AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Twenty-four
“No! Another stowaway? No way!” He didn’t hesitate.
Rylee’s confidence plunged.
“Rylee, are you kidding me? Not a chance. How can you ask me? I have some ditzy woman on my tail, and I have no idea what she’ll do next.”
“Excuse me?” Rylee shot forward. “What happened?”
Remembering that Rylee would have no idea of the attack the night before, he stopped talking. Considering the incident hadn’t been far from his mind all morning, he’d spoken before checking himself.
Hell, the thought of being so vulnerable that Madelaine could break into his suite was hugely unsettling. But at least it was only himself in danger.
As they’d fought, he’d seen the dilated eyes and her fanatical response. During her attack, the expression she wore was one of pure glee. It horrified the man who abhorred violence. Not to say, he couldn’t defend himself, because he’d been trained on the streets from some of the most wicked crazies around. But that didn’t mean he liked the battles. Nor did it mean that he was in any position to protect anyone else, especially a young boy.
Rylee leaned closer to get his wandering attention, her voice tight. “Tell me what happened, Jake.”
Wanting to make light of the occurrence, he said, “Madelaine Chu broke into my stateroom last night and behaved rather badly. It took a lot of convincing to get her to leave.”
Surprised at the sudden lessening of Rylee’s concern, he added, “How can I look after a kid when something like that could happen again?”
Rylee sat thinking. He could see her thoughts churning. She had a delightful way of chewing on her lip as if it added power to her concentration. “Do the ship’s people know about the incident? They could change your room fob so she couldn’t break in again, couldn’t they?”
“Yes, Carlos looked after that this morning. But then there are other people who might enter my room, what do I tell them?”
“You kept the kitten, and no one knows. How did you arrange that?”
Stuck now, aware that this smart lady was onto something, he admitted, “I’ve paid Carlos to take care of things in here personally. And he’s willing to help with the kitten.”
“So, maybe he’d be willing to turn the other way with Miguel too. Jake, Miguel’s a thirteen-year-old kid who needs to get home to his sick mother in Grenada. If they find him on board the ship, no doubt he’ll be taken off at the next port, and who knows what they’ll do with him there. It could be weeks or even months before they allow him to leave and continue home. From what he’s told me, not only is his mother sick, but she has twin babies that need taking care of. The kid’s in a rough spot.”
“What was he doing in Miami?”
“After his father suddenly got killed, him and another boy went there to get work so he could send his mother money. I guess it went okay for the first few months, and don’t ask me what kind of work he did to earn his money, but now he needs to get home.”
Jake stood and leaned against the rail. His thoughts scattered in every direction, trying to think of a way to say no to Rylee. But when her blue eyes begged, his heart began battling his head. He knew the dangers around him. He’d seen his arch enemy, Hakim, last night in the dining room at the table surrounded by his gorillas. He suspected an encounter was probably imminent.
God, he wanted to say yes, give her whatever she desired and bring back the smile to her lovely face, but if anything happened to the boy because of him, he’d never forgive himself.
Suddenly, he felt her presence leaning on the rail next to him. Her hair, blowing in the breeze, tickled his shoulder and the smell of her perfume reached straight to his heightened senses and shot every bit of common sense to hell.
Turning, he gathered her into his arms, shocked when she stiffened. He stopped and their eyes locked. The deep blues in hers shimmered like the depths of the Caribbean. A battle ensued, one he had nothing to do with, because it was all happening inside of her. Reading her correctly, he sensed her reluctance and waited, not breathing… and then he saw her surrender.
Slowly, giving her time to concede or step away, he lowered his lips gently. It had to happen. Neither one of them had any choice. It was meant to be.
Her taste was pleasing, surprising… delicious. He kissed her softly, encouragingly, until her lips finally opened, giving him permission and that’s all he needed. His arms tightened, and his tongue delved into her hot welcoming sweetness.
Never before had he lost himself in a kiss. This time he did so completely. The passion built slowly, and when it peaked, he felt as if his knees would buckle, that he’d pant like a dog after a luscious bone.
With his head swimming and his senses addled, he adored her with his mouth and soon his hands followed. They skimmed through her hair so he could keep the strands from whipping at their faces.
Cradling her cheeks, he left the softness of her mouth to go lower and make love to her face, her chin, throat, shoulders…
A loud cough finally broke them apart. Carlos had returned for their trays.
