Page 40 of Bend
A palm reaches across the space and cups my cheek. “You’re so pretty.”
I blush. After all that kinky stuff I just did, I blush at the word pretty.
“You don’t believe me?”
I shrug. “I don’t know,” I mumble truthfully. “I haven’t had a lot of feedback in that area.”
“But you have a mirror?” He laughs as he says it.
“Blonde hair, brown eyes, brown skin.”
He shoots me the dimples and my insides tumble around like I’m being tossed in a wave. “Your eyes aren’t brown, they’re amber. It’s striking to see them in the light of the setting sun. And your hair is streaked blonde from years on the sea. That gorgeous brown body is golden, like you own the definition of tanned. And you’re the perfect combination of hard and soft. Killer and lover. Sweet and deadly.” He reaches around and grabs my ass. “I’m gonna take that ass,” he whispers, making the wetness pool between my legs. “Next time, I’m gonna take your ass and your pussy.”
I swallow hard and stare at him, trying not to picture this right now. Because I’m so out of control, it scares me.
“When you’re ready, Harper. Come find me.”
And then he walks away and rounds the corner, calling out a, “What’s up, dude?” to the person grabbing their dry clothes in the laundry room.
Chapter Eleven
HARPER
The shadow catches my eye as I roll and I sit upright instantly, staring at the empty chair across the room.
Nothing.
I look over at the clock. It’s 3AM and I haven’t slept in two days. I haven’t left the apartment since my last encounter with James in the hallway. I haven’t eaten, or showered, or met the sun. I’ve simply… existed.
This guy. Never has anyone affected me like this. He’s all I think about. He seems so… familiar. And maybe it’s just because I’ve seen him out of the corner of my eye once or twice. He’s admitted to watching me. But that just doesn’t seem right.
There’s something else…
I kick off the light covers, get out of bed, and pad over to the kitchen where I’m keeping the pills. I’ve avoided them successfully these past two days, but I’ve had enough. It’s not safe to go without sleep. It messes with your brain. Makes you see shadows of beautiful men sitting in your living room while you sleep. It makes you wish for their cock down your throat.
Holy crap, I have problems.
I eat three pills, chase it with water, and then pad back over to my bed and lie down.
My heart and brain slow simultaneously. It’s a trick of my mind, I realize this. The drug takes a good twenty to thirty minutes to kick in. But I slow anyway. And it’s welcome.
My eyelids droop, then close. My shoulders relax as I turn on my side and let out a long breath.
Some peace is all I want. Just some peace.
And my brother.
But he’s gone.
So I’ll have to settle for my fake sedative-induced peace.
The dawn erupts with a burst of orange across the water and the day begins just like any other. My feet are rocking with the waves, a gentle sway of balance I adapted to before I could walk. I was born on this ship. I drank my first milk on this ship. Crawled the deck, slept in a berth, and learned the fine art of getting wet on this ship.
And even though my childhood was perfect—sun, sand, tropical islands, snorkeling and diving, exotic food and people and destinations—it all ends today.
Today we are eighteen. We have never spent a night apart in our lives, but we may never spend another one together again.
Because by the time the sun sets… only one of us will be left.
