Frantic, she looked around her, remembered the glass doors, and immediately whipped them open. She stepped out onto the balcony. The ship had left the port, and even though there was still land in sight, she just wasn’t a good enough swimmer to jump ship. Ahead, only an endless oasis of blue water awaited her.
But now was not the time to lose her head.
Taking a deep breath, she vowed to be calm.
Still ignoring his presence entirely, she grabbed her phone, her fingers flying across the screen. She didn’t know who exactly she was going to call, but she had to send out some message of distress to someone. Except her phone was useless.
“You no longer need any cell or internet reception while you’re here with me,” he said with as much lilt as he would have used to describe a mild-weathered day.
Oh, god. Oh fuck.
Was he really real?
“Your family and friends have been notified you are not to be disturbed.”
Everleigh turned around and glared daggers at him. She stopped herself from having a complete meltdown in front of him and geared herself up for another battle.
“I want to see the captain. I want to tell him I’m here against my will and that I would like him to turn this ship around immediately and take me back home.”
She started to march toward the exit but had no choice but to pass by him. He didn’t move, and her skin burned as she inhaled the scent of his cologne. Some part of her still held onto the hope that she had imagined him standing there, imagined his scent because it had lingered on her skin once before without him knowing.
More annoyed at her body’s unwarranted reaction to him, whether imagined or not, she yanked open the door and gasped when it led into a bedroom that took her breath away.
The stately furniture screamed exorbitance: the art, the décor, and every single thing about it was lush beauty, coupled with an understatement of extravagance.
She soon realized she hadn’t been placed in a waiting lounge. She had been waiting in a lounge that belonged to a high-end suite where clearly only billionaires were allowed to go.
Okay.
She straightened her shoulders, flicked her hair back, and quickly tried another door.
Fuck.
That door led to an intimate dining area.
Her frequent peeks at him didn’t serve her well. She had hoped he would disappear by now, but he remained larger than ever. And if her surreptitious glances his way were anything to go by, Parker Knight seemed bored with her attempts to pick the right door. He busied himself pouring champagne into one glass and what looked like whiskey into another.
“The captain takes his orders only from me,” he said when she finally opened a door that led onto a corridor.
Okay. There was no escaping that he was very, very real.
“I’m sure he’ll be sympathetic to my cause when he finds me here against my will.” She turned and took one step outside of the suite.
“Everleigh,” Parker said, and she wanted to die. Her name whispered from his mouth triggered a tsunami effect on her already taxed body.
She grappled for control. She would never for the life of her understand why she hesitated, why she turned around and faced him.
“If you get lost, and you will, and I have to come and find you, and I will, you’re going to be in even bigger trouble than you are in right now.”
His words were loaded with dark dominance and a hint of threat that instantly dampened her panties.
Against her will.
She consciously shook her head to clear it of the nonsensical reaction she was having to him. Hadn’t she tried for years to wean herself off from the image of him? Hadn’t she succeeded? No. The answer was no.
But maybe he was right. She envisioned the size of the ship in her mind when she had embarked. She was bound to get lost. She had never been on a ship before, and no, a tiny little boat didn’t count. She wouldn’t even know where to find the captain.
Heaving, she clenched her fingers and hoped she was able to articulate her words properly.