Page 97 of Flirting with Trouble

Fuckfuckfuck. I’ve got to get out of here.

I grab my bag and take several deep breaths, mentally replaying our time together, looking for clues I might have missed about this side of him. He did get off on my taking control. The strap-on is starting to make sense. I feel like a fool. I was so honest with him, and he’s been hiding this? My chest aches with that reality. Forcing myself to push past the heartache, I draw my shoulders back, give myself a pep talk, and head upstairs.

“Find everything okay?” Wells asks as I join him on the top deck.

Maintaining a brave face while looking at him is a test of strength. “I think this was a mistake. You need to take me home.”

“What? Why? Are you getting seasick?”

“No. I think we’re just into different things.”

“What are you talking about?”

Fuck it. “I found your sex toys, Wells. Not that there’s anything wrong with toys, but sex dolls are not my thing, and I can’t believe you kept this whole side of yourself hidden from me.”

“What are you talking about?” He reaches for me.

I step back and hold my hands up, too confused to keep the accusations from flying. “Don’t try to play me. I found the earrings—”

“Earrings?” he asks with disbelief.

“I thought the guys were just teasing. But I guess the joke’s on me, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to end up at the bottom of this ocean.” Oh my God. I sound like a crazy person.

“Okay, stop right there. I see what’s going on. Do you really think I’m capable of killing someone?”

“No! But what do I know? I’ve seen true crime shows, and it’s always the perfect partner who slaughters the unsuspecting one.”

“Jesus, Vic. I swear to you, this is bullshit. Those assholes are pranking us.” He cuts the engine. “That explains why they were all at the marina. Helping Brant with a boat, my ass.”

“What are you doing?”

“Going downstairs to see what the fuck they’ve done. Are you coming?” His dark eyes bore into me.

“Yes, but I swear, if you feed me to the fish, I will haunt you every minute of the day and night.”

“You’re safe, but I can’t say the same for the guys who did this.” We head down to the cabin, and when we get to his bedroom, he looks around and throws his hands up. “Where is it?”

I point to the cabinet. “Be careful, one of them jumped out at me.”

He opens the cabinet, and the doll tumbles out. He swats it away. “I’m going to kill those fuckers.” He surveys the other items in the cabinet, and I can tell it’s the first time he’s seeing them. “What the hell is…?” He reaches for the rubber vagina. His eyes narrow, and his jaw clenches. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“There’s more.” I point to each of the drawers where I found paraphernalia, and as he looks in each one, his jaw clenches tighter. I show him the restraints on the bed, and then he opens the bedside drawer and finds the earrings.

He stares at them like they’re the enemy, looking like he’s going to blow his top. “None of this is mine.”

“I know that now. I’m sorry I thought otherwise. I was just on such a high today, and then that doll attacked me and I saw all that stuff, and the earrings, and—”

“Hey.” His voice softens. “I don’t blame you. If I were in your shoes and I saw a rubber vagina and got attacked by a sex doll, I’d wonder, too.”

I laugh, thankful he’s not mad at me for being foolish enough to fall for their prank. He draws me into his arms, and I wind mine around him, feeling the tension drain from both of us.

“I’ve got to give them credit,” he says. “The bastards went all in.”

“Then so will we. We can’t let them win.”

He cocks a brow. “You want to get revenge?”

“Hell yes. If I learned anything growing up with rabble-rousing brothers, it’s never let them get the upper hand.”