“If I’m thankful to Ethan, I’ll express it.”
He doesn’t lift his head. “You will not.”
“Well, you wouldn’t know if I meet him behind your back.”
I realise the severity of what I’ve just said too late. Jonathan’s attention zeroes in on me, his jaw clenching under his five o’clock shadow. “What did you just say?”
“I said I’m free to meet whomever I like.” I stand my ground, yet my fingers tremble. To say Jonathan looks scary right now would be an understatement.
“Repeat your exact words, Aurora.”
When I remain quiet, he abandons the tablet. I don’t notice it until he grabs me by the throat and tugs me to his side. His touch is firm, merciless, and while it usually turns me on, the expression on his face terrifies the hell out of me.
“Did you just say you’ll meet Ethan behind my fucking back? Is that it?”
“Well, if you don’t let me —”
“It’s a yes or no question,” he cuts me off.
“I won’t do it,” I whisper. Even though I like challenging Jonathan, stirring up his ugly side is an entirely different thing.
He gets weird about anything tha
t includes Ethan, and I sure as hell don’t want to get in the middle of that.
“You won’t do what?” His grip tightens on my throat, and this time, arousal expands across my skin.
During the days we’ve spent on this island, I’ve gotten used to his touch more than ever before. It might have to do with the different toys he keeps shoving up my arse. Whenever he fucks me with one inside me, I feel like my orgasm hits me from a dozen different places all at once.
But deep down, I know it’s not only because of the toys, punishments, or exotic positions. It’s because of him — Jonathan. The way he listens to me, the way he keeps telling me that the past isn’t my fault. I never knew I needed to hear those words from him until he said them.
Whenever we walk or lounge on the beach, we talk about everything. Our lives, our visions, and our goals. For Jonathan, it’s his pursuit of power. For me, it’s proving my artistic streak. The ability to somehow grasp the uncatchable time through design. He raised an eyebrow when I told him that was part of the reason why I chose watches. It might have started with the present Alicia brought me, but it was my fascination with the notion of time that became my driving force.
When I was little, I took time for granted. But after my life flipped upside down, I wanted to commemorate every second possible. When I told Jonathan that after losing my inhibition due to alcohol, he said he was proud of me. And I might have climbed him and demanded he take me then and there.
The fact that he’s turning out to be more than I ever thought I needed is pushing buttons I didn’t know I had.
I don’t know how it happened or why, but Jonathan has effortlessly become an undivided part of my life. I couldn’t get rid of him even if I wanted to.
That’s both terrifying and exciting.
Instead of answering his question, I deflect, “Why do you hate Ethan so much?”
“You know.”
I shake my head in his hold. “It’s not only because of Alicia’s death. If anything, he also lost his factory, wife, and nine years of his life. If you compare things, Ethan had endured more damage than you.”
He traces my jaw with a deceptively tender thumb. “Are you taking his side, wild one?”
“I’m just stating facts. I…I want to get to know you.”
“And you think decoding my relationship with Ethan would do that?”
“Whether you like to admit it or not, he’s the only one you consider a worthy rival.”
“Worthy isn’t the word I would use. Try infuriating.”
“Come on, tell me what it’s all about.”