‘Now,’ he said, ‘we’re not leaving here on a boat. I have a private plane standing by ready to take you wherever you’d like, preferably back to your palace but if you insist on wanting to island hop then that’s what we’ll do.’
A million things buzzed into Cassie’s head—the sheer arrogance for one, that censorious tone again along with a trace of weariness, as if suffering a petulant child.
She very deliberately stepped back onto the boat that was now untethered from the jetty and, after securing the rope, she stood up with hands on her hips. ‘Now,’ she said, mimicking his tone, ‘I am not leaving here, except on this boat that I have paid good money for. I have no desire to contribute to global warming by using a private jet when I don’t have to. There’s an app that you can download that’ll allow you to follow the boat’s progress—feel free to keep an eye on me that way. I’d really prefer it.’
Cassie turned her back on Ares and focused on turning the engine on to navigate out of the marina. She couldn’t see someone like Ares Drakos dancing to her tune, so good riddance.
Ares looked at the boat and the back of Crown Princess Cassandra as she stood by one of the two big wheels. It had taken more strength than he cared to admit just to walk down the jetty to where she had been untying the boat. Not even her long, golden, slim legs and that high, curvy behind encased in demin could have stopped the clammy feeling of sweat on his brow and palms.
Or the bolt of electricity he’d felt when she’d looked up at him from under her cap and he’d seen those amazing blue eyes that she’d hidden under contacts last night.
He hated boats. Loathed them.He still had nightmares about them.
He’d been kidnapped when he was ten and the gang had held him on a boat, moving around to evade detection, as they’d negotiated with his parents for his return.
His parents had fought paying up, fearing it would set a precedent, caring more for their vast wealth and reputation than the life of one son. They’d had another heir in his older brother, Axel, so they could afford to lose one.
Axel’s academic prowess in contrast to Ares’s struggles reading and writing had ensured that Ares was never going to inherit the family business, highlighted by the reaction to his kidnapping.
In the end, it had been a specialist team from the police department who had tracked down the boat and saved Ares, with no help from his family. It had shown Ares that the police force had cared more than his own flesh and blood about his welfare.
He’d returned home, traumatised and changed for ever. His brother had wanted to know what had happened but Ares hadn’t been able to talk about it. And his parents had encouraged him not to talk about it. To just forget. Eventually Axel had stopped asking and had been drawn more and more into the realm of becoming successor to their father—cementing an even bigger gulf between the brothers.
His sisters had been too young and Ares had distanced himself from them too, finding their childish innocence terrifying—because he knew how quickly it could be taken away.
He’d vowed to make sure he was never that vulnerable again, by taking care of himself. It had been clear his family hadn’t valued him as worth protecting, so as soon as he was of age, he’d left.
He’d also vowed to do his utmost to help those who needed it. Those who were left behind, forgotten by the ones who should be protecting them.
That was why he really, really resented his time being taken away from a more worthwhile cause than caretaking a wayward princess. And why he hated boats so much.
In spite of which, he knew how to sail, because his father hadn’t allowed Ares’s traumatic experience to be the reason he couldn’t take control of a boat. It had simply been unconscionable that, as the son of a shipping magnate, a Drakos couldn’t handle a boat and so he’d spent his teens white-knuckling and sweating his way through being forced to sail on many occasions.
But Ares had only been on water in recent years if it was absolutely necessary for a security mission. To save a life. Certainly not on the whim of a big brother who wanted his little sister protected at all costs. No matter how much he liked the guy.
She’s not just anyone,a voice pointed out.She’s a crown princess, about to become a head of state.
That held no sway with Ares. She wanted to have her cake and eat it. Privilegeandfreedom. She needed his protection about as much as a tiger did. Her biggest danger was making eyes at goons who would want to spike her drink.Or going off with a stranger who then ravished her in a public place at the first opportunity.
Ares’s conscience stung. He couldn’t put that on her. It had been all him and his wayward libido. The sun must have got to him yesterday.
Then he heard the engine revving and his tension spiked. He realised she had every intention of pulling out of this marina and leaving. In the midst of his churning guts he had to hand it to her. She wasn’t afraid of him.Because she expects you to jump to her bidding.
Whatever. Ares wasn’t here to pass judgement on her. He knew he had no choice. He would have to dance to her tune. For now. He swallowed down the rising panic and gritted his jaw before jumping lithely onto the boat, just as it started to move away from the jetty.
Ares swayed a little on the boat as it picked up speed out of the marina and gulped down more nausea. At least he wasn’t deep below deck this time, locked into a tiny cabin.
At that moment Princess Cassandra looked around from the wheel and scowled at him from under her cap. Ares arranged his face into a smile that felt more like a grimace and said, ‘I haven’t had a holiday in years. This’ll be fun.’
About thirty minutes later, Cassie’s heart was still thudding. He was on the boat with her. In her peripheral vision on the seats that encased the deck where she was standing at the wheel. She was suddenly annoyed she hadn’t hired a much bigger boat. This felt very intimate even though it was a family-sized sailing boat with a generous cabin area down below.
There was a compact kitchen, stocked with supplies, and a dining/seating area. A master cabin was in the bow with a small en suite, and two more small bedrooms and the head/toilet at the stern of the boat.
She was sure he’d get off at the first stop. He was just calling her bluff. But shamefully her dominant reactions weren’t anger or frustration, they were something more like anticipation,excitement. She scowled into the warm Aegean breeze, trying to focus on navigating.
Ares Drakos was a busy man, no way was he going to settle for babysitting her, no matter how close to Caius he was.
That piqued her curiosity, in spite of herself. Caius gave off the impression of being charming and amenable and the life and soul of the party but Cassie knew well that he used that to deflect from the fact that, actually, he was a lot more serious and guarded than he wanted anyone to know.
