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“Good morning, Miss Lawson.” Finally, his survey of the room came to a stop. “Your bags have been put in the car, but I wanted to ask if you would like breakfast before you left?”
Frowning, I continued to stare at him. What did he mean my bags were in the car? Blearily, I rubbed at my sleep crusted eyes and tried to make sense of what he had just said.
“Have we docked somewhere new? Is Christian…?” My voice faltered. The room looked different. Emptier. Like someone had come in and packed up everything whilst I slept. Swinging my legs from the bed, I rushed towards the closet. Tugging it open, I stared at the hangings. None of them had clothes on anymore. Not mine and not Judge’s.
“Miss–”
“Where is Christian?” I had to ask, even though I already knew the answer, but it was still like a kick to the gut when the crew member answered.
“The Judge left before dawn, Miss Lawson.”
Something in his voice made me do a double take. It dripped with hatred and disdain, and he had called him The Judge. I hadn’t heard any of the crew refer to him as anything but Christian during my time there. Turning my head sharply, I raised an eyebrow. “He left? As in?”
“You’re safe now, miss.” Padding across the room, he laid his hand on my trembling arm. “I am sorry I couldn’t step in yesterday or the other days. But you are safe now. You are free.”
Ignoring him, I just stood there.
Judge had left. No goodbye, no explanation. He had just disappeared from my life the same way he had entered it. In the blink of an eye.
My legs felt like jelly. I stumbled towards the bed and sat down heavily.
He was gone. Really gone. My emotions were in turmoil. I couldn’t make sense of it. Last night when he held me, stroking my hair and kissing me softly, I had thought he was softening. I knew he was adamant that he couldn’t love me, but he had been so gentle and tender that it had felt like he actually cared.
That maybe he was capable of it after all.
How stupid was I? How gullible?
My whole body shook as I closed my fingers into my palm, my nails digging into my skin and leaving bloody half crescents.
“Taylor.” Falling to his knees, the crewman took both my hands in his, straightening my fingers out. “Don’t hurt yourself over him. I know you’ve felt scared and alone, but it’s over now–”
“What…” Lifting my head, I met his eyes. My eyebrows knitted together. He was talking like we were friends. Like we knew each other, but I was sure I had never seen him before waking up on this yacht. “Who are you?”
“A friend.” The sound of footsteps had him scrambling to his feet. “I’ll explain more later, I promise but…” He trailed off just before a female crew member stepped into the room. Like he had done, she swept over the room with her gaze before finding us. She frowned. “Is everything ok here, Kev?”
He shrugged and answered for me. “Yeah, Miss Lawson just felt a little faint.”
I continued to stare at him. Why was he lying? What was it with the men around here and not telling the truth?
“I’m fine now.” Gathering my wits about me, I stood. “What time did–” Again my eyes went around the now barren room. “When did he leave?” I didn’t need to say his name. They knew who I was talking about.
“A few hours ago, but there’s no need to rush. He made sure that we are chartered for as long as needed. You’re welcome to stay longer if you require.”
Stay? I blinked at her, dumbfounded. Why would I do that? Stay there alone? With nothing but the ghost of him to keep me company? I couldn’t think of anything worse.
Days ago, I had woken up in his bed with him hovering over me, telling me how he wanted me to be his, promising me the world, and now I was alone.
The Judge had got what he wanted from me. Either that or he had realised I wasn’t what he thought I was. Had my admission last night changed his mind?
And why, oh, why did my heart feel like it was cracking in half?
It had been only a few days. I hadn’t fallen in love with him. But I had given myself to him. Totally and without holding anything back. I had shown him under my sweet and innocent exterior and he had rejected me.
“God, no.” Steeling my emotions, I shook my head. “I’ll get myself together and go home, I think. You said there was a car?” I hoped I had heard right because I had no idea whether I had enough money in the bank to get home from wherever we were.
“Yes,” the man called Kev said without hesitation. “Would you like to–?”
“I don’t need breakfast. I just want to get out of here and get home, but thank you. Um, I don’t have…” I fell silent. Weren’t the crew meant to be tipped? I’m sure I had seen that somewhere.
