“Seriously?” She adjusts her hair, blinking rapidly, still in the grip of the orgasm. “You’re sending me back right now?”
“Go,” I say, gesturing. I pick up her phone and hand it over. Fortunately, nothing’s broken. “We have a lot of unloading to do tonight.”
“Asshole.” She takes the phone and walks off. I watch her go, my heart racing.
When she’s gone, I nearly collapse.
The hand around her throat. That set her off. But what is it about choking that scared her so damn much?
It’s got to have something to do with her raspy voice.
I lean a hand against the wall and close my eyes.
I need to watch her closely. No more letting her roam freely. Kaye’s dangerous, much too dangerous. She might be even worse than I expected.
If I’m going to keep my enemy in my home, I’ll need to make sure she’s muzzled and declawed.
Chapter8
Kaye
I’m dizzy and confused when I stumble back out into the main caves. Paola finds me and we fall back in together, and I keep my mind off what happened back there as we finish unloading the boat, ride in the Jeeps back to Calico House, and carry the cases into the basement. When that’s done, I disappear into my room, close the door, lock it, and wrap the covers over my head.
When his hand wrapped around my throat, I thought I might throw up.
It was a visceral physical reaction. I froze, completely froze, and my mind flashed back to that night again. I felt his hand, but it was also the hands choking me, and I couldn’t separate the two—until he started to speak. And he kept touching me, sliding his fingers in and out, and the pleasure mingled with the panicked fear, and something about the tenor of his voice managed to drag me back into my body. It wasn’t the words exactly, but the way he said them and finally, finally—he was right.
When I came, it was like I shattered through something.
His hand around my throat still freaked me out, but it wasn’t the body-numbing horror it’d been at first.
I don’t know what this means. I don’t know what any of this means.
Except I do know that he wants me to stop asking around about Lucy.
Which only makes me that much more suspicious.
I fall asleep finally, but wake up early after ugly dreams. I get out of bed, pull on my workout gear, and leave the house behind. My head’s a mess of dream-images and memory, and I keep feeling Emilio’s hand on my throat. He didn’t squeeze, just like he promised, but even still.
I need to get that image out of my head.
I hike down the path and into the jungle. I head away from Calico House, and once I reach a higher rise with a decent view of the island, I pause and stare around me.
The campus is to my left. Calico House is ten minutes further down the path. To my left is jungle, and beyond that, cliffs overlook the ocean. I close my eyes and remember the map I memorized a long time ago depicting the spot where Lucy supposedly fell. It’s not too far from here, or at least I don’t think it is. I head along a trail that feels like it’s moving in the correct direction, away from the hidden caves where Emilio’s boat is parked, and further into the unclaimed sections of the island.
Nobody lives here. It’s all jungle and animals. I watch out for snakes, stupid Nathan and Dom still in my head, and walk faster as the sun starts to rise. I’ll have to skip my early class at this point, but whatever, it’s fine.
I need to do this, and I need to do it now.
I’ve been too afraid to come out here. I’ve been wanting desperately to see the place where my sister had her last moments, but I’ve been too afraid until now.
For some reason, I have the strength to do this.
I think of Emilio, his hand, the hot wax, his lips on my nipples, his fingers between my legs.
I don’t know what game he’s playing, but it’s breaking me.
And building me back up.