Chapter 23
I rush down the yacht’s stairs with no idea where I’m even going.
I’m such an idiot.
Even knowing he’ll soon be engaged, I got dressed for the party thinking about him, and for a moment, when we were alone on the deck before the guests arrived, I let myself believe Rodrick had brought me for another reason besides watching me.
I step through the first door I find, but before I can close it behind me, a foot blocks the way.
“What happened?” he asks, and I’ve never wanted to hit someone so badly in my life.
What happened? Oh, I don’t know, maybe the fact that you followed me down here when the woman you’re about to marry, or at least one of them, is upstairs waiting for you?
But my pride won’t let me expose myself.
“Get out! I’m a princess. I can’t be alone with a man.”
He looks at me like he’s trying to figure out whether I’m being serious. “You didn’t mind being alone with me when you slept in my arms.”
“I was barely conscious. I don’t remember what I asked for.”
Now he looks angry. He steps inside the cabin and closes the door behind him.
My heart pounds so hard I’m afraid it might break through the dress.
“Liar.”
“What? How dare you!”
He steps closer. “How dare I what? Call you a liar, princess? I don’t have another word for that level of hypocrisy. We both know you were awake that night in my bed. You knew it was me holding you.”
His words drag both of us right back to that moment, pulling us into the intimacy of that dawn.
The air changes, becoming thicker, heavier, but in a delicious way that makes my knees go weak and a line of sweat trail down my spine.
“Deny it, Jazmina. Say you didn’t know it was me in that room with you. Say you didn’t ask for me. Say you didn’t curl your body against mine.”
My back hits the wall, and we’re practically skin to skin. I can feel the heat radiating between us.
His mouth grazes the side of my neck, so faint I’m not sure it’s real.
“Deny it, Jazmina.” His voice is a whisper now. Hoarse. Intense.
I turn my face toward him, our mouths separated by barely an inch. “I can’t, Rodrick. I knew it was you. And I wanted you to hold me because it felt like the right place to be.”
“You can’t say that to me, girl,” he growls, pulling me against him. He brushes our mouths together, and I wrap my arms around his neck. “You shouldn’t say that.”
This time, when he kisses me, I’m ready. Eager. Starving. And I give myself over completely. My hands slide into his hair, caressing the back of his neck, my mouth and tongue boldly following his lead without shame or hesitation.
I tremble in his arms, and even though the kiss sends me spinning out of orbit, it still isn’t enough. I want more of everything. His hands on me, his hot, demanding lips dominating me, his teeth teasing my skin and making me melt in his arms . . .
Nothing feels wrong. Just the two of us here, kissing, his fingers stroking the bare skin of my back.
But then an alarm goes off in the back of my mind.
It has nothing to do with my culture or how I was raised.
It’s not about the fact that I shouldn’t be alone with a man inside a yacht cabin.
It’s the realization that in the very near future, he’ll be committed to someone else.
“Let me go,” I whisper, pushing him, and he steps back immediately.
Confusion crosses his face, then hurt, like I physically struck him, and then guilt.
“Don’t touch me again, Rodrick. We both know I can’t have any kind of intimacy with a man I’m not committed to.”
I am the biggest liar to ever exist, because the desire I feel for him is stronger than any rule, any conduct, any duty.
It’s wild, uncontrollable, and because of that, dangerous.
He made me forget who I am and that just ten minutes ago, one of his potential brides was demanding his attention.
I need to stay as far away from him as possible, or I’ll make the biggest mistake of my life.
Taking advantage of the fact that he’s still staring at me like he doesn’t know what to say, I run out of the cabin without looking back.
Two weeks later
“There’s someone I want you to meet,” Linda tells me.
I don’t even know why I still hang out with her. Her company irritates me more than anything, but since Josephine works part-time to help cover her expenses, I occasionally go out with Linda after class—lunch, shopping, whatever.
I don’t know if it’s by Rodrick’s orders, but the bodyguards have been discreet.
He hasn’t called me again. Hasn’t even sent a text.
After running out of the yacht cabin at the party, I couldn’t stay there another minute, so I asked the security guard to take me back to the hotel Rodrick booked for us.
Josephine arrived soon after, saying Rodrick already knew exactly where I was, as the guard had told him, and that he’d sent her to check on me.
I told her everything that happened, and how embarrassed I felt for running like a scared child, but that I’d done what I thought necessary to preserve my dignity.
The next day, the bodyguards escorted us to the plane and brought us back to London. Rodrick didn’t fly back with us, and he didn’t say goodbye. I keep telling myself it was for the best. Even though no news has come out about his engagement yet, it’s only a matter of time.
“Earth to Jazmina.”
“Um . . . I don’t think so, thanks,” I finally answer.
“I’m serious, Jazmina. He’s my brother. A great catch. CEO, handsome, single. What do you say?”
“My answer is still no.”
“Fine, fine. No date. But how about a boat trip in Marseille?”
“If I remember correctly, the last time you invited me somewhere, you stood me up.”
I never told her what happened at that fraternity party. While leaving me hanging wasn’t cool, none of what happened afterward was her fault.
Besides, the criminals were punished. I don’t know if Rodrick had anything to do with it, but there was a police raid on the fraternity and they found enough drugs to charge the members as dealers. Among them was the guy who drugged me, Richard.
Campus gossip says that even though they come from rich families, they might get sentenced this time because the university can’t cover it up anymore. It’s already in the media, and from there it snowballed.
Maybe now that they’ve been exposed, some of the assaulted girls will come forward too.
“Hey, you zoned out again,” Linda complains. “Look, I know what I did that day wasn’t very nice, but I fought with my boyfriend and went home. I was so upset I forgot to let you know.”
“It’s okay. It’s in the past.”
“If you really forgive me, come with me on this boat trip.”
“You give me your solemn word you’ll show up?”
“Of course.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “Only if I can bring Josephine.”
“I don’t like her. She doesn’t belong to our circle.”
“Don’t talk about my friend like that, or we’re done.”
“Okay, sorry. Fine, bring the hippie.”
“She isn’t a hippie. She’s authentic. Don’t be prejudiced.”
“Let’s not fight. So . . . Saturday?”
“Yes, but I need your brother’s full name, the name of the boat, and the exact location so I can give everything to my security team.”
She doesn’t find that strange—lots of wealthy students here are escorted everywhere. Some even bring guards into the classroom.
“Okay. I’ll text you everything later today. Gotta go now. See you Saturday.”