If Not For You (17 page)

“Climb on board,” he said.

“Get out of here.”

“I’m serious get on, not moving until you do,” he assured me. I knew better than to ignore him or he’d do something crazy like throw me over his shoulder.

The driver and I shared a smile and he shrugged with a laugh and I reluctantly climbed onto Gage’s back. Gage ran up the gangway jiggling me about and making me laugh out loud at his antics.

“Slow down you maniac!” I roared, and people around laughed along pointing at us like we were a freak show. I didn’t care, I liked Gage like this. He was fun and playful and his tough ass persona was nicely tucked away, for now.

He carried me the entire way, opened the door and tossed me onto the bed after carefully depositing our food on the nightstand and flung himself beside me, panting and puffing like he just ran a marathon.

“
You
are a whole lot of work, sweetheart,” he puffed.

“I didn’t ask you for a horseback ride, not once did I say I needed to be carried.”

He rolled halfway onto me and tickled me violently until we were both sweaty and breathless.

“Tell me you didn’t like it though.”

“I didn’t like it…I loved it!” I laughed, and forced him off me.

He pushed me back, pulling off my shoes and socks throwing them onto the floor and gave me the most amazing foot massage.

“Our foods going to be cold, not that I want you to stop but we better eat, it’s getting late.” I said.

“There’s nothing better besides cold pizza, than cold Chinese food,” he chuckled kissing the soles of each foot. I visibly quaked and he smirked knowing full well that he found one of my erogenous zones.

“Yeah we better eat,” he said, yanking me to my feet and grabbing the bag.

The food was the best, like all food on holiday, and we ate too much of course, sitting back rubbing our bellies and moaning.

“So we agree to skip Kuala Lumpur and Penang?” Gage asked and put his head on my shoulder.

“Yeah, after the day we just had, I need a holiday!” We laughed but barely moved.

The next thing I knew I woke on the sofa hours later, with Gage’s head on my lap, his one hand under my ass, the other tucked between my legs under his cheek, just skimming the surface of lands yet to be explored. It was a yummy feeling, yes, but awkward as hell.

I stirred my hips which only made him wriggle into me more, now skimming was full hands on, or should I say, full
hand
on while he made a delicious
mmm
sound. “Don’t move,” he whispered, and my mouth dropped open.

“I’m trying to get comfortable here.” He wriggled more and his cheeks puffed into a smile. He wasn’t asleep at all.

“Asshole…!” I yelled and pushed him as I rose to my feet. He rolled onto the floor with a crash.

“Ouch! you were so warm and comfy,” he protested and I shoved him with a foot, he in turn grabbed it and licked his tongue across my toes with a laugh.

“Out…!” I pointed to the door. “Go! Time for you to leave mister, you’ve outstayed your welcome.”

“You know I was kidding around. It was all innocent…until I woke up, that is.” He wiggled his eyebrows roguishly. I bit into the inside of my cheek to stop from laughing.

“I’m tired and you’re leaving.” I pulled him to the door, opened it and shoved him into the hallway as he laughed.

“Will I see you tomorrow?” he asked, with a pathetically virtuous look on his face, he knew he could make me cave.

This guy was no good for me, like putting my hand into a flame, I could get burned, but the warmth it offered felt so good at the time.

“Maybe, now go!” I ordered, as he rubbed past me and I caught the sweet scent of him.

“Good night, sweetheart.”

“Good night ass!” I held back a smile as the door closed in his smug face.

Day 44

Gage never called, never came by, in fact I didn’t hear a peep from him since our close encounter on the sofa. I figured he was pissed with me. He was the most infuriating confusing man I had the pleasure of knowing. His playfulness had me confused, as well as his need to pull away when things heated up.

I heard my cell chime once and vibrate violently across the nightstand surface, I ran to get it. A photo of a man’s bare ass flashed on the screen and I laughed. I picked that as the profile shot for Gage so I knew without a doubt that he was calling.

“Hi,” I said coolly.

“Hi, sweetheart,” he sounded no different, not pissed, and not quiet. No guilt in his voice, just the same as any other time.

“I hadn’t heard from you, thought maybe you fell overboard,” I said, joking, trying hard not to sound like a childish sarcastic bitch.

“Are you not over it yet?” he asked, and I heard laughter in his tone. “Listen to me,”

“What?” I snapped.

“Guess who just got arrested?” he said.

“Are you telling me Jack just got arrested?” I didn’t really have to guess so hard, since we were suspicious of him for days and it was a main topic of discussion lately.

“I am. Now for the bad news,” he said half-heartedly, “so did John.”

“John? Why? Was he involved?”

“I think they arrested him on suspicion, probably a formality since they’re travelling together.”

It only made sense but it still stung, I couldn’t envision John, so sweet and funny, doing something so despicable and underhanded.

“How did you find out?” I asked, but figured that was why I hadn’t heard from him for so long.

“If it’s okay with you, I’ll come by and fill you in.” I smiled to myself when the sexual innuendo hit me and then cursed myself for thinking it.

“Of course it’s okay.”

“I’ll bring wine.”

“There’s wine here, just get your ass here quick,” I said, with enough impatience to surely get him moving.

“Sure you kick my ass out the other night, now you can’t wait for my ass to get there…make up your mind woman!”

“Goodbye, ass.” I said, hanging up the phone and rushing to the bathroom to brush out my hair, put on some perfume and brush my teeth. I sniffed my underarms just to be sure and a look in the full length mirror to make sure I was alluring enough, then I paced back and forth at the door. Gage knocked once, I opened the door and pulled him in.

“What took you so long?” I asked, Gage laughing, as I dragged him to the living room area and forced him over to the sofa.

“Well hello to you too! Didn’t think I’d be this welcome, in fact I didn’t think I’d ever get asked in beyond the doorframe.”

“Oh, shut it. Sooo tell me.” I implored, eagerly. I wanted all the nitty-gritty details.

“Can we pour some wine and have a seat, sweetheart?” he begged as he sat on the sofa.

“Fine, give it here and start talking.” I played it safe and sat on the coffee table and poured the wine as he spoke.

“Okay, so yesterday I saw Jack flirting with some chick at the casino bar. She was all snooty and hot, you could tell she had money, one of those types. I watched them leave together and followed them. About forty minutes or so later, Jack comes sneaking out of her room all quiet, pulling the door closed so it didn’t make a sound.”

He took a drink from his wineglass and I leaned in closer with my elbows on my knees, so as not to miss a detail. Gage’s eyes focused on my cleavage that just revealed itself before his eyes and he bit into his lower lip.

He pointed to my breasts. “If you want me to continue, sweetheart, you gotta put those away.” I peered down and saw the view that he was admiring. Not quite a nipple shot but not too far from it.

“Sorry.”

“Oh never be sorry about those,” he joked, as I moved to sit beside him with my leg tucked under me.

“Go on.” I persisted.

“Where was I?...oh yeah. He went back to the casino and doesn’t he repeat the whole thing with another woman. Later in the evening, the first woman is sitting at the bar, he comes in and sees her and makes a beeline out the door, so I follow him, back to her room. The thing is he just walks in, a few minutes later he comes out fiddles with something at the lock and off he goes, does the same thing at woman number two’s room.”

He took a sip of wine and refilled my glass.

“So what do you think he was doing?” I asked, totally enthralled like I was watching an episode of CSI when the plot was thickening and the suspect was finally going to be caught. Only this was real, far too real.

“Robbing them, I went to security and told them what I saw, they pulled some footage and it turns out, he was putting duct tape over the lock mechanism, its silver barely noticeable, so the lock never engaged. That way he could come back without a key and get into the rooms. Since he had already been in the rooms, he knew what to grab and where to grab it from. Security figures that’s how he got in here too.”

“But he was never in my room, neither was John. No one has been in my room but you.”

“He could have snuck in with housekeeping or bribed them, they’re going to go over that footage too…as it turns out though, at least six women have reported stolen jewelry since boarding. A search of Jack and John’s room turned up a pile of stolen goods and get this… everything was inside hollowed out books. It even includes stolen jewelry from Vibe Hotel in Darwin.”

“You’re shitting me.”

“I shit you not,” he said.

“That’s the hotel where the book signing was,” like a light came on I continued, “that’s where that bastard Jack disappeared to. Maybe John is involved, he didn’t seem overly worried when his brother took off. Maybe he knew what Jack was doing.”

My heart sank just imagining that there could be a distinct possibility that John was tied to this whole disturbing mess, that he lied to me. And that he allowed his brother to take advantage of me. They robbed me.

“You should talk to security too, let them know about Darwin,” Gage suggested, and I sadly nodded.

“And the night we saw La Cage, he took off at intermission remember?” I quietly reminded him.

“Yeah I told them about that.”

“Un-fucking-believable,” I said, not time to be a lady. I was flabbergasted. I had been sucked into their sick twisted game and felt like a fool.

“You know? John did walk me to my room, he never came in but we stood in the doorway talking, do you think…? That fucking prick stole my ring.”

“Have I told you I like it when you talk dirty?” Gage asked, making light of the situation when he noted how riled I was becoming.

I had to shake my head and laugh, he was so typically male, could still think about sex after all that he told me and all that we discovered.

“You’re an ass.”

“Yeah but you like it,” he laughed.

Day 41

Welcoming the last few days spent alone in my room to recover after suffering two attacks, I was grateful for the time. One attack was particularly shocking. I woke to find myself lying at the room door in a small pool of blood. I must have hit my nose when I passed out, luckily it didn’t break, the sight of blood had startled me though and I cried like a duffus for quite some time, as I scrubbed at the carpet over the course of the day to get it all out.

Gage seemed to be spending all his time working with security to help nail Jack for the robberies, texting and calling when he thought about it. Just a quick hi and question after question about the time I spent with John and Jack. I understood of course, it was what he did, who he was. We weren’t a couple, he owed me nothing. Therefore I spent all my time alone, which when all was said and done, was exactly what I wanted, why I came on the cruise in the first place. It was just that I went from having new friends, to having none.

Our planned tour of Mumbai was tomorrow and without Gage to go with me, it looked like an adventure I’d be missing out on. I kicked myself for not taking the group tours, which would surely be fully booked.

I was sitting in the observation area of the climbing room, watching as kids made their ways up the wall like little monkeys with barely any effort. Watching how easy they made it look, unlike the adults that played out each move in their heads before attempting to reach out to the next hold. They played it safe, whereas the kids boldly trekked on. No fear in a child, what a wonderful way to live life.

A pair of strong arms wrapped over my shoulders and a scruffy cheek roughed up mine, I barely smiled, clamping my hands on his arms.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you, you scared the shit out of me.” Gage kissed my ear and came around the bench to sit with me.

It only took three days to find me
, I thought.

“Sorry.”

He shook his head. “You don’t carry your phone? How’s a guy supposed to find you?”

I shrugged and let out a sigh. “You found me didn’t you?”

Gage’s mouth formed a silent O. “Someone’s in a pissy mood.” he said and took my hand in his, fiddling with each finger weaving them in his, “what’s up?”

“More questions?” I said. It seemed to be the only time I heard from him, when he needed clarification about John or Jack.

“No more questions, sweetheart, it’s done. Jack’s in holding, he’ll be taken to the airport tomorrow and shipped back to the States. John will be going with him, but he’s not being charged with anything. Not yet anyway,” he explained.

“That’s too bad,” I said without much interest, because I was selfishly over it all, I’d had enough. I just wanted to get on with the rest of my cruise, even if it was going to be spent alone again. Especially if that was how it was going to be.

Gage kissed the back of my hand to get my attention and smiled when our eyes met. “I have something for you.” He put his hand into his pocket and pulled out my amethyst ring.

“My Mother’s ring,” I said, as a tear rolled down my cheek as he slipped it onto my finger. I was seriously going to have to get this blubbering thing under control, take a few lessons from Mr. Tough-ass.

“How did you…?” I asked, choking back more tears and Gage wiped them away.

“I worked something out so you could have it back. Just do me a favor and keep it on your finger.”