Goddess isles boxed set, p.39
Goddess Isles Boxed Set, page 39
I stood taller, knowing how grandiose and how silly I would seem. A shipwrecked girl in her master’s shirt, totally at his mercy for food, shelter, and care. And I had the audacity to tell him he wasn’t the monster he portrayed—at least not all of him.
“You treat your own kind with a merciless disgust that is frankly terrifying. You have no patience or empathy, which makes you cruel and unforgiving—”
“Eleanor—” His brows set heavy, shadowing eyes that turned dark cerulean.
“No, let me finish.” I sucked in a breath, forcing myself to say, “You might not have tolerance for your own species, but you do for others. You are endlessly kind and achingly emphatic toward animals, and that...that I can respect.” I shrugged. “If you treat me half as good as you do your creatures, then I will trust that you will look after me and let me go in four years.”
Tears clutched my throat, exhausted tears, unhappy tears, tears misguided and misled by my stupid, idiotic heart. “All I ask is...that you stop looking at me as a goddess...but as one of your animals. I have no hidden agenda; I plot no war against you. I am merely a creature existing at your mercy, just like Skittles, just like Pika, just like those poor beasts we saw today. I would rather be an animal to you than human—”
“Stop.” He stepped into me, both his hands capturing my cheeks, sliding into my hair, dragging me to him. His height folded around me, acting as a shield. His forehead pressed against mine, our noses brushed, our eyes locked. “You are not an animal.”
I struggled to breathe, inhaling him, consuming him. “If it means you’ll like me, then I want to be.”
“Why do you think I’ll like you if you’re an animal?” His thumbs traced my cheekbones, dipping to the crease of my lips. He pressed gently, teasing with his touch, dipping into the corners of my mouth.
“Because you like all animals.” I tasted his skin, unable to stop my tongue flicking over the tip of his thumb. “And maybe...you could learn to like me.”
He shuddered. “I could never like you.” With a groan, he pulled away, still trapping my head in his hands.
My insides folded in on themselves, my heart into my stomach, my stomach into my core. Acid and passion and hope all mingling in a painful concoction.
“Why?” My question feathered with breathlessness. I’d hoped I could strike a bargain before we went our separate ways. I’d wished to form some sort of contract that would ensure I wouldn’t have to fight against him anymore.
That we could be...friends.
He dropped his hands from my cheeks to my throat, his thumbs pressing on my windpipe, his fingers clutching my nape, buried under my hair. It was a position of power and threats. He could crush my ability to breathe with one squeeze. He could snap my neck with one twist. But he held me tenderly, all while black desire filled his gaze. “I could never like you, Eleanor Grace, because you could never be an animal.” He pulled me close, running his nose along my neck, nuzzling at my ear. “Animals don’t fill me with rage like you do. They don’t make me lust like you do. Animals are weak. Even the ones with fang and poison are ultimately at our mercy.” He pressed a kiss against my temple, all the while holding me trapped. “I grant creatures my fortune and protection because I owe them a debt. Meanwhile, I owe you nothing.” Pulling away, he looked deep into my eyes. “To call yourself an animal is the biggest lie of all. To try to gain my affection through pity and obligation will never happen.” His thumbs pressed harder against my windpipe.
I swallowed, fighting to dislodge his control. “Why?” I shifted, unintentionally rubbing my body against his.
His eyes snapped closed, a growl rumbled in his throat as he pulled me to him. His voice continued to echo with something primitive as he murmured, “Because you are not weak. You are not defenceless. If you were an animal, then you’d be the most dangerous of them all. You would have the power to shred me limb from limb. Your claws would kill me. Your teeth devour me. If you were an animal, Goddess Jinx, then I would have to fucking bow to you.”
Chapter Twenty-One
I STOOD IN FULL view of goddesses and staff, clutching a girl who’d broken me.
She’d been the first and the only to figure me out.
The first to paint herself in a light that ensured I’d never be able to see her as just human, ever again.
“I would rather be an animal to you than human.”
“Because you like all animals.”
“And maybe...you could learn to like me.”
Christ.
Three strange, simple sentences, yet...once again, it changed everything.
She changed everything.
She changed me.
Her voice slammed through the walls around my heart, smashed the remaining islands and oceans that kept me removed from my own species, and gave me no room to hide anymore.
So...I lied.
I held her firm and told her I could never like her, but I told her the truth when I said I would have no choice but to bow at her feet.
I would bow there and then.
My knees threatened to buckle. My lips snarled to crash against hers. I’d used both her names: her legal name to convince her of my broken truth, and her goddess name to remind her of her place.
I admitted that she meant something, all while demoting her from woman to plaything.
She didn’t move in my hold. Her lips apart, her eyes grey moons, her face flushed with a rapidly racing heart.
All it would take was a kiss.
A single kiss.
Right there.
On the shores of my untouched world.
And it would all be over.
I’d claim her. Take her back to my villa. Taste her. Touch her. Talk to her.
Trust her.
And that...that was far, far too dangerous.
It only took a few seconds from her request and my confession, but it felt as if the sun had spun around us and returned. I honestly didn’t know how to let her go—to separate from this girl and leave her behind.
So...I should’ve been grateful for the guest who did it for me.
“Ah, you’re back, sir.” Arbi’s accented tone wriggled its way through the tense awareness between the girl held captive in my hands and my own ridiculously disobedient heart. A man stood beside him in the requisite pressed shorts and polo of expensive holidaymakers.
A new guest.
Shit.
I swallowed and dropped my hands.
Eleanor swayed.
I turned my back on her, digging my hands into my pants pockets. Arbi nodded respectfully even though his eyes held questions. Questions he’d never get answers to as it wasn’t his fucking business.
My gaze skipped over the rest of the shoreline, hoping no goddesses had spied on me, that no one else saw my downfall.
Only one woman stood in full twilight.
Jealousy.
The moment my eyes snagged hers, she bowed and darted back into the shadows. She already knew something was amiss. How could she not after I’d practically fallen out of the bathroom after kissing Jinx?
“Sir...this is Mr. Roy Slater.” Arbi motioned to the man who sipped on a pina colada one of my staff would’ve made him.
Roy grinned, revealing white, straight teeth. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Sinclair.” He held out his hand, eagerly pumping my palm when I extended welcome civility.
Jinx stepped forward, out of my shadow and straight to my side, her willowy frame stoic in the sand. A small sea breeze fluttered my shirt around her thighs, threatening to reveal her nakedness to this new guest.
I didn’t know why that bothered me. Why another man appreciating the girls I offered to rent made me want to shed my skin and turn full murderous wolf.
“Welcome, Mr. Slater.” I swallowed, doing my best to eradicate the thread of violence in my voice. “I trust your journey wasn’t too long.”
Slater nodded and sipped his cocktail. “The flights were monotonous, but what a place you have here. Totally makes up for the jetlag and shitty airplane food.”
I forced a smile. Normally, I was here for each guest’s arrival. They weren’t allowed a moment extra on my island if they weren’t vetted and approved. How long had he been here? Guarded by Arbi?
Arbi sensed my question, saying, “Mr. Slater only landed fifteen minutes before you, sir. I advised him you would personally welcome him.” Arbi smiled and bowed. “I’ll leave you two gentlemen. Excuse me while I ensure Mr. Slater’s villa is ready for him.”
I kept my back ramrod straight as Arbi left and I eyed this new guest.
Slim, medium height, brown hair, late fifties but obviously looked after himself. His arrival dossier stated he’d been a dental surgeon with his own practice until his son took over. He then used his savings to buy fifty/fifty shares in a new start-up company that’d revolutionised dental implants and bone grafting for serious jaw impairments. He bought the shares at pennies; they were now worth forty dollars each. That sort of instant wealth went to his head, and he started indulging in legal and now illegal forms of expenditure.
Slater shifted a little under my intense stare. “Everything okay?” He chuckled self-consciously. “Do I have coconut froth on my chin?” He rubbed at his face.
I twisted my lips into a smile. “I apologise. Just part of the arrival process.” I narrowed my eyes, unable to decide if he was a well-concealed heathen or a respectful man who just wanted to indulge in a sexual fantasy.
His file said he had a close relationship with his son and newly wedded daughter-in-law. That he gifted them funds to build a house, set up their own nest egg, and stated he couldn’t wait to become a grandfather.
His eyes gave nothing away about a dirty bastard inside him.
Begrudgingly, I admitted he could stay.
Almost immediately, I wanted to revoke that acceptance as his hazel gaze left mine and latched onto Eleanor beside me.
Desire instantly ignited his face. His hands clutched tight around his gay-ass cocktail. His body straightened and stiffened all at once.
It took everything I had not to snatch Jinx and shove her behind my back, away from his greedy stare. I wanted to rip the clothes off my body and drape them over her to hide her beauty from this leech.
I already knew he’d request her.
What hot-blooded man wouldn’t? Even with her skin pink, hair wild, and body wrapped in a creased shirt?
It wasn’t clothing or make-up that made her stunning—it was her very essence. The power and strength, the aloofness and impenetrable nobility.
Without looking at her, I commanded, “Leave. Go back to your villa.”
“But, I—” Her gaze heated my skin. “I didn’t—”
“I said—” I spun, pinning her with all my frustration and fury “—leave. I’ll deal with your insubordination later.”
Biting her lip, she looked between me and the guest. For the longest moment, she looked like she’d disobey. Finally, she nodded and, with elegant steps and long legs, bypassed the guest, then stormed up the beach.
Slater couldn’t tear his eyes off her, drinking in her every move.
The breeze caught the back of my shirt, revealing her toned ass and long thighs.
My fists curled as the guest beside me sucked in a breath.
We didn’t speak until Eleanor had vanished down a sandy laneway. I fought the urge to suckerpunch him in the eyeballs for ever seeing a fraction of her nakedness.
Rubbing his mouth, he turned to me full of seriousness. “I booked this trip because I was assured you’d created something otherworldly. I’m already fully impressed with the privacy and quality of your accommodations, but I’m absolutely blown away by the gorgeousness of your women.” He slipped into business mode, bracing himself for a negotiation. “I would like to request that creature. I would very much like to enjoy her...eh, company in my fantasy tomorrow night.”
All my insane pieces grew fangs and prepared to rip out his jugular.
But the final sane piece begged me to be smart.
Eleanor had broken me with a simple request. If she could do that in two short weeks, what else would she do to me? We had four years together. Four years that I seriously doubted we’d both survive.
The difference between men who were attracted to women and myself was...I didn’t want this attraction. I didn’t want the weakness, the indebtedness, the connection. I wanted to remain free.
She’d already proven she could tie me into fucking knots.
I’d almost fucked her on Serigala. I would’ve been inside her and most likely drowning if it hadn’t been for—
Skittles.
The tiny parrot hatched from a hapless egg. A firm reminder of why I didn’t do humans and why I would never trust another. Friend, family, or foe. They were all the fucking same.
Skittles had almost shoved me heart first into Eleanor’s curse. But...because of her chosen affection, she’d also saved me from the worst decision of my life.
I had to keep my distance.
I fucking refused to do anything else.
And what better way to keep my distance than to remind myself and Eleanor that our bond began with a contract and ended with a contract.
When I didn’t agree, Slater did what all men did when faced with something they desperately wanted and couldn’t accept losing. “I’ll pay any extra required. I’m happy to work with whatever figure you want to ensure a night with that girl.”
My throat closed up as I fisted my hands.
Eleanor was due in Euphoria.
A week from her first experience had passed. She was a commodity who had to work to deserve her place.
She’d run from me.
She’d destroyed me.
She was owed retribution for both unforgivable sins.
Inhaling hard, I held out my hand. “An extra two hundred thousand and she’s yours.”
A figure that any rational person would baulk at.
The most expensive sex on earth.
But Roy Slater didn’t even hesitate.
His palm slipped into mine.
We shook.
It was done.
I didn’t know who would be more ruined.
Eleanor.
Or me.
Chapter Twenty-Two
MY FINGERS DUG INTO the wave-inspired vanity.
Water dripped from my clean hair. Tears dripped from my lashes. Sun and shame painted my cheeks.
You’re so stupid, Ellie.
My reflection mirrored a girl who’d tripped out of the shower. Who’d washed her burned skin a thousand times and rinsed her hair a hundred, trying to bathe away the atrocity of her situation only to slam face to face with reality.
That guest.
That guest who stared at me as if I were some prime leg of lamb, bleeding and freshly butchered in a shop window.
And Sully.
His touch when he’d confessed to me. His iciness when he’d told me to leave.
In this circumstance, I wasn’t naïve. I’d known the moment he’d asked me to leave what he’d offer the guest.
Me.
He offered me.
My nails dug deeper into the smooth vanity.
More tears cascaded down my cheeks.
I hadn’t bothered to grab a towel—preferring the air to dry my skin. I was clean, but I couldn’t wash away the attempt at freedom. Tiredness smudged under my eyes. Bruises marked my body where I’d bashed against the kayak when I capsized. Scratches nicked my chest and arms when I’d walked through the undergrowth.
Each imperfection brought yet more idiotic tears to my eyes. I cried because I was back here. I cried because of what I had to face.
Would Sully take me to Euphoria tonight? Would that be my punishment? To serve a man with elixir in my veins, draining me of my final reserves?
Or would he let me recover?
Will he forget his promise to make me pay?
Don’t be idiotic.
I sneered at my reflection, cursing my long hair that needed a brush, hexing the stupid girl who thought she’d finally understood enough about Sullivan Sinclair to at least protect her body and soul...just a little bit.
He won’t forget.
He had even more reason to punish me now.
I asked him to see me as an animal!
I dropped my head, clenching my teeth hard.
What was I thinking?
That wasn’t the right thing to say. What did I expect? That he’d suddenly be nice to me? That he’d treat me like he treated Pika and Skittles?
That he’d love me?
God!
A noise wrenched my head up.
I spun around, facing the bedroom.
I hadn’t closed the door—what was the point? I expected to see a tiny parrot, but instead, I found a goddess with my silver lilied robe in her hands.
With a sad, understanding smile, she entered my bathroom and passed me the dressing gown.
Jealousy didn’t look at my nakedness, and I felt no shame in being bare. I felt more protected and dressed being nude with Jealousy than I had wearing Sully’s shirt in front of that guest.
Tears itched my eyes, and I took the robe with a half-shrug.
I’d been kissed, mauled, fucked, and manipulated since I’d arrived on this heinous island, but I hadn’t been hugged. I hadn’t had sympathy. I hadn’t had a friend.
Jealousy vibrated on my frequency, and without a word, she stepped into me. My robe pressed between us as her arms went around my damp body.
The moment she encircled me in an embrace, I let go.
Tears rained but no noise accompanied my breakdown. I’d brought this upon myself. I’d gambled with Sully and lost. I’d fought for my freedom and failed.
Whatever came next, I had to be strong enough to face. Otherwise...well...
How else will I survive four years?
As my tears flowed, I slowly hugged Jealousy back. Her embrace switched from consoling to clutching. A hug wasn’t enough anymore. We needed more. We needed pain to affirm we could still fight. Still battle this life we’d been given.
We clung to each other. Strong women and strong hearts, letting their façades fall in the safety of each other’s arms.
