Someone slaps my shoulder and I jerk my eyes open, wanting to snarl at them for taking her image away.
“Come drink,” Noah says as he hangs off me, already barely able to hold himself up. He’s got a half-empty bottle of Jack in one hand and a trashy looking hammered stripper in the other.
“Come dance,” she says as she takes off her pink beaded necklace and puts it around my neck. “You’re hot.” She reaches for me and they both stumble forward when the boat sways on the water. I catch them and drag them over to the leather sofa. They’re laughing as I plop them down on it and they’re making out before I can turn away in disgust.
I can’t be here anymore. Not when I know that an angel is hiding somewhere on this yacht.
With my pulse racing, I rush along the side of the yacht, desperately looking for her. I run into staff everywhere as I race up a flight of steps, but I don’t see her.
“Where’s the girl?” I bark at one of the maids. She has short black hair, which looks like she cut herself and is sitting on a bed, staring at her phone.
“What?” she says, never taking her eyes off the screen.
“The girl. With the… hair.” Fuck. I’m all thrown off. My nerves are all jittery. She’s no help so I continue charging through the yacht. I pass a gym, a library, a few offices with a conference table, another bar area with a pool table. “Come on,” I hiss through gritted teeth when I can’t find her.
I pass the dining room and head right into the kitchen. The Spanish chef turns to me with a psychotic stare. The man is built like a bull and looks just as angry as one. “What are you doing in my kitchen?” he asks in a thick Spanish accent.
“I’m looking for someone,” I say as my eyes dart around. It’s all spotless stainless steel, huge refrigerators, and ovens, but no girl.
“Get. Out.”
I jerk my head back in shock when I see him squeezing the butcher’s knife in his hand. “I’m a guest! Aren’t you supposed to be nice?”
“My job is to delight you in the dining room, but if you walk into my kitchen again, I will gut you and serve you to your friends for breakfast!”
“Whoa, fuck!” I shout as he steps forward with the knife in his hand. I turn and fly through the doors before he can get me.
And I nearly crash right into her. She’s standing in the dining room, shaking her head.
“You never step into Santiago’s kitchen,” she says as she crosses her arms under those gorgeous breasts. “We’ll be in international waters soon enough and he has no problem feeding the fishes if you know what I’m saying.”
I swallow hard as my eyes feast on her. She’s wearing a long white pencil skirt with a turquoise blue blouse that matches her eyes perfectly. It’s the staff uniform, but it looks like it was designed specifically for her by the most talented fashion designer in Paris. She makes it look that good.
She has thick curly blonde hair that looks as untamable as her. It’s tied up in the back, but the breeze coming in through the large windows is causing curled strands to swirl all around her. This is what it must feel like to stare at Medusa. You can’t look away as your heart stops and your body slowly turns to stone, frozen forever with a look of awe on your face.
“Are you trying to get back to the party?” she asks when I don’t say anything. “Are you lost? Hello?”
She waves her hand in front of my face and it snaps me out of my startled state. “Right. What was the question?”
Her striking blue eyes narrow on me. “How much have you had to drink?”
“Nothing. One beer. Half a beer.”
“Right…,” she says, looking at me skeptically. “I can tell that you guys like to party hard, but just remember, we’re on a large water vessel and if you stumble over the railing and fall into the water while we’re traveling at 50 knots an hour, it’s probably going to mean your death.”
I take a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. This girl has got me rattled.
She has the kind of eyes that see straight through bullshit. Lie-detector blue it should be called. Whatever the shade of pale blue it is, they’re brilliant. Bold. Sharp. Ravishing.
“I’m not with those guys.”
She looks down at the pink beaded necklace around my neck and raises an eyebrow.
“Not mine,” I say as I rip it off. Beads scatter everywhere on the floor. “Oops! Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she says in a cold voice. “Go back to your strippers. The anchor is coming up in thirty minutes, so you’re going to have to say goodbye to Candy, Chastity, and Chandelier pretty soon. Better go get one last look at their tits before we have to leave them on the dock.”
“I wasn’t… I don’t…”
What is with me around this girl? I can’t keep it together. I’m glad Eli isn’t here to watch me floundering pathetically. He’d be teasing me about this for the rest of my life.
“Just make sure your friends are sober enough to hear the Captain’s instructions before we leave.”
She spins on her white deck shoes and charges up the staircase, leaving me in pieces. I watch her swaying ass in that killer white skirt as she disappears up the stairs.
I never knew girls like her existed. I didn’t know this emotion was even a thing. To be so… lovestruck.
I’m gripping my heart as I stumble down the stairs on the way back to the party. Every thought I have is of her as I grip the railing on the side of the boat and stare out at the water.
“Hey,” I say, stopping one of the tall Norwegian brothers as he passes. It’s Eivind. “Who’s that woman? The fierce one with the curly blonde hair?”
“That’s Miss Aubrey Riddle,” he answers. My heart goes into overdrive when I hear her name. “She’s the First Officer. Second in command to the Captain. Would you like me to get her for you, sir?”
I think about it for a second, but I don’t want to get yelled at again. I need these strippers gone before I can try and get another shot at making a good impression on her.
“It’s okay. Thanks, Eivind.”
He nods and then disappears down the hallway. I grip the railing until my knuckles burn. This is going to be an interesting trip after all.
It’s not long before the music stops and I see the strippers being herded down the ramp onto the dock.
I head back into the pool area just in time for the Captain’s instructions.
He’s standing in front of the guys who already look plastered as they stretch out on the huge horseshoe couch. Gabriel’s eyes keep closing.
The Captain runs his fingers over his big bushy gray mustache as he introduces himself. My eyes are locked on his adorable First Mate standing proudly beside him. Aubrey looks incredible and I get a rush of anger knowing that the eyes of these perverted guys are on her. I don’t like anyone looking at her except for me.
I’m already obsessed with her. I’m feeling as possessive as a kid with a new toy. I want her all to myself even though she wants nothing to do with me.
“I’m Captain Ted Vos,” he says in a deep voice. “And this is my First Mate, Aubrey Riddle. While we’re on this boat, my word is law.”
Gabriel is snoring.
The Captain goes over the rules as I lean on the railing as far from the guys as I can get while I stare at the girl who will one day be mine. I know she will be because I’m not going to give up until she is. It can take fifty years if it has to, but I’ll be that eighty-year-old man in the nursing home who is still begging her to be mine.
Captain Vos turns the floor over to her and I perk up, waiting to hear that sweet melodic voice again. “I’m in charge of all the deck crew, so if you need anything at all, please let one of us know. There are jet skis that can be used when the ship is anchored. In terms of dinner…”
It’s hard to focus on her words when those soft pink lips are moving. I’m mesmerized as I stare at them in awe.
“We’ll be moving in ten minutes,” she says as she claps her hands. “Dinner will be served
at nine o’clock in the dining room. Our five star internationally renowned chef, Mr. Santiago Navarro, has a delicious meal planned for you tonight. Fresh mahi-mahi caught this morning with a rich creamy lobster bisque to start. Your rooms are set if you’d like to freshen up before dinner.”
Half the guys are sleeping when they finish their talk and disappear back into the yacht.
“I’d like to eat her for dinner,” one of the drunk guys says with a crude laugh.
I grit my teeth as I lock my furious eyes on him. He heads to his room and I follow him as he stumbles forward along the side of the boat. I do a quick look around, then grab him and throw him over the edge.
“That’s better,” I say with a satisfied grin when I hear his body slap against the water. I continue to my room and stop Eivind along the way. “I think one of the drunk guys fell over the edge.”
I follow him to the railing and we see him swimming down below.
“I’ll go fish him out,” Eivind says as he tosses him a life preserver and then heads down to the swim platform on the stern.
I grit my teeth as I look up at the huge yacht. We’re both going to be living on this boat for four days. I have four days to win her over. For days to make her fall in love with me. Four days to make her mine forever.
Eivind gets the guy back on the boat and the yacht starts rumbling like an angry sea monster awakened from a deep slumber.
We start moving and the vacation begins.
The game begins.
Our love affair begins.
She just doesn’t know it yet.
But she will…
Chapter Three
Aubrey
“Get off your phone, Mila,” I warn. “Or, I’m going to throw it overboard.”
She rolls her eyes as she slides it back into her apron. This girl is driving me crazy. She has the most stunning scenic views while she works and all she does is stare at that little screen.
“Go prepare the dining room for dinner,” I tell her. “And don’t let me see you on that phone again until your break.”
“Aye aye, Captain,” she says as she gives me a lazy sarcastic salute. I huff out a breath as she walks past me, dragging her ass.
I head into the storage area to find my other maid, Ashley. She’s another piece of work.
“Ashley, again?” I say, staring at her in disbelief when I turn the lights on. Her cheeks are as full as a chipmunk’s and there are chocolate mint wrappers everywhere. She’s just staring at me with her big round eyes, looking like a bush baby who’s caught in a pair of headlights.
“Those are for the guests!” I say as I grab the box away from her. “It’s not like we can run to the store and get more if we run out! Stop eating them.”
She shakes her head as she tries to swallow them down. “I only had one,” she says, but it comes out more like, “Wry wonry hard wron.”
“Just stop eating them,” I say as I tuck the box under my arm and open the door. “Go wash your hands and then help Mila set up the dining room. And Ashley, there better not be chocolate fingerprints on the tablecloth again.”
“Wrow kay,” she says as I step out and close the door.
I walk over to the side of the boat and close my eyes for a second, letting the warm breeze wash over my face as it takes my worries away. We’re flying at full speed along the water and it’s as gorgeous as ever.
It almost makes this headache of a job worth it.
Crazy staff aside, it’s not normally so bad. I like it better when families are on board and I get to play and joke around with the kids. That’s always fun.
It’s not so much fun though when the yacht’s full of drunk pervy guys and sleazy strippers. I have nothing against them, but this is where I live most of the time and I’m sure you wouldn’t be so pleased either to have a roaring four-day long bachelor party in your home.
I sigh as I stare out at the endless horizon, wondering if this is really the life I want. I’ve been working on this yacht for four years now. I have a small studio apartment in Miami that I hardly ever get to stay in. I was there for the last two nights and I was horrified to find that the jar of mayo in my very empty fridge expired nineteen months ago.
Maybe it’s time to find a new career and settle down. I want to get married and start a family. I’m only twenty-five, but I feel the desire getting stronger every month.
I always knew I wanted to settle down, but I thought it would be later, like in my thirties. I didn’t realize it would creep up on me so fast.
This traveling non-stop lifestyle is not very conducive to a serious relationship. It’s hard to bond with someone when you’re in Aruba one week and in Bermuda the next. Who’s going to put up with that?
For some reason, my mind goes to that guy I met in the dining room. He was cute even if he did come across like he had some kind of horrific brain injury. The way he was just standing there, gaping at me… I didn’t know whether to laugh, to be flattered, or to be frightened.
He had a huge muscular body with a wide tall frame, which probably meant he played football in high school and maybe even in college, which also means he’s probably taken a lot of hard hits to the head, which probably explains the brain injury.
The small radio strapped to my shoulder clicks on, jerking me out of my daze. “Aubrey,” the bartender Julie says. “I’m taking my break. So are Eivind and Knut.”
I quickly click on the radio. “No. Not until I check the bar. Julie? Julie!”
She’s gone. Damn it.
I rush over to the pool area and feel my blood starting to boil when I see that it’s still a mess. There are clothes and bottles everywhere.
“Julie!” I say into the radio again. “Julie get back to the bar!”
“She went into her room with the Norwegians,” Mila answers through the radio. “They’re not coming out for a while.”
I grunt in frustration as I walk over to the pool and grab the bottle of Jägermeister that’s floating on the water.
I don’t know what’s going on with those three, but they have some kind of weird sex pact or something. Eivind and Knut seem to have no problem sharing their girl.
I could never be in a relationship like that. I’d want my man and that’s it. I wouldn’t want to share my heart, or his, with anyone else.
“Gross,” I whisper to myself when I see the sticky bar. I place the glasses and some bottles in the sink before heading over to the couches to clean up the clothes. There’s a bikini top, some plastic beads, a couple of shirts, and a pair of swim trunks that I pick up with a fork.
When the area is looking good enough to leave until Julie comes back from her Norwegian sex party, I grab a sponge and get to work on the scuffed-up floor.
I’m so focused on scrubbing that I don’t notice the man’s presence until he’s standing in front of me.
I look up and see the guy from before. He’s looking better than ever in beige pants and a dark navy collared shirt with the long sleeves rolled up his thick forearms. His dirty blonde hair is styled to the side and he’s got a smile on his handsome face that brings tingles to my skin.
“What are you doing?” he asks in a deep voice that’s like a shot of brandy to my ears.
“Cleaning up stripper tracks,” I say as I turn back to the scuff marks and try to rub them off. This teak floor costs more than most people make in their lifetime and these girls never seem to give a shit.
He walks to the bar and looks over it.
“My bartender is coming back in a few minutes if you guys are already starting round two of your frat party,” I say, my voice thick with annoyance.
He just ignores me and walks around it.
“You can’t just—”
My words stop in my throat when I see him walking back out with another sponge.
“Oh,” I say as he gets down on his knees in front of me and starts scrubbing out a stripper footprint. “You don’t have to.”
“I want to.”
�
�It costs one point two million dollars to rent this yacht for four days. You really don’t have to clean it.”
He looks at me with a devastating smile. “I know, but I want to help you.”
I quickly drop my eyes to the floor so he doesn’t see me blushing.
“Thank you,” I whisper, barely loud enough for him to hear.
“It’s true what I said before,” he says after a long moment. “I just met these guys. Really. My brothers and I handle the groom’s investments and they invited me down as a thank you. I couldn’t say no to a client.”
He gets out the mark he’s working on and starts working on the next one. With those big strong arms, he’s a lot faster than I am.
“You handle his investments?” I ask as I look around at our extravagant surroundings. “You must be really good at your job.”
He laughs and the sound makes my heart swell in my chest.
“Pretty good, I guess,” he says with a shrug of those round shoulders. “But I’m stuck in the city all the time. It’s nothing like this. You have quite the office.”
I motion to the barstool with the lime green bikini top hanging over it. “Yup. Quite the office…”
He laughs again then smiles at me. I can feel my cheeks getting hot, but this time I hold his gaze and smile back.
My radio clicks on, making both of us jump. “Aubrey,” Captain Vos says. “I need you to take the wheel for a bit. A situation with the wife.”
“Oh, God,” I moan as I roll my eyes.
My new friend tilts his head. “What is it? Everything okay?”
“Yeah, he just always thinks his wife is cheating on him. He’s crazy. Everyone on this ship is crazy.”
“Except us,” he says with a smile.
I look at him for a long moment as my smile builds. “I know I’m not. However, it waits to be seen about you.”
I click my radio on and speak into my shoulder. “Coming up.
“It was nice to meet you…”
“Luke,” he says. “Luke Cline.”
Love At First Taste: Love Comes First Book Three Page 2