Anchored

by Rachael Wade

  He takes the suitcase from my hand and heaves it into the backseat, then opens the passenger door, waiting.

  I glare at him, inwardly damning the sun for being so callous. It beats at my back, and the heat is too much. There’s only one way to go here, and I’m running out of time. I inch forward slowly, hesitating when I reach Tanner’s side. His hand reflexively reaches for the small of my back to guide me in, and my skin burns beneath my sundress where his fingertips touch down. His body is too close, his scent too near. Like always, he takes up all of my space, and against all common sense, I want to reach out and touch him. I want him to touch me. I want more than just his fingertips grazing the small of my back.

  I swallow and slip past him, ducking my head to take a seat in the car.

  We drive off, turning onto the dirt path I’d been looking for. The turquoise house comes into view and my body flushes at the memories of all we’d done inside, and out on the private beach. My stomach rolls in realization. This is not just Tanner’s house. This is Tanner and Jade’s house, just like the cabin they share on the ship.

  Tanner kills the engine, but he doesn’t move to get out. Just like the first time he’d driven me to this place, he radiates with need while the windows remain rolled down, our bodies sticking to the black leather. His hands rest on his thighs, while mine fidget on my lap.

  “Well, are we going inside?” I ask quietly.

  “Please let me explain, Anya. Will you let me explain?”

  “You’re getting married. You lied. It’s as simple as that.”

  “No.” He tears his sunglasses off and shifts in the seat, turning to me. Those intoxicating blue eyes ensnare me, begging me to let him touch me, but I glare back at him, infusing as much disgust into my gaze as possible. “It’s never as simple as that. I didn’t lie to you. I never intended to.”

  My defenses spring up and the words come spilling out. “I have never cheated on a woman. I don’t engage in relationships. I play. Do any of these words sound familiar to you?”

  “Yes, and they’re all true, Anya. They’re true. I’m not a cheater. I don’t want to marry Jade—never did. And I do play. That’s all I do. It gets me in trouble. But I don’t make promises to these women. I never have.”

  “No, you just lie,” I seethe. “You just fuck them and omit the fact that you’re engaged on the side, only it’s all for show, right? Jade’s just a business partner, nothing more?”

  “How do you know that?” He pipes up, leaning closer, over the console. “Did she speak to you? What did she tell you?”

  “Just a lucky guess.” I look away, turning my gaze out the window. I can feel his eyes all over me. His heat mixes with the heat of the leather seats, reaching out to me, stretching over my bare, sweaty legs. I hate that I want this man to touch me. “Do you love her?”

  “No.”

  “How long have you been engaged?”

  “About ten seconds.”

  My head snaps back to meet him. “What?”

  “I didn’t propose to her. She served me an ultimatum, as did my mother, and under the gun, I had no choice but to agree. To save my father’s ship, I agreed to the merger and a public relationship with Jade. Those were her stipulations.”

  “I thought you hated your father.”

  “I did.”

  “Then why agree to such outrageous demands to save his ship?”

  “My father was a complete bastard, but he was still the only father I had. And the ship is still mine. It’s my legacy, now.”

  “And your mother’s,” my voice grows softer, understanding creeping in. “You care about your mother’s legacy. Her investment in this business.”

  “Yes. We can’t pick and choose who we love, Anya. Against all rhyme and reason, I still loved my father. I still love them both. I cannot watch the Trident Voyager go down. And it will, if I don’t save it. My father’s careless spending left the company with next to nothing, and I’ve been trying to pick up the pieces ever since. Jade has the power here, and I made a promise to my mother—and to my father—that I intend to keep. Even if it means an engagement. A phony marriage. I just never expected…” His voice trails off, just as his gaze turns distant, his voice hollow.

  “You didn’t expect to get caught. With another woman.”

  “I didn’t expect you,” he replies, not missing a beat. “I never saw you coming.”

  My heart does jumping jacks in my chest, and silence plumes around us. Unwelcome sympathy creeps up, and I struggle to tame it, to push it back down. Tanner Christensen still deceived me. And his soon-to-be wife. He’s wrong.

  But I can see why he chose this path. I can see why he thinks it’s right.

  “Jade went to my boss,” I say, reminding myself why I still have plenty reason to be angry with him.

  “She what?”

  “She bought me out. Gave Ted an offer he couldn’t refuse. She’s sponsoring the magazine and paying our journalists’ travel expenses for five years in exchange for me. She wants me as an exclusive feature writer for your ship and the Crown Jewel.”

  Tanner’s fist hits the steering wheel and I flinch. Anger seeps from his pores, warming the space like heated, aggravated lava. “She can’t do this.”

  “She can, and she is.”

  “I’ll fix this, Miss Banks. You have my word.”

  Something about hearing him call me by my last name strikes a chord. It’s different this time. Too far, too unfamiliar. I almost reach out to touch his knee but I hold back, closing my fist tightly.

  “Tanner, this is insane,” I say quietly. “You can’t marry this woman. This entire thing is a disaster waiting to happen.”

  “It already is a disaster.”

  “Exactly.”

  Tanner sighs and opens the driver door. “Please come inside.”

  “No. I’m here to settle my debt with you and then I’d like for you to arrange for me to go home, please.”

  “Debt? What debt?”

  “The one I owe you for being here, for being on this cruise. I refuse to let you to pay for it, and I refuse to accept the arrangement Jade’s made with Ted. Tell me how much you paid for me to be here and I will write you a check.” I open my bag and begin rifling around for my checkbook. “Then I’ll speak with Ted when I return and end this.”

  “One million dollars.”

  “What?” I shriek, head snapping in his direction. “One million dollars? How could you—why would you…I thought the company was hurting financially. I thought that’s why you agreed to this merger!”

  “I have enough. More than enough. I still have rights to my father’s ship.”

  “Then what do you need Jade’s money for? What good is the merger, then?”

  “Jade’s money ensures it stays at the top of its game. That it will remain number one on the seas, just as my father—and mother—wanted. It’s the extra push the company needs, can help it expand in ways it never could on its own. Without it, my only option is to sell the ship to another competitor or to watch it pale in comparison to the other cruise liners in the industry. It loses the prestige it’s worked so hard for over the years. That cannot happen. Jade has contacts. The Crown Jewel might be Number Two on the seas, but its arsenal is stronger, and has been growing significantly. It will overthrow the Trident Voyager. It’s only a matter of time. You know what they say. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”

  My gut aches with a new kind of sickness. The thought of all that money—all one million of those dollars Tanner spent—being spent on me, for the sake of my company, makes the vile rise in my throat. “How could you do this?” I whisper, unable to blink, unable to move. “A million dollars, Tanner? To fuck me?”

  He briskly steps out of the car and stalks to the passenger side, yanking the door open. He waits patiently for a moment, but that patience quickly slips away. He leans in and braces his arms on top of the car, peering down at me. “I did not pay money to fuck you. Please, Anya. Let’s talk inside.” />
  I turn in my seat, my knees shifting in his direction. My body suddenly feels numb. What the hell did I get myself into?

  Before I can will my limbs to move, I’m scooped up and tossed over Tanner’s shoulder. I yelp as the air whooshes from my lungs. The car door slams behind me and Tanner charges toward the house, gripping me tight around the thighs. I bounce over his shoulder like a ragdoll. “Tanner! Knock it off!”

  “Do not argue with me, Miss Banks.”

  “Put me down! What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Teaching you another lesson in Tanner Christensen 101.”

  I squirm and groan in frustration, wiggling against his shoulder as he unlocks the front door. The moment he carries me through the threshold, he sets me on the foyer table, sliding me backward until I’m flush with the wall and he’s pinning me there, standing between my legs.

  “I think I’ve had enough Tanner Christensen 101,” I spit, pushing at his strong arms as they encase me in a vice grip. “Let me go!”

  “Let’s get something crystal clear, Miss Banks. Because apparently, you didn’t hear me the first time. I do not pay women for sex. I have no need to. I sure as hell didn’t pay your boss so I could screw you at my disposal. I paid for you to have an opportunity. So you could travel and write. I paid for you to make my ship look good. And yes, I paid so I could enjoy your company. Because I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to you yet. I refuse to apologize for any of it.”

  “You’re engaged! How about you apologize for that?”

  He glides forward, his forehead smashing against mine. Our gazes shoot liquid fire, latching onto one another in a fierce display of determination. He’s determined to get his way, but I’m determined to be heard. I will not accept what he’s telling me. Not until he convinces me why I shouldn’t knee him in the balls right this moment. I’m in the perfect position to reach my target.

  “Anya,” he breathes hard, “it’s not real. Whatever you’ve seen, whatever you’ve heard—none of it is real. I just need time to figure things out. Another alternative. There has to be another alternative.”

  “You should have figured things out before you went ahead and involved me in this! Before you allowed it to interfere with my career.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. Please, Anya. Forgive me. I’ll make this right.”

  “This was supposed to be fun. Carefree. We were supposed to play. That was it. And now this!” My fingers bunch around his shirt collar, tightening and releasing as I work out my anger, as I let him hear and feel what he’s done to me. His scent is intoxicating, his bright sapphire eyes setting me on fire. My willpower is crumbling, slowly but surely. I’m not sure how I’ll hang on if he keeps me here, in his grasp.

  “I was wrong to involve you. I never meant for this to happen. I never intended any of this. When I first met you, I’d made up my mind. I wasn’t going to marry Jade. I wasn’t going to let this happen.”

  “But you did. And now you’re marrying her.”

  “No. Yes—no, I don’t know. I didn’t expect her to show up on the ship like this.”

  “You didn’t expect a lot of things.”

  He hangs his head with a weary sigh.

  “What is it you want from me? My forgiveness? Another feature on your ship? Please, Tanner. Arrange for me to go home. I know you can.”

  “You, Anya. I want you.”

  “You actually expect me to stay here with you. While your fiancée is on the ship.”

  “Stop calling her that.” His head snaps up and his nostrils flare.

  “That’s what she is!”

  “In her self-absorbed world, maybe. Not in my world. I haven’t walked her down the damn aisle yet. There’s still a chance I can back out if I play my cards right.”

  I squirm again, wiggling around on the table like a worm. “What, over a woman you’ve been screwing for a few weeks? Tanner, we’re done here. I have nothing left to say. I cannot re-pay you, fine. But I can leave. Please, just let me leave.” I funnel as much conviction as I can into my words, but my inner structure is shaky at best. He’s being sincere, and there’s a part of me that wants to help him, wants to see him find a way out of this. But what he’s dragged me into is already enough. Too much.

  His warm hands flex and tighten on my shoulders. “Listen to me. You’re not a plaything to me either, Anya.”

  My restless gaze rolls up. I quit struggling.

  “I’m not finished with you. I can’t imagine a man ever being finished with you. But I cannot lose this merger. You’re a smart woman. You might not run a business, but you work for one. You understand the politics. You know the cost. All I can try and do is figure out how to beat Jade at her own game. But until then, I have to play along. Please, I don’t deserve your understanding, but I’m asking for it. Stay.”

  I glance down at his strong hands, wishing I could call Lana right this second. She’d know what to say. She’d know just what to do. But I can’t, so I inhale and do the only thing I can think to do.

  Think like her.

  I call on all of it: Her ability to think outside the box, her eagerness to think bigger, her drive to never give up. It’s an outlook she’s gifted me with over the years. One I aspire to nurture and maintain.

  My voice is quiet. “I’ll stay.”

  Tanner’s gaze dances from left to right. He doesn’t move. “You will?”

  “Under one condition.”

  “Name it.”

  “We work together. We beat Jade at her own game.”

  TWO

  “He’s what?” Lana’s voice barrels at me through the phone as I tell her Tanner’s engaged. I’m pacing back and forth on Tanner’s private beach, using his house phone, while he makes some calls of his own inside.

  “She looks like Posh Spice, Lan. But with a tan. She’s fierce. Or major. Or whatever those Brits say.”

  “And you’re still at his beach house.”

  “Yes.”

  “Anya Banks, you are one crazy bitch. What possessed you to tell him you’d stay?” She shrieks like an animal and I wince. “How did you get yourself into this mess?”

  “I asked myself what Lana would do, that’s how!”

  “Bah!” she gasps in horror. “And what gave you that bright idea? My love life is a war zone!”

  “You were the one to push me into Tanner’s bed, remember? You were the one speaking all Justin Timberlake to me, encouraging this whole damn thing.”

  Lana groans into the receiver. “That was before! How was I supposed to know you’d fall for him and that he’d have skeletons in his closet?”

  I close my eyes and rub at my temple. “We all have them.”

  “We don’t all run around hiding engagements! Oh, that stupid SOB. Did he really think this wouldn’t bite him in the ass?” Another shriek rings from the receiver and I pull the phone from my ear.

  “What is it?”

  “A photo of them has surfaced. It’s recent. I’m reading the headline now. She’s way prettier than Posh Spice.”

  “Lana!”

  “Sorry, sorry! Okay, it says….errrmm…the article says they’ve just broken news of their engagement to their family last week, and that they couldn’t be more thrilled. Oh, puke.”

  “Yeah. I think I’m going to.”

  “Looks like this photo was taken on the ship.”

  “Seriously, Lan. I think I’m going to be sick.”

  “Anya.” Lana taps at her keyboard. There’s more shuffling and then she sounds like she’s getting closer to the phone, shutting her laptop down. “Listen. All that matters right now is how you feel about this whole thing, how he says he feels, and whether or not you believe he’s being sincere.”

  “That’s what’s making me crazy.”

  “What is?”

  “He’s being sincere.”

  “Well, then, tell this chick to take a flying leap. Oh! And tell her to put some damn meat on her bones. She’s pretty, but the girl could use a baguette. Or th
ree.”

  I’m beyond grateful for the little laugh that escapes. Even after I’ve relived the entire ordeal with Lana, from the first meeting with Jade and Tanner joining her side when I stepped in the elevator, to me being here, on Alvita, at Tanner’s house, I’ve somehow managed to find some laughter thanks to my crazy best friend. It might be fleeting, but I’ll take what I can get, because let’s face it, this is no laughing matter.

  “Have you told him yet, by the way?” Lana asks.

  “Told him what?”

  “That you have feelings for him. He obviously feels the same.”

  “I’m not so sure about that.”

  “Anya, the man paid Ted a million dollars to spend time with you. He can buy any hooker he wants for that kind of cash. The man doesn’t want sex. He wants it with you.”

  “Somehow, that doesn’t make me feel any better.”

  She snorts. “You know what I’m saying! What more do you need to convince you? You don’t see him going out of his way to spend time with this phony fiancée of his, do you?”

  “What if I’m the phony, Lan? What if he just wants a good time? A distraction? What if that’s all this is to him? Especially if he isn’t thrilled about his impending marriage.”

  “Trust your gut. You think he’s being sincere, then he’s being sincere.” Her voice cuts out and I open my mouth to ask if she can hear me, but a big, warm hand covers my shoulder from behind. I turn to face him.

  “Hey,” Tanner says, watching me intently. He nods to the phone. “Lana?”

  “Yes. I think I’m losing her.” I hold up a finger and return my attention to the call, but it’s no use. The line’s dead.

  “The landline isn’t always reliable, I’m afraid. Just as bad as the cell service out here.”

  I hang up and my shoulders sag. “She’s going to do what she can. She’ll need anything you can give her on the Crown Jewel. Whatever you can divulge will be helpful for the piece. She’s speaking to Ted tonight.” Lana might be a travel writer, but she’s also a damn good actress when she wants to be. Now that Jade has struck a deal with Ted to hire me exclusively for the Trident Voyager, that leaves the magazine open to featuring other cruise liners as it sees fit, and to write in favor of its new, very own pride and joy. Its interests lie with the Trident Voyager’s merger now.