I told myself as I nibbled on her bottom lip, until she was quivering in my arms and I had to press my palm into the small of her back to hold her upright, that it was just for the show of it, for the photographers who always seemed to be lurking.
But I was lying.
I pulled away, panting. Her cheeks were rosy, eyes bright and lips glistening. I ached to scoop her into my arms and carry her back on board theGirl on Fireand tell her that she wasn’t to leave my side until time ceased to exist. Nothing else would be enough for me.
Instead, I slid my palms down her arms, gave her hands one last squeeze and let her go. “You’re a good friend to her, Ri.”
She nibbled at her bottom lip. “I haven’t been. But this is one way I can try to make it up to her.” Those blue eyes searched mine. “You understand, don’t you?”
I nodded, unable to form words, and opened the back door of the SUV for her. As she slid in, I leaned my head inside.
“You need to bring your A game tonight, Felix,” I warned.
“Yes, Mr Baxter!” Felix nodded eagerly. At least the kid seemed enthusiastic.
“Text me when you get there, and before you go to sleep, okay?” I added, glancing at Ri.
“I’ll miss you too, Hubby,” she whispered, then busied herself buckling her seatbelt.
Then don’t go!I wanted to beg her.Stay here with me. Which was supremely selfish, so I kept it to myself. But as the car pulled away and disappeared at the end of the street, my stomach dropped with apprehension.
For the remainder of the afternoon, I found myself creating plans in my head. The time to take Irina offshore to reapply for her visa was close, and I had never been so disorganised in my life. I had no intention of taking her to the USA; Atlas was a day away from leaving for his next ‘business’ trip, and I didn’t want to put myself on the same continent as him right now.
Europe was also a no—too close to Ri’s family for her to feel comfortable, and who knew how long it would take for us to have a resolution on this?
Japan? Canada? New Zealand? One of the Pacific islands?
And then there were the cats to consider. Who would look after them while I was gone? In fact, who would look after the yacht? I supposed the crew would remain once we left, but Lucian would be coming with us. I would not take Ri into another country, around strange people, without extra eyes on the lookout for anyone who might wish ill on her. And I couldn’t leave the crew without some security, because if Warren caught wind that I was gone, he’d probably try to break in.
I jumped to my feet, striding up to the bridge. Josie looked up from her computer, flashing me a smile.
“Good evening, Henry. I was just going over the maintenance schedule.”
I nodded, striding to the window and looking out past the marina into Sydney Harbour and the Pacific beyond. “If I said we were going to take her out into the open ocean, how long would you need to prepare?”
Josie’s face lit up. “I keep the yacht constantly ready for sailing, sir. There would be a few tasks we would need to do last minute—emptying the waste tanks and filling the fresh water, shopping for supplies—how long will we be at sea?”
I rubbed the back of my head. “How long can we be at sea before needing to dock?”
“With the solar panels, the batteries and the hybrid motor, we can technically sail indefinitely. The only caveat is water and food, but if you let me know how many people will be on board, I can manage that.”
“How long to sail to the Whitsundays from here?”
“I’d have to do some calculations for an exact ETA, but I’d think between ten and fourteen days.”
I gave her a tight smile. “Hypothetically, if I said we were leaving tomorrow for the Whitsundays, could you have us ready?”
She pursed her lips in thought then nodded. “I think I could make it work.”
“Then let’s do that.” I turned to leave. I couldn’t shake this feeling that we would need to get out of here at a moment’s notice. I left the bridge, finding the guard rail and squeezing, taking deep breaths.
“Atlas is at the gate,” Lucian rumbled behind me. “Do I go down and let him in?”
“Shit.” I turned to face him. “He’s leaving for California in the morning. I’ll have to talk to him.”
Lucian frowned, but nodded, heading down the gangplank. I took myself back down to the main deck and into the kitchen. Something about having the island bench in between me and Atlas felt necessary. Still, my heart rate spiked when I heard his staccato footsteps on the stairs. I turned to face him.
“Where’s the little wifey?” Atlas asked, grinning, no sign of the frustrated, stressed Atlas of the last few weeks.
