“Pizza is good,” he said. “Worth risking my life for.”

She laughed. He was a nice guy, and way too good looking for the single female population’s well being. She wasn’t one of them though, not anymore.

“I won’t be long,” she said. “Okay. I might be a bit. When I start with the clothes...well, you know.”

“Yes,” he said. “I have two sisters. I know.”

Julie kept her pace slow as she made her way to the door, but the instant she was in the hallway she took off running for Lauren’s door. She was in a flash and rushing for the bedroom, where she ripped open the closet and grabbed the hot pink dress she’d tried on earlier in the day. As much as black tempted her, she was supposed to be Luke’s ‘playmate’ and that meant arm candy. Besides, she was curvier than Lauren and finding a dress that fit was a struggle. She slid the silk over her hips and grimaced the unavoidable cleavage, she refused to think about. The idea of becoming the playmate of everyone at the party was not something she could consider. This was about Luke, and innocent kids, and it mattered, like he mattered. She was doing this because it was the right thing to do.

She shoved on her black heels she’d worn earlier for work, grabbed her purse she’d left here, and made tracks to the door. Her coat was next door and Lauren’s were too small so she was just going to have to freeze. Pausing, she inhaled and willed her nerves to calm, before slowly exhaling. She had to be quiet. She had to make this happen. She dug out the truck key she’d swiped from Luke’s key ring when she’d heard he was taking a cab, to avoid his truck being tampered with when he was on the island.

She kicked off her heels and picked them up and cautiously, silently, opened the door. And then she took off running, heading down the hall and then the stairs. She exited the garage door and shoved her feet in her shoes, and ran for Luke’s truck. She could barely breathe, and her hand was shaking as she unlocked the doors and inserted the key. She backed up and drove for the exit, using the remote above Luke’s visor and keying in the three digit code she’d seen him use. Once she cleared the doors, she prayed for light traffic. At the first stoplight, she grabbed her cell phone and punched the auto-dial for Jesse. Luke had put it in her phone, along with Blake’s and Kyle’s.

He answered on the first ring. “Anything wrong?”

She sighed. “No. I just didn’t want you to worry. I decided to take a hot bath and it’s a little piece of heaven. Will you starve to death if I linger a bit?”

“No,” he said. “I’ll just raid Luke’s kitchen. You do whatever you have to do to be okay tonight.”

“Thank you, Jesse. I’m really sorry you got babysit the girlfriend duty.”

“Hey,” he said. “I have SportsCenter and a pizza in my future. Life is good.”

Julie ended the call with a little more small talk. You do whatever you to do to be okay. It seemed like a good plan. She was going to be okay and so was Luke. They had to be.

***

Somehow, Julie made it to the ferry by with fifteen minutes to spare. Luke was leaving on the 8:00 ferry and she could only hope there was only one leaving at this hour. She rushed towards the terminals, thankful the ride was free because she wouldn’t have had time to buy a ticket. Bingo. One ferry for the nine o’clock trip but the terminal was packed. She had to be aggressive enough to be one of the people on the boat.

Julie pushed through the crowd, enduring many a shove to find her way to the semi-front of the mass of people, just as the gates opened. She held her breath until she stepped onto the boat and then took off for the back of the vehicle, and an inner cabin where it was warm. She headed to the bathroom, where she could hide so Luke wouldn’t see her until the boat started to move.

A bad thought hit her though as the horn sounded, warning that they were about to depart. What if he wasn’t on the boat? Oh god. She pulled out her cell and dialed his number only to get no signal. Panicked she opened the bathroom door to find Luke standing there, having obviously followed her, and the look on his face said he was furious.

Without a word, he gripped her arm and started pulling her toward the cabin exit, ignoring the people who were watching them.

“Luke, damn it. Stop pulling me.”

“When you’re off this boat, I’ll stop,” he said, not looking at her. “Not a second sooner.”

***

Luke cursed as the gates lowered and Julie was trapped on the boat. He turned to her, so furious he could barely speak.

“I’ve before never in my life wanted to put a woman over my knee and spank her, but you’re testing me.”

“Try it and see where my knee lands.”

“I told you the invitation was for me and me alone.”

She snorted. “That’s not what it said when I found it in  your bag.”

His cell phone started to ring and he knew who it was even before he flipped it open. “Jesse, you fool,” he growled into the phone. “She’s here on the damn boat with me and I’m going to kick your ass when I get back there. Get someone on the other side waiting on her to take her back.”

She started to walk away. Luke ended the call, grasping her wrist and pulling her close. “You’re not staying.”

“Try to send me away and I swear to you, Luke, that I’ll make such a scene we’ll both end up at the police station.”

“You’d blow this and have me arrested?” he challenged.

“Yes,” she said, the wind lifting her hair as the boat began to move, the engine and the horn drowning out anything else she might say.

Luke pulled her with him inside a car, where he didn’t stop until they were in the back, away from everyone. He urged her down into the seat next to him, and shrugged out of his leather jacket when he realized she was shivering. He wrapped it around her, and holding the lapels, turned her to face him.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

“When you asked if I’d get you arrested rather than be sent home, I said yes. And you know why? Because we both know you have a better chance of getting out of this alive with me present. I won’t let you die because I stayed home when you needed me.”

His chest felt like it might explode. “I can’t let you do this.”

“You said never underestimate Arel, so assume he already knows I’m here. I assume he saw us fighting, and think about the image you’ve portrayed of controlling me. Then kiss me into submission.”

Luke took that in and did exactly what she suggested. He kissed her, and he made it look as good as it felt. He kissed her and he slid his hand under her coat and pulled her close. She was right. He had painted a portrait and she’d just given him the way to send her home. She’d disobeyed him and she’d been sent home to wait for her punishment. Arel would buy it, especially if they were being watched. And there was no question that they were.

Luke tore his mouth from hers. “So, you’ll be my good girl and do exactly as I say. Play the game and everything will be just fine.”

“I will,” she promised.

Good, he thought, because when he scolded her and ordered her to go home in front of Arel’s men, she’d have no choice but to do as he said, or get him killed.

Chapter Twenty-One

Luke couldn’t get Julie out of here fast enough. He held Julie close as they headed for the exit of the ferry, ready to break through the ground and hand her off. By the time they were on the street and he was looking for one of his men, a black town-car pulled up in front of them. Immediately, a burly man in a dark suit got out.

“Good evening, Mr. Walker,” he said, and then inclined his head at Julie, “Ms. Harrison.” He opened the back door. “Please enjoy your ride to the party.”

Luke didn’t move. “Actually, Ms. Harrison will be returning to the city. We’ve had a...disagreement I’d prefer to deal with when we’re alone.”