Mark (Next Generation Carter Brother #9)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Freya

I stare at the man on the other side of the table, wondering how I got here. Or most importantly, how I let my vagina get me here. His greying white hair peeks out from under his white hat as he stares at Mark and I with an unimpressed stare.

My hands clench into fists in my lap under the table. I badly want to punch the man next to me in the nuts.

Nine hours we were locked in that room. Nine hours. Then we had to wait another two for the captain to speak to us. If it wasn’t for another passenger asking for clean sheets, we would have been locked in that room for another three. My hair is a frizzy mess, my clothes are creased, and I’m pretty sure my makeup has run down my cheeks because everyone who has met my gaze since being escorted to the captain’s office has given me a wide-eyed look.

The captain scrubs a hand over the scruff on his jaw. “You were looking for a clean towel?” he states, repeating Mark’s answer from a few minutes ago.

“She was on her, um, monthly,” Mark whispers before leaning in like he’s about to share a secret. “Hence the mood.”

I’m going to kill him.

I am.

I’m going to wrap my hands around his throat and choke the life out of him.

I meet the captain’s gaze unwaveringly. “How much trouble will I be in if I push him overboard?”

“You would remain in the brig until the local authorities could meet us at a dock,” he states, his lips twitching.

I glance at Mark, narrowing my gaze. “Get up on deck. Now!” I growl.

He throws his hands up. “You don’t want to go in the brig.”

“It would be a holiday compared to another five minutes with you.”

“I can’t control your monthly,” he snaps.

“It has nothing to do with my monthly, you psychotic fool,” I scream.

He turns to the captain. “Do you have a sedative?”

I stomp my foot and turn to the captain. “Can I leave, please? I’ll face whatever punishment you deem fit, but I cannot be in the same room as him for another minute. I’m truly sorry that you were called out this early in the morning. And I will apologise to the staff member as soon as I see her. I know we scared her.”

“You may leave, but in the future, please use your cabin for your, um, activities.”

Mark sucks in a sharp breath. “I will have you know I’m a—”

The captain holds his hand up. “Please do not lie to me. I owe your uncle five get out of jail passes from our poker nights, so we are good. Tell him he has two left.”

I go to get up, when Mark speaks. “What did he use the other two for?”

I wait for the answer, intrigued. “One for the incident on the beach, and another when he smashed the glass door.”

“Smashed a glass door?” Mark asks, leaning in.

The co-captain chuckles. “I believe he was twerking and twerked hard enough to send his arse through the glass door.”

I snort, expecting nothing less. “Sorry again,” I state, before leaving, keeping my head down.

I head down the corridor, my stomach rumbling with hunger, and decide against heading straight for my room. Instead, I follow the signs to the dining hall to get some breakfast. Then I am going straight to my room before getting a few hours’ sleep.

“Freya, wait up!”

I keep walking, ignoring the insufferable man behind me.

“Don’t ignore me!”

Stopping at the lifts, I press the button to go up, still not paying the man beside me any attention.

“Come on. You can’t ignore me forever.”

I step into the lift, pressing the button for the floor I need.

“How was I meant to know you were sensitive about the subject?”

As the doors close, I spin around to face him. “I don’t give a shit about a period being mentioned. You blamed me as soon as that worker stopped screaming.”

He grimaces, rubbing the back of his neck. “It was a knee-jerk reaction. Sorry.”

“You told her I forced you into the store room.”

“Again, a knee-jerk reaction.”

“Save it. I don’t give a shit. I’m still pissed at you for eating the biscuits on the sly and not bothering to share.”

“I didn’t know we’d be in there that long. If I did, I would have shared,” he replies.

The lift doors open and I step out, then block his path. “Would you have really?”

He doesn’t meet my gaze. “Yes, of course I would.”

“Liar,” I growl, and push him back as the doors close. Hopefully someone from the lower deck has called the lift and I won’t see him for a while.

The breakfast buffet has a queue, so I quickly stand in line, picking up a bowl of fruit from next to the trays. I eat the contents as I wait, my stomach cramping now that I am so close to finally eating. Hayden steps in beside me, her eyes widening when she sees my cheeks full of fruit.

“Hungry?”

I try to chew to speak, I do, but I rammed too much inside my mouth, so I nod before paying attention to the trays of food in front of me. My mouth waters at the sight of the bacon.

“Jesus, I think we’re rubbing off on you,” she comments as she begins to load her plate up.

I swallow down the fruit and turn to her. “I haven’t eaten since lunch yesterday,” I explain.

Her eyebrows furrow. “You didn’t go to dinner?”

I roll my eyes, not the least bit offended that I went unnoticed by them. I’ve come to learn during this cruise that the Carters tune everything out whilst they’re eating. Their focus is solely on the food in front of them.

“Your cousin locked us in a store room and we didn’t get out until this morning.”

A grin spreads across her face. “You dirty little shits.”

“It’s not funny. The captain wasn’t happy about being woken up early this morning.”

“How are you not in the brigs?”

I sharply turn to face her. “Wait, that’s a real thing?”

She nods. “I asked for a tour of the ship the other day and we walked through them,” she shudders. “I’d go crazy in one of those cages. It’s just a thin mattress and a toilet without the seat. Pretty much what you’d expect in a prison, I assume.”

The blood rushes from my cheeks. “I’m going to kill your cousin. I said I’d rather go to the brig than spend another minute with him.”

Her lips twitch. “I think for what you had done, they would have secluded you to your cabin. How did you get out of it?”

“Evidently, your dad is owed five get-out-of-jail-free cards. He only has two left now.”

“Wait, two? What were the other two used for?” she asks, her eyes lighting up.

As I fill her in, I finish grabbing my food. Once I’m done, I wait for her to absorb the information and fill her glass up.

“So we, like, have two more chances?” she muses.

I can see the wheels turning in her mind. She’s running through the crazy shit she wants to do that she knows is illegal. I clear my throat. “I wouldn’t risk it. Knowing your dad, he’s probably only got one left by now.”

She pouts. “You have a point.”

I follow her, too tired to search out my family and deal with their questions. When I see only Charlotte, Drew, Clay, Lily, Jaxon and baby Rose are at the table, I begin to relax. Clay frowns at the sight of Hayden. “You couldn’t wait for me?”

“You were moving too slow. I’m starving.”

Instead of being annoyed, his lips twitch as he kisses her temple. “Be back in a moment.”

“Good morning, Freya,” Lily greets sweetly. “Is everything okay? We didn’t see you at dinner last night.”

“Well, you’re the only ones who noticed so far,” I reply. “I’m good. Just your brother bringing me into his web of crimes.”

“What did he do now?” Jaxon asks.

My cheeks heat. Telling Hayden was one thing, but for some reason, speaking it out loud in front of Lily seems wrong. But then again, she’s probably heard her family say worse.

“Actually, I’d rather not know. I can tell by your face it’s not a case of he had you breaking into a shop or something.”

I nod, letting him know he’s on the right track. “Probably best.”

“Where is he?” Lily asks. “Is he okay?”

“He’ll be fine if he leaves me alone,” I admit.

“You don’t mean that,” he breathes, dropping down in the chair beside me. He places his plate in front of him and my eyes bug out at how loaded up it is. It’s literally a mountain of food.

“Get lost, Mark.”

“Look, we both made the decision to go in there.”

“I’m pretty sure you dragged me in by my hand,” I growl.

His eyebrows pinch together. “Are you sure?”

“Positive,” I snap.

“But you were all over me,” he replies.

“You were kissing me,” I point out.

“So this is all my fault?” he mutters sarcastically.

“Yes. All of it. I asked to go back to my cabin but you wouldn’t listen. You dragged me in there. You were the reason we couldn’t get out. You were the reason I didn’t eat. And then you had the nerve to put all the blame on me.”

“What did you do?” Charlotte asks, her eyes wide when I turn to her.

I jerk my thumb in his direction. “He ended up getting us trapped in the supply closest. Then when we were caught, and were sent to the captain’s office, he didn’t admit the truth. No, this fucker threw me under the bus instead.”

“Oh Mark. Why would you do that?” Lily asks softly.

“I was trying to save us from being thrown in the brig.”

“Wait, that’s a real thing?” Charlotte murmurs.

“Did you not go on the tour?” Hayden asks her.

“There was a tour?”

“No, not until Hayden manipulated one of the higher ups to take her,” Clay replies as he takes a seat.

“How did you get out of trouble?” Drew asks.

Mark snorts. “Uncle Max had five get-out-of-jail-free cards with the captain.”

“Boy!”

I startle at the sound of Max before glaring at Mark. “Why did you have to summon him?”

Hayden chuckles. “He’s not Bloody Mary,” she muses.

“No, he’s worse,” I remark.

“I had things I wanted to do. Now you’ve ruined it all,” Max snaps when he reaches our table. “How could you?”

“What did he do?” Charlotte questions.

“I have two get-out-of-jail-free cards left because this one took one,” he barks.

“Look, it was that or the brig,” Mark argues. “I chose freedom.”

Max points to his chest. “I had things I wanted to do.”

“And what exactly were those things?” his wife asks, her eyes narrowed on her husband.

He stands up straighter, his complexion paling. “I just meant they were a safety net. You know I don’t go looking for trouble. It always finds me.”

“Max Carter, you promised me to behave.”

“I have behaved,” he argues.

“Then why do you only have two left out of five? What did you use the other two on?”

He gulps. “It was a misunderstanding.”

“What was?” she bites out.

He holds his hands up in surrender. “It was the beach incident. I swear.”

“ That didn’t happen on the boat.”

He rubs the back of his neck. “But I was still a passenger.”

“And the other one? I wasn’t born yesterday, Max,” she states.

“It’s better I don’t tell you,” he whispers.

She huffs out a breath. “You’re right. It is. Because it will be me who will need the last two when I throw you off this ship.”

She walks off, heading towards the buffet stand. Max just stands there, his mouth opening and closing. Finally, he turns to his daughter. “She wouldn’t really throw me off the ship, would she?”

Hayden nods. “We’ve all been imagining it.”

He curses under his breath as he storms off. I slump back in my chair. “I’m too tired for this.”

“I’ll eat it then,” Mark replies.

I grip the plate before he can steal it. “I meant the commotion, not the fucking food. Don’t you think you’ve starved me enough?”

“Sorry, I thought you meant the food,” he grumbles.

We continue to eat in silence, but I listen to the others talk about last night and what we missed. A part of me is glad I missed it, since there seemed to be chaos getting back to their rooms. Apparently, Liam had been so drunk he ended up sleeping outside his cabin door. The other part of me would have loved to have seen the Carter lads on stage doing the dance offs. I’ve seen them try to dance and they all looked stiff as a board.

“Freya, why didn’t you join us last night?” Mum suddenly asks.

I hadn’t realised I was dozing off until her voice brings me back to the present. I turn to her and Dad, smiling. “Sorry, we were, um…”

“We were helping the captain with a cleaning issue,” Mark replies, the lie easily rolling off his tongue.

“That was nice of you,” Mum states.

A yawn slips free as I nod. “It took all night. I’m afraid I won’t be around until later, after I’ve gotten a couple of hours sleep.”

“You do look like you need it,” Dad muses.

“Will you be joining us for drag night tonight?” Mum asks, seeming excited about it.

Dad chuckles. “She’s excited to see the show. She’s never seen a drag queen up close before.”

“They aren’t an endangered species,” I tease.

Mum rolls her eyes. “I know that, Freya. But ever since Loretta from over the road saw a show, I’ve been dying to see one myself. I hear they are quite entertaining.”

“They are the best,” Hayden announces. “If you enjoy tonight, you should go to the one on Broad Street. They do a great Tina Turner and they are comical too.”

Mum’s eyes light up with excitement. “We will,” she replies before turning back to me. “We will see you at dinner.”

“See you later,” I announce over a yawn. When they are gone, Hayden’s words register. “Wait, isn’t Illusions where they rip into rich folk and celebrities?”

Hayden’s lips twitch. “Yes. Sorry. It was a knee-jerk reaction from them being mean to you.”

I laugh. “It will probably go over my mum’s head anyway.”

“I need sleep.” Mark yawns. “Are you coming? Your bed is calling me.”

“I’m going to sleep in my bed. You can go to sleep in yours,” I retort. He’s not yet forgiven.

“But you’ll miss me,” he states, caging me in the chair.

I narrow my gaze. “No, I miss my cat. I miss my friend. I miss Chinese on a Friday. But you, Mark Carter, do not make the list.”

He leans in, pressing a kiss to my neck. “Please,” he pleads. “Don’t make me go back to my room. It will smell like farts and Liam’s bad odour.”

“Not my problem,” I whisper when he presses another kiss to my lips.

“I’ll make it up to you when you wake up,” he rasps.

“Since that’s what got you into my bad books, I think not.”

He grabs my waist, and I flinch back, ticklish. “Don’t you dare,” I warn. He knows how ticklish I am. He’s known since I kicked him in the face when he tried it the other night.

“Then let me sleep with you,” he pleads, a glint in his eye.

“Don’t,” I warn him again. Laughter spills out of me when he begins to tickle my sides. “Stop!”

“Not until you agree to let me sleep with you,” he announces loudly. The room quiets, and he gulps. “I meant sleep as in sleep. Get your minds out of the gutter, people.”

I groan with embarrassment. “Seriously?” I growl.

“Are you going to say yes?”

“Never,” I drawl.

“I’ll see you guys later,” he announces, and for a moment, a split moment, I think he’s finally given up. But then I’m swung up over his shoulder.

“What are you doing, you big goof. Put me down right now. I’ve just eaten.”

“Nope. We’re going to bed. I need sleep. And I refuse to do it without you next to me.”

Okay, that is pretty sweet.

More than sweet. Romantic.

“If you snore, move around a lot, or even disturb me once, you are gone, and I’ll be asking to switch rooms,” I warn.

“I won’t, I swear. You won’t regret it.”

God, I hope not. Because this man is slowly worming his way inside my heart.