30

Rita stepped out of the restroom and was on her way back to her table when she spotted Traci crossing the room in the direction of Xavier. She stood off to the side, out of sight.

Always the gentleman, Xavier rose when Traci approached. His two bodyguards who’d remained unobtrusive during the evening stood as well. The diners seemed not to notice the scene unfolding in front of them.

Traci at first seemed to be cooing and cajoling, while Xavier’s expression remained amiable. Rita wasn’t sure what Traci said, but Xavier raised his right hand, ever so slightly, and the two men approached. Traci looked from one to the other as they came up on either side of her. Her voice rose as she snatched her arm away from the first man.

Xavier sat down as if nothing out of the ordinary was transpiring in front of him and continued to drink his coffee.

With the speed of a ninja, Traci reached for the table, snatched up Rita’s half-filled glass of water, and tossed the contents at Xavier. He barely moved. Rita’s heart stopped, expecting a scene right out of The Sopranos to jump off.

Xavier picked up the linen napkin and casually wiped the streaks of water from his face and the front of his jacket. His lips barely moved as he said something to the men, but Rita saw something in his eyes that was a first cousin to pure evil. A chill hardened her nipples.

The two guards securely took both of Traci’s arms and removed her from the restaurant. The music continued to play; the revelers continued to eat and make merry with hardly an eye turned toward what had just taken place.

Rita’s legs felt weak, but she certainly couldn’t continue to stand there, and she didn’t want to even imagine what was happening to Traci.

She put on her best face and returned to the table. “Sorry I took so long,” she said, settling into her seat.

Xavier got up and pulled her chair out without a word.

She sat opposite him, watching his jaw clench and unclench, the coiled fury held at bay only through sheer will.

“Is everything okay”

Dark, almost empty eyes looked at her. “Yes. Everything is taken care of.”

She didn’t want to entertain the thought of what that meant.

The corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly. “If you are ready, we can leave now.”

“Sure.”

He stood up and came around to help her rise from her seat. He put his large hand at the small of her back and ushered her out of the restaurant.

*   *   *

Eva, dressed in the employee uniform, worked her way through the levels, keeping her eyes peeled for an appearance of Traci, while still attempting to look busy. With a passenger load of more than two thousand and two-hundred-plus employees, it was easy to blend in.

She was about to step on the escalator when she caught a glimpse of Traci being walked down the corridor by the two men she’d swear were Suarez’s bodyguards. She kept an eye on them until they turned down another hallway and were gone from her line of sight.

What is that about

She continued up the escalator. When she reached the next level, she took her PDA out of her pocket and pulled up the ship plan on the screen. She scrolled around until she found the location she needed. She turned left, went up one more level, walked down an Employees Only corridor, and found the master kitchen. She pushed through the swinging doors as if this was where she belonged.

The kitchen was bustling with activity. The chef blasted out orders to the cooks, steam rose from pots and gave the air a misty look, waiters darted back and forth, bringing orders and taking them out.

She quickly scanned the area until she found what she was looking for. No one paid her any attention when she pulled one of the large service carts out of the swinging doors. It was much heavier than she thought, even with wheels.

“I got it,” she said into her headset.

“Good. Come on back until we’re ready,” Jake responded.

“Any word from Rita”

“No.”

Eva didn’t like that. She knew her cousin too well. She didn’t like it at all.

*   *   *

“Please, make yourself comfortable,” Xavier said once they were inside his cabin. He took off his jacket and tossed it on the couch. “Can I fix you a drink”

“That would be nice.” She followed him over to the bar, thinking of the vial in her purse. From what Eva told her, the stuff worked in about fifteen minutes. All she had to do was slip it into his drink. This could all be over shortly.

He turned to her with a drink in his hand. She took it with her thanks.

“Come, join me over here.” He walked over to the couch and sat down. Rita sat next to him.

He studied her for a moment. “What would make a woman like you interested in a man like me”

The question caught her off guard. She stumbled for an answer. “What do you mean”

“I can tell you are a very bright woman. And smart women see things, understand things, as do smart men.”

Her heart began to hammer in her chest. Where is this going She took a sip of her drink.

“I have a very strong feeling, being a smart man, that you know I am no simple businessman.”

The wine sat on the top of her stomach like a brick.

Pull yourself together. Think. She turned her body to better face him. “I know that no simple businessman needs three bodyguards on a cruise ship, if that’s what you mean.”

He chuckled. “You see, you are a smart woman. I like that.” He stroked her cheek with the tip of his finger.

“I need a smart woman. A woman who is unafraid, who is daring.”

She listened.

“If I could find that kind of woman to be by my side, I could make her very happy.”

Rita licked her lips.

“Many have tried. And I have held many auditions.” He smiled at his own joke. “And all have failed. So”—he shrugged—“I continue to search.” His eyes rested on her face. “This is your audition. If you pass … well, there will be nothing out of your reach.”

Her lungs refused to fill with air. Her breaths were short and choppy.

Xavier ran his finger from her chin, down her throat, to the top of her breasts, dipping it teasingly beneath the scoop of her sequined gown.

Rita moaned softly.

Xavier slid one strap off her right shoulder and then her left. “Stand up,” he said, his voice thick and urgent.

Rita did as she was told.

“Take it off.”

Rita slowly pushed the top of the dress down, the clingy fabric moving like silk across her body, exposing her bare flesh. She pushed the gown over her hips, let it drop to the floor. She stepped over it.

“You are as beautiful as I imagined.” His eyes licked across her naked body. Rita shivered.

He reached out and caressed the perfect dark triangle between her legs.

“Open them.”

She spread her legs and gasped with startled pleasure when his mouth sampled her offering.

Xavier eased back and looked up at her; a smile heated the fire in his eyes. Slowly he stood up. “Yes, just as I thought.” His lips met hers in a slow, seductive kiss that made her weak. His lips and tongue played with her mouth, teasing and taunting, only hinting at what it could offer until she was shaking with need.

She pulled him to her, her fingers threading through his hair.

With hands that suddenly felt like steel, he grabbed her wrists and pulled her hands away, locking them down at her sides. He shook his head slowly. “Not yet,” he murmured. “Come.” He led her into his bedroom and shut the door.

*   *   *

Eva returned to the cabin with the service cart.

“Anything” she asked as she parked the cart in the corner.

“No, not yet,” Jake said. He shot a look in Jinx’s direction then back at Eva.

Jinx was nursing a drink. He stubbed out his cigarette and stared off into space.

Eva approached Jinx. “You cool”

He turned and looked at her. “Would you be if it was Jake and some woman you knew he had the hots for”

“Come on, man,” Jake said. “Rita’s there to take care of business. You gotta keep your head screwed on straight. Focus.”

The ship’s horn suddenly blared three long hard blasts.

They all looked at each other.

Hurried footsteps could be heard in the hallway.

“What the—” Jake jumped up and went to the door. He pulled it open and looked out into the hallway. Several crewmen were donning life jackets.

“Hey,” Jake shouted to one of the men running past. “What’s going on”

“A passenger claims they saw someone fall into the water.”

Eva flinched, remembering Traci and Suarez’s men.

Jake frowned and shut the door.

“I think it may have been Traci,” Eva said as the scene ran through her mind once again. She told them what she’d witnessed.

“Damn,” Jinx muttered; then his eyes widened. “If Suarez even thinks something is wrong … what if—”

“Don’t even go there,” Eva warned. “Rita can take care of herself.” She flashed a look at Jake.

They all sat in a tight silence, waiting for the call.

*   *   *

Xavier’s hard, driving thrusts filled her to near bursting. She was sure he would break her in half, and she devoured every minute of it, giving back everything she got.

Her head spun with pleasure. His hands were everywhere at once it seemed, and his mouth was relentless in its pursuit to explore every square inch of her searing flesh.

He whispered and groaned in his native tongue, the lush language only adding to the flames that were building in her stomach.

Rita never had a man like him. Never felt like this before. She knew she wanted it again and again and that frightened her more than the unspeakable climax that exploded in a million little pieces inside her.

*   *   *

Rita listened to Xavier’s heavy breathing beside her. Her body still shuddered in unexpected spasms of delight.

The bedside phone rang. Its sound was piercing in the silence of the dimly lit bedroom.

Xavier muttered a curse and reached for the phone. He listened for several moments.

“Good. Stay in your room. And do not disturb me until morning.” He hung up and rolled onto his side so that he pressed against Rita’s back. He kissed her spine. She shivered.

His hand stroked her hips, then pulled her roughly against him, his erection demanding attention.

“Your audition is not finished,” he breathed hot against her neck. He raised her leg over his hip and pushed deep inside her with a grunt that ended in a hiss.

Rita muffled her scream deep in the overstuffed pillow as bright lights went off inside her head and her body burned from the assault.

*   *   *

Weak and shaky, Rita eased from the bed to the sound of Xavier’s gentle snores. She tiptoed into the bathroom and quietly shut the door. She turned on the light and was stunned by her reflection.

All along the cords of her neck her light honey complexion reflected the beginnings of purple bruises from his suckling. They ran a trail from her neck down to the rise of her breasts.

She looked down. On the inside of her thighs were imprints from his hands from when he held her legs wide apart.

Rita shut her eyes, and a shiver ran through her. How could she ever explain this to Jinx Even more, how would she ever be so satisfied ever again without Xavier

She couldn’t.

She turned on the water, grabbed a washcloth from the rack above the sink, and pressed cold water against the marks that she knew would take days to disappear. With hot water she cleaned herself, washing away the sticky residue.

With shaky hands, she turned off the water and once again looked at herself in the mirror. She couldn’t stand what she saw. She turned off the light and returned to the bedroom.

Xavier was still soundly asleep. She went into the living room where she’d left her purse. It was nearly eleven. She took the vial from her purse and poured the contents into one glass then filled it with wine. She gently shook the glass. She drew in a breath and filled another glass with wine then returned to the bedroom. She put Xavier’s glass on the nightstand on his side, then went around and crawled back into bed.

Xavier stirred, reached out, and cupped her tender left breast. “Open your legs for me,” he said in a rough whisper.

He climbed on top of her, lifted her legs over his shoulders, and rode her until she screamed in release.

Propped up against the mound of pillows, they sipped their wine. Rita’s heart raced with every swallow that he took. Suppose it didn’t work

“Tomorrow morning we dock in Miami,” he said. He finished off his wine and put it down. “Have you decided”

She turned to him and smiled. “Are you sure you still want me as your guest”

“I am a man who always knows what he wants,” he said, each word coming out slower than the last. He frowned as the effects of the drug began to kick in. He tried to stand but failed. His eyes rolled for a moment in their sockets. He chuckled, struggling against the inevitable. He turned his head toward her in slow motion. “There was no need to drug me.… I would have given you anything … you wanted.” His face twisted into an ugly mask. He awkwardly lunged toward her, his large hands finding her neck. She kicked and fought, gasping for air as his grip tightened.

Then just as suddenly as the attack began, it stopped, and he slumped against the pillows.

Rita sucked in air, coughing and choking as she stumbled from the bed. She tripped her way into the living room and called the cabin. “Now,” she choked out. Tears ran down her cheeks.

She grabbed her clothes and quickly put them on, looked around the entire suite for any traces of her. She took the glass she’d used and stuck it in her purse. She ran into the bathroom and grabbed up the towel and washcloth, balling them both up.

Pulling herself together, she went back into the bedroom. Xavier was out cold. Her throat knotted. She went to the bed and leaned over him.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I wish things could have been different.”

The knock on the door jerked her upright.

“Room service.”

She’d expected to hear Eva’s voice. She tossed one last look at Xavier from over her shoulder and went to the door.

Jinx stood on the other side. He took one look at her, and shame filled her.

He brushed by her. “Let’s get this over with.” He pushed the service cart into the suite. “Get the suitcase.”

She went to the closet and pulled out the suitcase.

Jinx called Jake on the phone. “We have the case.”

“Good. Hang on.” He brought the impression of the suitcase up on the computer screen. “I’m going to input the combination into your PDA.”

Jinx waited, watching Rita from the corner of his eyes while she sat in stony silence in a chair by the window of the bedroom.

His PDA beeped. He went to the suitcase and put in a series of numbers and letters. He pulled the latch. It didn’t open.

“Shit.” A line of perspiration broke out across his forehead.

Xavier groaned.

They both looked at him. Jinx tried again.

This time it opened to a case filled with hundred-dollar bills, but no diamonds.

Rita hurried over to the service cart, removed the bucket of ice, and lifted the linen tablecloth. The counterfeit money that she’d spent weeks in creating sat in even rows.

They quickly made the switch, leaving the top row with the real money and the fake underneath, locked the suitcase, and returned it to the closet.

“You can’t very well go to the safe looking like you’ve just been fucked,” Jinx ground out.

Rita winced, drew herself up. “I’ll go back to the suite and change,” she said quietly. “Let’s go.”

She crawled beneath the cart onto the bottom tray and curled into a tight ball.

Jinx pulled the sides of the table down and dropped the tablecloth over it. He checked all around to be sure Rita couldn’t be seen.

Gritting his teeth, he pushed the heavy load out the door and into the hallway.