Page 80 of Crossing the Line
“Didn’t security already sweep the yacht, X?” Waverly reminded him.
Twice actually. TheSea Goddesshad been swept for stowaways, listening devices, and explosives. Each crewmember had been vetted and required to sign a non-disclosure agreement. In addition to the usual staff, the crew now included two contract security personnel from an established Athens firm who would shadow Robert and Sylvia when they left the boat.
It had been impossible to keep the news of the Sinner family vacation from the media, but keeping the yacht moored offshore cut down on any unwanted paparazzi attention.
“Just doing my job, Angel.”
“I thought you were trying to figure out the best way to sneak in here at night,” she said, batting her lashes at him.
He frowned at her, but she’d spent too much time with his sisters and shrugged it off with a laugh.
“At least tell me this,” she amended. “Do you think about…us? About what we did?”
“Only every second of every day,” Xavier admitted. He knew what it felt like to have his hands on those breasts, to have her breathless and wrapped around him. To hear his name on her lips as she came.
She let out a breath. “Thank God. I thought I was the only one.”
He closed the distance between them and brushed her hair over her shoulder. A gentle, intimate gesture that had the tops of his fingers skimming her neck. “Almost makes me wish the timing were different.”
“Yeah, me too. Almost.”
He grinned. “Get changed, and we’ll go upstairs… or whatever you call it on a floating palace.”
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Xavier’s room was nearly identical to Waverly’s, but his adjoining bathroom—head, he corrected—didn’t have the cauldron-like soaking tub. He changed out of his travel-worn suit and pulled on a pair of golf shorts in a dark gray and a light blue button down with short sleeves. He debated and then tucked his gun into a waistband holster. He’d keep it on him for now, at least until they were underway.
Waverly was waiting in the hallway, and he gave her outfit an approving nod that had her rolling her eyes. He was thankful that her cover-up was an ankle length dress that hid her bikini from him. The last thing he needed was to be distracted by her spectacular body in front of her parents.
They found Sylvia and Robert lounging on an open deck, frothy pink beverages in hand. Sylvia was curled on the sunken horseshoe-shaped couch against plush white cushions. Huge Dolce and Gabbana sunglasses hid most of her face. She wore a short white kimono over a high cut white one-piece bathing suit. Her blonde hair was pinned up and covered by a black and white scarf. She was the epitome of classic Hollywood style.
Robert wore an unbuttoned white linen shirt and walking shorts in navy. He was reading a newspaper and smoking a cigar on a lounger with an unobstructed coastal view.
Beyond him, Santorini rose from the water, a dazzling array of white washed buildings that sat like sugar cubes chiseled into cliff. Two blue domes the exact shade of the sea below topped two tiny churches.
“You guys sure can pick a spot,” Waverly said by way of a greeting.
“There you are!” Sylvia gained her feet and tottered over on ridiculous heeled sandals. “Can you believe this is our first family vacation in four years?” Sylvia air kissed Waverly’s cheeks and then gave Xavier the same greeting.
Robert folded his newspaper and wandered over, martini glass in hand.
“Hello, sweetheart,” he greeted Waverly with an awkward hug and then offered his hand to Xavier. “Who’s ready for a drink? Talia makes a delicious grapefruit martini.”
Xavier declined Robert’s offer as did Waverly, but they did accept tall glasses of ice water that Leonidas appeared with.
“Empty, Leo!” Sylvia wiggled her glass in Leonidas’ face, and Xavier saw Waverly wince. She snatched the glass out of her mother’s hand and turned a much warmer smile on for the steward’s benefit.
“I’m sorry, Leonidas. It looks like my mother is in vacation mode already.”
“It is no problem,” he said with a white-toothed grin. “I will be happy to bring a refill.”
“Maybe a water, as well,” Waverly suggested.
“My pleasure.”
“Xavier,” Robert said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “Why don’t we take a tour of the sun deck?” He pointed up yet another set of stairs that led to the very top of the yacht.
“Of course.” Xavier knew a man-to-man talk when he saw one and wondered what this one was regarding. He was entirely unprepared for the wave of guilt that crashed over him. He’d slept with the man’s daughter, a man who was paying him to protect her, and in that moment, he felt lower than Douchebag Joe. He’d betrayed the trust of a client, crossed a line, and there was no way to fix it. Even ensuring that it never happened again wasn’t good enough.
