Twisted Desire (6 page)

“Let’s go for a walk,”
he said, moving to the door.

I turned to face him, not sure I heard him correctly. “What did you say?”
I asked.

“I said, let’s go for a walk.”

“A walk?”
He was actually taking me out of this horrid room? “Won’t you get in trouble?”

His eyes darkened for a minute but then cleared. “Nope, I won’t. Plus, that’s not for you to worry about.”

He opened the door and gestured for me to walk past him, but I couldn’t. I still wasn’t convinced it was safe for me to leave my room, especially after hearing Roman and Rico outside my door. It was better to stay put.

Lost in thought, I barely heard his loud sigh. Looking at him, I saw he was standing with his hand rubbing the back of his neck, his eyes intoxicating as they stared at me, but I made myself resist their allure. He was the enemy, and I was better off not forgetting that.

“Penny, trust me,”
was all he said. It reminded me back to a few hours previous when he’d asked me that same thing. I wouldn’t tell him I was beginning to; instead, I decided to stop being paranoid and get out of my room. I put my feet forward and walked out the door, hearing him shut it behind me. I flinched and gave a small cry when I felt his fingers circle my wrist.

“Don’t be afraid of me,”
he bent down to whisper in my ear. “It would be in your best interest to get that through your head and actually start to trust me, Penelope.”
I shivered, not because of his words, but because of how close he was to me, how his warm breath felt against the shell of my ear. And for the first time since being on this prison of a yacht, I noticed how good he smelled. It was like pine and basil, and I had to force myself to stop from swooning. It was the sexiest scent I’d ever smelled in my life.

Refusing to show him how he affected me, I rolled my eyes and stayed silent. I hadn’t missed him calling me by my first name. He wouldn’t succeed in goading me. Keeping my eyes looking straight ahead, I waited for him to lead the way.

“Roman knows you can’t be held in your room twenty-four seven,”
Tag said as he led me down the hall and around a corner, still holding onto my hand. “But, he does have strict instructions to not let you out in public. So, you need to stay right next to me, understand?”

Since I had no idea where to go, I nodded. I’d get my bearings as he walked me around, and would figure out where everything was. There was no doubt my intent was to get myself off this boat, even if it killed me. Staying with no hope of being rescued and no knowledge of why I was here would kill me anyway, so I was determined.

“How old are you?”
he suddenly asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.

“You mean you don’t know?”
For someone who seemed so well organized, I was surprised this Roman hadn’t found that out.

“Oh, I know,”
Tag chuckled. “I just want to hear you say it and make sure I’m correct.”

“I’m twenty-one.”
 

Suddenly Tag dropped my hand and moved to stand in front of me. Not understanding, I looked around him and froze. The ugliest man I’d ever seen was coming toward us, his face covered in acne scars and a smile so sinister, it made me shiver in terror. Before I could react, Tag’s hand reached behind his back and searched for mine, finally finding it and holding it tight.
 

“Rico, what are you doing here?”
he asked the horrible man. Hearing the name, my senses went on high alert, and I took a step back. Tag held onto my hand tighter, brushing his thumb over my wrist, letting me know he had me.

“Well, well, well,”
the squeaky voice replied. “I didn’t know I’d have the honor of meeting Ms. Santoro.”
I saw him lean over a little, trying to get a better look at me, which only made me duck my head. The chuckle that came out of his mouth was the nastiest thing I’d ever heard.

“What are you doing here?”
Tag repeated, ignoring his comment.

“Relax, Tag, no need to be hostile. I was just coming back down to ask you a question.”
 

He was suddenly beside me, which made me jerk back. His laughter was sinister and ugly. “My bad, Ms. Santoro,”
Rico told me. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I only wanted to shake your hand.”

Tag turned so he was in front of me again, making it impossible for me to shake Rico’s hand. I silently thanked him. The sudden attachment I was feeling for Tag brought me comfort in Rico’s awful presence. There was no doubt in my mind now that even though Tag was still on the wrong side, he was who I wanted with me in this situation. Rico had made sure of that.

“Either ask me your question, or come find me later,”
Tag told him. “I was just taking Ms. Santoro back to her room, and you know you are not to be anywhere near her.”
 

Rico’s eyes turned to slits as he listened to Tag. He obviously didn’t like being told that. “You would be smart to remember I am Roman’s right-hand man, Tag. I don’t take orders from you.”

Tag towered over Rico, not intimidated in the least. “But you do take orders from Roman, as do I, and I was ordered to tell him everything that happens concerning Ms. Santoro, if you get my drift.”
I couldn’t help the small smile that came over me hearing that. Thank goodness Rico couldn’t see it with me being behind Tag’s large body.

“I’ll come by and talk to you later,”
his evil squeak said, then he walked away. I exhaled in relief.
 

“That man is evil,”
I whispered, taking my hand back and wrapping my arms around myself.
 

Tag turned around to face me, his eyes furious. “Yes, he is. Now do you trust me, Penny?”
His eyes softened saying my name, and while I still didn’t trust him fully, I couldn’t help the fact I was beginning to.

“I’m starting to,”
I replied, still standing with my arms wrapped around my middle. The fear of Rico was making me shake, something that was happening a lot ever since I found myself on this boat.

“Damn Rico,”
Tag said. Before I knew what was happening, I felt him pull me into his arms, wrapping them around my waist. The shock of it made me try to look at him, but his arms held me tight, not letting me.

 
“Stop moving. Just let me hold you for a second, okay?”
he asked roughly, resting his chin on top of my head. “I know Rico scared you, but you’re safe with me. Hearing you say you’re starting to trust me is good, querida, real good. You must know that I won’t let him touch you—ever.”

I wrapped my arms around his middle, resting my head on his chest. I knew he meant what he said, I just hated that it confused the hell out of me because both he and Rico worked for the same man. Before my thoughts went further, I felt him lift his chin off my head and brush some of my hair aside. I lifted my head and looked up at him, not sure what he was doing.

“I know we just started our walk, but I need to get you back to your room because I don’t know where Rico is right now. It’s safer this way.”

I nodded, knowing he was right. He gave me a small smile, then took my hand back in his. Pulling me gently, I followed him as he led me back to my room.

Chapter 6

I was seething. Rico wasn’t coming down to ask me a question; he just wanted to see Penny for himself. I knew he was aware Roman gave me permission to walk her around a bit. He timed it perfectly. I wished Roman had a clue about what a maniac his right-hand man was.
 

When Penny saw Rico, I noticed her reaction right away. She was afraid of him. I could only hope that fear would stick around because it would make her cautious. The last thing she needed was for Rico to get his hands on her.
 

I shut my cabin door harder than I meant to, and swore. This whole situation was bullshit and was pissing me off—again. Taking Penny was an asshole move, even for Roman.
 

It pissed me off more and more that he wasn’t telling me all of his plans for her too. Lifting my weights, I grunted as I pumped iron. The urge to pummel Rico’s face was growing every day, and I wasn’t sure how much longer I’d be able to play nice. The guy was a world-class asshole.

I set the weights down and started doing push-ups. One, two, three…

Images of Penny yelling, telling me she hated me, flooded my mind.

Forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty…

Images of Rico’s ugly eyes roaming all over Penny flooded my mind.

Eighty-one, eighty-two, eighty-three...

I finished and sat on the floor, grabbing a hand towel and wiping off my forehead. It hit me that I was the only one Penny had right then, the only one she could remotely trust. That shouldn’t affect me, but damn if it didn’t. I couldn’t deny I was attracted to her, that my blood pumped through my veins faster when she was around. I’d be an idiot if I wasn’t attracted to her, with her beautiful long brown hair that seemed to brush her ass and her almond-shaped eyes. The girl oozed sex even if she didn’t know it. I just had to stop myself from giving in to this crazy attraction for her because there’s no way in hell anything could ever happen.

Resting my head on the wall, I stilled when I heard what sounded like crying. Putting my ear to the wall to hear better, I definitely heard her crying through our shared wall. Cursing, I stood up and headed for the door, but stopped just as my hand gripped the knob.

What was I going to do for her? Hold her tight and tell her everything would be okay? Yeah, right; she’d never believe that, and there was no friggin’
way she’d let me close enough to hold her.

And I can’t think of holding her again. That was a weak move on my part.

I struggled with what to do when I cursed again and took a shower. Scrubbing myself clean, I rinsed and put my face in the spray, taking in the heat of the water. For years I’d been working to show Roman my trust, my honesty, and for what? To be a stupid-ass babysitter, even if my charge was completely hot and sexy as hell.
 

Bottom line, I was Penelope Santoro’s babysitter. That was my job.
Go to hell, Roman.

I slammed the shower off and grabbed a towel. Walking out into my cabin, I paused by the wall to listen and cringed when I could still hear her crying. Dammit, I couldn’t sit back and do nothing.

I pulled on a T-shirt and basketball shorts, leaving my feet bare. Closing the door behind me, I let myself into her room without a knock. I stopped short when I saw the view before me and rubbed the back of my neck with my hand. She was sitting on the floor, her back against her bed with her arms wrapped around her knees, bawling her eyes out. She would be mortified if she knew I was seeing this, but oh well—not my problem.
 

I padded over to her, and just as I reached her, she startled and looked up. The look on her face was enough to do me in, not to mention the tears streaming down her face. She immediately sat up and threw herself on her bed, her face in her pillow.
 

“Leave me alone,”
she shouted into it. It was muffled, but I clearly understood, although she was wrong if she thought I was going anywhere.

I dragged the chair up close to her bed and sat, folding my arms across my chest. “I’m not going anywhere, querida.”

She stilled but didn’t raise her head. She’d stopped crying, but I could hear her hiccup, her body trying to calm down from the workout she’d put it through. I didn’t blame her for it; she’d been put through more than enough in a few days’ time.

She turned to look at me, her eyes red and puffy. “Seriously, please go.”

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “No.”

Her eyes widened, obviously surprised. “What? Why?”
She sniffed hard, which made her cough. I went to her bathroom and grabbed some toilet paper, handing it to her when I came back. She grabbed it from me and dabbed at her eyes and wiped her nose.

I sat back down on the chair. “Because I could hear you crying in my room, and since you haven’t stopped for a while, I’m here. I’m always going to be here as long as we’re both on this boat, so you better get used to it.”

She twisted her body to sit up, resting her back against her pillow. “You could hear me?”