CHAPTER EIGHT

Payton

He drove to the Salmon Creek location and pulled into the drive-thru.

“We’re not going in?” I asked.

“Got a better place to eat.”

“Let me guess. Some hidden and perfect place to hide a body?”

Alex laughed again. “Or fuck.”

“Oh my god,” I said, and pulled my hand away. “Don’t be disgusting.”

“Nothing about that is disgusting, Payton. Trust me. You’re gonna love it.”

“I’m not having sex with you, Alex,” I snapped. “Did you actually think I would?”

“Don’t get your panties in a wad, babe. I’m not expecting anything tonight except food and conversation.” He smiled. “Besides, when I get you into bed, it’ll be somewhere warm and very, very private. Somewhere I can take my time.”

I shivered at the thought, swallowing several times before I found my voice. “You’re not getting me into bed, Alex.”

“We’ll see.”

We pulled up and I ordered a Colossal, fries, and Chocolate Monkey. Alex ordered the pepper bacon burger and fries, along with a pop, and then we drove out of the parking lot. Alex headed down I-5 and exited at Jantzen Beach, but headed to the Marina rather than the mall.

He pulled into the parking lot and turned off the engine. “You got a coat?”

I shook my head.

“No problem,” he said, and jumped out of the truck, opening the back door, and grabbing a leather jacket.

“We’re eating here?”

“Yeah, babe.”

I opened my door and gathered up the food, but before I could climb down from the cab, Alex was in front of me, taking my burdens from me and helping me out. He settled a ridiculously large leather jacket over my shoulders and then took my hand and the food and pulled me toward the pier.

“How do you have access to all of this?” I asked.

“I own a boat.”

“You do not.”

He smiled. “I do.”

“What’s the name of your boat?”

“Gravy.”

I choked as I swallowed a laugh. “It is not.”

He chuckled. “It is.”

“That’s probably the best thing I’ve ever heard.”

Alex grinned again.

“My dad always says the only thing better than owning a boat is having a friend who owns one,” I said.

Alex laughed. “There’s a third option.”

“There is?”

“Owning a boat and having recruits who have to pay their dues to look after the boat.”

I giggled. “You’re smarter than you look, Alex James.”

“Well, thank you, Payton Williams.”

“Wow,” I whispered as he pulled me to a stop in front of the prettiest (and largest) boat I’d ever seen. Granted, I wasn’t well versed in boats, and had never personally been on one, other than one that pulled me when water skiing, but seriously, this was pretty. “Is this a yacht?”

“Yeah, babe. Technically it’s a yacht.” He smiled. “But I got it for a dinghy price.”

“Permission to come aboard?” I retorted, and then blushed. “I heard that you’re supposed to say that somewhere.”

Alex laughed as he stepped onto the boat and reached his hand out to me. “You are fuckin’ adorable.”

I took his hand and he pulled me up. I landed against him and he steadied me. Before I could recover, however, he leaned down and kissed me. This kiss was so frickin’ sweet, I had to fight not to give a fangirl sigh. Instead, I fell further against him and deepened the kiss.

It was Alex who broke the connection and settled his forehead against mine. “Fuckin’ beautiful, Payton.”

I closed my eyes. “I really need you not to be super nice to me right now, Alex. I’m trying to stick to my guns here and you’re making it really difficult.”

“I apologize,” he said, but his voice was filled with humor. “Follow me.”

We walked the perimeter of the boat and onto a deck that took in the lights of the restaurants across the Columbia. “This is beautiful,” I said.

Alex set the food on a table on the deck. “Thanks. It’s almost done.”

“What do you mean? What more could you possibly do to it?”

“Not much,” he admitted. “A few things in one of the cabins.”

“Well it looks like a very posh yacht, Alex. Not sure what it used to look like, but it’s beautiful.”

“If you’d seen it when I bought it, you probably would have wondered if it was water worthy. A douchebag who had no respect for anything nearly destroyed this boat. It was a repo and the guy was pissed. I think his weapon of choice was a baseball bat. But I knew she could be fixed.”

“How do you even go about finding a beat up yacht and get it for a dinghy price?” I asked, and sat at one of the benches against the railing. A small round table was bolted to the floor in front of me and it was where Alex had set the food.

“A buddy does repos.”

“Ah.” I unpacked the bags and sipped on my shake as Alex unlocked a door to what I assumed was where the sleeping quarters were, and turned on lights and grabbed blankets.

“You cold, babe?” he asked.

I shivered. “A little.”

He gently wrapped a blanket around me, squeezing the back of my neck sweetly when he was done.

“Thanks.” I smiled. “I didn’t plan the shake part very well. Although, I don’t regret it, even if the end result is frostbite.”

Alex laughed and sat next to me. “I know a surefire way to get warm, babe.”

“I bet you do.”

He grinned and bit into his burger while I watched the lights shine off the water and picked at my fries.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Hmm-mm,” I said, and smiled. “Just taking in the view. It’s gorgeous.”

“Yeah it is,” he said, staring at me.

My cheeks heated. “Eat your food and stop being sweet.”

“Glad you like it,” he said.

“Technically, this is a warm place where you can take your time,” I pointed out, internally slapping myself for bringing it up.

“Yeah, it is. I’ll take you out soon, babe and we can stay overnight.”

“I didn’t say it to get you to take me out, Alex.” I narrowed my eyes, although, there wasn’t any heat behind it. “You’re not getting me into bed, even with the promise of a day out on a gorgeous boat.”

He laughed. “We’ll see.”

I pulled the blanket tighter around me. “What makes you so sure of yourself?”

“Don’t know, babe.” He studied me. “There’s just something about you I can’t shake.”

I tipped my shake toward him. “Romantic.”

Alex chuckled. “I’ll work on that.”

Pulling my legs up to my chest, I wrapped my arms around them, and settled my chin on my knees. “There’s kind of something about you too, Alex.”

“We’ll get to know each other, yeah? Then go from there.”

I shrugged. “I guess I don’t have anything else better to do.”

“Nice,” he said, and sipped his pop. Setting the cup on the table, he reached out his hand. “Give me your phone.”

“Why?”

“Want you to have my number in case you need me.”

“I won’t need you.”

“Give me your phone, Payton.”