Page 72 of Lord of Debauchery

As soon as he’d pulled out onto the driveway, shifting into first gear, he drove like a bat out of hell, flying around curves as he pushed the car to what I believed to be its limits. Not that it mattered. I felt perfectly safe sitting beside him, the breeze blowing through my hair. He was right about needing the heat. I was also sorry I hadn’t brought a hair tie. But I managed to suffer through it, laughing every once in a while, just from the sheer joy of feeling alive.

Seeing parts of the small town was incredible, the mixture of houses and quaint buildings reminding me of Camden. I felt the ocean breeze, the scent of the saltwater soothing to my still ragged nerves. He threw me looks every so often, but I still wasn’t certain what he was thinking.

And I shuddered in my seat because of it.

We were driving north, leaving Rye. I sat back in my seat, trying to enjoy the moment. When I started seeing ships of various sizes in the distance, I lifted my head. The closer and closer he drove, the more my nerves kicked into high gear. Was he taking me out on the water? To dump my dead body?

Great. Now I was taking the drama to the extreme. Perfect. Just what I needed, especially if we really were getting on a boat. At least I couldn’t imagine it was a tiny rowboat or something. I tried to laugh it all off, but my stomach was full of butterflies.

When he slowed down, turning on his blinker, I sat up further in the seat. “Wentworth by the Sea.”

“Yes,” he answered. “I have a boat kept here. Well, a small yacht in actuality.”

“How small?”

“Right at a hundred feet.”

“Oh,” I managed, brushing my hand across my lips, another sick memory floating to the surface of my mind. “Just a tiny little boat.”

“Have you ever been on one?”

I don’t know why it seemed like a leading question, but I sensed it in my gut. “A couple times but not that big. And I assure you that even a stockbroker in New York can’t afford one, unless of course they’re the soul stockbroker for a Fortune 100 family or something.” I tried to laugh off both his question and my continued nervousness, but I immediately noticed he wasn’t laughing.

When I turned my head slightly, I realized he must be watching me and my reactions.

“You’re not afraid of being on a boat, are you?” he asked more subtly, but there was an even darker vibe to his question.

“Not afraid exactly. I simply don’t want to fall overboard.”

“I assure you that you won’t be able to just fall overboard off of Lady Blue.”

“Oh, good.” Lady Blue. I liked the name.

“At least not unless someone pushes you overboard.”

I shot him a look this time as he pulled into a parking space underneath cover. “Now, you wouldn’t be threatening me, would you?”

His laugh was deep, almost like a sound he made when fucking me. “I assure you, my beautiful and very special little fighter, that if I was, you’d know it. I have a special afternoon and evening planned. Come on. Let me introduce you to Lady Blue and my crew.”

“A crew, huh?” I said as I opened the door, realizing I was shaking.

“Well, you don’t really think I could captain a hundred-footer by myself. Do you?”

“Personally, I think you can do anything you set your mind to. Just my opinion.”

He was grinning when he took my hand again, this time pulling my knuckles to his lips and brushing them back and forth. “You are very complimentary. I’ll need to remember that.”

Damn it. Everything out of his mouth sounded like some crazy challenge to me. As he led me out of the parking structure toward rows of boats, most of them twenty- or thirty-footers maximum, I took a deep breath of the salty air. The day was picture perfect for a cruise, although with the wind it was a little chilly.

He held my hand the entire way as we headed down the oversized dock, the man remaining quiet.

Too much so.

I found myself holding my breath. Only seconds later, I could see two massive yachts. When I noticed Lady Blue’s beautiful script writing on her port side, it was another moment where I could smile in earnest.

“She’s beautiful.”

“I thought you might like her. She’s another one of my babies, although I don’t spend nearly enough time on her.” He helped me onto the boat and within seconds, I could see a man and a woman standing in uniforms waiting for our arrival. “Captain Ellis, First Mate Breaker, this is my lovely guest Miss Kenya Markham. These two have been with me for years.”

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