Tonight’s mission is pretty much shot. Skye doesn’t leave Ribeiro’s side all night and when she finally slips away to the restroom, instead of heading towards him, I slip out onto the deck and use the deck entrance to get into my stateroom. Trying to anticipate how long a woman will stay in the restroom is like shooting fish in a barrel but when I hear movement in the passageway, I open the door, grab the wrist of a startled Skye, and pull her into my room. “What the fuck Keith?” she blurts out stumbling against me.“What the fuck Skye?” I ask, steadying her before I fold my arms across my chest.“Was that necessary?” she asks, her eyes wide.“I think so.” She rests her hand on her chest and takes a deep breath. “Ok. I want to catch up with you too Keith but this isn’t a good time.”“Catch up with me? You think that’s what this is about?”Her brows scrunch together, “What else could it be about? We haven’t seen each other in sixteen years.”“It’s about your boyfriend.”“Armand? He’s my date, not exactly a boyfriend.”“Is that why he’s grabbing your ass?” “What? So this is some jealousy thing….after sixteen years? Don’t be ridiculous Keith.” “Jealousy has nothing to do with it,” I lie. Because it does—it definitely does.She shakes her head and turns back towards the door. I place a hand on her shoulder. “I’m not done.”“Well I am,” she says and tries to shake my hand from her shoulder but I only tighten my grip.“For fuck’s sake, listen to me Skye. You’re acting as headstrong as you were all those years ago and you’re going to get hurt.”She stops resisting and turns around to face me. “Hurt? How do you figure?”I can’t reveal that he traffics women without revealing more than I want to so I hesitate for a fraction of a second before saying, “He has a terrible reputation with women.”Her eyes narrow. “A terrible reputation with women? I bet I only have to ask the right woman to find that you may not have such a stellar reputation yourself. What’s really going on Keith?”“You’re out of your depth here Skye. Back away from this guy. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”“What the hell do you know about my depth Keith? We met for a few days when I was twenty years old. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not twenty anymore.”“Well act like it, Skye. Ribeiro’s a playboy.”“And you out here on your yacht, you expect me to believe you’re not?” She snorts in derision.“Stop that Skye, and fucking listen to me! Ribeiro isn’t the kind of guy you want to get mixed up with.”“You stop Keith. You can drop the protector mantle now, I’m a grown woman. I’m not your project or your responsibility. I don’t need saving.”“Somebody has to keep your reckless ass out of trouble,” I retort.Skye pauses and I can almost hear her counting to ten in her mind. “Look, Keith, you helped me once over a decade ago and I appreciate that but I’m not that girl anymore. I know what—”“And yet here you are still making fucked up decisions,” I interject.Her eyes blaze at my comment. “Fuck you!” she says and turns on her heels.“Don’t mind if I do!” I growl and pull her back into my body and my cock which has been at half-mast since the moment I saw her, jumps when it makes contact with her body. I groan and wrap my arms around her, burying my face in her neck, and inhaling deep. Her perfume is different but the essence of her is the same. It’s my Skye.