Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 77551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
He rises abruptly, nearly toppling the table over. “Get up,” he commands.
I stare at him. At the ferociousness in his eyes.
I’ve seen it before. The first night, in his suite...
My heart thumps.
I’m in love with River. River, with whom I shared my secret. River, who is helping me out of a sticky wicket.
God help me, River...
I bared my secret to him. Then bared my soul to him. Confessed my love to him.
And...
And...
He didn’t say it back. Didn’t return my love, and then left the island for a reason unknown to everyone but him.
So I obey Sebastian.
I rise, face him, stare into his fiery gaze. Show him that I have the courage to go wherever he chooses to lead me.
He moves to my side of the table, grips my shoulders, and crushes our mouths together.
His lips are hot and demanding. Insistent and not even slightly gentle.
This is a storm—a barrage of raw emotion that threatens to sweep me away.
So much like River was on our first night together.
But River isn’t here.
This is Sebastian. Beautiful Sebastian with his flowing hair and sculpted jawline. His scent fills me—the ocean, musk, and something distinctly him. My heart races, the unexpectedness of our connection rendering me nearly immobile.
I love River.
I love River.
But River...
He doesn’t love me. If he did, he would have told me when I confessed my feelings to him.
Sebastian tangles his fingers in my hair as he deepens the kiss, pressing me closer to him. My heart skips at the intensity, at the raw mix of pain and longing emanating from him.
“Sebastian,” I gasp out when we finally break apart, my breath hitching.
The look in his eyes is impenetrable—a tempestuous sea of emotions I can't quite decipher.
He doesn't respond. Instead, he grabs my hand, interlacing our fingers together, and marches towards the beach. The silken sand beneath our feet does little to soften the harshness of his grip. Every step we take is guided by his resolve, the same resolve that echoed in his gaze minutes ago.
The waves, gentle in their endless rhythm, break on our feet. The soothing sound is at odds with the storm raging inside Sebastian, mirrored in the tight clench of his jaw and the steel in his eyes.
“Where are we going?” I ask through the lump building in my throat.
He doesn’t respond.
I want to protest. I want to demand answers that I know he will not give. Instead, I let him guide me along the shoreline, each step imprinting a pattern of mixed emotions on the soft sand.
We walk for what seems like eternity when suddenly he halts, pulling me so close that our breaths mingle. His grip around my hand tightens as he turns to face me, his eyes burning like twin flames.
“This,” Sebastian says quietly. “This is where we stop, Emily. This is where I’m going to finish what we started the first night. This is where I fuck you.”
I gasp. My white sundress clings to me, though the way Sebastian is eyeing me, it may melt off my body and float away in the ocean. “Brett and Misty are out here somewhere.”
“Your point?” he says, sliding one of my dress’s straps over my shoulder.
Despite the balmy evening, I shiver.
I love River. I truly do.
But Sebastian...
He seems to need me tonight. River doesn’t need me. If he did, I’d be with him. He wouldn’t have left me here for some other man to scoop up.
A pang of jealousy hits me. Ariel found her match with Alex. I was sure I’d found mine with River.
How could I have been so wrong?
So I meet Sebastian’s hot gaze. Slide my hand up to cup his stubbled cheek.
“All right,” I say, my voice steady. “Do it then. Fuck me, Sebastian.”
He yanks the other strap of my dress over my shoulder. The dress falls to my waist, baring my breasts.
Nothing new. He’s seen them before.
But still, the catch in his breath pleases me. I drop my gaze to his crotch.
Ah, yes.... A beautiful bulge.
He cups my breasts, squeezes them, and not gently. He pinches one nipple and then the other, making me gasp again and again. The sensation travels between my legs in record time.
I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling myself closer. Our bodies intertwine, fitting together like two missing puzzle pieces. His mouth descends on mine again in a searing kiss that wipes all rational thought from my mind. All I can think about is Sebastian and the way he’s making me feel.
When he breaks the kiss, he growls, “Get rid of the dress, Emily, or I’ll tear it off you.”
A shudder at his command. Though I’m tempted, this garment is one of my own designs, and I can’t bear the thought of it in shreds.
I slide it over my hips and then step out of the white puddle it creates at my feet.