To be honest, my day was going better than expected. After that tear-filled goodbye at the docks, I asked the guy to drive me to San Nicholas.

“You sure, Miss?” he asked. “This is not the nicest part of the island. You wouldn’t rather go to Palm Beach?”

“I’m not a tourist, and I’m sure,” I replied, firmly. Palm beach, on the northwest coast, was the garden spot, full of luxury resorts and Americans on vacation. And exactly where Seth and his friends would be. No, I was better off down here, on the south of the island, hidden among the locals.

The driver was right, though. As he dropped me off in the center of what was, at night at least, Aruba’s red light district, I almost questioned my decision. It was not the roughest part of town but, as I stood on the street with my bags, a few native young men noticed me immediately and looked me over, a mixture of lust and hunger in their eyes.

Luckily, my destination was dead ahead. I walked into the incredibly colorful Charlie’s Bar and saw Simon talking with a couple of the bar flies. He spotted me immediately, stopped midsentence and strode right over. His tall, lean body was so strong there was no way I could stop him from lifting me completely off the ground in an enormous bear hug.

“Missed you, girl,” he rumbled in his thick, Jamaican accent. It was good to see him, to feel safe in his arms once more. I wrapped my legs around his waist. His pure white teeth gleamed like pearls from his dark face as he smiled at my intimate embrace. I kissed him, long and hard, but pulled away when I felt him open my mouth to slip his tongue in. His smile never faded, though. “You still looking damn hot.”

“Put me down,” I commanded. “I’m not here for that.”

“Then what you here for?”

“I need a place to stay and maybe a job. For a little while,” I told him.

Simon thought for a few moments. I had plenty of money, the amazing tip from Seth’s charter and the cash from the five others I’d done aboard Venus was in my bag, meaning I wouldn’t need to trouble my bank account for some time. All the same, what I did have would last a lot longer if I could do a little work and not have to pay for a hotel.

Eventually, Simon smiled that wide smile again. “I got you covered, girl,” he said, picked up my two bags and bid me follow him upstairs. The inside of the bar was just how I remembered it, absolutely covered with posters, pictures, and tacky memorabilia, with historical paraphernalia hanging from the entire ceiling, making it a notable, if slightly notorious, tourist spot. Going up the back staircase, though, the walls became peeling white paint and the air became stifling away from the fans and air conditioning in the bar area.

He took me back up to the room I stayed in when I had first arrived in Aruba. It had taken me ten days to confirm my position on Venus, and I’d avoided expensive Palm beach then as well, just in case I ran into any of the yacht crowd; ex-crewmates, ex-charters or former family acquaintances. I’d stopped for a break in Charlie’s while looking for a room in San Nicholas and, obviously, being an attractive woman eating dinner by herself, Simon the bar manager had kept me company.

I’d mentioned needing a place to stay and he’d offered me the back room upstairs. It was little more than a chair, a small dresser, some fans, and a mattress on the floor, but it was clean. Simon let me in and switched on the fans. It was so hot I could feel the sweat beading in the center of my back and running down under my tank top. Thank God I chose to wear shorts, I mused.

We both looked at the mattress on the floor and I knew we were thinking the same thing. We were remembering the three days and nights after I’d landed the job aboard Venus.Simonand I spent that long weekend talking, surviving mostly on rum, and making love over and over again. I’d told Simon everything, about my life, what happened to my family, and my plans for revenge. He listened. He never asked anything of me. His firm, tight body responding, without fail, every time I touched him. Even after he seemed spent beyond exhaustion, I only ever needed to gently stroke his long cock and he was instantly ready for me again.

Nothing mattered in those few long, hot days. I nearly changed my mind about everything. It would have been so easy to forget my revenge, forget the Radisson family, and just stay in this bar with Simon forever. However, when it came time to join the crew, I knew that Simon and I had only been able to enjoy this brief time because we knew it would end. That last fling before heading off on the yacht. I considered it a condemned woman’s last meal, on which I’d gorged happily.

The memories made me smile. I saw Simon smiling too, and knew he was thinking about trying to sleep with me again. For a second, I was tempted but, just as quickly, I knew it wouldn’t be a good idea, long term. Besides, I thought, Seth might still find me. I shook my head, banishing that ridiculous thought from my mind.

“I’m sorry, Simon,” I offered. “I can’t, not now. I understand if you change your mind about me staying.”

Again, Simon seemed to consider things for an age. “No worries,” he eventually smiled. “You’re welcome as long as you want. I need a evening waitress, ‘kay?”

“Perfect!” I yelled. I flung my arms around his neck and kissed him again.

“Is nice kiss,” smiled Simon as we broke apart. I nodded. “Do it lower,” he suggested.

I punched him in the chest.