Page 36 of Redemption

“Okay, then,” she said, a smile in her voice. “Be serious.”

I didn’t know why this was so important to her, but it was. So I said, “Serenity.”

She pushed up on her elbow and peered down at me. Her face was all scrunched and cute. “That makes me think of a funeral home. Or that show… What was it?”

“Firefly?” I offered, pinching her side. She started giggling, batting my hands away.

“Yeah. That’s the one.”

I couldn’t believe my sister had made her watch that. But I guessed it was a testament to their friendship. My thoughts soured. I didn’t want to think about their friendship or how my relationship with Sloan might impact it.

So instead, I focused on tickling Sloan.

“Okay. You think you can do better?” I kept tickling her, making her breathless with laughter. “Huh? Tell me what you’d name your boat.”

She was laughing so hard, she could barely speak. When she rolled on top of me, rocking her body against mine, I finally relented. I settled my hands on her hips.

“Escape,” she said, sighing as she sank down on my cock. “Escape.”

I groaned and tried to ignore my cock and the way it hardened at the memory. I tried to focus on the present instead of the past.

Today had been…nice. Surprisingly so, despite the rocky start.

Sloan and I hadn’t talked much, but we hadn’t needed to. There was a pleasantness, a contentedness, to taking responsibility for the various tasks that needed to be done on the boat. A sense of peace had settled over me as soon as the coast had faded from view, and it seemed to have the same effect on Sloan.

I’d always respected her work ethic, especially once I’d discovered who she was. Who her family was. They were so wealthy, she didn’t have to work a day in her life. And yet, she’d worked two jobs in college to pay her rent. Even now, she put in the work that needed to be done to sail, when she could’ve easily hired a crew. She could’ve taken her private jet to a luxury hotel, but she was practically roughing it on a sailboat.

After a full day of sailing, we’d made it to our first stop in the Bahamas. We’d cleared customs and immigration relatively quickly, which was a relief. We’d docked for the night at a marina to rest up and make any final preparations before heading down to Turks and Caicos. That leg of the trip would take about a week if we were lucky.

After today, I found myself looking forward to it. Sloan still wasn’t thrilled about my presence, but she’d actually smiled at me a few times. A smile of pure joy when we’d let out the sail and the wind had carried us away. A small tilt of her lips in gratitude when I’d brought her lunch.

I sighed, tucking my arm behind my head. I knew it wouldn’t all be smooth sailing. There was still that cool undercurrent of disinterest. Of distrust. But at least today had been nice.

When I finally fell asleep, my dreams were filled with her. At first, they were vivid. Beautiful. A mix of the past and the present.

But then they turned into nightmares. The image of Sloan’s lifeless eyes staring up at me. Accusing me. Asking why I hadn’t protected her.

I jolted awake and wiped the sweat from my brow, trying to get my breath under control. I strained my ears for any sound—from Sloan, from someone who might want to harm her.

I couldn’t figure out who was sending her the threats, and that only added to my irritability. When I’d asked Sloan about the threats earlier, she didn’t seem to have any ideas about who might be sending them either, which made me feel even more powerless. A team at Hudson was working on it, but I wanted answers now.

I needed to keep her safe. The overpowering need to do something, anything, made it impossible to sleep. I stood, almost bumping my head on the ceiling.

I crept past the galley toward the deck. We hadn’t left the red lights on since there was little need to protect our night vision while docked. The breeze felt good on my heated skin, and I checked the rigging and our position, drinking in the cooler night air. The sound of the waves lapping at the side of the boat was peaceful.

I stayed out there for I didn’t know how long, thinking about life. About Sloan. About what could’ve been and all the mistakes I’d made.

I scrubbed a hand over my face. Sleep. I needed some sleep.

I headed back down to the cabin, and I was passing through the darkened galley when an elbow connected with my stomach.

Oof.

I glanced at Sloan’s door—it was closed, and the lights were off. My body moved as if on autopilot, and I quickly restrained the assailant, the scent of wild roses wafting into my nose.

Oh shit. “Sloan?”

“Jackson?” She sounded equal parts relieved and annoyed. I released her and switched on a light.

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