Page 68 of Sinful Promise

I admit that having sex with the risk of getting caught increases the intensity of everything, especially the orgasms. Afterward, we lay there, letting the warm sun bake us. Then Roman strides buck naked to gather our swimsuits. I catch mine when he tosses it to me.

“Let’s go,” he says.

“Go? Go where?”

“Swimming?” His sun-kissed face has a happy glow.

“Sure.” Thankfully, our family had a membership to the city recreational center when I was a child. I learned to swim in an indoor pool. But the ocean?

“It looks deep,” I reply as I tie the top around my neck and back. I slip into the bottoms and reluctantly pull them up. It was fun being naked on deck.

“Follow me.”

He leads me through passageways I haven’t been in and opens the door to a room with a large pool. The water is a deep teal. We’re in the back of the yacht, and there’s a deck if we want to hang out or jump in the ocean. It would be a great spot to enjoy a sunset.

“This is incredible. Do you swim in the ocean?” I ask.

“Sometimes, but there’s always a risk the wind or current could carry us too far from the yacht, so it’s best to wait until we have a boat in the water.”

I will file this away for future reference. What am I thinking? We don’t have a future. I need to remember this is all temporary, and all we have is now.

“This is the deep end. Jump,” he says as he splashes me and jumps in. What the hell? I hold my nose and jump in, too. The cool water is exhilarating, and when I surface, my hair is slicked back, and my eyes pop open.

“Do you like it?”

“Like it? I love it.”

He swims some laps, and I do, too. Then I swim to him. He takes me in his arms. I drape my arms around his neck. We’re in the deep end, so my feet don’t touch the bottom.

“I’ve been wondering where you spend your time,” I say. “This is your hiding spot.”

“The last thing I want to do is hide from you. To have you in my arms, on this superyacht, visiting this beautiful island, is a dream come true.”

I’m speechless. What is he inferring?

“I like it here, too, but I was a bit freaked out by the guards with us today.”

“Really? That was just a precaution. I can protect you, but we’re being hunted right now,” he explains.

“You’re so calm. I don’t know how you do it. I’m freaking out. I don’t think you realize what Andrian is capable of.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve done my research. I do better when I’m prepared. The trip to Belarus was a last-minute impulsive idea. I rushed in and stole a woman I thought belonged to my enemy, and here we are. Now I have two enemies. One wants to eradicate us from this world, and the other is just a soldier carrying out orders. I need to know how you would feel if your family members died in the bloodshed that’s likely to happen in the days ahead.”

“What do you mean?” My family is no prize, but they’re still family.

“There will be a meet. People will die. The only way this feud ends is with Andrian dead. You are smart enough to know he will come after all of us when he learns that I have you.”

“What do you mean?” I ask again.

“Andrian is barred from Russia. He’s not barred from France. There’s nothing to stop him from attacking us there. Your father and brothers may be with him.”

“You’re saying they will be killed, too?”

“It’s a possibility. If Albert is on our side and helps, we will do our best to spare him. As for your older brother…”

“Vlad.”

“I can spare Vlad’s life as long as he no longer interferes with our business.”

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