"Shhh." I kiss her, and the ache I've had for months in my heart starts to fade.
"I dreamed of you. Between my night terrors, I would dream of you. I kept hearing you telling me to breathe at all hours of the day."
"All day and at night when I wasn't picking new flowers, I'd watch you with binoculars on the balcony. Sometimes I could see into your room. Whenever you would be crying, or he came near you, I'd say it in my head. Sometimes, I said it out loud and then pretended you were with me, and I was breathing with you."
"Every time he made me kiss him, and I knew you saw it, I died a bit inside. I'm so sorry—"
"No. You aren't going to apologize for him. You did everything you were supposed to in that situation. Nothing you did is your fault."
"But—"
"No," I growl, and she jumps. "Shit. I'm sorry, Flower."
"Don't be. I love who you are. Don't ever change, Hunter. I want you to be exactly who you are. And mine. I need you always to be mine."
"You have me, Flower. Forever."
Her breathing gets heavier. "What if I never go back to normal?"
"Then I'll just breathe with you. No matter what, I want you. That isn't going to change."
More tears fall on her cheeks, and I kiss her some more. Her skin is hot, and I pull back. "You need to rest. I don't want your fever spiking."
"Can I shower?"
I stroke her hair. "Sure." I help her to her feet and turn the shower on. "By the way, you look hot with your short hair just as much as when it was long."
"I didn't want them to cut it."
"It'll grow back. But you're sexy with it short or long."
There's a knock on the door, and she jumps.
"I think that will be your food. Get in the shower."
She steps in, and I leave the door cracked open.
Jerry has a tray of food. He tells me her prescription will be available soon and he'll deliver it.
He leaves, and I set the food up on the balcony.
When she gets out, I help her into the robe, and she sits on my lap, eating and feeding me fry jacks. After they are gone, she snuggles into me, and we gaze out at the never-ending blue of the ocean.
She falls back asleep on my lap, and for hours, the only movements I make are to caress her hair or kiss her head.
There's a knock on the door, and I assume it's Jerry with her medication, so I carry her to the bed and tuck her in.
I guessed correctly, and he hands me her pill bottle.
I take a few steps back to the bed and am going to lay down with her when I notice her body shaking and sweat popping out on her head. She sobs, and I try to wake her up, but she screams and cries. I hold her, and she opens her eyes but seems stuck in the nightmare.
Time passes, and I finally pull her out of it. I help her calm down and give her one of her prescribed pills.
She takes it and falls back into a deep sleep.
When she wakes, it's nighttime, and everything is dark out. Her fever is gone, and she sits up. "I didn't tell you about the others."
31
Vanessa
Hunter's jaw twitches, and he blinks hard. "What do you mean Dirk's dead?"
"Zoe said they killed him."
He swallows hard. "How?"
"She didn't say. There wasn't time. Others came into the bathroom and we left. She had to get ready to sing."
"Did she see it?"
"I... I'm not sure, to be honest."
"So she's not sure he's dead?"
I think back to my conversation with Zoe. "She was distraught. I told her that you were alive and about the flowers and then she broke down, saying she wished Dirk would give her a sign so she would know if he was alive."
Hunter's face hardens, and he turns to look out at the water. "Zoe's on tour again?"
"Yes." I tell him the rest of what happened at the event.
"Zoe wasn't near Jorge Cano when the lights came back on?"
"No. I didn't see her anywhere, but it was chaotic. I saw Penelope leaving with the tall guy."
"Penelope?"
"Yes."
"She was with Axel?"
"No. The man that's always with her at functions."
"You've seen him before?"
"Yes. And...oh God." More grief fills me, thinking about everyone back where they shouldn't be or dead.
"What is it, Flower?"
"Zoe told me in the bathroom that Julieta was on her private plane."
"What?"
"She said that they roughed up Julieta so badly that she almost didn't recognize her."
Hunter's face turns white. "No."
I nod, and more tears fall.
"And..." He lets out a big breath. "What about Ryker?"
"I don't know."
Hunter's face scrunches, and he puts his palm over it.
I embrace him tighter. "We have to help them. What can we do?"
He wipes his cheek and shakes his head. "We have to get you to safety. Hopefully, Andre and Malin will be there and then we can figure something out."
A surge of optimism rises. "Maybe Axel, Dirk, and Ryker will be in Bermuda, too!"
Hunter shakes his head. "No. They won't be there."
"How do you know?"
"They wouldn't go without getting their targets to safety. None of them would. And Ryker...he definitely wouldn't go to Bermuda if Julieta was captured. Not after getting involved with her. But that's a moot point. I know each of those guys, and there's no way they would go to Bermuda unless they were with their target."
Silence.
"Do you think we'll be safe in Bermuda?" I ask.
He strokes the side of my head. "I do, but if we're not, then we'll go somewhere else."
"You'll just run all over the world with me?"
His lips turn up. "Yep. Where you go, I go."
My stomach growls.
"We should order some food." He puts his hand on my forehead. "You don't feel like you have a fever anymore."
I climb over his lap and face him. "How long will it take to get to Bermuda?"
"We have a week. There are several ports in the Caribbean."
"We don't have to get off, right?"
"No. We're not leaving this ship," he adamantly states.
"You probably are dying to leave this room."
"No. I'm fine."
"Maybe tomorrow we can take a walk and check the amenities out."
"If you're up to it, we can. But as long as you're here, I'll stay in this room the entire week if you want."
I kiss him, slowly at first, then with more intensity, wanting every morsel of him I can get.
His erection hardens, and he mumbles, "I should order you some dinner."
"It can wait. I want my appetizer first."
He palms my ass. "Am I your appetizer?"
"Mm-hmm. And my dessert, too. Get something lickable for dinner, and I'll make you my entree as well." I circle my sex on his hard cock.