Our speedboat slowed as we reached Calypso, and we focused on trading one vessel for another. Climbing the stairs and higher into the sky, I looked again at the ship called Paradigm Purge. “How do you know they’re traffickers?”
Sully pinched his nose as if shaking away the long day of business, family, and now a threat on our guests. “Women go missing whenever he shows up. It’s captained by a man named Rayvn.”
“Should we do something?”
“We are doing something.” Sully cricked his neck. “We’re doubling security.”
“No, I mean...go out there and—”
“Ask him politely to stop?” Sully chuckled under his breath. “I like you alive, Jinx. Not skewered on some trafficker’s knife.”
“But if he’s hurting women—”
“I hurt women.”
I scowled. “Yes, but you stopped and redeemed yourself.”
Sully shrugged. “Took me a long time to get to the point where I was ready to be redeemed.” He narrowed his eyes at the horizon. “You approach a monster who isn’t ready to change, and you die. Pure and simple. As long as he doesn’t trespass on our shores, I won’t trespass on his.”
“But—”
“Oh, finally. You’re back!” Jess bolted from the lounge, skidding to a halt with a drunk look on her pretty face. Pika and Skittles appeared just as chaotically, squeaking and flapping around us in welcome.
“Whoa, someone started on the cocktails early.” I grinned as Jess practically leaped into my arms and kissed my cheek. Her hazel eyes gleamed with a joy I hadn’t seen in her before.
“Not drunk on liquor. Drunk on life.” She grabbed my hands and spun in a circle with me.
Sully rolled his eyes. “What the fuck’s gotten into you, Jess? Find something that’s made you high in Pape’ete?”
Cal laughed, coming toward us with two beer bottles. Passing one to Sully, he toasted him, his own face stretched into a manic looking smile. “Q’s gotten into her. That’s what.”
Sully turned stony. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means...he wants to meet us. That Prest guy and his wife put in a good word for us. He said if we pass his assessment, he’ll begin the process of helping us adopt one of the kids he’s saved from his vigilante habits.”
“Oh, wow.” I slammed to a stop, accepting another giddy hug from Jess. “That’s amazing, guys. Congratulations.”
Sully clinked his beer to Cal’s again with a grin. “I’m happy for you.”
“Have to impress the bastard first, but a meeting is a good start.” Cal took a swig of his celebratory drink.
Sully raked a hand through his hair. “When do you leave?”
“Well...I have a question about that.” Cal straightened his shoulders.
“Uh-oh.” Sully cocked his head. “That can’t be good when you say it so seriously.”
“What are your plans for the next couple of months, Sinclair?” Cal stiffened.
Sully frowned. “Ah Christ, I see where this is going.”
Cal winced. “And...?”
I butted in. “You want us to sail to where Q is so he can meet you guys?”
“Yes!” Jess said, unable to speak at normal volume with her joy. “He’s returning to France after being in Monte Carlo and overseeing the initial introduction between Elder and Tasmin. Tasmin said it went well. The little girl is shell-shocked, shy, and not speaking but they’ve committed to one another and...” Tears came to her eyes and she swiped at them. “I just...I’m so happy for them. And for little Aria.”
“Aria?” I asked.
“Their new daughter,” Cal muttered, longing flashing in his eyes for the same thing.
Sully stayed quiet while he watched our two friends. Pika landed on his hair, tugging at the strands, demanding attention while Skittles plopped onto my shoulder and gave me beak kisses with gentle squeaks.
I loved Cal’s and Jess’s infectious joy. It was blatantly obvious how happy this potential adoption had made them, and it made me all the more grateful that my heart was full thanks to a tiny parrot on my shoulder and the hundreds of rescues back at home.
I wasn’t missing a piece of myself and neither was Sully, so perhaps we’d been selfish in thinking Jess and Cal were as happy as us.
I never understood the drive for kids until that moment, living it through their eyes and feeling my heart tug with their wanting.
Moving toward Sully, I linked my fingers with his.
His gorgeous blue eyes locked with mine, swimming with the same realisations I’d had. We were so lucky. We had everything we could ever want. Goddess Isles was safe and run by Dr Campbell and capable vets. Rapture was being fortified and managed by trustworthy staff. Sully’s pharmaceutical empire was guided by Peter Beck and could be handled remotely via online contact.
We didn’t need to rush home.
We had everything we needed right here, on this boat.
Skittles head-butted my ear as Pika flipped upside down and peered into Sully’s eyes while holding onto his hair. My heart swelled with affection. My eyes filled with tears of gratefulness. “You took me to England a year ago, Sully. Don’t you think it’s time we visit France?” I whispered.
Cal and Jess froze, their attention flying back and forth between Sully and me.
Ever so slowly, Sully reached up and plucked Pika from his hair. Holding the adorable caique in his hand, he studied the parrot, then looked at Skittles before bending to kiss me. He was gentle and adoring, trembling a little beneath the same crush of emotion I’d felt for our life, for us, for our feathered family. “I think I could cope exploring Paris while those two go baby shopping.”
“Really?” Jess screamed. “Oh, Sullivan. You have no idea what this means to us!” Launching herself at us, she joined in our embrace, drenching our faces with kisses. She smacked me right on the lips as tears cascaded down her cheeks. “Jinx...I can’t believe this.”
I kissed her right back. “Believe it. We’re going to France!”
Sully untangled himself and chuckled, drinking his beer as if the mayhem around him wasn’t building his own excitement at a longer cruise, more relaxing days at sea, and more sexy nights in Euphoria.
But he couldn’t fool me.
I’d been married to him for enough years to see the nuances of his happiness.
And he was happy.
I was happy.
And when Q liked Jess and Cal...they’d be happy too.
Chapter Seventeen
SAILING INTO FRENCH WATERS filled me with the usual hatred toward mankind. The plumes of population hazing the air, the electric buzz that was tangible from so many bodies in one place. The entrapment of animals, and the carnage of carcasses that ended up wrapped in plastic ready for a plate.
I wasn’t a fan of cities, and I doubted that would ever change, but I was here because my family had asked me. I would stifle my complaints and do whatever was needed to ensure Jess and Cal were as happy as Jinx and I.
I’d also agreed to take Eleanor sightseeing. I would ignore my dislike of people and do the touristy thing until we both snapped and needed space. At least we wouldn’t be staying the night. We’d return to Calypso and be able to breathe away from society.
As for the business idea of handing Calypso over to Rapture to use for marriage counselling, that was now discarded. All of us had enjoyed our voyage too much to give it up.
Calypso was ours.
Therefore, Elder Prest had received two additional commissions last week. One, another yacht—smaller than Calypso but just as luxurious for the booming business on Rapture, and two, a more modern, sexy vessel for the offshoot of our virtual reality business that Cal had joked about.
I’d once catered to rich bastards who’d gotten their kink by paying for goddesses high on elixir. My wife had dismantled that illegal enterprise and conjured a highly successful business that helped broken couples find their way back to each other.
Now, it w
as time to siphon some coin from the younger generation. The frisky, flirty, and downright filthy twenty-something’s who wanted to play before conforming to society’s rules.
Euphoria would give them more than just a sexual fantasy; it would open their eyes to a life that didn’t need to be mundane and moronic. They could fuck and fondle complete strangers, indulge in every wicked and wet desire they’d ever had, and not fear for their privacy or judgment.
Eleanor had already begun designing the suites and bar areas that our guests would mingle in, and we’d spent a highly enjoyable night last week coding a few erotic fantasies that made even my kinky wife blush.
Last night, Prest had sent through the schematics based on our requests, suggesting a ship called Idyllic. Along with a few amendments for sex harness anchor points, Euphoria playrooms, and spaces large enough for all manner of indulgences, we’d placed the order.
In one year, we’d have yet another offshoot to our VR empire, and Jinx and I would happily test drive the fantasies we’d have on offer.
Leaning on the balustrade, I let my mind switch from future businesses to what today entailed.
Jess and Cal had arranged a meeting with Q and his wife, Tess. We were to meet them at Moineau Holdings this morning. I’d wanted to bring Radcliffe and a team of security, but Cal had forbidden that idea, not wanting to scare Q off when that was precisely my intention.
I owed him for the shitty email he’d sent, threatening to kill me.
My hands curled.
Today will be...interesting.
I knew more about the French meddler thanks to Cal finding out Q’s company name. While Jinx slept beside me, I’d thoroughly researched the bastard.
I’d learned he dabbled with property, and, on paper, he had every police and politician fawning over him thanks to his philanthropy and wholesome deeds in the community.
He had them completely hoodwinked.
If I hadn’t had the pleasure of receiving his threats, I’d be suckered in too. However, I knew the type of man he was beneath the specially cultivated persona. I knew him better than I probably should because, unfortunately, we seemed to be fairly similar.
I couldn’t lie and say I was looking forward to the meeting. In fact, I’d asked Cal and Jess if they’d rather go alone. To have a private meeting about their adoption potential without us there to ruin their chances.
However, Cal had pulled me aside and asked if I’d be there. Not just for safety—because even though he’d banned me from bringing Radcliffe, he was just as untrusting as me and had no intention of meeting Q on his own turf without some security measures in place—but also as his friend.
He didn’t come out and say it, but he needed me and Eleanor, just in case the meeting didn’t go well. Just in case Q decided, for whatever fucking reason, that he didn’t like them and left them with shattered dreams to patch up.
Of course, I wouldn’t let Q fucking say no to them.
What my friends wanted, they would have. They were the best people I knew. And no goddamn way would I let a French bastard stand in their way.
Despite my reservations of the meeting, Eleanor was full of anticipation. After all, she had her own ulterior motives. She’d once met Q’s wife while sitting in a cell, waiting for traffickers to wash, tattoo, and sell them.
Their meeting had only been brief but they’d made an impression on each other, and her eyes lit up at the thought of seeing her again. Of seeing her happiness being married to a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Of showing off her own happiness being married to a monster in scientist camouflage.
I could already tell it would be a long day amongst dreaded humans.
But if it went well, there would be another person sailing home with us.
Someone tiny and unsure.
Someone who would become a part of our family on Goddess Isles.
Pika fluttered to my shoulder, chirping at the busy port.
I smiled, shedding my temper. “Can’t take you with us, Pika. Immigration’s stupid rules.”
He squawked.
“I know. Sucks. I’m sure you would’ve enjoyed a croissant from some cholesterol-saturated French bakery.”
“I know someone else who would enjoy that,” Eleanor said softly, coming to my side wearing a crimson dress that set off her chocolate hair and gorgeous smoky eyes. Skittles sat on her shoulder, a shot of bright green.
I froze.
Fuck, she’s stunning.
I drank in the moment.
I reached out and held the hand of the woman who’d toppled my dynasty, came to rescue me on death’s door, and made my every waking moment sublime.
Without her, I was nothing.
With her, all my dreams had come true. Including the dark ones, the sinful ones, and the ones we’d yet to code in Euphoria.
Pulling her into a kiss, I tasted melon on her tongue and smelled sunshine in her hair. “Have I told you I love you today?”
“Nope.” She kissed me back, her tongue slow and sensual. “But if you do, I’ll let you ravish me later.”
I grinned against her mouth. “Ravish, huh? That sounds like a word a Scottish Highwayman might use.” I nipped my way along her jaw, licking her ear. “I could be persuaded to enjoy another Jacobite-era fantasy.”
“Will you sully me for marriage to a highland lord?”
“Abso-fucking-lutely.”
She laughed, her hand drifting down the front of my charcoal suit. I’d traded the casual seafaring outfits for one of my old business apparels. Suits were armour, and I was going into battle with Q fully armed.
“In that case, I will gladly let you ravish me, you dirty lusty cur.”
“Rake, if you don’t mind.”
She laughed again as we kissed, dislodging Pika and Skittles until they flew around our heads.
Her face fell for a second as she narrowed her eyes at another ship as it floated toward port.
I knew that look.
She’s worried about something.
“What is it?” I cupped her cheek, bringing her attention back to me.
She huffed. “You’re going to think I’m stupid.”
“Never.” I kissed her. “Annoying, demanding, salacious, and entirely fucking amazing, but never stupid.”
She rolled her eyes. “Such a romantic.”
“Going to tell me why you’re glowering at that other boat?”
“I’m worried about Rapture and that pirate asshole on Paradigm Purge.”
“I told you.” I scowled. “We’ve added security measures. He won’t get near Rapture without being taken out.”
“Yeah, but what if he steals someone?”
“He won’t.”
“But what if he does.”
I sighed. “Then we’ll hunt the bastard and free her.”
Eleanor slouched. “I just have a feeling he’s going to cause problems.”
Running my hands through her gorgeous hair, I murmured, “Or he could just sail away and vanish.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of. He’ll vanish with a woman snatched from Rapture.”
“If he somehow got past our security and miraculously stole a troubled wife working on her marriage, then...” I shrugged. “Maybe, it’s meant to be. Maybe, she’ll be the one to change him...just like you were the one to change me. Maybe, it’s fate working in its convoluted way, just like it worked with us.” I bowed my head, capturing her mouth. “You’re forgetting how we met, Jinx. If someone had stopped me from stealing you...I don’t know how I would’ve survived. You’re the reason I’m happy. The only fucking reason.”
She swayed into me, parting her lips and returning my kiss. “I stand by what I said a few years ago...after I gave you elixir and you finally allowed me to wriggle into your heart.”
“Oh? What did you say?” I tried to recall but all I could remember was falling head over fucking heels, being shit terrified, and coming face-to-face with the knowledge that my entire existence had just changed, all becau
se of her.
She smiled and nipped my bottom lip. “I said I’d broken you. I wasn’t used to seeing you smile after your scowls. To hear you caring for me was...magical. Your change of heart was a clear indication that I’d broken you.” She laughed.
My heart skipped. “Ah, yes. And I believe I said, I was glad you broke me.” I kissed her again. “Because I was a cunt and you’d improved me.”
She laughed softly as my tongue traced her lips. “I love you, Sully.”
“I know.” Our kiss turned deep and dirty. I swung her against the balustrade, grinding my hips into hers, showing her I’d grown hard, rapidly doing the math to see if we had time to fuck before this god-awful excursion into the city.
“If you two stop pawing each other for five fucking minutes, it’s time,” Cal muttered, coming toward us from the lounge, his lips twisting into a smile as I stopped kissing my wife and blinked back the sexual trance she’d put me in.
He looked stressed with stiff posture and painful hope in his green eyes.
Jess chuckled beside him, matching his strain of their upcoming meeting, eyeing up Eleanor’s finger-pawed hair and the obvious heat in her grey stare. “I was going to ask if you’re ready to go meet Q and Tess.” She smoothed her navy dress and nervously clutched the small purse in her hands. “But I think your thoughts are more on a bedroom rather than a boardroom.”
Eleanor smirked. “Delayed gratification only increases the pleasure.”
Jess nodded. “No truer thing has been spoken.”
“You know...” I looked at Cal. “You impress that French bastard today and walk away with a baby in your arms, there goes your sex life.”
Cal punched me in the arm, doing his best to shed his stress. “That’s what’s so good about your VR, Sinclair. We can be parents in the real world but in the fantasy realm...” He shrugged with a smirk. “I can still seduce my wife.”
“We’ll have to code you something as a ‘welcome to parenthood gift’”, Eleanor said, her eyes lighting up. “What’s your utmost fantasy, Cal?” Her attention swung to Jess. “Jess? Deepest desire? Care to share? Sully will cypher it.”
“I haven’t had nearly enough alcohol to answer that question,” Cal muttered.
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