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"Have a seat." I offer, gesturing to the sundeck as I turn away from her so fast that she nearly loses her footing again.
I set about getting everything ready while she walks the length of the boat, running a hand along the bow as she goes. A breeze picks up, blowing the sun dress out around her and teasing her hair free from the clip at the nape of her neck.
Claire sits gingerly on the upholstered bench and as the engine roars to life, she draws her knees into her chest. I want to laugh, but her fear subsides quickly as the breeze picks up and I cruise into the early noon sun.
She is one sexy distraction, and I have a hard time taking my eyes off of her. Thankfully I know this path well enough to boat it in my sleep.
After a few moments, as I’m motoring into the outlet to the larger sea, her initial anxiety seems to melt away, and she strips off the sun dress, tucking it under her legs so the wind won’t carry it away. She leans back on her arms and lets the wind whip through her blonde hair and the sun soak into her body. I don't know if she’s trying to look so fuckable, or if that’s a happy accident, but either way my dick hardens at the sight of her. She looks like a damn swimsuit model. When I pick up speed, racing us over waves into the clear blue sea, she laughs, enjoying the rush.
We’re miles from the house, in the middle of nowhere, when I cut the engine and turn to face her. She seems to sense that I’m watching her, because her eyes pop open, and she smiles a little. "Are we here?" She looks around and realizes there’s nothing as far as the eye can see, save for the reedy strip of trees on one side of us and a vast expanse of ocean on the other. Confusion passes over her first, and as I walk closer, a little bit of fear sparks in her eyes.
"What's going on?" She puzzles, crossing her arms over her chest. I wonder if she’s punishing me on purpose, taking away my view because she knows I’m not playing anymore.
"I think it's time we finish our conversation."
Her chest swells as she glances around the boat, the first signs of panic starting to set in. She’s just realized she may have trusted me too much. Now, she's alone with a practical stranger in open water, completely at my mercy. It’s a terrible position to be in, if you pose a threat to my family. Whether she does, still remains to be seen. "Here?"
"Is that a problem?"
"No." She bites her lip again. Irritation surges hot through me; I want to be the one to do that. I want to pull that lip between my teeth and bite it so hard that I taste blood, and I don't even know why she makes me feel so animal. I don't think I'm a cruel person, but I want to take out all of my frustrations with the world on this girl, to take her love and give her pain. I crave her in a way that's unlike anything I've ever known… in a way that doesn't even make sense to me.
"Good." I pull the gun out of my waistband, wrapping my fingers around the barrel.
Claire gasps as she realizes what it is and pulls herself up to stand. I close the distance between us with the handle out, watching her intently as she goes on the defensive, eyes wide and lips parted on a scream that’s caught in her throat.
She has her hands up, either to show me she’s innocent or because she’s prepared to fight me if she has to.
As if she stands a chance.
Chapter twenty-two
Remy
"Take it." I tell her, tipping the gun toward her. "It's loaded."
"I... I don't understand." She looks from the gun to my face, and when I press it into her hands, she accepts it. Or, rather, she doesn't push it out of her grip. She looks like she's going to drop it the moment I let go, but I hope she's got a little more fight than that. I flip the safety off before pulling my hands off of hers, and she flinches at the click likes it’s a cannon blast.
I take a step back without taking my eyes off her, but we’re still close. I can smell her shampoo in the wind, and the coconut of her sunscreen. The barrel is aimed in my direction but pointed at the ground, exactly the way it was when I passed it to her. If she just reached out her arms and held the muzzle a bit higher, it’d press right into my chest.
"You're not stupid, Claire. Unfortunately for you, neither am I. We're miles away from any sort of civilization. Nobody would hear a thing. So, if you want to try to hurt me, here's your chance." I raise my hands to show her that they’re empty. If she’s planning anything, now is the time to act upon it. I won’t give her another chance.
"Remy." Her voice quivers over my name as she shakes her head. "What the hell?"
"I turned the safety off. If you want to shoot me, you just pull that trigger. But make sure you aim well, because if you miss, you won't make it off this boat alive."
I’m sure I can hear her heartbeat hammering under that delicate skin, see her pulse twitching. "I don't want to hurt you." She says, shaking her head. Her words are thick with desperation or tears, maybe both. Those beautiful eyes are certainly shining with the latter.
"I don't want to hurt you either." I tell her honestly. "But I will if I have to."
She chokes on a sob but does a good job burying it to try and look composed. "Okay." She says slowly. "Tell me what this is about. Tell me what you want to know."
"Who are you? I mean, really. One hundred percent truth?"
"I..." She shakes her head again, confused. "I'm Claire Monroe. Rhea was my roommate freshman year, and we became best friends." Those bright eyes are glassy now, and I can't tell if she’s holding back tears or trying to summon them. "I didn't seek her out with the hope of getting close to her millionaire brother, if that's what you're suggesting."
"Let's say I believe you. Why do you have an ID with the name Boudreaux on it?"
Her eyes narrow on me as she realizes what I just confessed to... snooping through her possessions, violating her privacy. She doesn’t even know the half of it. "Obviously, that's a fake." She looks like she can't believe we’re even having this conversation. "Rhea turned twenty-one before I do, so to get into bars, we had a friend make that up for me. He put the same last name down as a joke because people always ask if we’re sisters."
