SEVEN
The afternoon wore on, and Aurora found her anger at the Sheikh dissolving more and more as their conversation went on.
“I love to travel by yacht,” Khaleel told her, looking out over the water. “It’s soothing in a way that no other form of travel is.”
“Trains are soothing sometimes,” Aurora pointed out. “If you can find a good one, the rhythm of the movement is steady, just like waves, you know?” She sighed, and felt a shudder pass through the deck beneath her. “Did we just
slow down?”
“We must be getting closer to our destination,” Khaleel said absently. “It should be about time. I planned for a late afternoon landfall.”
“You know, for all the stress and pressure of growing up wealthy, you have to admit that it’s nice to be able to take off and go somewhere on your own, without having to answer to anyone,” Aurora said.
Khaleel smiled slightly. “It is nice to get away,” he agreed.
The yacht continued to slow down, and Aurora looked out at the water, watched the movement of the seascape gradually grow sharper as the slowing speed ceased to blur it. She hadn’t realized how thoroughly she’d gotten used to the engine sounds until they began to quieten, and then stop.
“Where are we?”
Khaleel stirred at her question. “It's a private island,” he said simply. “Part of the same chain as the Bahamas.”
“Oh, wow,” Aurora said with a grin. “I don’t need my passport for this, do I?”
Khaleel chuckled. “No, no—it’s privately owned, it’s not a separate country,” he said. “In fact, I think we might have arrived.”
The sky was beginning to turn orange and pink in the west. The sun wasn’t going down yet, but Aurora estimated that in another hour or so the sky would be dark.
Khaleel stood and walked over to the railing that surrounded the sun deck. “Yep. We're here.”
A crew member emerged from the interior of the yacht, glancing at Aurora with uncertainty before turning his attention onto Khaleel. “We've laid anchor, sir. You can arrange your landfall just as you like.”
Khaleel nodded. “How far out are we from the shore?”
“Maybe fifteen meters,” the crew member replied.
“I’ll take a dip, then,” Khaleel said, and the crew member nodded and turned away. Khaleel looked at Aurora and grinned. “Want to get off this boat for a bit?”
“Yes please,” Aurora said, nodding quickly.
“You’re not too drunk to swim, are you?”
Aurora shook her head, and everything spun slightly, but she was able to regain her equilibrium after just a moment. “I’m okay,” she said.
Khaleel smiled slowly, looking utterly mischievous. “Follow me, then,” he said.
Aurora watched as he strode quickly to a ladder that led from the sun deck to the lower deck, and nimbly began to climb down it. She took a quick, deep breath, tingling all over with a mixture of nervousness and excitement, and took the same path her host had, steadying herself for a moment before she started down the ladder.
Khaleel waited on the lower deck, leaning against a railing; it was clear that he had watched her climb down. “Ready?” he asked.
Aurora shrugged. “Ready for what?” She looked around. The boat bobbed slightly in the waves, but a quick glance told her that the waters weren’t overly rough.
In answer to her question, Khaleel lifted a catch on the railing, and the bars transformed into a gate, swinging out, revealing a ledge. He glanced at her again, smiling broadly, and stepped onto the ledge. Aurora’s heart leaped into her throat as she watched the designer suit-clad billionaire crouch slightly and then jump from the deck of the boat, into the water below.
She hurried to the railing, her heart pounding rabbit-quick, and watched him emerge from the blue-green waters, his hands pushing his wet hair back from his face.
He looked up at her and grinned, challenging her. “If you want off the boat, this is the only way,” he called up. Aurora looked down at her clothes and shook her head slightly; she hadn’t exactly planned to sneak on board that morning, and hadn't brought anything with her to change into.
But then she remembered: Khaleel had said that he’d managed to find some clothes, some spares that had been lying around. Aurora took a quick, deep breath and stepped carefully onto the ledge, wondering if she had somehow managed to lose her mind in the time since that morning. Pushing the thought aside, Aurora followed Khaleel’s example, springing from the ledge, coiling and then jumping out as far as she could.
The water that rose up to surround her was almost as warm as a bath, and Aurora plunged deeper and deeper for a few heartbeats, her momentum carrying her down into the water. She kicked her legs, pushing out with her arms, and after a brief flurry of panic, her face broke through the brine, and Aurora blew water out through her nose, reaching up to brush it away from her eyes before she opened them.
“Not a bad jump,” Khaleel said, a few feet away from her.
Aurora laughed, delighted to be off of the yacht, excited at the success of her leap. “That was kind of terrifying,” she told him, shaking her head and meeting his gaze.