Chapter 50 #2
He kissed me back fervently, his tongue swiping against my lips, seeking entry that was wholeheartedly given. He rolled us until I was under him, his thumbs caressing my face, his body a warm, comforting weight over me.
Safe.
And aroused. It was impossible not to be when he kissed me with so much longing. And when his erection was pulsing insistently against my hip.
I adjusted my legs, giving him space to sink his body between them, to line up his hardness with the aching parts of me. “I need you, Henry,” I whispered against his warm lips, reaching between us to tug at his pyjama bottoms, swiping my thumb over the hot tip of him.
“And you know I’m always happy to meet your needs too, Catnip,” he rasped, hooking his fingers into my panties, his lips finding mine again, possessing my mouth with heated desire.
A knock sounded on the door.
“Rise and shine, almost-an-island-owner!”
Henry groaned into my mouth before breaking our kiss, resting his forehead against mine. “It’s River,” he mumbled. “He’s starting the site assessment today.”
“Ugh. Can we not just tell him to wait until we’re done?” I whined, only half joking. But my stomach growled, betraying me.
“Breakfast time.” Henry planted one last, chaste kiss to my mouth before climbing off me, tucking his impressive cock back into his pants.
I made a whimpering noise of protest, and Henry grinned.
“I promised River we’d spend his first day on the island together so he can talk me through his process.
” He took my hands and helped me to my feet.
“But once that’s done, I’m all yours for the entire evening …
and I plan to take care of you very thoroughly. ”
I pouted, eyeing his bulge meaningfully. “Wouldn’t you rather me take care of you … right now? You can hardly go out there pitching a tent—you’ll give the poor man an inferiority complex!”
Henry’s choke of laughter turned to a soft groan when I went to my knees, freeing him from his pyjamas once more. “I bet I can get you off in less than three minutes,” I challenged, gripping him and stroking.
“I have no wish to lose money, so I won’t be taking you up on … oh … fuck!” His hand tangled in my hair as I took him into my mouth, humming around him.
I managed it in two.
I sat on my old bed, in the room that had been mine before I’d moved into Henry’s. The box in my lap felt like it weighed a tonne. The item inside it … and the explanation behind it, was the last barrier of dishonesty between us.
I wanted forever with Henry. But forever meant him understanding my past … and how putting it behind us might not be as simple as a partner visa. Sure, the visa was an extra layer of safety, but my family wasn’t above using less than legal means to get what they wanted.
Lifting the string of gold coins out of the box, I ran my thumb over the cold, heavy metal. It was a gaudy, sickening reminder that I’d been bought and paid for. With my tuition, with my allowance while studying in Australia.
I glanced out the window. The sun was dipping into the west. Henry had been gone all day. River had flashed us a knowing look when we came out of the bedroom: Henry flushed and flustered, me with my rat-nest hair from Henry gripping it as he came down my throat.
When Henry returned, I would show him the necklace. Explain what it meant. And hope that it wasn’t the straw that broke the camel’s back. I had to trust that what Henry and I had was strong enough to get past it. Still, my hands shook as I dropped the hated thing back into the box.
“Irina, are you in there?” Josie’s voice called through the door. There was a frantic edge to it.
“I’m here, is everything okay?” I asked, setting the box on the bed next to my phone and taking the few steps to the door. I swung it open to find her, pale-faced, expression distraught.
My stomach swooped. “What’s happened? Is Henry—”
“It’s Abernathy!” she interrupted, her words rushed. “He managed to get up on deck, and … I think he’s run off!”
The swooping became a nauseating churn. I surged into the hallway, heading for the stairs, heart in my throat. “Shit. Where’s Henry?”
“He’s still out with River. I tried calling him, but they must be out of mobile range. We need to find Abs!”
“Abernathy!” I called, racing across the deck, bending to check under the lounges, the coffee table. “Abernathy! Pizd?, why did Henry have to give him such a mouthful of a name?”
Rushing to the railing, I scanned the jetty below, but there was no sign in the evening light of a flash of fluffy ginger.
“Are you sure that he’s not below deck?” I asked, heading towards the gangplank.
“Parker is doing a thorough search down there now, but I saw him up here from the bridge, and I raced down as fast as I could, but he’d disappeared. We really should check the jetty.”
Anxiety bubbling up in my throat, I nodded and headed down the gangplank with Josie hot on my heels.
“Abernathy?” I shouted, peering into the darkness thrown by the boat. “Abs, come on buddy, where are you?”
A figure emerged from the shadows.
It wasn’t a cat.
“Sorry, Irina,” Josie mumbled as the man loomed over me.
My heart leapt into my throat, stealing my breath.
It wasn’t until he was close enough to reach out and grab me that I recognised him without his Cockerels cap.
I opened my mouth, filling my lungs to scream, but with a crack, and a sharp pain in the back of my skull, everything went black.