“Right,” Nathan said slowly, narrowing his eyes like he wasn’t buying a damn thing I just said. Then he leaned in a little, voice dropping to that cocky, know-it-all tone he always used when he thought he was being clever.
“You look like you are literally fucking someone with your eyes, bro. Like, no joke. I’ve never seen you look at anything like that before, and I’ve seen you stare down your enemies before a kill.”
I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. My jaw was locked so tight I felt it in my temples. My grip on the glass in my hand tightened, the condensation trailing down my fingers like sweat off my back.
Nathan chuckled under his breath, oblivious to the storm brewing under my skin. “Don’t tell me you’ve got a little summer crush. That what this is?” He nudged me with his elbow.
“Who is she? Someone’s girlfriend? One of those rich heiresses you invited? A model? Don’t play dumb, man, I saw the way you were looking at her.”
“She’s none of your business,” I muttered, trying not to fucking growl.
He raised both brows, amused. “Oh shit. That serious? You’re telling me you’ve got that look in your eye for someone off-limits? Now I’m really curious. Who the hell is she?”
I turned my head just enough to glare at him, letting the warning settle in. “Drop it, Nathan.”
He blinked, then held up both hands like he finally sensed the danger. “Alright, alright. Damn. Didn’t know I touched a nerve.”
“Well, you did,” I snapped, my voice sharp and deeper than I meant. “Now fuck off, Nathan. Go find your wife, go get your dick sucked, go do something useful with your life and leave me the fuck alone.”
That should’ve been the end of it.
But of course, it wasn’t.
Nathan gave me a slow look, then exhaled a long breath like he was trying to decide whether to push me or walk away.
He took one last sip of his drink, set it on the ledge beside him, and turned to fully face me with a smug little grin like he thought he knew something I didn’t.
“Damn, man. She really got you twisted up, huh?” he said, not even trying to hide the amusement in his tone. “Whoever she is, she’s got your ass acting like a jealous teenager at a high school dance.
“You’re snapping like a man who’s already balls deep emotionally but pretending he’s not. You sure she’s not more than just some girl you’ve been watching?”
I didn’t answer.
Because I couldn’t.
Because every word he said hit a little too close to the truth I’d been denying since the moment Lily stepped foot on this yacht in that fucking sundress.
Nathan smirked again like he was enjoying my silence.
“Don’t worry. I won’t pry. But a little advice, Connor?” He leaned in, tone lowering just enough to make it personal.
“If you don’t want anyone else touching her, you might want to make that shit clear. Fast. Because a girl like that? Someone’s gonna notice. And when they do, they won’t give a damn if she’s yours or not.”
I didn’t even realize I was growling until he was already walking away.
And then.
She was gone.
****
Where the fuck did she go to?
One minute she was right there, standing under the light, that tight little yellow sundress hugging her curves so perfectly it made my blood boil.
I hadn’t taken my eyes off her for more than a second, and now she had vanished like fucking magic. My jaw tightened as a sharp rush of heat climbed up the back of my neck. It wasn’t panic. It wasn’t confusion. It was rage.
I knew something was wrong. I knew she wasn’t where she was supposed to be. And I knew with everything in my body that someone was about to fucking die for it.
I whipped around and looked toward the lounge where my daughter was, and that’s when I saw it, B?tt?, grinding against that little punk she call her boyfriend.
I had warned to keep his fucking hands to himself. Her dress was hiked up, her ass pressed into his crotch like she had no father watching, and his greasy little hands were on her waist like he thought he’d earned the right to touch what belonged to me.
“Bella! Get off him. Now!”
She turned with a groan, dragging her eyes from the music to me like I had just ruined her life. “But Dad..!”
“Don’t get me fucking upset!” I thundered, already moving across the deck, my voice loud enough to silence half the party. “Get off him now, Bell?. I mean it. This is your last warning.”
She froze like she didn’t believe I was serious. Then, after a second of hesitation, she stepped away from him and crossed her arms like she’d just been slapped.
“Yes, I said you could have fun,” I growled, my tone tight. “But this kind of fun? Grinding on some fucking bastard in the middle of a heatwave, in front of everyone? Absolutely unacceptable.”
“Dad! It was just dancing!” she shot back, her voice pitched with teenage defiance and zero fucking awareness of how close I was to losing it.
“Don’t make me repeat myself,” I snapped, locking eyes with her, my tone dropping into something even she knew not to test. “Get down. Now.”
She stepped back with a frustrated sigh and stomped her foot like I hadn’t just saved her from making a massive mistake.
I turned my full attention to the little shit beside her. His eyes were wide. His hands were still frozen in the air. He didn’t move.
“Thank the Moon Goddess I didn’t smash your fucking face in,” said, my voice dropping low as I stepped into his space. “You’re lucky I haven’t ripped your arms off for touching what doesn’t belong to you. If I ever see you with your hands on my daughter again, I swear to the fucking heavens, I’ll feed your bones to the sea.”
He didn’t say a word. Didn’t breathe.
I turned back to my daughter, rage still burning behind my eyes.
“Where is Lily, Bell??” I asked. “Tell me exactly where she went.”
“I don’t know, Dad,” she said, shrugging like it was no big deal. “She said she was going to get a drink.”
Bullshit.
“What do you mean you don’t know, Bella?” I said, my voice hard, sharp, rising louder than I intended as I stepped toward her.
“She’s your best friend. You’ve been with her all day. You invited her. You tell each other everything. And now you’re telling me you don’t know where she went?”
She threw up her arms, visibly frustrated. “I don’t know, Dad! I swear! She said she was going to get a drink, that’s it. I didn’t follow her. I didn’t think I had to. She’s not a child. Why are you freaking out like this?”
“Why am I looking for her?” I repeated, dragging a hand down my face before I dropped it back to my side, my voice tightening even more.
“Why do you think? I told both of you to stay on the main deck. I gave you freedom, not a license to disappear on a yacht full of people I don’t trust.”
She folded her arms and gave me a look like I was crazy. “Then check the bar. Maybe she went to have a drink or something. That’s what she said.”
I stared at her in silence for a full second, trying to breathe through the pressure building behind my ribs. Her answer wasn’t good enough. I already knew Lily wasn’t at the bar.
I had checked. I had looked. I couldn’t smell her there. Her scent, sweet and sticky with heat wasn’t in the open air anymore. She wasn’t sipping a drink. She wasn’t near a crowd. She wasn’t standing in plain view like someone with nothing to hide.
No.
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