MIDNIGHT Bride The CEO's TEMPTATION

The guards offered the three prisoners the bottled water, and they drank the liquid of life with unadulterated pleasure. But when Eric asked the guards to release them, they ignored his request.

Paul stared at Eric sullenly. "Aren't these your subordinates?" he asked. "What is going on?"

Eric said nothing. There was nothing to be said. He had no idea how his servants had been turned against him.

Once the guards had finished giving them water, they left the room without having said a single word.

For Paul, the worst of it was having to be upside down, and he almost wished that they had not been given water. A part of him wished for death, and the water would just extend his life.

Eric saw that Paul had fallen into a funk, and he said, "Cheer up, bro. They will release us in two days."

Paul eyed him suspiciously. "How do you know that?"

"We have been given water, which means they want us alive," Eric explained. "The ladies just want time to run away. Once they think that they are safe, they will call the guards and order them to set us free."

Paul smirked and said, "They will regret that. Once we are free, there is nowhere in the world that they can go that I cannot find them.

Suddenly, two strong men walked into Nathan's room. They went to the side of the bed and began to untie him.

"Thank God!" Eric exclaimed. "We are saved."

"I am afraid not." Nathan chuckled and said, "This is my exit. I'll see you both in Hell, suckers!"

****

Noah got his group to the pier without incident, and Nathan arrived shortly after. The cruise ship was ready, and as soon as they boarded, it set sail. For the moment, Noah was still with them. Once they were out of sight, he would take one of the smaller boats back to the island. Crystal 's only regret was that they had not been able to torture Eric and Paul any more than they had. However, the smiles on Nancy and Clark's faces made it all worth it. If they were happy, nothing else mattered.

Crystal  looked at the food in front of her and asked Clark if he liked sea crabs. He said that he did, so she invited him to help her peel them. After peeling one, she smiled and said, "This is really relaxing. I am glad that you are doing it with me."

Clark nodded and said, "I like seafood."

Crystal  selected another crab, but Clark took it out of her hand. "I'll do it," he said.

Crystal  smiled. "Alright."

When he was done, he held it in the air and said, "This one's for me. Uncle Noah can have the bigger one."

Crystal  was startled. Clark had never called Noah his Uncle before. Before she could put too much thought into what that meant, one of the guards came running from below deck. "What's the matter?" she asked.

It took a moment for the guard to get his breath, and then he said, "Master Davis has refused to eat. He said that his stomach hurts, and he wants to see you, Miss Smith."

Crystal  cursed under her breath. She raised her eyebrows and thought - This man's arrogance knows no bounds!

He knew that she cared whether he lived or died, and he was using that knowledge against her. By mentioning his stomach problems, Nathan knew that she was sure to come. She sighed and said, "Go back and tell him that if he doesn't eat, I will throw him into the sea. He can feed the sharks for all I care. Tell him those exact words."

The guard's face turned white, and he hurried back the way he had come. Crystal  chuckled, but when she turned back to Clark, she saw that he looked as afraid as the guard had.

"Will you really feed him to the sharks," the boy asked.

"No, no!" Crystal  laughed jovially. "I was just kidding," she explained. "Do you understand?" 

Clark nodded and said, "That is good because I don't think he would like it very much..." 

"He definitely wouldn't," Crystal  agreed.

"Now, let's get back to these crabs."

Within minutes, the troublesome guard returned.

"What now?" Crystal  sighed.

The guard looked desperate. "Miss Smith, Master Davis still won't eat. He says that he is in a lot of pain."

"Fine." Crystal  sighed and said, "I'm on my way."

Nancy smiled and said, "You still care about Master Davis, don't you?"

"I care for him," Crystal  admitted. "But not in the way that you are thinking. Nobody deserves to fall into the hands of Paul and Eric!"

Nancy nodded and said, "Good thing we remembered Wolf!"

"Good thing!"

Wolf was laying down, gnawing a bone, and he barked amicably when he heard his name.

Crystal  stood up and went below deck, and when she got to Nathan's room, she went in without knocking. He had one of the ship's larger rooms and was luxurious. He was lying in bed, and there was a steak on his night table.

Crystal  sighed and said, "I can't believe that you are still giving me a hard time. After having been on a limited diet for so long, I would have thought that you would be anxious to eat such a choice cut of beef. I ordered this especially for you, and you refuse to eat it. Is there something wrong with your stomach? Do you want me to find a doctor for you?"

Nathan did not reply. He had his hand on his stomach, but his face was expressionless.

"Have you taken your medicine?" Crystal  asked. She walked to the side of his bed and checked his temperature with the back of her hand. "You look fine... and your forehead isn't warm."

Nathan smiled and grabbed her wrist. "You have finally come," he said.

"You tricked me!" Crystal  sneered. "You don't have a stomach ache at all, do you?"

"I only said that I did to prove a point," Nathan replied. "You wouldn't have come if you didn't care for me. Don't you think that it is about time you stopped lying to yourself?"

Crystal  felt like he could see into her heart, and she quickly turned away so that he would not see how exposed she felt. "I just don't want you to die on the boat," she said. Your death would bring us bad luck!"

"You could have let me die in the castle..." Nathan let the sentence hang.

"Don't put too much stock in that. I also saved Nancy's dog." She shrugged and said, "It is not in me to let a person die if I can save them. Even if I don't like them!"

"Am I nothing more than a dog to you?" Nathan asked.

"Exactly."

"I am fine with that." Nathan grinned and said, "So long as I can be your dog. What do you think about that?"

"I don't think very much about that," Crystal  replied. "Even if you were a dog, I wouldn't want you. I would nurse you back to health, and then I would send you to the pound."

Nathan was still holding her hand, and when she tried to pull away, not only did he increase his grip, but he pulled her forward so that she fell into his arms.

Crystal 's ire began to rise as he wrapped his other arm around her. "Let me go!" she growled.

When Nathan saw that she was getting angry, he softened his tone and said, "If I let you go, will you finally admit that you care about me....?"