Ouch. At least he was honest. “So you don’t think you can fall in love with me.”
“In time, I’m sure I will.”
“Wow.” She uttered a laugh. “That’s a consolation.”
“Don’t be sarcastic, kitten.”
“What makes you so sure you’ll be able to fall in love with me?”
“Because you drive me fucking insane, all right?” He speared his fingers through his hair. “Can we talk about feelings later? We need to find a way out of this fucking mess. We need to make sure Juan never locks you in his room or anywhere for that matter again.”
Her chin quivered with unshed tears. “I want you to leave.”
He groaned. “Asia.”
“I’m exhausted. I can’t deal with your testosterones right now.”
He reached for her, but she sidestepped his touch.
“Don’t do this, kitten.”
She looked away. “I need some space tonight.”
“What you need is my arms around you. You’ve been stimulated for hours. You need more than a quick hump on my leg.”
She turned her face back to him quickly. “Everything is about sex for you.”
“You know that’s not true,” he said in a reasonable tone, regarding her from under his lashes.
Pulling her back straight, she pointed at the door. “Leave. Now.”
He didn’t budge. “Why aren’t you wearing my pendant?”
Was that another sign of ownership in his eyes? Because Juan put a collar on her, Sean had to put one on her, too? Enough of this ownership bullshit.
“Get the hell out,” she said through gritted teeth.
His eyes tightened. “Is that really what you want?”
Her reply was decisive, leaving no room for argument. “Yes.”
“Fine. I’ll respect your wish.” He turned on his heel and walked to the sliding door. Pausing with his hand on the handle, he said, “Don’t anger him if you can prevent it. Lie if you must. Do whatever you have to if it will keep his hands off of you. Just until Friday. That’s all I ask.” He looked at her from over his shoulder. “I’ll take care of the rest.” Not waiting for a reply, he disappeared into the dark.
A short walk early the following morning didn’t make Asia feel better, but it helped to clear her mind. She’d come to a conclusion. If she couldn’t beat Juan, she had to join him. One thing was sure—she wouldn’t risk Sean, not any longer. She wouldn’t nurture his ownership fantasies either. The game was far too dangerous. Besides, she was sick and tired of being treated like a sex object by the men around her. If Sean’s friend couldn’t pull her out by the end of the week, she’d have no choice but to leave with Juan. The more she thought about it, the more she came to realize that there might not be another way. She’d find her own way to escape. All she had to do was wait until an opportunity came along.
She needed to stand up for herself more. It was going to start with getting Sean’s pendant back. Seeing how important it was to him, it wasn’t fair that Juan should dump it in the trash. If she had to leave the island without Sean, she wanted to return his pendant before.
At seven-thirty, she walked to Juan’s unit. The guard at the front door stood aside for her to enter. Upstairs in the lounge, a cleaning lady looked up from polishing the wooden table. Asia squared her shoulders and walked down the hallway. She opened the bedroom door without knocking—surprise was a good attack tactic—and stopped in her tracks.
Juan was naked, pumping his hips into an equally naked woman whose legs were hooked around his ass. He looked up, meeting Asia’s gaze without slowing his pace.
She closed the door and backed away. Argh. She’d never be able to unsee that.
Going back to the lounge, she addressed the cleaning lady. “I lost something. You haven’t perhaps seen a necklace here on the table?”
The cleaning lady looked her up and down with distaste. She walked to the kitchen, pulled open a drawer, and produced Sean’s pendant.
“Thank you,” Asia said, twisting the pendant around her wrist.
A woman’s passionate scream echoed through the space as she saw herself out.
Juan didn’t show up for breakfast. At lunchtime, he exited his unit wearing swimming trunks and a towel draped over his shoulder. Noticing her where she sat on a deckchair not far from the beach, as far as the boundary he’d set allowed, he came over.
He fixed his gaze on the leather string around her wrist. The cleaning lady had no doubt told him what she’d been looking for.
“You took it back,” he said.
Desperation, or maybe hopelessness, made her brave. “You shouldn’t have taken it.” Yep. She’d definitely developed a silent death wish. “It has sentimental value.” She didn’t have to say for who.
He crouched in front of her chair. “You know why I fucked Tammy, don’t you?”