flybridge. I like it better in the open air, anyway.”
“Okay then,” Phyllis said. “So we have our first prisoner.”
“A prisoner who’s staying in the luxury master suite on a seven-hundred-thousand-dollar powerboat,” Jake grumbled.
Phyllis shook her head. “I’m not sure we have this pirate thing down yet.”
Alex stepped back, turning toward the stairs. “I’m going to go talk to her. Let her know the plan to off-load her tomorrow. You good at the controls a little longer, Jake?”
Jake grunted in response, and Alex turned away. Behind him, Phyllis muttered something about skipping the honeymoon for now. Alex grimaced, glad they didn’t know just how close he’d come to consummating his mock marriage.
When Alex reached the guest stateroom, he hesitated a moment before knocking. What was the proper protocol for entering the bedroom of a phony wife turned botched one-night stand turned maritime prisoner?
“Come in,” Juli called from inside.
Alex stepped into the suite to see Juli bent over her knapsack, tossing out wisps of lacy underthings, several cosmetic products, and something that looked suspiciously like a magic eight ball. Alex ducked, narrowly missing the trajectory of a pink tank top.
“I can’t find my damn toothbrush—”
“Look, Juli,” he began, trying to keep his tone all-business. “I know you hadn’t planned to be at sea very long, but we won’t reach our first stopping point until tomorrow evening. We’re on a pretty tight timeline, and we can’t afford the extra half day it would take to turn around and take you back to St. John. Are you going to be okay traveling with us for another twenty-four hours or so until we get to a spot we can drop you off?”
“I know it’s in here somewhere,” she said, giving no indication of having heard him.
“Juli, we’re in a bit of a hurry here, so—”
She looked up at him, her expression quizzical. “Someone has an urgent need for maps?”
“What?”
“You’re cartographers, right?”
“Right,” Alex said, wishing like hell he’d said they were sightseers or venture capitalists or porn stars.
She stopped pawing through her knapsack for a moment and studied him. She gave him a funny half smile and held up a lacy black thong.
“For the record, I do wear panties on occasion.”
Alex swallowed hard and tried to think of something intelligent to say.
“Um—” was the best he could manage.
Juli grinned wider and stuffed the thong back in her knapsack. “Relax, Alex. I’m not going to say anything to your crew about last night, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Believe me, that’s the least of my worries.”
“Oh?”
Her tone was casual, almost teasing. She had to know how desperately he wanted to toss her back onto the bed and make up for last night. Maybe they could just—
“No,” he said.
She raised an eyebrow at him. “No what?”
“Nothing. I was talking to myself. Look, Juli, about last night—”
“Don’t worry about it. Really. You were right, okay? I probably was too tipsy to take things any further. I appreciate you being a gentleman.”
Alex nodded, feeling no satisfaction at all in being right. “Gentleman. That’s me.”
Juli went back to pawing through her knapsack and Alex lost his train of thought again as another bra went flying across the room. He was just about to say the hell with being a gentleman when Juli reached into the depths of her knapsack and produced a purple toothbrush with silver stars on the handle. Not even bothering to dust off the lint, she shoved it in her mouth and began scrubbing vigorously. While she brushed, her eyes explored the spacious expanse of the cabin.
“Pretty nice boat you’ve got here,” she observed, her words coming out garbled around the toothbrush.
“It’s a rental.”
She raised an eyebrow. “So I guessed wrong when I said your boat was your prized possession?”
“I’ve got a sailboat. This is a
“Okay then,” Phyllis said. “So we have our first prisoner.”
“A prisoner who’s staying in the luxury master suite on a seven-hundred-thousand-dollar powerboat,” Jake grumbled.
Phyllis shook her head. “I’m not sure we have this pirate thing down yet.”
Alex stepped back, turning toward the stairs. “I’m going to go talk to her. Let her know the plan to off-load her tomorrow. You good at the controls a little longer, Jake?”
Jake grunted in response, and Alex turned away. Behind him, Phyllis muttered something about skipping the honeymoon for now. Alex grimaced, glad they didn’t know just how close he’d come to consummating his mock marriage.
When Alex reached the guest stateroom, he hesitated a moment before knocking. What was the proper protocol for entering the bedroom of a phony wife turned botched one-night stand turned maritime prisoner?
“Come in,” Juli called from inside.
Alex stepped into the suite to see Juli bent over her knapsack, tossing out wisps of lacy underthings, several cosmetic products, and something that looked suspiciously like a magic eight ball. Alex ducked, narrowly missing the trajectory of a pink tank top.
“I can’t find my damn toothbrush—”
“Look, Juli,” he began, trying to keep his tone all-business. “I know you hadn’t planned to be at sea very long, but we won’t reach our first stopping point until tomorrow evening. We’re on a pretty tight timeline, and we can’t afford the extra half day it would take to turn around and take you back to St. John. Are you going to be okay traveling with us for another twenty-four hours or so until we get to a spot we can drop you off?”
“I know it’s in here somewhere,” she said, giving no indication of having heard him.
“Juli, we’re in a bit of a hurry here, so—”
She looked up at him, her expression quizzical. “Someone has an urgent need for maps?”
“What?”
“You’re cartographers, right?”
“Right,” Alex said, wishing like hell he’d said they were sightseers or venture capitalists or porn stars.
She stopped pawing through her knapsack for a moment and studied him. She gave him a funny half smile and held up a lacy black thong.
“For the record, I do wear panties on occasion.”
Alex swallowed hard and tried to think of something intelligent to say.
“Um—” was the best he could manage.
Juli grinned wider and stuffed the thong back in her knapsack. “Relax, Alex. I’m not going to say anything to your crew about last night, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Believe me, that’s the least of my worries.”
“Oh?”
Her tone was casual, almost teasing. She had to know how desperately he wanted to toss her back onto the bed and make up for last night. Maybe they could just—
“No,” he said.
She raised an eyebrow at him. “No what?”
“Nothing. I was talking to myself. Look, Juli, about last night—”
“Don’t worry about it. Really. You were right, okay? I probably was too tipsy to take things any further. I appreciate you being a gentleman.”
Alex nodded, feeling no satisfaction at all in being right. “Gentleman. That’s me.”
Juli went back to pawing through her knapsack and Alex lost his train of thought again as another bra went flying across the room. He was just about to say the hell with being a gentleman when Juli reached into the depths of her knapsack and produced a purple toothbrush with silver stars on the handle. Not even bothering to dust off the lint, she shoved it in her mouth and began scrubbing vigorously. While she brushed, her eyes explored the spacious expanse of the cabin.
“Pretty nice boat you’ve got here,” she observed, her words coming out garbled around the toothbrush.
“It’s a rental.”
She raised an eyebrow. “So I guessed wrong when I said your boat was your prized possession?”
“I’ve got a sailboat. This is a
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