Miss Ortiz, huh?
“Where are Kai and Callie?” I ask instead.
“Gone.”
A shiver crawls down my spine. “What did you do to them?”
“I let them go. And if you don’t tell me what you came to this island for, I’ll put you on the first boat to the mainland, so you can run to your Navy SEAL daddy with your tail between your legs.”
Blackmailing me.
Dick.
I wish I had the upper hand. I could choke him out again. One time didn’t teach him a lesson. But neither would the second one.
“So put me on the boat to the mainland,” I say carefully, testing him.
He cocks a brow in slight surprise.
That’s right. He’s curious now. He won’t get rid of me until he finds out more about Tsariuk.
“Yeah?” he drawls. “What are you gonna do back home? Run around with rednecks?”
His eyes drop to my lips, then back up to my eyes, and fuck, if it doesn’t stir me up.
I smile, holding his gaze, though it takes all my willpower not to drop it. “Maybe I’ll keep working for Aleksei Tsariuk.”
His gaze goes cold. He leans over, his lips brushing my ear. “As a personal escort?”
His warm breath gives me goosebumps. He caves me in, not even touching me anywhere, yet crowding me with his lean muscled body. He smells like the ocean. His clothes are damp, which makes me wonder what went on at the port with Droga this morning. It also makes me wonder what it would be like to take his clothes off and take a shower with him.
“You are in my personal space,” I manage to say because I feel this might be going somewhere else, which is a bad idea right now. I could so fuck this man and let him do dirty things to me. But not until I make a deal.
“Last time I checked, you didn’t mind,” he drawls, his nose brushing against my cheek as he moves his head to face me again.
Last time…
Only a day ago…
“I want to see you come, kitten.”
He is a taker. I knew it before I met him. He was born into wealth and power, but he is used to getting shit done on his own. It’s rare and dangerous.
I am a taker, too. I grew up among men and was taught that women can be equal if they don’t take shit from anyone.
This might be the only similarity between us. And that’s a problem. Like predators, we won’t share the same territory. Pity, really.
But I need him more than he needs me. I have to play nice. Or play myself down.
We stare at each other unblinkingly for the longest time, our warm breaths colliding in the inches between us. Until Archer pushes off the wall and takes a step back.
“So, Tsariuk,” he says, the heat in his eyes cooling, cutting me with disappointment at losing this heated moment.
“He’s looking for his daughter,” I say.
“Old news. She’s not here.”
“What if she is?”