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  “Don’t tell me what to do!” Brandon growled.

  “Raven!” I cried out, forcing myself to sit up against the tile wall. Raven snapped his attention to me. “Get Brandon off of Blake. Stop this.”

  Raven lunged at Brandon, grabbing his arms and pulling Brandon back with him toward the door.

  Brandon resisted at first, but he couldn’t hold on to Blake and push back against Raven. He eventually let go of Blake.

  Blake slid down and backed off to the opposite door, staying in the door frame. He looked at me. “You okay?”

  Brandon made another lunge at Blake, but Raven held onto his shoulders this time, and Brandon couldn’t move beyond a short step. “Don’t talk to her!”

  “Just go, Blake,” I said, waving him off. I had to admire his guts. Brandon was about to murder him and he was making sure I wasn’t really dying before leaving.

  He nodded shortly, and without looking at the others, walked through the adjoining bedroom and was gone.

  The nausea was bad now, but at least I wasn’t puking. I swallowed and rested my head against the tile. This was the worst disaster ever.

  Brandon fell to his knees next to me, looking over my body. “What did he do to you?”

  “Nothing!” I cried, and then felt another wave washing over me. The cramping was gone, but it had left a really dull soreness in my gut. I just needed to get over the desire to puke. “I was seasick or something.”

  “So you’re half naked on the floor and he’s all over you? How’d he get in here anyway?”

  “God, Brandon!” I said, picking up the washcloth and throwing it at him. “You’re such an ass.”

  The washcloth landed on his chest, on the same red shirt he’d been wearing the night before. He grabbed it and pulled it from his body. “What did I do?”

  “Why did you tell him to stay away from me?” I asked. “You forgot to mention that part.”

  “He’s dangerous, Kayli,” he said, his voice growing stronger. “He shouldn’t even be here.”

  “No,” I said, pointing at his face. “He’s the one who was here first. When you and the others wouldn’t talk to Ethan about his issues, guess who was available and willing?”

  Brandon growled. “You didn’t tell us that.”

  “I had a feeling after I learned that you all were blocking my phone calls that...” I groaned, swallowed and stopped talking altogether. The yelling and tension was making it worse.

  Raven came forward again and tugged Brandon’s shoulder. “Get away from her,” he said in a low voice.

  Brandon’s face contorted and he slapped at Raven’s arm. “I’m not hurting her. I want to know what’s going on.”

  “Not while she’s dying.”

  “She’s not dying!” Brandon barked at him. “She’s just seasick.”

  “I’m not arguing with you right now,” I said, glaring at the toilet. I fought back angry tears. The tension, being sick, and embarrassed beyond belief, was finally getting to me. “Raven, can you get him out of the bathroom?”

  “You’re sick,” he said.

  “I’m fine,” I said. “I’ve taken some medicine. Just get him out of here. I need a few minutes for it to work. And don’t talk to Axel. I was going to tell him this morning myself.”

  “You should have done it before,” Brandon said.

  I glared at Brandon. “I will talk to him, and if you dare go to him right now while I’m down and unable to say anything, I swear to god I’ll never talk to you again. Go talk to Corey. I told him when he boarded what was going on.”

  “You mean he knew? Why didn’t he say anything?”

  “Go ask him,” I said. “I can’t argue with you right now. It’s unfair if you make me try.”

  Raven tugged at Brandon’s arm. He was unusually calm at this point. I’d expected him to be the first to get angry, and instead, while he seemed tense, he wasn’t exploding. I’d be forever grateful for that. “Get out.”

  “We can’t leave her alone,” Brandon said.

  “Go back,” Raven said. “I’ll stay with her.”

  I could tolerate him, especially how calm he was. “Raven can stay,” I said.

  Slowly, Brandon pulled himself away. He paced the bathroom for a moment and then pointed to me down on the ground. “Fine,” he said. “I’m going to go find Corey, but when you’re done talking to Axel, I need to know what’s going on.” He stormed out, slamming the bedroom door as he left.

  I let out a long breath, grateful to have a moment. The tension dropped immediately.

  Raven stood by the sink. He started toward me and then seemed to reconsider and backed up against the sink again. “How do I fix you?”

  “Just let the medicine work.”

  He grunted. “My fault,” he said. “Axel warned us not to get you too excited so you overdo things. I...shouldn’t have...this morning.”

  “That’s not what made me sick,” I said. “The first time I got up, I thought I was going to be sick and it seemed to go away when I laid back down again. I thought it was gone and then when I got up again...”

  Raven frowned but nodded. “Sorry.”

  “Not your fault.”

  He crossed his arms over his bare chest, causing the muscles in his biceps to bulk up. I wasn’t sure he believed me but I didn’t think he was going to argue with me on it.

  I rocked my head against the tile. “I’m...sorry I didn’t tell you about Blake. I did tell Corey. He said I should talk to Axel before anyone else. I didn’t want a fight.”

  Raven breathed in deeply and then let it out between his lips, causing the muscles in his stomach to flex. He didn’t sport a six pack, he simply wasn’t built for it. But there were some amazing lines to his chest and at his waist above his jeans. “I don’t want to fight with my little thief.”

  I smiled at this, and patted the spot on the floor next to me. “Thanks for handling Brandon.”

  He crossed the room, lowering himself down carefully next to me. He knelt there, his brown eyes softening. “I don’t like him,” he said. “Coaltar.”

  “He’s not that bad. Corey likes him.”

  He became quiet, considering this. “I should talk to him, too.”

  “Stay here until I can get up?” I asked. “And then I’ll go talk to Axel and you can go find Corey. Make sure those two don’t get into a fight.”

  He nodded. “I should...I should find clothes. And then your clothes. For when you’re ready. Do you want a shower? Do you want me to help?”

  If he coddled me any more, I was going to melt right there. I lightly punched him in the arm. “I think I should just stick with getting dressed. I need to get to Axel before Brandon does anything stupid.”

  He smirked, reached out and very, very gently, punched at my shoulder. “Ja shozhu po tebe s uma. Ja ne mogu zhit' bez tebja.”

  “What’s that mean?”

  “You’re crazy, crazy girl,” he said. He leaned in, kissed my forehead and then got up, getting ready for the day.

  PROMISES FOR AXEL

  It only took another twenty minutes before the nausea subsided and I was able to move. The medicine did leave me sleepy and light-headed, though. Not good. Not something I wanted when I had so much work to do. I needed to get familiar with the ship. I needed to go over the rosters. With the delays the boys had caused by not allowing me to talk to Ethan before now, we were really short on time. Like it or not, we’d have to rely on Blake a lot, or we’d be lost.

  Corey did remember to pack a little something for me: a pair of jeans, two of my tank tops, and the pair of capri pants Kevin once bought me but that I didn’t particularly like. No underwear. One ratty bra in desperate need of replacing. Did I not have any clean underwear that he could have grabbed? I hadn’t done laundry in a while.

  So I went without underwear or a bra, put on the jeans and a tank top that was snug and would hold up my breasts enough to work as well as a bra, and then plucked one of Corey’s T-shirts from the bag to wear o
ver it. I used Raven’s kit to comb my brown hair free of tangles and used his deodorant. I smelled like a boy, but I needed to get going.

  Raven changed into a nicer pair of jeans, but this time he put on a loose, long-sleeve brown shirt that hid the tattoos. He left the piercings out for the day, and combed his hair until he resembled an intense but rather normal-looking man rather than a bulldozing fierce bear.

  He followed me to the elevator, and we took it back up to the main lobby, where luckily we ran into Avery in the foyer. He was surrounded by three people: two women, one man. They all wore black slacks and black long-sleeved shirts, except for Avery, who wore a white shirt. The clothing looked more like uniforms than something comfortable.

  Avery was looking prim this morning with his shirt done all the way up, no hint of the tattoo today. His hair was slicked back, combed to reveal his clear, focused eyes.

  “The majority of guests won’t be arriving until after noon,” he told them. He handed out small cards to each of them. “But I’d like to make sure each of their rooms have a small basket of snacks in case they’re hungry. The main dining room should be available for sandwiches and coffee, but I want to make them comfortable while they settle in. We’ll need the dining room cleared out by five to set the tables for six o’clock dinner.”

  “Anything else?” asked the male, a tall, slender man with platinum blond hair, tan skin. I couldn’t quite tell from his tone, but it sounded like there was a hint of sarcasm.

  Avery tilted his head, suddenly appearing unsure. “I don’t know,” he said. “Can you think of anything?”

  “Well,” the blond man said. “You might suggest we refill the baskets every afternoon when rooms are cleaned. If they get snacks the first day, they may expect it the following days.”

  “Possibly,” Avery said.

  “And while we’re at it, perhaps we should cater to them even further by providing a fresh bottle of our finest water in each room.”

  “Okay,” Avery said. “If you think we should.”

  “And then we’ll offer a magazine, so they might read it slowly while consuming the fine, delicious arrangement of goodies.”

  Avery pursed his lips, looking concerned. “Do we have magazines on the ship?”

  The blond man blew out a puff of air toward the ceiling, fluffing up some of the finer bits of hair along his forehead. Avery wasn’t getting that he was being mocked.

  I stepped up, feeling obligated to interrupt. How dare they toy with Avery like that? I pasted a smile on my face. “That sounds wonderful,” I said. The group turned toward me. Avery smiled. The two women looked uncomfortable. The blond man clamped his lips together, making an almost passable smile of politeness. “Magazines in every room.”

  “Hi, Kayli,” Avery said, appearing relieved. “You think it’s a good idea?”

  “Maybe. Although you have to admit,” I said, as I gave Avery a short finger wave in greeting and kept going, “carrying all those magazines around would be heavy. And everyone probably has iPads or cell phones they’ll be using.”

  “How very convenient for them,” the blond man said in an almost polite tone, still forcing the smile.

  “Personally, I’m a fan of chocolates on the pillow every night before going to sleep.” That’s not something I’d experienced, but I heard it happens in some of the much fancier hotels.

  “Oh, so sorry,” he said, his tone indicating he wasn’t sorry. “We are fresh out of chocolates.”

  “Does the kitchen have chocolate for baking?”

  “Perhaps,” he said.

  “Maybe some almonds?”

  “Maybe.”

  “And would the chefs know how to melt the chocolate over the almonds?”

  The man frowned. “Who knows? Maybe we should ask the chefs.”

  “What a delightful idea,” I said. I planted a hand lightly on Avery’s arm. “Snack baskets, water and chocolates every night before they go to bed will make them feel very spoiled.”

  Avery’s cheeks turned red. He grinned. “Sure. Yeah. Let’s do that.”

  The blond man grimaced and then bowed slightly to us. “Then if there isn’t anything further, the team and I will need to get started on this, mere hours before the arrival of our guests. In addition to the already numerous things we need to do.”

  “A commendable sacrifice of your time,” I said. I don’t know what compelled me to be so snotty and order him around like that. I was aware that I was the one looking completely out of place, like I didn’t belong. But since he was going to pretend that I had some semblance of authority for whatever reason, I was going to play it up. That’s what he got for being mean to Avery when he was just trying to make a suggestion.

  The blond man and the women scuttled off, leaving us alone in the immense entryway. There were echoes, voice coming from above us. Some of the doors of the shops on the second floor were open. I didn’t see anyone downstairs but there were definitely people around.

  The moment the three crew people were out of earshot, Avery’s shoulders relaxed and he sighed. “I’m not really good at this, am I?”

  Raven stepped up next to me, putting a gentle hand at the small of my back. “We need Axel,” he said. “Where is he?”

  “Axel?” Avery’s eyes shifted around the foyer, as if he could see through the walls and track him down. “I think he’s at the pool in the middle of the ship. There’s a small breakfast buffet set up for us and the crew there. I pointed him in that direction not too long ago so he might still be there.”

  “Thank you, Avery,” I said. “And good job. I think the snack baskets will be a great touch.”

  Avery beamed sheepishly and then headed for the marble staircase, taking them two at a time to destinations unknown.

  Raven and I had to find a map to figure out how to get to the pool. We really did need to take a tour of the ship to get more comfortable with what was here.

  I did note that there was a chocolate shop amid the variety of boutiques on the second level. The blond man had lied about not having chocolates. Or maybe he didn’t have permission to access these. Or he just felt like being a snot, which he seemed to be.

  Raven and I followed signs to a deck where there was a large pool in the center of the ship, exposed to the fall morning air. A couple of crewmen were attending the pool, power washing the deck and rearranging the benches and tables and lounge chairs. On a deck overlooking the pool, there was a large group of tables and chairs for outdoor dining set up.

  The weather had cleared. For a late fall day, the sun promised a cozy warmth, just enough need for a light jacket and it would get warmer. Only small tufts of cloud dotted the blue. No rain today. It wouldn’t dare interrupt Ethan Murdock’s guests boarding. Spanish guitar music was piped into the area from unseen speakers. The ship was ready for guests to arrive for their short vacation.

  Axel was at a table next to Kevin, sitting on one of the folding chairs and sipping coffee out of a large white mug as he looked down a tablet. The table was covered with a small, blue tablecloth and there was a white plate near him, empty other than a few crumbs. There other tables around, several with crew members, all wearing black uniforms. Some were looking over papers—maybe itineraries—and others were just using their cell phones or talking to each other.

  As he sat next to Axel, Kevin was thumbing through his cell phone. Axel was wearing white canvas pants, a blue polo shirt and blue boat shoes: a very odd combination for him. His long hair was combed back away from his face, into a tight ponytail at the nape of his neck. He wore his glasses now while he was reading and looked like he belonged on this fancy yacht, ready for vacation. Where had he gotten the clothes?

  Kevin wore khakis and a loose white T-shirt. He was the first to notice Raven and I approaching and put his cell phone on the table and grinned up at us. “About time you all woke up,” he said. “They were about to put everything away. They just might have enough to feed the two of you.”

  Axel glanced up
from his tablet, looked us over and then nodded his head. “Go get something,” he said. “We should go over the plans for today.”

  Apparently Brandon hadn’t come up here and warned them. That was good. It relieved some of the anger that he hadn’t tattled on me. I looked toward the buffet and its large selection of baked goods, deli meats, eggs, bacon and fruit bowls. Funny enough, without the nausea now, my stomach felt completely empty. Did I dare eat? I hoped I wouldn’t regret it later.

  I tugged at Raven’s arm. “Let’s go get food.”

  Raven followed me to the buffet. He took up two plates, holding them. “I’ll hold,” he said. “You fill.”

  I liked his plan. I scooped piles of eggs, bacon, sausage, gravy and biscuits and a couple of muffins on one plate. For the other, I layered on eggs and bacon, and for the rest, stuck with breads and toast, nothing too rich. Which was fine with me, as long as I got to eat something.

  “Raven,” I said, as I just about finished filling the plates. “Can you eat quickly and get Kevin away from the table when you’re done? I’ll bring up Blake then.”

  “Do you not need me there?”

  “I need Kevin to not be there.”

  “Oh,” he said.

  “Take him to Corey,” I said. “Make sure Brandon didn’t beat him up over the Blake thing?”

  “I’ll kill him if he did,” he said. With that, he turned and took our loaded plates to the table. I grabbed forks and napkins and two bottles of water for myself and a coffee for Raven. I’d normally grab a coffee, and wanted some, but felt it best to avoid. I hoped the food would be enough to wake me up and get rid of this sleepiness from the pills.

  I made sure to sit next to Axel at the table, placing the waters in front of me as I slid the mug of coffee toward Raven.

  Raven got to work on his breakfast, shoveling eggs and bacon into his mouth. Maybe it wasn’t pretty to watch him eat, but it was attractive how compliant he’d become. I didn’t really understand why that was and what changed in him. He’d been nice while I was sick, but not this nice. Usually we bickered, even if it was friendly and meaningless. Corey had said at one point that he could ask Raven, politely, to do things and he’d get up and do them. I didn’t believe Raven would do that for me at any point.