Page 10 of Shiver Me Timbers

“Ensure the church is emptied of everyone but the Hasting’s Hounds. They’ve been instructed to get the shipment back, so ensure no one gets in the way of that.” My eyes drift to the bride surrounded by family, still here despite me telling everyone to leave. “The girl in there will be coming back with us until they’ve found it.”

“How a’ful.” Eric pauses his surveillance to send me a dry look, his rouge accent so thick I had to learn how to understand him. Everyone knew of the plan to use Alice, but he’s the only one who knows I’ve become obsessed with her.

“It’s business.”

His eyebrows raise, the rest of his face stoic. “Ya full o’ shit.” His eyes go back to the bride and her family. “Ya the bet’a person to deal with ’em. You kno’ my answer to everythin’ is eh bullet.” He has a point.

“Agreed.” I feel Alice come up behind me, her presence causing the skin on the back of my neck to warm. “Take her to the car.”

“Like f—”

“Com’n, lass. Let’s play nice. It’s only eh night. I’m sure ya’ good frien’ Tony will ’ave it sorted by the mornin’.” Eric lays his best charm towards her.

I watch with amusement as every word he speaks causes her face to darken more and more.

“Listen here, lispy Larry, speak down to me again, and I’ll thread your arse on your dick like a fucking needle.”

A furious red flush floods her cheeks as she squares off to the man in front of her. He’s nearly two foot taller than her, but you wouldn’t have thought it.

Leaving Eric to escort Alice to the car, I approach the disgruntled bride and her family to ensure they leave their business with Tony until he has recovered the shipment. The last thing I need is their inevitable feud to get in the way. Tony can deal with his failed marriage later.

Two cars are waiting outside the church when I step out afterwards. Eric stands in front of one rear door, smiling and listening to the rants seeping from inside.

“Ya lass got fire.” Eric chuckles and shakes his head as the car rocks slightly.

“Ride up front.” I nod towards the car she’s in. “I’ll give her some space to calm down.”

His eyebrows dance in amusement. “If ya say so, boss.”

The ride back to the apartment isn’t a long one. Knowing she is in the car in front makes me itch to get there and see her. I don’t care if she’s cursing me out the whole time, or threatening me with bodily harm, just as long as I get to enjoy her company.

I hope this is the longest night of my life.

CHAPTER5

ALICE

“Come on,Missy. Come out and let me make you something to eat.” Joseph’s voice is muffled by the door, but the smooth sexy tone cuts me right down the middle. I’m still on a sex high, and just the sound of his voice makes me want to jump him again. However, the brain that is somehow still functioning after this mindfuck of a day wants to block out the sound of him talking for all eternity.

How could he do this to me? Joseph got to know me, every little crevice of me, before we even met. What was the point? If he knew, the whole time, I was just a pawn for him to use to get to Tony, why put in that much effort? It was a holidate. It was a sure thing as soon as we made the agreement. He didn’t need to put miles in after that, but he did more than miles. He flew across the continents of my brain and saw everything. Now, I’m just the idiot he played like a fiddle and can throw away like yesterday’s newspaper. I’m the butt of the joke, straight back to thinking I’m never going to findthe one.

“Fuck off!” Screaming at him through the door surprisingly loosens the knot that’s been in my neck since the moment I realised who he is. Maybe I need to just scream at him for the next week, and I’ll be all better, and Joseph will be deaf.

“Oh, come on. I know what you’re like when you’re hungry. It will make you feel better.” There’s a pause. “Besides, I know you haven’t eaten all day, and I won’t be able to sleep knowing you’re hungry, so you better get your perfect ass out here so we can both get some rest tonight.”

I hate that he’s right. I can’t sleep on an empty stomach, and I’ll be useless tomorrow if I don’t sleep, but that will mean giving in and doing as he says. If he’s a real arsehole, I can always just let him cook it and throw it at him. A horrible waste of food, but so worth it.

With the image of pasta sauce dripping down his shirt, I find it within me to open the bedroom door.

I wait for the smart remark as he looks at me. I hate him. I hate him for how perfect he looks, how much he knows it. He’s leaning his back against the wall next to the door—ankles crossed, hands casually in his pockets, and his head crooked to the side so he can look down at me in the door frame.

Amusement dances in his eyes like a taunting jester. “What would you like to eat?”

Silence seals my lips, and his purse to hold back a laugh.

“Small but spicy.” Joseph says it so quietly, I’m not sure he means to say it out loud. “Okay, I get to choose, then.” He stands up from the wall, gesturing for me to go first.

I walk ahead, not to do as he says, but if I’m walking in front of him, I don’t have to look at him. I can’t stand the turmoil he has started inside me. He built me up so high the last few months, and now I feel as though I’m on a terrifying freefall, and I have no idea where I’m going to land. All the good things I felt, things I’d gained from him—like self-assurance and confidence—I didn’t have them before him, and now it’s as though he’s snatched them away, and I’ll never have them back.

---