“Who are you?” I squeal. “Get out, get out!”
“No sweetheart,” he says. “You belong to me. Or perhaps I should say, I belong to you as well.”
“What?” I shriek again. “I’ve never met you! Get out!”
By now, I’ve managed to pull a sheet over my rosy curves and stare at him while pointing my finger at the door. But the handsome man merely shrugs, and I have to admire the play of muscles beneath that tan skin. After all, the stranger is gorgeous. He’s got thick black hair and flashing blue eyes, along with a physique that would make a god jealous. Broad shoulders taper to a narrow waist with a wide chest covered in swirling tattoos. Not only that, but he’s got powerful arms, thick thighs, and a certain something hanging between his legs that makes me gasp.
“Get out!” I shriek again. “How can you not understand? Do you not comprehend English?”
Now he looks slightly annoyed.
“You know if you keep screaming, someone’s going to come. But trust me, they’re not going to rescue you. They’re just going to take one look at us and laugh while slinking away.”
Oh my god, he drives me crazy.
“Get out!” I scream again.
Before I realize it, there’s a hand over my mouth and he’s pressing me against his bronzed body.
“Shhh,” he soothes. “Pipe down, Ava. Nothing is wrong.”
What? How can nothing be wrong? This is wrong in about a million ways. But how does he know my name? I try to say something again, but all it comes out as is a muffled “mwmwmh.”
He looks at me, those blue eyes so bright they’re like lasers.
“If I take this hand away from your mouth, do you promise not to scream?”
I begin by shaking my head, but then realize it’s futile. Slowly, I nod, my eyes wide above his large palm.
He chuckles.
“I knew you’d be a good girl. With that, his hand slowly drops away and I take a deep inhale. I’m tempted to scream again, but I know if I do, this man will probably gag me and throw me into the closet. That, I want to avoid.
“Who are you?” I manage in a quivering voice. “What are you doing in my room?”
He shrugs and smiles at me again, like nothing’s wrong.
“The name’s Carver Temple,” he says casually, “and I’m your billionaire during your stay here at the Billionaires Island. AKA Maruba, in case you were wondering.”
I squint at him, unable to believe my ears.
“You’re who?” I demand again. “And this place isn’t called Billionaires Island. It’s Maruba. I saw the flight plan myself.”
He chuckles, reaching for a sheet to cover himself. Thank god because I was getting distracted by his length and width, which are astonishing. I want to look more but force my eyes away, focusing on that handsome face again. Damn, this man is gorgeous with cheekbones that could cut glass, a proud Roman nose, and a firm, square jaw. Where do they make men like this? Certainly not where I’m from.
But he merely chuckles again.
“Maybe you’re the one who’s not listening, sweetheart. Like I said, we’re here on Billionaires Island,” he repeats. “We call it Maruba because I don’t think the authorities would appreciate the name Billionaires Island. Governments and their tax authorities don’t exactly love that name, for obvious reasons. Nor do airports, come to think of it.”
Suddenly, I remember what Candy said on the plane. She called this place Billionaires Island too, didn’t she? I shake my head, confused.
“Well, even if this place is Billionaires Island, then what the hell are you doing? I was brought here to work, I’ll have you know, and you have intruded on my private space.”
He smirks at me a bit.
“It’s not exactly a private space if I have the key, is it?” he asks, holding up a golden key in his hand. “This is room 56, and you are Ava Carmichael, aren’t you?”
I feel my blood pressure begin to rise, and my face must look beet red now.
“How did you get that? How do you know my name? And how in the world do you have the key to my room? What the hell?”
Carver merely grins and dangles the key from his fingers again.
“Like I said, I am your billionaire during my stay here, and you are my woman. That means, we share our space and while I don’t love this little dorm room they have you in, we can hang out here if you like.”
I sputter.
“You are my billionaire? I am your woman? What does that even mean? I was hired to be a hostess for a very exclusive clientele here on Maruba, I’ll have you know.”
A black eyebrow quirks.
“Yes, and I am that very exclusive clientele.”
My jaw drops open.
“You’re one of the billionaires?”
He looks at me like I’ve eaten a frog.
“That’s what I’ve been saying all along, haven’t I? Ava, you should really get your hearing checked. There’s a company doctor on the island and maybe I should take you to see him because I’m starting to think that you don’t have all your marbles in place.”