Fifth Avenue Devil

Chapter 8

Eight

Nate

"W elcome aboard my yacht, Annalise." I sweep my hand behind her back, urging her forward as we step onto the boat. She cranes her neck upward, looking at the five stories that the yacht has to offer.

"It's bigger than I thought," Annalise murmurs. "Much larger than my father's yacht, that's for sure. Not that I’m impressed. I couldn’t care less."

“Wait till you see the bedroom,” I purr. She glares at me, making me grin.

I walk her into the boat's enticing lower deck. There is a large lounge here that is open to the sun and air because the large panel doors have been pulled wide. A butler waits at a small marble bartending station, a tray of drinks at the ready.

"Mr. Fordham, sir." He fires off a salute. "Welcome back. Your rooms have been readied. We are prepared to sail to Prince Edward Island at once."

"Thank you." I take one of the slender glasses that he offers, finding it to be full of carbonated water, mint, and ice. I offer one to Annalise, who is looking around nervously. "Here. It's just bubbly water."

She accepts it but doesn't sip it as I continue to guide her through the lounge and out onto the main deck. Her heart shaped face and windswept blonde hair make her expression unreadable.

I bring her up to the largest deck. It's dotted with a pool, sun chairs, and umbrellas to fend off the worst of the sun's harsh glare. Annalise surveys the deck with what I think might be an air of boredom.

"This is nice." She puts a hand to her forehead, trying to keep her wildly undulating hair out of her vision. It's obviously very windy out here and will only get more so when we start moving. So I jerk my head toward the elevator in the center of the boat.

"Why don't we head somewhere that's more sheltered?"

She offers me a small smile. "Is it that obvious that I'm miserable out here?"

That makes me chuckle. I wrap an arm around her waist and lead her back toward the elevator. Soon we step out of it onto the third deck. This has a swanky private observation room.

The deck is much smaller than the one we just left, almost cozy in comparison. A big bay window is framed by bookshelves, heavy polished cedar side tables, and several fine leather couches. While the window is bright, everything else in this room is brown, which increases the snug feeling. Annalise seems surprised when we walk in.

"Wow." She walks over to the big bay window as though drawn by a magnet. Outside, I see the Manhattan skyline slowly receding as the ship pulls away from the dock. Annalise sits down on the seat the bay window provides.

"Is that a wow of amazement?" I tease gently. I sit down beside her. Annalise has hiked her boring beige skirt to midthigh without even thinking about it, leaving a tantalizing strip of thigh for me to ogle.

"If you're looking for me to be impressed, you'll have to try harder," Annalise murmurs. Her eyes are still on the skyline. "You're not going to sway me to liking you by taking me on a boat, Mr. Fordham. I'm a little insulted that you should think that I would swoon at this."

The back of my neck heats. To myself, I can admit that I haven't tried to charm any woman of quite her caliber. But it can't be that hard. Can it?

"It's Nate." I grab her chin with gentle fingers and make her look at me. "That's one of the rules this weekend. No more last names, Kitten. It's much too formal for us."

Annalise pulls out of my grasp and puts an inch between us. "Look, Mr.—"

"Nate," I cut in.

She stares at me. "Very well. Nate. You said that you want my company. You also said that you wanted me in your bed. And I'm here to tell you, that isn't going to happen. I agreed to come along because you’re so damn stubborn. I knew that if I didn’t come, you’d make a scene. But now that we’re here, I’m telling you that we can’t sleep together.”

“And why not?” I grin, smothering a bit of annoyance.

“Because! There are a ton of reasons. You might be handsome?—"

"Can I quote you on that?"

She waves her hand away like she's swatting a fly.

"But I'm not interested in either proposal."

"Well, buckle up, buttercup. I won the merger from your dad already. That's basically done. My lawyers are drawing up the necessary paperwork as we speak. And as for having you in my bed..."

I look her up and down, all those curves in a tiny package. I'm going to find her trigger, make her let down her defenses. And I'm going to swarm over her gates until she is riding my dick like she was born to it.

"I get what I want. Always. You won't be any exception. Just watch."

She grits her teeth. "Are you always this pompous and arrogant?"

"Are you always such a whiny little girl?" I fire back, losing my cool. She’s wearing me down and I’m fucking exasperated at this point.

She makes a little hmmmph noise and turns her head back to the window. I'm a little surprised by her tenaciousness; most women that I seduce aren't this fucking stubborn.

"We should get ready for dinner," I announce, standing up.

It's impossible to miss the side eye directed my way. "What getting ready do we have to do?" she asks.

"I'm so glad that you asked. First, I had my personal shopper pull a few outfits for you and I brought them here. So you can pick something different to wear, something that suits you more.” And second, you could stand to be less cranky. Men don't really like cranky women."

She stands, folding her arms over her chest. "Good thing I'm not trying to attract you, you complete asshole."

I may have crossed a line there. Sensing that I'm not going to say anything that will make it better, I head to the door. "The butler will bring you clothes to change into presently. I'm going to talk to the steward and make sure everything is ready. I'll see you in half an hour in the dining room."

As I'm leaving, Annalise calls over my shoulder. "And where is that?"

“Just ask the butler. He’ll take you.”

I head to my suite, where I change into a fresh pair of dark slacks and a white button-up I wear with the top three buttons undone. Then I go talk to the steward, who is frantically trying to oversee all the preparations that I have requested for tonight.

See, tonight is going to be perfect. I'm going to wine and dine Annalise, and really practice my seductive charms. By the end of the night, she will be putty in my hands.

And then I'll get exactly what I want: another notch to carve into my bedpost and eventually, Gellar Industries as a small part of ViaLife.