I gulped. He’s right. I hadn’t thought twice about reacting. Breathing through my cymbal smashing heartbeat, I ignored him as the sun glittered on trucks and cranes and the mania of a working harbour.
He chuckled quietly. “First, you’re disappointed I didn’t kiss you last night, and now, your body language speaks before you can censor it.” Raising the mug to his lips, he deliberately licked them before sealing them around the porcelain. His throat contracted as he swallowed a mouthful of caffeine. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re beginning to trust my promise.”
I don’t know what you’re talking about.
I kept my eyes glued on a crane hauling a container into the sky.
It didn’t stop him from muttering, “My promise that I won’t hurt you.”
I didn’t know if he’d ever hurt me, but with fresh energy came clear-headedness and confidence to face whatever came next. My anger had given me a backbone, but his peace had given me sanity.
I turned to face him. I didn’t know why. To finish what we started last night? To surprise him that maybe I was disappointed and ready to play his game.
Elder’s gaze locked onto my mouth and every electrical spark between us fizzled with fireworks. I stopped breathing as my stomach became master of my body, clenching in answer to the dark question on his face.
I didn’t know what I wanted anymore. I didn’t know what he was doing to me.
Either kiss me or stop—
A handsome older man interrupted our moment, his eyes crinkling against the sun’s brightness. “The anchor is in position. She’s all put to bed, sir.”
Our connection severed like taut twine cut with scissors. I sucked in my first inhale in so many heartbeats.
Elder cleared his throat, tossing the remaining coffee overboard, an arc of brown liquid splashing in the small gap between the dock and the ship. He showed no sign of being affected by whatever had happened.
A large gangway cracked open the shell of the Phantom a few decks below us, extending to the mainland, ready to disembark.
Elder said, “Excellent. Thank you, Jolfer.”
“We’ll wait here until we hear from you. We have mooring rights for seventy-two hours.”
“We won’t need that long.” Elder placed the coffee mug on a bolted-down table by the railing. “Tell Selix to drive out and meet us by the west warehouse.”
“Us, sir?” Jolfer’s forehead furrowed. “You’re not going alone?”
Elder turned to face me, his eyes black and guarded. “Not this time.” He held out his hand. “Pimlico this is your first choice of many.”
I froze.
“Be my guest. Explore an exotic city. Come meet a member of the royal family and begin to live a little. Or stay. Simple.”
I jolted back a step.
Me?
Allowed to wander with strangers, inhale aromatic flavours, and…meet royalty?
I didn’t understand.
Wasn’t I his possession? Shouldn’t he keep me hidden on his ship, far away from the prying eyes of people who might see what I was and rescue me?
Rescue you from what?
Him, of course.
The thought of running the moment my feet touched land filled my heart with helium. I could vanish in this helter-skelter city and be gone.
Elder laughed, his hair gleaming like a crow’s wing in the sun. “If you come with me, fair warning. I won’t put a leash on you; you’ll be treated like a human being who is there of her own accord. But if you run…I won’t stop you.”
I sucked in a breath.
What?
“I won’t stop you because I don’t have time to chase an unappreciative brat.” He stepped forward. “You know enough to decide if you want to stay with the devil you know or sprint to one you don’t. Realistically, it would be better for me if you did run. You’d be off my ship and out of my life, and I could go back to the way things were.”
His eyes shone with a fury I rarely saw. “I miss my regimented existence, silent one. Don’t think you’re the only one struggling with this arrangement.”
If you’re struggling why take me in the first place?
Elder rubbed his mouth with the same fingers that’d made me origami-gifts and stroked me in the sea. “For now, you’re my responsibility. And it’s up to you to decide. First, you make the choice to come with me. Yes or no. Then, if that choice is yes, you make another choice.”
His fingers looped sensually around my elbow, dragging me forward a step in a purely dominating move. “You come, and you agree to return. Running will only get you killed—especially in this country. You’re a white female with no money, passport, or voice. Do you honestly think you’ll find safety?”
My chin came up.
I might.
Not all men are monsters.
He pursed his lips. “Are you willing to risk what I’m offering with the hope that someone out there will take pity on you, buy you a plane ticket, track down your mother, and send you home?”