She finally took notice of the elaborate brunch laid out on the table. The luxury cabin didn’t come with its own kitchen which meant food was brought in. When the aroma of food reached her nose, her belly started to growl. She hoped no one heard the rumbling.
William and Benny excused themselves and Parker took the seat opposite her.
Sitting down reminded her that her backside still suffered the residual effects of his punishment. Together with that came the shame that she had begged him to make her come.
But soon her embarrassment turned to anger. How dare he touch her like that? Make her forget her morals, her values? Surely, she had to have more self-respect. How could she sit there with him and eat with him as if nothing had happened?
He had deceived her father, and for what? A piece of land. Married her against her will, kidnapped her on a cruise by buying the whole freaking ship, and then he had spanked her, peeled down her defenses the same way he had peeled down her panties.
Where was her pride?
Allowing her indignation to grow, she filled her plate with cottage cheese pancakes, eggs Benedict, then what looked like strawberry parfaits. She also took some sausages, pies, and traditional hash browns. On another plate, she piled on scones and pastries. As hungry as she was feeling, she planned to sample everything.
Maybe it was the clean ocean air that made her feel so ravenous. Maybe it was the man sitting opposite her, which explained why she couldn’t be in his company any longer. He hadn’t mentioned eating with him was one of the rules she had to follow. Not like sleeping in his bed.
She stood up, slipped a bottle of water under her arm, gathered a napkin and her two plates, and retreated to the second bedroom.
She couldn’t understand the need to cry once she closed the door and it made even less sense that as soon as she sat down at the desk and started to eat, tears rolled down her face. How much of a wreck could she possibly be?
Everything was wrong. She hated him for what he had done to her family. And yet she wanted to feel his touch again, so she could close her eyes and imagine him the way she had before in her fantasies. Before she knew he was in fact just a greedy businessman.
She cleaned her plates and probably cried as much in calories as she had eaten. Okay, maybe she was exaggerating a little.
Done feeling sorry for herself, she vowed not to shed another tear on her hopeless situation. She dozed off for a little and that helped her eyes to rest as well but she wasn’t ever leaving the room unless it was to get food.
She glanced out the window and the sight took her breath away. The sun, a fiery orb shone brightly in the afternoon sky. Everything beyond looked like a tranquil piece of blue paradise.
The sentiment to never leave her room didn’t last long.
Acting on impulse, she marched from the room into the main bedroom. There, she snagged a two-piece swimsuit. She was supposed to be on holiday for crying out loud.
Not having her whole life tilted off its axis. And from the bedroom window, she had also seen what looked like a private pool area. Of course, it made sense that the luxury suite would come equipped with all those private amenities. It was a villa really and she had also spotted a hot tub, but the pool called to her more.
The weather was perfect, and she was going to distract herself from everything Parker had done to her by taking a swim and basking in the sun.
Before she could change her mind, she slathered herself in sunscreen, the smell of coconut oil lightening her spirits already then slipped into the turquoise bra and bikini set.
She grabbed a pool towel, wrapped herself in it then strode out the door.
Her heart stopped for a full beat when she passed Parker in the lounge area, seated behind a desk, working on his laptop.
Obviously, she had mentally prepared herself for seeing him again in case he was still in the suite, but nothing could ever prepare her when her gaze fell over him, no matter how many times she saw him.
He was utterly too handsome. In a conventional way, yes but he also had a streak of darkness and mystery and danger and power that made her knees weak. He was an alpha male in every sense of the word, and he knew it. And he expected everyone else around him to know it too.
He could also kill her with his bare hands if he wanted if he was indeed the mafia. Strangely, she didn’t fear for her life. Just her body.
She said nothing to him but the weight of his gaze on her burned hotter on her skin than the bright sun outside would have.
It also didn’t help that she blushed nine million shades of red, reliving everything he had done to her in one steamy hot reel.
No. She had to stop thinking about the spanking. About him making her come. Those were the kind of thoughts that were going to ruin her.
When a tiny voice inside her head said he had ruined her already, she promptly shut it down.
She couldn’t love a man who had so callously destroyed her father and her over a piece of land.
Chapter Five