“A Vanderbilt never reneges on a dare or bet,” he tells me casually, not making eye contact, and acting like he’s not talking about a dick piercing as we board the yacht. Nengah and some other guys bring our luggage behind us.
I’m momentarily distracted from that revelation by the sheer beauty of the craft we’ve just stepped onto. It’s all sleek lines and polished light wood and has several levels, or I guess decks. On the side, in scrolling script is the nameThe Princess Lillyand my heart stutters to see it.Did they name a boat after me?There’s soft lighting everywhere, and as I look around, I find all three boys looking at me intently.
“Do you like it, Pretty Girl?” Loki asks, his uncertainty completely adorable. He bites the edge of his lip and shuffles his feet on the wooden deck.
“Did you buy a fuck off massive boat and name it after me?” I ask, slightly aghast. Obviously, Her Vagisty preens at the show of adoration.
“We’ve had the yacht for a while, but decided to rename her after you,” Kai tells me in his lovely melodic voice, and I can feel myself turning into girl goop. I’ve missed the sound so much over the past couple of weeks.
“Thank you,” I tell them, deciding to embrace the romantic gesture for what it is, and not letting my ideas over the unfairness of wealth get in the way. “I mean it. This is one of the most romantic things anyone has ever done for me.”
I notice a smartly dressed older man, in a crisp white uniform, waiting on one side of the deck to greet us.
“Welcome aboard, Mr. Vanderbilt, Mr. Matthews, Mr. Thorn,” he says in cultured tones, with a wide smile. “Nice to have you back with us.”
“Thank you, Wayan,” Ash replies. “May I present Lilly Darling. Lilly, this is Captain Wayan.”
“Ah, the name change makes sense now. A pleasure, Miss,” Wayan says, inclining his head in my direction, his grin getting even broader. Then he turns back to Ash. “We’re just loading up, and then we’ll be ready to set sail. If you’ll excuse me, Ketut here will see that you are settled.” He indicates with a hand towards another smartly uniformed man, younger this time. Then Captain Wayan turns and walks off.
“This way please, sirs, miss,” he tells us, holding his arm out, and the boys seem to know where we’re going as they stride ahead into the interior.
I follow behind, gaping at the plush decor. We are led down some floating wooden stairs to a huge seating area with cream leather sofas and armchairs surrounding coffee tables. At the far end is a huge dining table next to semi-circular French doors that open onto another deck.
“Some drinks, please, Ketut,” Kai orders. “I’ll take my usual. Lilly?” he asks me, looking at me as I stand at the base of the stairs, trying and failing not to show how out of my depth I am.
“Um, just some iced tea, please, if you have any?” I ask, feeling overwhelmed.
“Of course, peach or lemon?” Ketut responds with a polite professional smile.
“Lemon, please.”
He takes the others’ orders, then leaves to get our drinks, and some snacks Loki asked for.
“Come sit, Pretty Girl,” Loki orders, grabbing my hand and dragging me over to the sofas. He sits down, then pulls me into his lap, the others joining us seconds later.
“So, can I see?” I ask Ash with a raised eyebrow as soon as we’re settled.
“He won’t even tell us what he got,” Kai tells me, a slight smile on his face.
“Good things come to good girls, Princess,” Ash says with a sexy as sin smirk on his face.
“I am a good girl,” I whine, pouting to see if that works. He just shakes his head.
“Well, keep being good, and I might show you.” I stick my tongue out at him, and he narrows his eyes. “Brat,” he says under his breath, although there’s a heat turning the silver molten, and a tilt to his lips that tells me he loves my brattish attitude.
Ketut comes over with our drinks and snacks; all kinds of yummy things from sweet potato fries, to golden crispy calamari, and nutty satay chicken. We spend the next few minutes talking and catching up with what we’ve all been up to in the two weeks that we’ve been apart.
Kai remains pretty quiet throughout our conversation, a pensive frown on his face as he stares into his wine glass, full of what I assume is sake. I get up from Loki’s lap, walk around the low table and reach out to Kai. As my fingers brush the side of his face, he flinches so hard that his drink sloshes down the side of the glass, dripping over his hand. Lightning quick, his hand shoots out, grabbing my wrist in a bruising grip that sets my heart racing.
His eyes are wild, and he looks into my panicked gaze, his own clearing as confusion crosses his features.
“Fuck, Lilly! Are you okay? You scared me,” Kai exclaims, abruptly letting my wrist go, and reaching over to grab a napkin whilst setting his glass onto the table. I can’t help rubbing at the bruised skin, and his eyes dart down, tightening in the corners when he sees what I’m doing. “I’m so sorry, darling.”
“What the fuck, Kai?!” Loki snarls, coming to stand next to me, taking my hand in his grip, and inspecting the joint. I wince when he moves it a certain way, and he growls.
“Kai, I’m so sorry,” I rush out, a little breathless from the adrenaline rush. “You looked sad, and I wanted to, I don’t know, give you a hug,” I tell him, still standing and shrugging my shoulders.
His own droop, and look of desolation flits across his eyes, making tears spring unbidden to my own, before he looks down to the napkin in his hands, his fingers slowly shredding it. Ordinarily, I’d go to him, but his reaction to my touch just then has left me reeling.