Total pages in book: 21
Estimated words: 21185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 106(@200wpm)___ 85(@250wpm)___ 71(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 106(@200wpm)___ 85(@250wpm)___ 71(@300wpm)
The swimming pool shimmers. The sound of cicadas singing lulls me. The twinkling summer stars lure me outside.
Not even sure where I’m going or why, I walk out, leaving the door open as a clue for Jett. Not that he needs it; I still feel his eyes on me. But I want this last moment of freedom.
I know he’ll snatch it quickly and trap me under him for the next seven days. That’s a given. Stalling is both foolish and reckless, but I can’t stop. If this is all the rebellion he’ll allow me while we’re together, I’m taking it. I want him to understand I’m not without my devices.
By the pool, the breeze picks up and whips through my hair. I set my wine aside and pluck the elastic band from around my wrist, using it to wind my long hair on top of my head. Then I tread to the side of the crystal-blue water and start shedding my clothes—shoes, dress, bra, underwear. In a blink, it’s all gone, and I’m bare.
I still don’t know where Jett is, but his stare has intensified. There’s no escape.
I drag in a deep breath and walk into the warm water. It envelops me like a soothing blanket. Shutting my eyes, I sigh.
“Are you incapable of following instructions?”
I start at the sound of Jett’s voice. Suddenly, he’s standing at the edge of the pool, mere feet away. How did he sneak up on me so quickly?
Never mind that. Will he give me another stitch to wear for the next seven days?
Turning, I cock my head at him to see he’s still wearing the same designer suit. “Not at all.”
“So you’re merely choosing not to.”
My smile is nothing short of mocking. “Something like that.”
“You understand I’m going to make you regret that?”
Excitement flips in my belly. “I’m sure you’ll try.”
Jett doesn’t merely smile at my snarky reply; he actually laughs like there’s a joke—and it’s on me. “Out of the water.”
“Or?”
“I’ll make you suffer.”
Thrill rushes through me. It dips low. I feel my sex swell and my womb clench.
He won’t actually hurt me. I know him well enough to know that. I’ve heard the whispers about who and what he is in bed.
“I already am. I’m giving up my work, my life, and my fiancé for a week. And I’m stuck with you.”
He rubs his palms together like they burn. “I’m going to count to five. If I have to come in after you, I’ll end our arrangement. You can go home. I’ll take my forty million and disappear. Your call.”
Damn it. I pushed him. I don’t think too hard, but he clearly wants some show of obedience. He wants proof I’m still choosing to be here. And he wants to know this week won’t be a constant tug-of-war. I can’t promise that. But I also can’t risk calling his bluff.
With a sigh, I wade back to the steps and slowly ascend. My shoulders break the surface of the pool, then my breasts, my hips, my thighs. Water clings and drips as I meet his gaze and make my way across the deck to him, one swaying step at a time.
Possessive hunger blazes in his dark eyes. He wants me. Just to fuck…or for something more? I can’t tell, but it’s obvious he craves every inch of skin he sees. He’s not even trying to hide it.
Less than two feet from him, I bow my head. Mostly because I can’t stand the triumph on his face…but I’ve also heard the expectations he has of his lovers. I’ve wondered so many times if the whispers are true.
“There were three parts of my command,” he points out.
You will strip. And you will kneel. Then you will wait for me.
I shiver. “I remember.”
“Are you cold?”
“No.”
I can almost feel his smile. “You’re finally naked. Part two now, please.”
My head rebels against this, but something far lower flutters with thrill. What does that say about me?
“If I don’t?” I ask.
“I won’t keep fighting you. And I refuse to spend the next seven days threatening you, Whitney. You agreed to my terms and you got in my car. If you can’t comply with these exceedingly simple commands, I’ll turn around and leave. I doubt our paths will cross again.”
He’s right. I haven’t seen Jett Dean, except in tabloid rags, since that summer all the promise between us burned away in a fiery blaze of betrayal.
I nibble my bottom lip.
Tick-tock. In my head, I hear time ticking away. I said yes in the bar because my only other choice is far less palatable.
Now I just have to find the courage to surrender to the man I’ve considered both my first love and my enemy since sixteen.
I swallow, steel myself, then kneel at his feet. The hard concrete beneath my knees presses unforgivingly into my skin. I’m still dripping, and the hot wind blows. Nothing about this is comfortable. But I don’t move as Jett scrutinizes me. I feel every second of his stare.