Ensnare: The Passenger’s Pleasure #1 (Demon Paranormal Romance) Page 2

I went to bed for the last time, and awoke at the sound of a heavy knock. My eyes creaked open and I saw the time was eight. It was four hours after the unwelcome intrusion. I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. There came another heavy knock, but it wasn't your typical knock.

  Knock knock knock knock. Knock knock.

  I frowned. It sounded like a tune. I threw on my robe and stumbled to the front door. The sound was just repeating when I opened the door. Archer stood in the hallway with his knuckle held up to the door. The man was impeccably dressed and as handsome as ever. He sheepishly smiled at me and lowered his hand.

  "Yes?" I asked him.

  "You promised me a breakfast," he reminded me.

  I wiped away some eye boogers and sighed. "Right now?" I wondered.

  "The breakfast is best when it's hot," he advised.

  My shoulders slumped and I sighed. "All right, just let me get dressed."

  I had meant to shut the door and leave him in the hallway, but he slid past me and sauntered over to the couch. "Then I'll wait here," he offered as he plopped down on said furniture.

  I raised an eyebrow and closed the door. "You're really bold," I commented.

  He lay an arm over the back of the couch and smiled at me. "And rich which is part of the reason I'm so bold," he explained.

  I walked over to the couch and frowned down at him. "Being rich doesn't mean you should be pushy," I scolded him.

  Archer's smile faded and he stood. His expression turned to a more serious look as he studied me with his handsome eyes. "I can see I've offended you. I can leave if you want-" I held up a hand with the palm towards him and sighed.

  "It's fine. I think I'm just a little tired from this morning," I told him. "Just give me a few minutes and I'll be ready."

  Archer plopped himself back on the couch and smiled at me. "I'll wait for as long as you need, but don't waste so long that the vultures get me," he teased.

  "I'm not that type of girl," I promised him as I walked past him.

  "I wouldn't expect any different from you," he returned.

  I paused in the doorway and looked back at him. His back faced me, and he was engrossed in the complimentary tourist magazine offered by the ship. The way he phrased his words almost made me wonder if he didn't know me better than he let on. Still, we'd only just met the day before, so I shook off the feeling and hurriedly dressed.

  I was ready in five minutes and presented myself in almost my most casual. My most casual would have meant remaining in my robe and bunny slippers.

  "You know this ship pretty well, don't you?" I asked him as I walked past the side of the couch.

  Archer tossed the magazine onto the coffee table and jumped to his feet. He plastered a serious look onto his face and saluted me. "Yes, ma'am."

  "At ease, soldier. I just wanted to know what activities are the least crowded," I told him.

  He dropped his arm and a grin slipped onto his face. "How's your shuffleboard skills?"

  "About like my society skills. On life support," I quipped.

  He laughed and we walked shoulder-to-shoulder to the door. "Those sound like mine, minus the society skills, but if what you're looking for is a nice, quiet time then I recommend the pool before ten in the morning and the tennis courts after ten in the evening."

  "So what am I supposed to do in-between?" I asked him.

  He opened the door and swept his hand towards the doorway. "I'll think of something, but first, breakfast."

  "That's what I'm afraid-"

  "Maxie! Maxie, there you are!" Renee called from across the hall. She closed her door behind her and walked over to us. The woman had only eyes for Archer as he stepped into the hallway and closed my door behind him. "Did I hear you say something about breakfast?"

  "We were going to get some," he explained. I noticed he didn't append that comment with an invitation. Unfortunate, that didn't slow her down.

  "Then I'll come with you! I'm just starving!" she offered.

  Archer plastered a tense smile on his face and bowed his head. "That would be great."

  "Oh, but let me tell Alicia and Lana where I'm going to be. I promised to have breakfast with them today," she told us.

  She hurried over to the middle door of their three and knocked. "Alicia? Alicia, it's Renee." Renee waited patiently for ten seconds before she glared at the door and knocked harder. "Alicia, can you hear me?" Again there was no reply, so she tried the door. It was locked. "Alicia! Open up! This isn't funny!"

  She pounded harder, and the noise caught the attention of my best friend from yesterday, Stuart. He strode down the hall and met us at Alicia's door.

  "Is something wrong?" he asked us.

  "My friend won't answer!" Renee nearly screamed.

  "Could you please open the door for us? We think there might be something wrong," Archer explained.

  "Of course," Stuart obliged. He inserted his master key card into the slot and swung open the door.

  We were greeted with what resembled a trailer park after a double-tornado storm. The furniture was overturned and broken. The stuffing had been torn out of all the pillows and strewn about the room. The kitchen cupboards were all open, and the entirety of their contents mixed with the stuffing to create a post-apocalyptic world.

  "What the hell happened here?" Renee whispered.

  Max strode into the room, and Stuart and I weren't far behind. "Alicia? Alicia?" he called.

  There came a groan from the closed bedroom door. The men rushed forward and hurried inside. Renee and I reached the door and gasped. Alicia lay on her stomach with her arms dangling over the edge of the bed. The sheets beneath her were tattered, as was much of Alicia's golden silk nightgown.

  "Help me get her back onto the bed," Archer requested of Stuart.

  The two men together grabbed an arm a piece and pulled her onto the bed, and onto her back. She groaned and her eyes fluttered open.

  "W-where am I?" she murmured.

  "It's me, Max. Now hold still for just a sec," he ordered her. He checked her head and frowned. "You've got a nasty bump on your forehead."

  "I do?" She reached up and touched the sore spot, and winced. The pain jolted a memory because her eyes widened and she scrambled back. "D-don't let it get me! Get it away!"

  Archer grabbed her arms and tried to pin her down, but she thrashed in his hold. "Alicia, hold still! Nobody's going to hurt you!"

  "No! Get it away! It's coming for me!" she screamed.

  Archer slapped a hand across her face. The force whipped her head to the side and her wide eyes stared unblinkingly at the wall to my left.

  "Max!" Renee scolded him. She rushed past me and flung herself on the bed where she wrapped her arms around her shocked friend. "Come on now, Alicia. Tell us what happened." Alicia blinked and shook herself. A sob escaped her lips and buried her face into Renee's bosom. Renee winced, but patted her on the back. "There, there. It's fine now."

  Alicia shook her head. "No, it's not fine! A shadow came in here and wrecked my room, and when I caught it doing it the thing attacked me!" She shuddered and tightened her grip on Renee. Her friend winced and tried to push them to breathing distance.

  "Did you see who it was?" Archer asked her.

  Alicia lifted her head from her friend's bosom and turned to Archer. She slowly nodded. "It was you."

  CHAPTER 3