“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.