by Kimberly Fox
“At least someone is getting lucky,” Dex mumbles.
The prince cuts the engines and starts setting up the fishing poles, baiting the hooks and doing whatever he has to do so we can get this day over with.
Kara groans as she drops her head back. Her face looks as green as the puke sloshing inside the bucket on her lap.
“How are you feeling, Kara?” I ask her in a sing-song voice, smiling extra wide at her.
“I feel how you look,” she says, spitting into the bucket as she glares at me.
“Some raw fish will settle your stomach,” Dex says.
Her cheeks bulge as big as her eyes as she starts heaving. Dex gives me a wink as she starts another violent round of puking.
Marv finally gets off his phone and joins us with the prince by the fishing poles. It’s a hot, beautiful day, and although I’d rather be on this boat with literally anyone else in the world than these three people, I’m still excited to go deep sea fishing.
My father vanished from my life when I was a toddler, and my mother wasn’t the fishing type. I’ve always wanted to try it but never bothered to go on my own. So, I’m pretty excited to hold a fishing rod for the first time. Well, second time if you count the aisles of Walmart.
Dex is a natural, of course. He takes a rod, baits the hook, and casts it like a pro as I’m trying to handle mine without getting the hook stuck in my leg.
“Like this,” he says, as he places his fishing rod into the holder on the boat. My breath seizes as he comes up behind me and slides his hands down my arms.
I swallow hard, staring at the water but seeing nothing as I feel his hard chest graze the top of my back. His warm breath tickles my neck as he shows me how to hold it properly.
“Like that,” he whispers, placing my fingers on the handle. “Just like you’re holding a—”
The look I give him over my shoulder shuts him up.
“How do I make the hook go far out like you did?” I ask. I really want to catch something, and the best I can do is let the hook fall right beside the boat where exactly zero fish are swimming.
He moves his warm body a little closer and tightens his grip on my forearms, making me light-headed. I have to focus on the instructions coming out of his mouth, but I can only seem to focus on his big biceps curled around me, his low voice growling in my ear, and his heart beating against my back.
“Got it?” he asks, stepping back after he explains how to do the motion.
“Yes,” I lie. I don’t got it.
And that’s clear when I try to cast the hook like he did. The rod sails out of my hands and plops into the water.
“That’s a start,” he says as we both start laughing. I look at the prince to see if he saw, but he’s setting up the rods with Marv on the other side of the boat.
“Try again,” Dex says, handing me another one.
He gives me a few pointers, mainly to keep my hands closed, and I try again. This time the hook sails through the air and lands a few feet from his.
“Yay!” I squeal, jumping up in the air.
“Great job!” he says, smiling as he holds up his hand for a high-five. I slap my palm against his, and he closes his hand around mine, holding it for an extra moment.
Something electric passes between us, and I yank my hand back before I get burned. “Thanks,” I mumble, turning toward the ocean as I hold the rod with both hands.
I lean against the edge of the boat, watching the sparkling ocean as we wait for an unlucky fish to bite. Dex stands beside me in a comfortable silence, enjoying the view as well, and I realize that this is the first time we’ve been together for more than five minutes without getting at each other’s throats. It’s kinda nice.
“Have you ever been fishing before?” I ask after a while.
“Yeah,” he says, running a hand through his hair as he takes a deep breath. “I lived in Alaska when I was a kid, and my dad would take me fishing during the summer.”
I jerk my head back in surprise. “Alaska?” I spit out, staring at him in shock. “I didn’t know that.”
He smiles a sad smile. “I haven’t been there since I was seven-years-old.”
“Is your dad from Alaska?” I ask, wanting to know everything about him. Not because I care, but to use for future ammunition in our war. Definitely not because I care.
“Was from Alaska,” he says, gazing out at the ocean with an empty stare. “He died two days before my seventh birthday.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, dropping my head. The look on his face is so raw and full of emotion that I suddenly feel like I’m an intruder who stepped into the wrong room and is witnessing something deeply personal.
“It’s okay,” he says, his voice thicker than usual. “My father was Alaskan born and raised. A real mountain of a man. You wouldn’t find a tougher guy, but when he was around my mother he was pure jelly. He was so in love with her.”
“Was she from Alaska too?”
“No,” he says, shaking his head. “She was from Richmond, Virginia. She moved up to Alaska to live with him but when he died she moved us back down to her home so she could be close to her family. I haven’t been back up to Alaska since.”
“What happened to him?” I ask softly. “It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me.”
He looks down at his hand, which is picking at the rubber ridges of the fishing pole. “Cancer,” he says, the dreaded word catching in his throat. “I hero-worshiped him when I was a kid, and I was forced to watch the man who lifted me on his wide shoulders like I weighed nothing waste away to a skeleton. Three months after the diagnosis, he was dead.”
My chest aches as I listen to his heartbreaking words. He takes a deep breath as he stares out at the ocean, trying to steel his emotions.
I’m not as good at that as he is. My eyes start to water as soreness sits in my throat. “I’m sorry,” I say, inching a little closer to him. Our arms touch, and for the first time, I keep it there. “I know how much it sucks to grow up without a dad.”
“Really?” he asks, looking down at me with soft eyes.
I nod as my shoulders droop down. “He ran out on my mom when I was a toddler.”
“Prick,” he mutters under his breath. “I find it hard to believe that someone would leave you.”
His words take me by surprise, and I’m about to ask him what he means when my fishing rod jerks forward. I tighten my grip around the handle as I look down at the tight fishing line.
“I caught something!” I shout out in surprise.
Dex secures his fishing pole and rushes behind me, supporting me with his strong arms. “Okay,” he says, as my breath races. My heart is beating so fast.
“Lower your rod fast,” he says, helping me. “Now quickly turn the reel.”
The beast on the other end is so strong. My flexed arms are burning as I try to reel him in.
“You do it,” I say, worried that I’ll screw it up.
“No way,” he says, shaking his head. “You got this, Riley Coyote. Just keep doing what I showed you.”
It takes forever, and I’m exhausted with my arms on fire, but I finally get the beast to the surface.
“Holy crap!” Marv shouts as he looks overboard. “That’s got to be at least thirteen feet!”
“What is it?” I ask, gritting my teeth as I struggle to turn the reel.
“A marlin,” Prince Kalib says as he looks overboard.
“It feels like Godzilla,” I say between ragged breaths.
I take a peek overboard and gasp when I see the large marlin thrashing around in the water, swinging his long nose-sword around like a pirate.
“Dex,” I gasp, looking up at him as sweat drips down my temple. “He’s too big for me.”
“I’m right here,” he says, wrapping his arms around me for support. “Let’s do this together.”
The load becomes lighter as Dex shoulders the bulk of it. With the strain off of me and on Dex, I can enjoy the moment more. My senses are heighten
ed as adrenaline rushes through me. I can feel the ridges of the handle against my palms, I can taste the salt from the water on my dry lips, I can smell Dex’s musky scent around me, I can hear the waves slamming against the side of the boat, and finally, I can see the shiny blue marlin as it’s pulled on-board.
I fall backward, completely exhausted, but luckily Dex is there to catch me. He holds me up as he smiles in my ear. “Great job!” he whispers.
My happiness is short lived as I look down at the spectacular creature thrashing around on the floor of the boat. He’s huge-much taller than Dex-with beautiful blue stripes on his silver belly. He swings his long sword-shaped nose as he flails around in confusion. He looked so majestic when I caught a glimpse of him in the water, but now he just looks sad and desperate as he slowly dies at my feet.
“He’s a beauty,” Marv says, slapping his thigh as Prince Kalib takes the hook out of the marlin’s lip. “I’ve never seen one so big!”
“I’ll get my knife,” Prince Kalib says, sounding giddy as he rushes to the other side of the boat.
“I’ll get my camera,” Marv says, running after him.
My body turns rigid as guilt and horror sets in. My stomach is rolling with nerves as I watch him with my vision blurred. He was the king of the ocean, and now he’s going to be stuffed and mounted on the wall over Marv’s couch.
“Are you okay?” Dex whispers as he studies my face.
I’m too upset to talk, so I just shake my head as my lips close into a tight line. My chin trembles as the stunning animal’s movements slow and his mouth opens and closes, his eyes glossing over into a dull haze.
Dex steps in front of me and lowers his face so that our eyes are level. “Want me to throw him back in?” he whispers.
I just nod. It’s all I can do.
In a heartbeat, he turns around and slides his powerful arms under the marlin’s silver belly. With a savage grunt, he lifts the creature up and gently tosses it overboard.
Tears of relief well up behind my eyelids as I watch it swim away unharmed. I lean on the boat, holding onto the edge with trembling hands as it disappears below the surface.
“Thank you,” I whisper to Dex as he stands beside me, watching the water.
My heart picks up again as he gives me a slow smile and a little wink.
“Where did it go?” Marv asks in a panic.
Dex turns to him, sheltering me with his body. “He was bucking so hard that he jumped overboard.”
I smile as I hide behind him, admiring his strong back.
This doesn’t change anything. He’s still a jerk. He’s still my enemy.
I still hate him.
And I’ll be sure to tell him that as soon as I can stop smiling.
Chapter Twelve
Riley
This will get his heart pumping. I look in the mirror and shake my head. This morning I wanted Dex’s heart to stop for good, and now I want to get it pumping.
“What is wrong with you?” I ask the reflection in the mirror. “He is the enemy.”
I pick up the sweet-smelling perfume on the counter, ignoring the disapproving face in the mirror as I spray it on my neck. I wonder if the enemy would like this smell.
“What?” I ask the reflection staring back at me. “It’s chemical warfare. Definitely not trying to impress him.”
I step onto my toes and take one last look at my outfit before walking to the door of the bathroom. I picked a fitted yellow dress from the communal closet that I’m sure Dex will love.
Not that I care. I hate it when he’s constantly staring at me.
He sits up on the bed with wide eyes when I walk into the room, and I have to turn to hide my smile.
“Wow,” he says, gawking at me. “Riley Coyote, you look absolutely phenomenal.”
“Thank you,” I say, feeling sexy in the tight dress.
He grins as he glances at the wall of drawers down the middle of the bed. “Maybe we can put the drawers back in the dresser where they belong,” he says, biting his bottom lip as he looks me up and down.
“Only if you promise to keep your drawers where they belong.”
“On the floor?” he asks, smirking.
“Try again.”
“Stuffed in your mouth while I take you from behi—”
“Okay!” I say, raising my hand as I interrupt him. “You were a gentleman for half a second before you blew it. Congratulations. It’s a new record.”
He laughs as he gets off the bed and follows me to the door.
“I’ll be a gentleman all night if I get to see you slip out of that dress after,” he says as we leave the room.
“I’m sure you will,” I say, flipping my hair back as I look up at him. “But you’ll be back to your asshole ways in the morning.”
“Probably,” he says as he laughs. “But things will be different because you’ll be in love with me.”
“Oh, really?”
“Really,” he says, looking sexy as hell as he nods his head. “You’re already in love with me. That’s why you hate me so much. You’re suppressing your feelings of attraction, and they’re coming out as hate.”
I want to wipe the arrogant cocky grin off his face. With my lips.
He may have a sliver of a point there. I’m not in love with him. At all. I’m not even sure I like him. But I do hate him less than I did yesterday.
He’s growing on me. Like a big brutish wart, he’s growing on me.
Marv intercepts us in the hallway before we can walk into the dining room for dinner. His face is red, and it’s not from the sun-filled day. He looks pissed.
“This has gone on long enough,” he says, trying to shout and keep his voice low at the same time. Somehow, he does it. “You two have to help me out and sell him those fucking yachts. That’s why you’re here!”
I jerk my body to the side, dodging the index finger that he’s waving around.
“It’s time for you to earn your commission,” he says to me with a fierce glare. He turns to Dex and narrows his eyes on him. “And it’s time for you to earn what we agreed upon.”
I still haven’t found out what that is, and by the way Dex looks all closed up and rigid, it appears that I’m not going to be finding out now.
“Good evening,” Prince Kalib says from inside the dining room when he sees us. “Come in, come in.”
“I mean it,” Marv says, rubbing his forehead like he’s trying to massage his brain through his thick skull. “Let’s close this deal so we can get the fuck out of here.”
When Marv turns, he’s a completely different man. “Is that steak I smell?” he asks, opening his arms with a big smile on his face. “My stomach is rumbling. That smells delicious!”
Prince Kalib looks pleased as he walks over. “Go get yourself a drink,” he says, waving Marv to the bar. “I want to drink in my lovely guests.”
Marv shoots us a warning look before charging over to the bar and sulking on a stool.
“You look ravishing,” Prince Kalib says, slowly looking me up and down. He grabs my shoulders and kisses me on both cheeks. I can see Dex’s body stiffen out of the corner of my eye. Did he just growl?
“You two are so in love,” Prince Kalib says, giving us each a warm smile as he looks at us. His eyes settle back on me, and I can hear Dex’s violent breathing from here. “It’s so wonderful to see true love.”
I nod, swallowing hard. It’s time to put my business hat on. It’s time to sell this spoiled Prince way too many yachts.
“You know,” I say, hooking my arm around Dex’s, “our relationship really bloomed when we bought our Gladstone yacht. Everything from the king-sized bed in the master bedroom, the granite countertops in the bathrooms, to the five gas fireplaces on-board really helped sail our love into a new direction.” I glance up at Dex to see if he’s impressed by my sales pitch. I mentioned three features and slipped in a pun!
“Laying it on a little thick,” he whispers.
He doesn’t know wha
t he’s talking about.
“Do you have anyone special in your life, Prince Kalib?” I ask him. “Someone who you could watch the sunset with aboard a Gladstone yacht, the second largest luxury yacht producers in the world?”
“Yeah, he’s got sixty of them,” Dex mutters beside me.
I flash him a dirty look and then turn back to the prince with a smile brewing on my lips. “Anyone?”
“Not yet,” he says, smiling sadly at me. “But I have my eye on a special someone.”
Dex tenses up beside me. “I’m sure you do.”
I watch in confusion as the two men stare each other down like two alpha males about to fight over a steak.
Wait a minute. Am I a steak?
“Let’s eat,” Prince Kalib says, breaking first. He waves us into the room and Dex reluctantly walks in.
“What is going on?” I whisper to him when the prince is out of earshot.
Dex just ignores me and marches off to the bar.
“That was rude,” I whisper to myself.
Kara is sitting at the table, only looking slightly better than she did on the boat. Her hair is a blonde mess, her eyes are bloodshot, and her skin still has a slight shade of green that I’m hoping is now permanent.
She gives me her patented evil glare as I walk by.
This time I stop and face her. “What’s the matter, Kara? Not used to puking before the meal?”
She opens her mouth to respond but then gags instead. I giggle as she jumps out of the chair and runs out of the room clutching her stomach as she dry heaves.
“Is she okay?” Prince Kalib asks, pointing at the doorway.
“She’s fine,” Marv says, not bothering to look up.
“I was hoping to serve you some barbecued marlin,” Prince Kalib says, shaking his head in disappointment, “but unfortunately you know what happened there. Our dinner escaped.”
Thank God. He’s probably in the middle of the ocean right now, sword fighting a shark with his nose to save his princess. And it’s all because of Dex.
Kara still hasn’t returned when we sit down for dinner, and Marv doesn’t bother to go check on her. I can’t blame him there. He’s probably used to her spitting vile out of her mouth every time she speaks, so he looks unfazed.