34. Willow
The next day, we were back on the boat.
The wind roared past me, throwing my hair around wildly as I gripped the rail and watched the island slowly disappear.
The sparkling ocean surrounded us, its colors looking more gray than they had when we first anchored here. Although yesterday’s events might’ve been to blame for that. I thought back to the Harrises’ accusations and Royce’s fury at the party.
After we went back to our room, Asher had them thrown out. It was only after Mrs. Harris started crying like a baby, screaming that their yacht was a day away and she was scared of the jungle, that he put them in a helicopter and told his pilot to drop them off in Bermuda. The remaining guests remained, probably eager to get back to their fancy boats that were scheduled to pick them up at a certain time tomorrow.
I felt violated—the very thought of those sick people trapping me into falling pregnant had never before crossed my mind. I couldn’t believe how stupid I’d been—how trusting. I didn’t want my baby anywhere near the Harris family, yet I didn’t know how to keep them away. It seemed impossible to cut Stuart and his parents off, but I hoped Royce had a plan. If anyone had the money and power to rival Stuart’s family, it was him.
Royce’s hands wrapped around my waist, and I startled, tightening my hands on the rail until my knuckles turned white.
It was as if he knew where my mind went and brought me back to the present.
Warmth engulfed me as I leaned back into him. We’d always had a connection, but over the last few weeks, it was as if we were one.
He spun me around to face him and lifted my chin with two fingers. Our gazes met and my lips parted. He ran his thumb over my bottom lip gently, trapping me in the intensity of his dark eyes.
“Don’t worry about anything, Willow. They’ll never get their filthy paws on you or our baby.”
The fact that he wouldn’t hesitate to unleash his fury on the world, willing to destroy anyone in its path, shouldn’t affect me this much, but I found comfort in it.
I bit my lower lip as I studied him. He stood wearing black Tom Ford swim shorts, his sun-kissed skin and ink making him look like a Greek god. Some strands of his black hair were tousled, and I reached up to brush them away from his forehead.
He studied me intently in that way that made me feel like I was the center of his world.
“Thank you for always being there for me.”
He sighed. “You’re my wife… my best friend… my world. You don’t need to thank me.”
I closed my eyes and pressed my ear against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. “What if they—” I swallowed a lump in my throat, my mind jumping back to last night’s events. “What if they take?—”
He brought his finger to my lips. “Nobody will touch you. I promise.”
I believed him, because in all the years I’d known him, he’d never broken a promise.
Royce
I planned on spending every dime of my fortune to keep my wife and our baby safe. Not just because I was obsessed with her and loved her more than I thought possible. I’d keep my promise because she was my woman.
We stood like that until the boat groaned and lightning broke through the sky.
“Shit, a storm’s coming,” I muttered.
I ripped myself away from her, grabbed her hand, and hurried toward the pilot cabin where I grabbed the wheel.
“It was just blue skies,” Willow said, concern and wariness lacing her voice.
“The weather can be unpredictable out here. To be honest, we’ve been lucky so far.” A powerful wave rocked into us, sending Willow stumbling against the door. Another massive wave built up, like Poseidon himself rising. “Hold on, Willow.”
“Please tell me this boat is unsinkable,” she whimpered, rushing back over and pressing her face into my chest.
No boat was unsinkable, but I didn’t tell her that. Instead, I opted for the closest thing to the truth.
“We’re safe,” I told her.
She glanced in the direction of the island, her eyes wide with panic. “Should we try and make it back?”
“No, it’s best if we ride it out. It’ll be worse closer to the shoreline.” I gripped the wheel as waves crashed against the windows, rocking the boat up and down.
“Deep breaths.” Willow’s expression was somewhat frozen, and her eyes were locked on the horizon over my shoulder. Holding the wheel with one hand, I cupped her cheek with the other, forcing her wild gaze to mine. “Breathe for me, baby.” I took a deep inhale, and she mimicked the motion. “Good girl. Now exhale.”
“I’m good,” she murmured, giving me a shaky smile. “All good.”
“It won’t last,” I assured her, keeping her tucked into me. I returned my attention to the horizon, steering us through the storm.
“What can I do to help?” she whispered.
“Stay close so I know you’re okay.”
“Forever my protector,” she swooned, drawing a smile out of me.
For the next thirty minutes, we powered through the storm that dissipated as fast as it appeared.
“That was my first storm at sea,” she admitted, her face still an alarming shade of green, and I couldn’t help but smile.
“Hopefully the last one.”
She grinned, and I breathed evenly for the first time in what felt like years. She wore a light blue summer dress, making her eyes appear more blue than green. She was beautiful in anything, but I loved her in dresses.
Wrapping her dark curls around my wrist, I tilted her head back. She bit her lower lip, arousal visible on her face. I turned autopilot on and directed all my attention to my wife.
“How do you feel about prolonging our honeymoon and combining it with a few business trips?”
She shrugged. “What did you have in mind?”
I grabbed her perfect ass with my free hand, my dick already straining against my swim shorts. This woman could be wearing a potato sack and still turn me on. Because with my hands on her, she looked like mine.
“South America, either starting or ending with Venezuela.” Her expression changed into anxiousness and the need to ravage her slowly dissipated, replaced by the urge to wipe away her worries. “What’s worrying you?”
“Everything.” She closed her eyes and exhaled. “I’m pissed off that I was set up with a faulty condom.” A chill set in the air. “I’m so mad at them, but even more at myself. I should have been more careful.”
“You couldn’t have known.”
She chewed on her bottom lip nervously. “Do you think Stuart and his parents will try something?”
There was a brief pause before I answered. “They might, but they won’t get to you. I’ll use all my resources to destroy them.”
If it was the last thing I did, I’d eliminate every threat to Willow. I trusted my brothers with my life, and Willow’s, and I knew they’d come through. One way or the other.
“Thank you.” Just like that, the tension in her shoulders eased a little bit. “What did Stuart’s father mean about a citizen’s arrest when he saw us?” she asked.
“He’s delusional.”
“But why would he arrest us? Because of what you did to Stuart?”
I could admit that that day in the hotel room probably wasn’t one of my finer moments. But the fucker deserved it for what he did to Willow. The anger began to bubble again and I had to tamp it down.
No, I didn’t regret teaching Stuart a lesson. The only thing I regretted was taking Willow with me. If I hadn’t, there’d be a warrant out for me only. Hindsight was definitely a bitch.
“The arrest warrant will be withdrawn, just wait and see. They don’t have a case against us.”
Fuck, I meant to ask Asher if he was the one who cleaned the hotel room after us. Or knowing Alexei, it could have been him.
“Us?” Goddammit, I slipped. But then she surprised me again. “Regardless of what happens, I’d be a fugitive with you in every lifetime.” She sighed, leaning back into me. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this.”
“You didn’t. I want you and the baby to be happy and safe.” I smacked her ass affectionately. “So you better be.”
A smile grazed her full lips and she gasped, as if appalled by my gesture. “Or what?”
“Or I’ll spank you.”
“Spanking and happiness, I guess they go hand in hand,” she teased in a husky voice, the arousal in it shooting straight to my cock.
“Do you want to be punished?” My voice dropped. “It might hurt, but you’ll scream the whole ocean down in pleasure.” Her breathing hitched and visible goose bumps broke over her skin. “Do you want that?”
She nodded.
“Use your words, wife.”
Her eyes flashed. “Yes, I want that.”
And just like that, my dick stood at attention.
“Bend over and grab the wheel.”
Heat blossomed in her cheeks. Her beautiful round ass jutted out, and her back arched gracefully. My hand trailed down, cupping both her cheeks into my palms.
She glanced over her shoulder, eyes glazed with lust, as I pulled her dress up to her waist and found her naked.
“Mrs. Ashford, where are your panties?” I lightly smacked her porcelain flesh, doing my best to hide my satisfaction. Even my cock threatened to spill in my shorts seeing her utterly naked and splayed out for me.
“I wanted you to have better access,” she breathed.
“Ah, baby,” I drawled with satisfaction, squeezing in appreciation and admiring my handprint on her skin. “That pleases me.”
“Spank me a-again…” Shock washed over me, and I knew I could never come back from loving this woman.
My fingers caressed her skin before I spanked her a few more times, her moans and whimpers getting louder with each one. She ground against me, her arousal filling my nostrils.
I parted her ass cheeks, then dragged my finger from her entrance to her ass.
“Mmmm.”
“You like that?” We both knew I didn’t need to ask. The evidence was smeared all over my fingers. She was drenched. My index finger connected with her hole, smearing the wetness all around it, then gently pushed the tip of my finger in.
My free hand connected with her nape. “Answer me.”
She let out a needy sound, then said in a barely audible voice, “Yes. I need more.”
It was all the answer I needed. I discarded my swim shorts and drove balls-deep inside her. She shifted forward, her forehead coming to rest against the captain’s wheel.
“Oh, shit,” she moaned, her body moving in sync with mine.
“Fuck, your perfect pussy is strangling my cock so good,” I grunted.
Caging her against the wheel, I thrust in and out of her hard and fast. While I pounded into her like it was the last time I’d have her, the tip of my finger pushed gently in and out of her ass. The movements of my cock thrusting inside her matched that of my finger, and she began to writhe against me.
“Ohhhh… Royce… Yesss!”
She fell apart around me, her tight pussy strangling my cock and wrenching my own release from me.