Page 13

I yawned as Darren carted me towards the docks. Behind us, the sun was beginning to set. My muscles were sore, but my soul was full.

"I'm hungry," Cody said.

"Starving," Taylor whined in agreement.

"Let's go grab something to eat at Cordelia's," Dex suggested. "Just the five of us." Several agreements followed as we headed back to the cruise ship. I yawned once more, resting my head in the crook of Darren's neck. Just before I closed my eyes, though, I thought I saw a familiar figure nearby, watching us.

I didn't say anything, didn't alert the others, I just hoped that Stephan was looking for Dex. I figured if he wanted to talk to him, he would probably show up sooner or later or call him. I was having too much fun, relishing in my adventures with my guys—never wanting the day to end.

Darren carried me through the cruise ship as we headed back to our suite. He dropped me back to my feet just inside the door before leaning down and pressing a quick kiss to my lips. "Wear something with a skirt tonight," he said.

I shrugged, pulling away. "I'll think about it," I teased with a quick grin.

His eyes sharpened, but I was already heading for the master bedroom. I stripped out of my clothes as I entered the room, tossing my shorts and t-shirt away as I went in search of my sundresses. I grabbed one with a strip of twisted flowers down the side, interrupting the bright, cheery yellow of the rest of the dress. Dex entered the room as I was combing through the tangles in my hair left behind by our daytime activities. He watched me as I started braiding my hair, only to unweave the strands and start over. By the third attempt at a braid, I had given up. I yanked my hair up into a ponytail at the back of my head, grabbed my flats, and whirled to meet his stare directly.

"Take a picture," I said with a smile, "it'll definitely last longer."

"I am taking pictures," he said, his lips quirking up on one side. "I'm memorizing every detail of this for years to come."

I dropped my flats to the floor and moved towards him, twining my arms around his neck as I tipped my face up, my lips puckered for a kiss. He leaned down and acquiesced to my silent demand, pressing his lips against mine.

Finally, I pulled away because I knew that if I didn't, we would never go to dinner. "Come on," I said, clearing my throat as I reached down for my shoes once more. "I need sustenance if you four are planning on taking advantage of me."

A wicked gleam entered his expression and his hands fisted at his sides. I knew by the way his whole body had stiffened that I had given him an ass load of ideas. I flitted out of the room before he could trap me and quickly donned my shoes while Cody and Darren strode out looking dapper in khakis and polo shirts. Even Taylor looked put together, his long hair pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. I sniffed the air as a scent swirled around me. At least one of them had put on cologne and it made me question why exactly I needed to eat at all.

Dex strode out a moment later, after having obviously pulled on new pants—slacks—and a nice shirt. "Ready?" he asked, his eyes alighting on me.

I nodded as Darren reached for the door and held it open for all of us. We paused as we realized that Stephan stood on the other side, his face slack with surprise, his hand half raised to knock.

"Sorry," he said quickly, dropping his hand. His eyes looked me up and down for a brief moment. There was nothing that was exactly disturbing in his gaze, but I didn't like the way he lingered on my breasts. I backed up as Dex stepped forward.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded.

Stephan sighed, turning his attention to his brother. "Hey man, I just came to..." he glanced at the rest of us, "talk," he finished lamely.

Dex crossed his arms. "So talk."

I winced at the dark fury in his tone.

"Dexter," Stephan said, a warning in his tone, "can we do this in private?" he asked, looking pointedly back at me.

Dex turned his eyes in the same direction—realizing a second later who Stephan was obviously wanting to talk about. I sighed and turned away. "Go ahead," I said sharply. "We'll wait in here, Dex. Don't worry about us."

"But hurry up," Taylor piped in. "I'm liable to eat one of the others if we don't get to Cordelia's. I'll start with Cody."

Cody rolled his eyes, but Dex nodded and reached out, grabbing his brother by the upper arm and dragging him out into the hallway. Darren, Taylor, Cody, and I shared a look, but no one said anything. I sighed and leaned against the wall by the front door as Taylor and Cody headed for the balcony and Darren ambled into the living room, dropping onto the sofa bed to hang while we waited.

I had my eyes closed and my arms crossed in front of my chest, counting down the seconds, when I heard something. I blinked and looked towards the door.

"—fucking talk about her like—"

"—cool, man. We all do—"

"—give a shit what she thinks—"

"—out, and we can talk again later. I just—"

"—but no thanks. I'm—"

I realized I could hear snippets of their conversation from where I was standing. My eyes widened and when I heard approaching footsteps, I backed away from the door quickly, trying to wipe the guilt from my expression. I hadn't meant to eavesdrop.

The door swung open just as I stepped into the living room and Darren lifted his head as Dex stood in the doorway.

"Sorry about that," he said. "You guys ready to eat?" Cody and Taylor came back in and Taylor rushed forward, heading for the hallway.

"Fuck yeah!" he yelled.

As I stepped out after him, followed by Cody and Darren, I saw that Stephan was nowhere to be seen. When I chanced a look at Dex, he caught my expression and shook his head. I didn't ask. Some part of me recognized that whatever they had been talking about had to do with me—I didn’t ask, though, because, truthfully, I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to know.

* * *

Cordelia’s was packed. The table we sat at this time had only enough room for the five of us, and barely at that. Still, though, the company was good and the food was delicious. I watched as Taylor and Darren teased Cody mercilessly about something that had happened during our ziplining trip. Dex held my hand on one side and Darren held my other.

Something felt off, though. The back of my neck kept tingling—like an itch I couldn’t quite reach. Or like a sense that someone was watching. I looked around but didn’t recognize any of the faces at the tables nearby. I turned to Dex when Darren took his hand away to reach for a breadstick.

I bit my lip, debating on asking about what had gone down with his family, with his brother. In the end, however, I chickened out and kept my questions to myself.

We ate in relative happiness. The teasing continued, but even the noise of the surrounding area didn’t dim the mood. At least, it didn’t seem to for the others. But I caught Cody glancing my way. I knew I was being quieter than usual. I also knew that Dex was too. He had barely touched his food.

When he had first seen us at the restaurant, he had attempted to smile, but as the meal dragged on, his pseudo-smile slowly dropped away. He pushed his fork around his plate, finally dropping it and not picking it back up again—instead, choosing to down glass after glass of wine. And when most of us had finished the meal, he didn’t wait for the rest of us to finish.

“I have a headache,” he said sharply as he stood up from the table. “I’m going to walk around for a bit. I’ll see you back at the suite.”

He didn’t give any of us a chance to respond before he was tossing down his napkin and rising from his seat. I stared after him for a moment before flashing a concerned look to Darren.

Darren sighed. “I’ll go after him,” he said, rising from his own chair.

“Thank you,” I said, reaching for his hand.

Darren squeezed back lightly before trailing after Dex’s departing back. That tingle still hadn’t gone away. I supposed whoever was watching, then, wasn’t interested in watching Dex.

Several minutes went by and twin cell phones pinged. I reached for mine before I realized I hadn’t gotten the foreign travel minutes like the guys had. Cody and Taylor checked their phones and frowned.

Taylor was the first to get up. He strode around the table and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “Darren asked if we could meet him,” he said by way of explanation.

I nodded as Cody got up and did the same. “We’ll meet you at the suite,” Cody said. “Don’t worry about dinner, it’s paid for.”

I bit my lip as I watched them go. Once they were out of sight, I started cleaning up. I finished the last bite of my meal—forcing it down out of duty and willpower—before I placed my napkin on the table and began to rise. A large palm slapped the table in front of me and I turned, looking over my shoulder and noticing how the arm attached blocked my exit before tilting my face up.

“Stephan?”

Stephan’s expression was unreadable, but he stared at me for a long while. “Can we talk?” he finally asked.

I didn’t know what to say, but I felt responsible for what had obviously been a fight that I’d accidentally overheard between him and Dex. It didn’t feel right denying him. I nodded slowly with both brows drawn down.

“What’s up—” Stephan grabbed my wrist, cutting me off as he began to tug me behind him. I frowned as we swiftly made our way through the restaurant.

I hurried to keep up with him. Stephan’s legs were much longer than mine. He didn’t seem to realize how tall he was though, by comparison, as he continued to pull me behind him. He didn’t stop once we left the restaurant, but instead, continued to lead me through the maze-like hallways of the cruise ship.

Finally, he came to a stop in an empty hallway with several closed doors and one light out at the very end. We must have been several floors down because for some reason the farther down I got the more I could feel the rocking of the ship. I leaned against the wall as he turned and slapped a hand down alongside my head, making me jump.

“S-Stephan?” As he leaned closer, I realized something. Stephan’s eyes were unfocused. His expression hadn’t been unreadable, he just hadn’t been able to clearly fixate on me. Even now as he stared down at me, crowding me against the wall, he looked at me without really seeing me.

He was drunk.

And I was in a lot of fucking trouble.