Page 119 of A Knight’s Revenge: The Complete Series

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

JOLIE

I leaned against the railing of the Contessa as we sailed south on the river.

The warm breeze tickled at the strands of hair that had come loose from my ponytail, and I breathed a contented sigh as my gaze landed on the soft yellow streetlights of Olde Town and the hulking log cabin structure that was Bruce’s Boathouse.

Noah was entertaining well-wishers a few yards away at the bar while Zach lounged on the couch like the lazy prince he was, chatting amiably with Mari and John Tyler.

Max had attracted a gaggle of girls and was enjoying himself nearby, his keen dark eyes popping up to check on me at regular intervals out of longstanding habit.

Bennett stood next to me, his back against the railing, sipping his bourbon and watching me intently as he always had ever since I’d stormed out of the dining hall on that very first day of school.

“Gonna scold me, Bennett?” I asked, looking up at him with a wry smile.

He tried to keep a serious face, but the corner of his lip quirked up as he said, “I know better than that, Angel. That girl’s lucky she only took a bath in the river instead of having her entire trust fund wiped away before she did a stint in jail or something.”

Very true. Poor Nikki had only had to swim about ten feet to the dock, where her unfortunate cousin Hans—who’d bolted off the boat at the first sound of her scream—had yanked her out of the water and dragged her off to the locker rooms in an angry huff.

Hatcher had rushed over to apologize profusely to me for his cousin’s rude behavior, then he went right back to enjoying himself again somewhere on the dance floor inside the yacht’s grand ballroom.

I could feel the thump of the music rattling the deck under my bare feet.

“Mmm,” I replied, turning back to the water. “She touched Zach, Bennett. And she called me a slut a few times, though I guess if I threw anyone who’s ever called me a slut off this yacht, about half our classmates would be in the river right now.”

He chuckled, all low and sexy. “It was unnecessary, Angel, but it was also hot as fuck. Zach just texted Noah and me to inform us he still has a hard-on.”

I snorted. My boys were so fucking horny. “You know, if Joanna Miller had thrown a rich girl off a boat, you would’ve had her kicked out of school.”

“Probably, but I’d have still thought it was hot as fuck.”

He moved up behind me, then I felt something heavy and cold settle along my collarbone before his warm hands brushed the back of my neck. He leaned down to lay a kiss behind my ear. “Happy birthday, Angel.”

I lifted the necklace with a finger to take a look, and I was met with a chain consisting entirely of tiny cherry blossoms woven together to create a vine, each flower inlaid with a large round diamond set in rose gold.

“Bennett Spencer!” I gasped. “You did not. This had to have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

His grin was smug. “You’re worth so much more than that, Angel, but I knew you’d throw a fit if I went into the seven figures for your present.”

“You’ve already spent so much on the penthouse, you ridiculous man. And you wouldn’t let me pay you back.”

He spun me around to face him, crowding me up against the railing. “You pay me back every single day, Angel,” he rasped. “By coming back to me. By being mine. And I just want to be worthy of you.”

I grasped his face and pulled him into a fierce kiss, which he returned with hungry fervor. “Of course you’re worthy of me,” I murmured against his lips. “I love you. You’re a part of me, Bennett. We’ve been over this. ”

He smiled, so free and so happy that it made my heart soar, and I pressed my entire body into his as he kissed me again.

“Ahem.” Mari’s voice sounded from behind Bennett. “I’d say take this below deck to whichever room you four have reserved that hasn’t already been defiled by the horde of deviants on this boat, but I have had no time with the birthday girl. Hand her over, Spencer.”

He growled, squeezing me tighter and continuing to stroke my tongue languidly with his, and I melted into him and became one with him for a few more blissful seconds before I extricated myself in the name of friendship.

“Sorry, girl,” I said to Mari. “Wanna get fresh drinks and go exploring?”

She marched forward to grab my hand, her wide-legged, navy-blue playsuit swishing in the soft breeze as she went. “Yes! Tell your biggest, broodiest boyfriend goodbye.”

Bennett huffed, rolling his eyes, but he popped one more kiss on the top of my head before Mari dragged me away. “Have fun, Angel.”

Twenty minutes later, I had something fizzy in my hand that smelled like ginger and rum and had finally escaped the dance floor where the exuberant crowd had trapped me like a riptide until I’d managed to work my way out.

I’d left Max at the main bar to bask in the attention of the hot bartender, and Mari and I were now nosing around the much quieter aft deck at the back of the yacht. There were a few low cushioned seating areas, but apparently no one wanted to hang out back here, since it was so far from the bars.

“Do you need to take a load off?” Mari asked me with a teasing grin. “Carrying around all those diamonds you’ve got around your neck must be so taxing.”

“It really is,” I lamented, dropping onto a cushion. “As is destroying my enemies and keeping three sexy men satisfied. I’m very tired, Mari.”

“I know, chica. The struggles we must bear.”

We laughed, but before either of us could make ourselves comfortable, the sounds of a struggle hit my ears .

I bolted to my bare feet and pushed through the nearby sliding door that led to a small empty lounge.

A shriek sounded through a closed door at the bottom of a narrow staircase just inside the entrance.

“Stop fighting me, you redheaded bitch.”

“Fuck you! Get off me!”

A wave of panic shot through my veins. I knew both of those voices.

I hurried down the stairs and yanked hard on the door, finding it locked.

“Is that… Chad? And Hannah ?” Mari asked in a horrified whisper. “What do we do?”

I jerked my head at the little designer backpack Mari’d insisted I wear to this thing instead of my trusty black one. “Can you get my lockpick kit?”

She jumped behind me and unzipped the bag in a rush, all the while more grunts and shrieks sounded from behind the door.

Chad’s gruff voice sounded again. “If you would just fucking behave, I’d make this really fucking good for you. I want a taste of what I’d been promised before the Knight bitch fucked everything up!”

“Shit shit shit,” I whispered as I jammed my tension wrench into the lock.

“We never had an actual marriage contract, Chad!” Hannah screeched, and I was relieved to hear her sounding angry and generally unharmed. “You’ve lost your fucking mind!”

“I’ll take her and run,” Mari whispered. “I don’t want to leave you here, but I also know that’s what you’re going to tell me to do.”

I nodded as I slid my rake into the lock above the wrench and wiggled until I felt the pins catch. “Go get the guys or Max. I’ll be fine.”

I turned the lock and barreled into the room without a second thought.

Chad had Hannah trapped on the small bed in the room—the cramped space and sparse furnishings indicating it was a bedroom meant for the crew.

He’d thrown his big body on top of hers as she thrashed valiantly under him.

The strap of her sapphire blue dress was torn, and she had what looked like a busted lip, but she was thankfully still fully clothed and spitting mad.

“Shit!” Chad barked as I flew at him .

I rammed my shoulder into his substantial gut, knocking him off Hannah, and we both tumbled to the floor as Chad bellowed in rage.

“Hannah, get the fuck out of here!” I yelled. “Go with Mari!”

Hannah scrambled off the bed and stumbled to the door where Mari waited. Hannah cried, “We can’t just leave her with him!”

Chad tossed me off him, and I rolled to my feet, readying for his attack.

Mari just shook her head before she grabbed a wide-eyed Hannah’s hand, and they bolted out the door.

“Well, if it isn’t the Southside trash, here to ruin my fun once again,” Chad drawled as he got to his feet.

He cracked his thick neck and rolled his shoulders as his beady eyes took me in with a hunger I did not like.

“Your timing is inconvenient because I was really looking forward to sampling the goods I’d been promised before Langford switched fucking teams. But I had planned for us to have a little chat tonight at some point. Might as well be now.”

He slipped his phone from the pocket of his dumb fucking khaki shorts and scrolled, now looking smug. His wide body was blocking my way to the door, but if he thought I was going to just stand here and “chat” with him, he was truly an idiot.

“I don’t allow rapist bullies at my birthday party, Chaddy,” I said, taking a small step forward.

“So unless you want my knife stuck into another one of your appendages, you’re going to follow me to the bridge.

I think Captain Martinez will be happy to drop you off as we pass Industrial City on our return trip.

You can walk your fat ass back to the City from there. ”

He laughed—because he was stupid and hubristic and still just a fucking man underestimating a woman once again. “Fuck that. We’re going to stay right here.”

“Are you fucking dumb?” I spat. “I know you still haven’t gotten it through your thick skull that I can handle you, but did you forget all three of my deadly boyfriends and my equally deadly brother are on this boat?

I know you haven’t forgotten what Bennett did to your face, Chad.

Your nose didn’t quite go back to the way it was, did it? ”

“Shut up, you filthy fucking whore!” he barked.

“Move,” I demanded.

“Fuck you. ”