. How could I rush her when I’d already put her through so much?
“No! Not at all. It’s just a lot to take in. I mean, Q, I’m standing on your island. I’m marrying you. After a lifetime of loneliness, you’re giving me the world. It’s a lot to take in.”
I frowned. Wasn’t that reason to rush? To solidify perfection before it was stolen once again?
Her head tilted, eyes darting over my face. “Every time you move, your skin glitters with tiny scars. Scars that I put there.” Her voice was barely audible. “If you’re suffering with guilt, how do you think I feel living every day with evidence of what I did to you?”
Goddammit, she thought I minded? She thought I was so superficial to care about the small marks she’d laced my body with? I didn’t. I fucking loved them. I loved that I wore my love for her. I loved that I was strong enough to face my terror.
Softening my voice, I murmured, “Every lash and wound you gave me brought you back to life. I never want you to think I begrudge them, because I don’t.”
She swallowed hard. “You always know what to say.”
“You’re forgetting I sense everything you feel.” I didn’t admit that was only a half-truth. Trying to figure out her lies had become harder and harder. Her skill at fibbing was adapting, which meant I had to break her habit fast. I refused to let her protect me by bottling everything inside.
Bill cleared his throat, his footsteps loud on the jetty behind us.
I let Tess go, spinning to face him. “What?”
His eyes flickered to Tess before saying, “I’ll be on radio frequency 3139 when you’re ready to leave. Give me an hour to get here, but I’ll be on call for you for however long you need.”