Page 36 of Damaged

Then I’d take him to the bus station and follow through on my call to Jace.

The money Silver had returned felt like it was burning through my pocket. I knew it was going to be a battle to get him to take it, but I didn’t want to think about that right now.

I slowly climbed to my feet and untied the ropes holding the boat against the dock. Once the boat was free, I made my way to the bench seat in front of the steering wheel. The sound of the motor coming alive when I turned the key had me closing my eyes. I let the sense of rightness wash over me for a few seconds before I put the boat in gear.

I steered the boat toward a small island that was nothing more than a few trees, then glanced over my shoulder to make sure Silver was okay. I was surprised to see him standing on the port side, his hand wrapped around one of the many grips available. I’d installed them around most of the boat so that if my back gave out, I could at least use the grips for support.

The cabin cruiser wasn’t designed for speed, which was just fine by me. I hadn’t bought it for that reason, anyway. Once I was sure that the boat was lined up straight and there were no obstacles to worry about, I set the autopilot. I leaned back against the bench and closed my eyes, taking in the sound the water made as it splashed against the hull of the boat. Birds screeched and squawked all around us as they searched for their next meal or happily preened themselves.

I was momentarily caught off guard when I felt the bench seat shift a little, but I kept my eyes closed since I knew who had decided to join me.

“You love this,” Silver commented. His voice was warm and smooth. The knowledge that some of the tension had leached out of him made my heart soar. Silver’s thigh was next to mine but not touching. That changed whenever he shifted his weight to look at something or to get more comfortable, and it was driving me and my dick crazy.

“Yes,” I managed to say. I opened my eyes but kept them focused on the water in front of us. “Have you ever been on a boat?”

Silver didn’t respond. I glanced at him to see that his brow was furrowed.

“What?” I asked.

He shook his head slightly. “Nothing. Um, I’ve never been on a boat. Ivan didn’t like them. They made him sick to his stomach.”

His expression was still one of confusion.

“But…” I prodded.

It took a few seconds before he responded. I was thrilled when he turned his eyes to mine. “It… it still feels familiar somehow. I know it makes no sense…”

“Maybe you were on one before you were—” I stopped abruptly as I realized what my next word would have been.

Silver didn’t finish my sentence. He merely said, “My parents didn’t have a lot of money, so I doubt they ever took me on a boat.”

“When we were in the restaurant a couple days ago, you mentioned that you thought you were about eight when your parents… did what they did,” I awkwardly said. I already suspected Silver had been sold to Ivan, but I didn’t want to say the word out loud. I supposed I wanted him to tell me when he was ready.

I had no idea why the idea of using the word “sold” in reference to Silver’s past was so hard for me. It wasn’t like I didn’t know what it felt like to be unwanted. I did know. Some could even say that my childhood had been like one financial transaction after another. I’d survived it, but the things I’d experienced had been a cakewalk compared to what Silver had endured.

Silver let out a harsh little laugh but didn’t say anything. I could tell he was on the verge of clamming up completely, so I said, “Do you want to drive?”

That got his attention.

“What?”

“The boat. Do you want to drive it? It’s not much more than making sure we don’t run into any icebergs, but you might like it.”

“Icebergs?” Silver asked in surprise. He began searching the water frantically.

I wanted to kick myself in the ass for not realizing he’d probably never seen the movie Titanic before. Since he likely knew nothing about the infamous fate of the luxury cruise ship that had sunk long ago, taking many of its passengers with it to its icy grave, he wouldn’t have had a frame of reference for my iceberg remark.

“Sorry, it’s a reference to this movie… it doesn’t matter. I was only joking. There’re no icebergs.”

I was worried he’d believe the joke had been meant to belittle him, but he smiled slightly and said, “Oh.”

“So do you want to take the wheel?” I asked as I placed my hand on the steering wheel.

I could see the want in his eyes. He was definitely curious.

“Um, I don’t know. I didn’t know boats could even drive themselves,” Silver commented.

“It’s called autopilot, and the boat isn’t really driving itself. It basically allows you to drive the boat in a straight line without having to keep your hands on the wheel. You still have to watch for obstacles because it can’t see those and it doesn’t automatically turn to avoid them,” I explained.

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