Page 23 of High Sea Seduction

“Okay, princess. I’ll let you keep pretending everything we’rebothfeeling right here, right now, is all in my head. Which way do you want to go?” I ask, reluctantly lifting my fingers from her skin.

“I came to see the whole yacht, so it doesn’t matter which way we start, does it? And please don’t call me princess.”

I step beside her, and she has to tilt her head up to look me in the face. My gaze trails over her vulnerable neck and the pulse beating at her throat, and I admit I like the sight of it a little bit more than is healthy. “Why not?”

Her beautiful green eyes shadow before her eyelashes sweep down, hiding her expression from me. “Because I’m about as far from a princess as you can get.”

From any other person, I’d believe that statement is a coy attempt to gain my interest. From her, I believe she really means it. Just as I believe it stems from whatever pushed her into throwing herself in an icy ocean two weeks ago.

I shrug internally. I’ve never been the sort of guy who doles out pet names. Although, if I allow myself to think about it, she reminds me of an alley cat—all claws, sharp teeth and vulnerable underbelly just itching to be stroked.

It’s that vulnerability I want nothing to do with. I don’t want to know her weaknesses. The temptation to exploit them will be too great. My subtle, insidious ability to twist weakness to my advantage is the reason my mother called me a monster when I was eleven.

It’s the reason my father handed me the keys to his kingdom on my eighteenth birthday, slapped me on the back and toasted to my genius when I quadrupled the family fortune by the time I was twenty-five.

It’s the reason Cassie was a sitting duck the moment she entered my orbit. She never really stood a chance.

Thoughts of Cassie bring the clarity of mind I need. “Point taken,” I say to Keely.

Her eyelids start to lift, and I turn away, knowing the tiniest hint of interest will tip me in the wrong direction. I head down the port hallway, away from the entertainment lounges.

I enter the first room and let her wander in. As she passes me, I smell her perfume and stem the need to breathe her in like a greedy, sick fool, regardless of the fact that it’s exactly what I am.

Enough is never enough for you, is it? You have to take and take and keep taking until there’s nothing left! You know what you are? You’re fucking EVIL!

I block out Cassie’s voice and keep my eye on Keely.

She walks down the arena-like cinema, taking in each detail of the seats and the adult accessories attached to the plush upholstery. She picks up a remote and examines the buttons before she looks at me.

“Are there no privacy settings on the seating areas?” she asks.

“What’s the point? Isn’t part of the thrill of being in this room the exhibitionism?”

The room is too dark and she’s too far away for me to see if my response makes her color rise, but I see her shrug. “I’ve seen a few of the Indigo jet blueprints. I just thought clients here would be given the same options.”

“Zach didn’t design this boat. I did.”

Her head jerks up. “You? I thought you were just refitting the adult entertainment areas? From what I recall of the initial design, this cinema was already here.”

I fold my arms. “It was, from when I owned this boat.”

Her mouth drops open in that adorable way that makes me have to lock my knees to keep from moving in her direction and reacquainting myself with those lush lips. “Youowned this boat?”

I don’t respond. She knows who I am. Or at least she thinks she knows enough about me. What she doesn’t know is that I’ve ruthlessly erased about 80 percent of my past from every known, and most unknown, databases. Everything she’s been exposed to so far is just online fluff pieces that gossip whores find salacious.

I hide a grim smile.

If they knew the truth… ifsheknew the truth, she wouldn’t be standing here, running her hands over the velvet cushion like she wants to fuck it.

“Are we done here?” I ask tersely. Watching her hands move like that over the seat is making me a little nuts. And in my world, a little nuts isn’t the same as most people measure it to be.

She glances at me for a second, and I know something in my voice has thrown her. She debates whether to heed that inkling of danger, then pulls out a mini tablet to make a few notes. “I’m done here.” She throws the words out in that sexy, snappy way that makes my cock jerk to full attention again.

I walk her to the next room. She stands at the door and peers in with a look of puzzlement on her face as she glances down at her tablet. “What room is this? It’s not in the blueprint Zach sent me.”

“No, it’s a new addition. One of many, in fact.”

She frowns. “Why wasn’t I told about it?”

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