“Jesus, bro,” he says with a laugh. “This is a lot of effort to go to for a quick lay.”
“Who said anything about sex?” I ask.
He arches an eyebrow. “Why else would you offer that hot mess a job? Especially tonight when there’s business to be conducted. Anatoly may not be the prettiest to look at, but the man knows how to be discreet.”
“She’s here to cook,” I point out. “She doesn’t need to know anything more about what happens onboard.”
“She doesn’t look stupid, sobrat.”
No, she does not. I’ve noticed that, too.
“She’ll be below deck the whole time,” I say dismissively. “And at the end of the night—”
“Oh, you don’t need to tell me what’s going to happen at the end of the night.” Yulian interrupts me with a suggestive smile. “Just for the record, I don’t disapprove. It’s about time you quit moping around like a kicked dog and did something for yourself.”
I roll my eyes and push him aside. Laughing, he heads below deck to take care of the last minute chores before we push off. When the captain comes down to ask me if we’re ready, I give him the go-ahead.
The engines fire up. Water churns, white and relentless at the tail of the boat. I take a seat on the bow and gaze out at the horizon.
Darkness paints the sky as the sun disappears. In a little while, a smaller vessel will bring the Meninsky clan out to meet TheMedusa in international waters. But until then, I’ve got two hours of sky and sea.
And an erection that I can’t seem to get rid of.