It was a boat on the ocean. Glancing down at the water, she wondered if there were any killer sharks, or big giant sea creatures that were going to eat her. Keeping her sunglasses on, she tried not to think about the dangers that surrounded her everywhere. This was the ocean. Besides all the big bad monsters lurking beneath the ocean depths, there was also the added risk of drowning as well. That would suck.
Drowning was one of the scariest ways to go, in her opinion.
She didn’t want to drown. Why had she never learned how to swim?
“I can’t believe your fiancé keeps leaving you unattended,” Dixon said, coming to join her. Her body tensed as he drew closer.
“Yeah, well, considering he loves bo-yachts, his stomach doesn’t agree with him.” She pressed her lips together. Xavier had warned her plenty of times on the way over to the docks to not call it a boat. Yacht, yacht, yacht.
Tomato, tomato, whichever way people said it.
“His loss is certainly my gain.” Dixon held two drinks in his hands.
She’d always been told to never take a drink from a stranger, and here she was, living on the edge. One day cleaner, the next seductress. What was next?
He offered her a glass, and she took it without question. Keeping a hold of it, she looked over the railing into the water, dark and sloshing against the sides of the boat.
“Penny for your thoughts,” he said.
“I was actually wondering if there were any sharks in the water.” She forced a smile. Xavier had told her to be herself, and she didn’t have the capabilities to flirt even just a little bit. Not after last night. Not after he’d brought her to orgasm only to send her to her room like a little child.
“There have been shark sightings around. I myself like to sit and watch them. I feed them as well.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?” she asked.
“Only if you’re sinking and you become the bait.”
“Ha, wow, that is so funny.” She laughed, thinking about her own baiting predicament.
She kept trying to think of things to say or do that wouldn’t show him just how nervous she was.
“You act like you’ve never been on a yacht before.”
“It’s true. I can’t deny it.”
“But Xavier owns plenty of them.”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course, he does. It’s all part of the image. I don’t like to, you know, do stuff like this. I prefer to keep my feet firmly on the ground. I’m a simple woman that likes the simple things in life.”
It was very true. She liked having a roof over her head, cooking, cleaning, washing, making sure Xavier didn’t vomit and choke on it. Of course, never in her wildest dreams did she think she would actually be babysitting a killer. That was just so far out of her comfort zone, but she also didn’t imagine getting fondled by him either, or being used as bait. Her life had changed so dramatically in the past forty-eight hours she was struggling to keep up. She checked around the deck to see if Xavier was anywhere in sight. He’d given her the excuse that he needed to use the bathroom.
She didn’t have a clue what that actually meant in code, only that it had to mean something. He was an assassin.
Try to remember that little tidbit of information when his mouth and hands are on you.
“It’s what makes you a rare find, Alesha. You’re not dazzled by this life. I can see that.”
I’m really kind of scared of you actually.
Instead of speaking her mind, she just smiled and tried to listen to what he was saying. As he spoke, she couldn’t help but wonder what dark secrets he was hiding. If she didn’t know better she’d think he was sincere, but Xavier said he was a monster.
“How about I take you on a tour?” he said.
The last thing she wanted to do was be alone with him. Seeing no other reason to argue, she nodded. “I’d love to.”
He placed a hand at her back, and she cringed. She had opted out of a bikini and instead settled for a bathing suit with a sarong around her waist. Xavier had told her there was no other option for her to wear, and of course, most of the women on board wore bikinis.
“Do you know everyone here?” she asked.