Page 93 of A Yulean Sister’s Guide to Getting Kidnapped

“Sort of,” I said. “I could give a general direction.” I found us on the map, my finger tilting north, where the light was coming from a bit, and about five to ten nautical miles down. “Roughly here, but that’s just an estimate.”

We all looked at the block of pure ocean in the area. No islands, no barges, nothing but empty sea.

“It leads to… nothing?” she asked.

We all stared at the point, trying to conjure up anything, but it seemed everyone came up short. There wasn’t even anything in the general vicinity.

“I’ll pull some old maps we have, maybe something used to be there.”

“Once the ship is clear and off tomorrow, I’ll help you search,” I said.

“And I’ll be here first thing,” Sage said.

Bramwell nodded. “For now, we should get some sleep. It seems the ship will be repaired bright and early in the morning. We need to leave quickly.”

“Why?”

That’s when it dawned on me. “Because that necklace was given to you for a reason,” I said. “It wasn’t meant to be found.”

“And there’s a chance whoever it wasn’t supposed to be found by was close enough to notice it activate.”

“Am I in danger?” she asked, her nerves taking over, clear as day.

“We won’t let anything happen to you,” I promised. And I meant it. Sage was under my protection, and I’d ensure nothing hurt her.

We left Bramwell’s room, Sage shivering even more than before, wrapping her arms around herself in comfort.

“Let’s get cleaned up,” I said. We stopped by my room to grab a towel and clothes before going to the showers that were blissfully empty right now.

“I’ll set this here,” I told her. “And be in when you’re done.”

I turned to go, but her hand shot out, grabbing my wrist. “Will you stay?” she asked.

I swallowed heavily. “Yeah, flower. I’ll stay.”

Chapter 32

Sage

Adrian and I stood in the showers, neither sure what kind of move should be made right now. I wasn’t quite sure why I asked him to stay. I mean, I wanted him to because I was too afraid to be alone, and because a part of me couldn’t help but jump at the opportunity to get naked together again. But I hadn’t meant to let those quiet thoughts out.

Now we were here, though, and the room felt steamy before I even turned on the hot water.

“Will you unlace me?” I asked, turning so the back of my dress was facing him. This was definitely one I could take off without him, but I didn’t want to.

He swallowed. “Yes.”

Adrian came up behind me and undid the bow at the base of the corset. It was really there as decoration. The ribbon was all stretch, an ingenious invention to make dressing an independent task.

His fingers worked to pull the strap up and away, one out from beneath the other, until I had to hold it up in the front. Once they were all done, I dropped the dress, letting it pool at my feet, leaving me in nothing but my cream chemise.

Adrian was drinking me in as if he’d been lost at sea for days and I was the first drop of fresh water he’d seen. His heavy gaze made me want to put on a bit of a show for him.

My hand came up and flicked off one of the thin straps of my garment, letting it fall partway down my arm. His eyes tracked the movement like a predator, waiting for the perfect movement to coil its prey.

Those eyes moved again when I began lifting the bottom of my skirt, just enough to hook my fingers over my panties and pull them down slowly, leaving them in the pile with my dress.

I went to lower the next strap, but was quickly halted. Adrian was on me, had approached me so quickly I hardly saw the movement.