Goddess isles boxed set, p.13
Goddess Isles Boxed Set, page 13
“I think the exam can wait, don’t you?” He sniffed with as much attitude he dare give me. “Let the poor girl eat and rest. We can book in the examination in a couple of days.”
A couple of days?
Well, there went the scenario of putting her straight to work.
I could already taste the disappointment of my guests.
“Stop talking about me as if I’m not sitting right here,” Eleanor snapped. “And for your information, I don’t need an exam. I had a sexual health update five months ago before...before I began a relationship with my boyfriend.” Her eyes narrowed to daggers, hiding her grief. “I was clean. And as far as birth control goes, I opted for the IUD that lasts five years. With travelling around the world, I didn’t want to bother with popping pills and struggling to find the same brand in different cities, so don’t you dare get pumping me with things I don’t need. Don’t overdose me when I’ve swallowed my pride and told you everything you need to know. And don’t you dare stick anything inside me. I’ve already been subjected to that by the traffickers who sent me to you.”
My hands balled at the thought of her treatment before becoming mine. I never asked what the men did to the women I purchased, and hearing it from Eleanor, I didn’t like it. I didn’t like knowing she’d been violated.
You violated her, you bastard.
Yeah, but that was different. I might torment her, but I had boundaries...even if they were flexible and threatening to break around her.
At least, she was clean and immune to the nasty disease of pregnancy. Once she fortified her system with food, she could be capable of working tonight.
No reason I should delay cashing in on her bottomless value.
But did I trust her word? Should I rent her out tonight? Or should I allow her at least a few days to acclimatise before giving her to someone else?
A stab of white-hot jealousy caught me completely unaware.
That emotion was foreign to me. I hadn’t felt the thorns of green-eyed covetousness since I was a fucking teenager losing my virginity to my older brother’s ex. Even as I’d filled her, I’d been jealous knowing other men had fucked her.
The envy had only lasted two weeks before I’d realised that there was nothing to be jealous of. That girls weren’t important enough to pine over. That I had much better things to concern myself with.
I scowled and killed any shred of possessiveness I felt toward this inconvenience and highly fucking dangerous goddess. Just because of my reaction to her, I would make her work. Shit, I’d work her harder than any of my other girls.
Four men a month?
Perhaps it should be four a week. Farming her out often would ensure any interest I had would evaporate. Thanks to hearing the praises from the guests who’d had her, seeing their smirking satisfaction, reading their gushing feedback on her talents, I’d be firmly put in my place and her in hers.
Fuck.
The doctor nodded professionally. “Sounds as if you’re fully aware of your body and what you put inside it.”
“I am.” The withering look she gave me could’ve peeled paint off walls. I physically felt it. A lash of acid and acrimony. “I don’t let junk food or unhealthy things get anywhere near me.”
I smiled sadistically, wanting very much to say she’d inserted two of my fingers inside her voluntarily yesterday. I should remind her of her performance begging for my cock. I wanted to shove my hand under her nose and make her sniff her dried desire from before.
She’d had something unhealthy inside her.
She’d had me.
And if I couldn’t break this unnatural fucking fascination toward her, she’d be suffering a lot more.
I’d fuck her.
I’d tie her to my bed and ride her whenever the mood struck.
Screw lucrative contracts and eager guests.
It was my turn to enjoy a goddess. After all, this was my Elysium, not hers.
Christ, I’d gone bipolar. One second, I’d confirmed my intention to use her value for my gain, and the next, I squandered away her potential all so I could have a taste.
Back the fuck off, Sully.
She is what she is.
Nothing more.
A quiet knock sounded. The door opened without waiting for admittance, and Cal strolled in. His navy suit was as pristine as if he’d been working in a high-rise with a low-set thermostat. It didn’t matter it was pushing thirty-four degrees centigrade outside with a humidity factor of ninety percent; we were running a business, not enjoying a vacation, and business deserved the correct attire.
Not because of the stupid image but because a suit was power. A suit made other suits bow in respect. A suit kept the unruly men who paid to fuck my girls tight under my iron thumb.
Eleanor couldn’t keep her dislike off her face as Cal marched to her with a dewy-icy glass full of delicious looking smoothie. A twizzle stick and straw sat up in the thick pink liquid. Seeds from berries and glossy glow from almond milk ensured her system would be drenched in everything it needed.
Cal eyed me, then the doctor, before finally pinning his green gaze on Eleanor.
They didn’t speak but raging animosity filled the room between them. He passed her the smoothie soundlessly. She accepted wordlessly. He backed away, gave me a slight nod, then headed toward the door. “Her lunch will be in her room in thirty minutes, as you requested.”
I nodded as he sniffed in annoyance and exited the surgery, closing the door behind him, leaving a dirty trail of accusation and curiosity.
I got his wondering about my behaviour. I’d never stepped out of my role as law-maker and island-god before. But I wouldn’t tolerate his judgement.
Dr Campbell cleared his throat, all too aware of the tension between my new goddess and me.
Eleanor pointedly ignored me and attacked the smoothie as if she’d hunted it, killed it, and couldn’t wait for the first splash of berry-blood on her tongue.
I lurked by the wall, doing my best to stop yet another bolt of lust as her lips encircled the paper straw.
I wanted my cock to be that motherfucking straw.
I wanted it so bad my balls cramped with cum.
I wanted her more than the mountains of money she’d give me.
And that was the worst confession I could ever utter.
Chapter Seventeen
NOT ONLY HAD I been whisked away from Scott and normalcy, dumped on an island that could’ve been heaven on earth if it wasn’t for the deranged proprietor, but I’d also somehow ended up in an alternate dimension.
A paradox universe.
That was the only explanation for how I’d been bent over a boardroom table with Sully’s fingers inside me as a punishment this morning, to now staring at him over a table laden with plates, bowls, and every deliciousness on the planet this afternoon.
I hadn’t moved since he’d escorted me to my room, waved silently at the groaning fare displayed on a table that’d been elegantly dressed on the small deck outside my villa, then stalked behind me until we both sat awkwardly. Every move made us hyperaware of each other as if this was a very, very bad date.
I couldn’t help the way I ogled the food. The smoothie had granted some energy but hadn’t begun to fill the emptiness inside. My stomach snarled to devour every tasty morsel in sight, but I didn’t reach for a fork. I didn’t make any sudden moves around him...not after last time. Not after his temper had snapped the moment I’d tried to run.
It seemed we both had a gift at controlling our impulses. I’d managed to stay silent in Mexico, for the most part. I’d done okay swallowing down what I truly wanted to say—until Sully gave me no choice but to be swept away on an avalanche of insinuations and complaints.
And he’d almost gotten his anger under control after my outburst. He’d used tricks and familiar methods to dampen his rage, so he never broke the suave character of unruffled businessman he portrayed.
Yet all it’d taken to break him was for me to bolt.
A knee-jerk reaction to get away from him had bulldozed past his walls and ensured he was as much a slave to his outbursts as I was to mine.
I glared at him across the table, cursing the feathering scents coming off each dish. Paprika and garlic and smoky notes all shot up my nose with coaxing appeal.
Three-tier plates held selections and temptations of every exotic meal imaginable. However, there was no Western food. If I guessed, I’d say most of the menu was Indonesian.
Is that where we are?
My breath caught. I hadn’t had time to think how adrift I felt, not knowing where in the world I was currently residing. But with one hint of a location, my heart galloped to know more.
I didn’t want to be the first to speak. I didn’t want to seem as if I’d accepted his presence or was in any way grateful for his help. The embarrassment I’d already suffered from him driving me to such filthy acts yesterday was layered with yet more chagrin now that I’d fainted in front of him.
Two things I would never have done in front of anyone, let alone him.
I’d never fainted in my entire life.
I positively despised that he’d seen me that weak—even though it was his fault. Just like yesterday was his fault. Just like all of this is his fault!
My anger sprang from nowhere, breaking any hesitation in reaching for the food. Screw him if I moved too quickly. Fuck him for making me afraid.
Snatching a small noodle dish with crispy shallots and a fried egg on top, I snapped, “Where in Indonesia are we?”
Sully froze in his black canvas chair. His blue eyes mimicked the sparkling ocean behind him; the sun painted him in golden graces. Just like in his office, his skin didn’t shine from sweat, his heavy five o’clock shadow was immaculate, his suit without a wrinkle.
He might have a volcano for a heart, silent and seething, puffing the occasional threat of smoke, but when provoked he overflowed. His temper was magma, his lust red-hot lava, the power of his rage spilled out over everything, burning, mutilating, until finally cooling to suffocating ash.
“Clever.” He moved gracefully, cricking his neck like he did in the boardroom and placing his arms on the chair rests. “What makes you think you’re in Indonesia?”
I chewed a mouthful of the best tasting noodles in my life. I didn’t rush. Not for him. I savoured every bite, and when I swallowed, I blotted my mouth daintily with a napkin.
Finally, I pinned him with a stare. “This is Mie Goreng. It’s an Indo dish.”
“And you know that how?”
“I might be young, but I’m not stupid.” I dug deeper into the nest of noodles, peering at the ingredients, ready to take another bite.
Huh.
No prawn.
No chicken.
Normally, I had to shove aside meat in dishes people gave me without asking if I was a meatasaurus. In this dish, however, only fresh veggies and saturated flavours waited for my fork.
His nostrils flared as he tipped his head in a half-mocking bow. “So, you’re clever at deducing information from your surroundings.”
“Don’t mock me.”
His eyebrow arched. “Mock you?”
“You sound totally shocked that I might have a brain.”
He ran a hand over his mouth, never taking his piercing sea gaze off me. “Oh, I know you have a brain, Eleanor Grace. And a wicked sharp tongue to match.”
I vibrated with words clambering up my throat. I’d put my wicked tongue to use by flaying him alive with yet more harsh truths of his treatment, but...I’d just said I wasn’t stupid.
And picking yet another fight before I’d eaten would be stupid.
Antagonising him before I had a chance to stuff as much of this delicious fare into my mouth as possible would be the epitome of stupid.
It would also be horribly wasteful.
Ignoring him, I reached for another bowl holding chargrilled aubergine drizzled with peanut sauce. Stabbing the perfectly cooked vegetable, I couldn’t hold back my moan as a perfect blend of ginger, peanut, and rich eggplant exploded on my tongue.
Wow.
He chuckled under his breath. “You didn’t like my elixir, but you like my food.”
“Your elixir is an abomination.”
“Yet my food is a blessing.”
“It is when you starved me.”
He nodded and fanned his fingers out in surrender. “Touché.”
Leaning back in my chair, I refused to study him. To try and read what he kept hidden. I just let basic survival be my shield. “Why are you still here? I don’t need babysitting and I thought you didn’t demean yourself by spending any more time than necessary with your ‘goddesses’.”
“You say that word like it’s filthy.”
“It is.”
“They don’t think so.”
“They’re trapped and brainwashed girls. Wait until I remind them of what a gilded cage you’ve ensnared them in.”
He laughed again, cold and calculating but with a thread of heat. “Go ahead. Tell them. They’ll soon put you in your place.” He leaned forward, stabbing his elbows into the table and steepling his hands. “Let me remind you that my girls crave me. They want me, not just for the term of our contract, but forever.” His voice lowered, as if one could be hiding in the bushes watching us. “If they saw this...saw us, you’d probably not be well-liked. They’d be...” He smiled slow and wolf-like. “Jealous.”
“Jealous because I’ve somehow caught the attention of a monster? What poor, delusional souls.”
His smile turned sharper with white canines. “Jealous because you’ve only been here one night and already you’ve enjoyed more of my company than any of their days combined.”
I rolled my eyes. “Lucky me.”
His gaze tightened, the blue of his irises darkening with warning. “I’m keeping myself on a tight leash, Goddess Jinx, but just because I’m allowing you liberties, don’t think for a fucking moment that I can’t take them away.”
Goosebumps darted over my skin.
How did he do that?
How did he change his voice from plush velveteen to deadly dagger?
Shuddering in my chair, I didn’t back down. No matter how reckless I’d been, I still couldn’t control my suicidal rage toward this man. I had a physical reaction to his presence. I itched with overwhelming hate. “Well, please tell your jealous goddesses that I’ll happily trade places. I’d be overjoyed to be inconsequential to you, rather than some puzzle you’re trying to solve.”
“Why do you think you’re a puzzle?” He watched me like a hunter.
I stabbed a fork in his direction. “Because of the way you’re looking at me right now.”
“Like how?” He scowled, wrinkling his roguish face.
“Like you can’t understand why you want me. As if you’re debating if you should drag me into the sea and drown me or...” I bit my lip, shutting myself up.
Stop it.
Just eat.
Ignore him.
I speared a caramelized carrot, dripping in sweet and spicy sauce. Biting it in two, I chewed with utmost concentration, replacing the tingling heat of our conversation with the numerous dishes waiting for my belly.
“Or what?” he murmured, his voice licking like island air—heavy, hot, and entirely too decadent.
I ate another carrot, hating the knots in my stomach caused by his stare, cursing the pebbling of nipples that were chaffed and sore from my over-sexed ministrations yesterday.
“Tell me, Eleanor, should I drown you or...”
I shivered, stabbing a piece of garlic-infused morning glory. Crispy fried tofu rested on top of the green veggies and its pretty yellow flowers.
He sighed, arching his hips as if making room for yet another hard-on. “We both know what you don’t want to say. And...” He wiped his mouth again as one hand disappeared beneath the table. His bicep flexed as he fisted himself. “You’re right.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“It doesn’t mean you’re not thinking it. That I’m not thinking it. That every second I sit here, pretending to be a gentleman, entertaining you as if you were my guest and not my property, that it’s not there...in the background, tainting everything.”
My hands shook as I selected a dish with pumpkin and coconut cream. “You’re ruining my appetite.”
“Our conversation is ruining your appetite, or the knowledge that I’m fighting every fucking instinct not to drag you into that villa and fuck you until you pass out again?”
My fork clattered to the table, spraying the white linen with coconut cream. I braced my spine and stared him dead in the eyes. “Why don’t you then? You’ve threatened me enough. Just get it over with.”
He groaned as he forced his hand off his erection and back onto the armrest. “If I did, I doubt I’d stop even if you did pass out.”
“Is that meant to scare me?”
“Does it?”
“Of course, it does.” I sneered. “I could sit here and tell you that you’re never going to touch me. That I won’t allow it. But we both know that’s a lie. It’s a lie because you’re ten times stronger and twice as big.” Brandishing a butter knife, I added, “To be honest, I’m tired of all of this. I’m tired of you. I’m tired of this place. I’m tired of being afraid. I’d rather you just did whatever you’re going to do then left me the hell alone.”
Tears pricked but not from grief. They were made up of pure liquid rage. I’d hoped I might avoid being this bastard’s plaything. I’d hoped that whatever strange and undeniable hum existed between us would die before he touched me again.
But...sitting there, with the pretence of lunch between us and the lapping ocean creeping higher up his shores, I couldn’t be naïve any longer.
This was an island of sex.
The chances of escaping before I had to provide such a service were slim to non-existent, but it didn’t mean I’d ever stop trying. Man after man, night after night, I would submit to this asshole’s commands because I had no choice, but I would never stop trying to reclaim my freedom.
But how could I vanish when he never stopped watching me?
