Only it didn’t feel convenient—it felt confusing.
Living as a Lao might offer a life of insane luxury, but only the strong survived—and he and his sisters all bore the scars of endless competition. How could he lead Dora and Archie into that arena?
But if he didn’t, he might lose both of them.
‘Are you okay?’
Dora was looking at him, her face flushed with excitement, and suddenly he wanted to leave. To go where it would be just the two of them, as he’d promised her.
‘I’m fine.’ He squeezed her hand, walling off the confusion in his head. ‘Are you hungry?’
She nodded.
‘Then let’s get out of here.’
‘Where are we going?’ she asked a moment later, as they walked out of the hotel and down to a private jetty that jutted out into the bay.
Ignoring the bodyguards, he turned towards her and pulled her against him. A current was running through him of heat and hope and fear, and he needed to contain it, to get back control.
‘I’m tired of people. I want it to be just the two of us.’
‘I thought you wanted to show me the city?’
‘I do. I will,’ he said softly, and he led her towards the shimmering dark water and the beautiful boat moored at the end of the jetty.
‘Oh, my goodness!’
Charlie gazed over to where she was looking, trying to see it through her eyes.
Made of ironwood and teak, and built by hand on the Pearl River Delta, the junk was ludicrous, beautiful, pointless, indulgent. But he loved it.
Out on the water he was answerable to no one. And he loved sailing at night. It felt good, pushing back against the darkness that was always lurking at the edges of his life.
Dora bit into the smile curving her mouth. ‘It looks like a pirate ship.’
He glanced up at the blood-red batwing sails. ‘In that case, maybe I should take you prisoner,’ he said softly.
She had slipped off her shoes, and she looked so beautiful and sexy, standing in her bare feet, that before he knew what he was doing he had scooped her up in his arms.
‘And what if I try and escape? Will you make me walk the plank?’
He shook his head. ‘Only as a last resort. But first...’ He paused and, watching her eyes darken, felt his body respond hungrily.
‘But first what?’ she said hoarsely.
‘First I’d try and think of something that might persuade you to stay.’ He searched her face. ‘Can you think of anything?’
He heard her swallow.
‘Yes...’ she murmured and, reaching up, clasped his face in her hands and kissed him frantically. ‘Yes.’
He carried her below deck, kicking open the door to the cabin and dropping her onto the bed.
She was pulling at his clothes, fingers fumbling with his tie, his buttons. ‘Help me,’ she whispered. Reaching up, she clasped his face, kissing him urgently.
His heart was slamming against his ribs like a door in a high wind. He yanked at his clothes, his erection straining against his trousers as she tugged his shirt free of his waistband, then worked his belt through the buckle.
His hand caught in her hair and he sucked in a breath as she pulled him free. He felt her fingers wrap around his hard length as she drew him closer, and then his whole body tensed as she dipped her mouth forward, flicking her tongue over the smooth, taut head.