“I can’t leave the island,” she said more forcefully. “There’s a—” She cut herself off.
He supplied, “A life beyond El Dorado Island?”
Eyes narrowing to slits, she stated, “It may sound idiotic to you, but I believe there’s a curse. Any time someone I love tries to leave the island, there are deadly consequences.”
Carter used to wonder himself if the island was cursed, but for different reasons. Ridiculous, he knew. “Sounds like a problem.”
“Uncle Russert was never attached to the hotel, so he doesn’t understand. He thinks I can pick up and take off on a whim.”
“Sure.”
“It’s not that simple. My life has never been simple—despite what people assume. There are expectations my father had, and I have to live up to them. To honor him.”
That hit a little too close to home. He shifted in his seat. “Honoring the dead is a complicated thing.”
“I don’t know why Daddy thought Steven Jacquard would make all our problems disappear.”
Carter folded his arms. Who the hell is Steve?
“But that’s who Daddy wanted me to marry.”
She got married? A surge of territorial instinct spiked his veins.
“Steven owned an advertising agency. He was brilliant at sales, a failure at morals. I knew he was sketchy. He kept putting off our wedding, promising the world. Daddy poured all his money into Steven’s schemes. Four years ago the guy disappeared with my father’s last nickel, and I threw my engagement ring off the boat docks.” She sniffed. “Which was stupid. I could use the money from that diamond right about now.”
So she wasn’t married . His shoulders relaxed.
Morbidly curious what else she’d reveal, he sat back and let her vent.
“We were never as rich as people thought, but that didn’t stop them from wanting money or favors. You never knew who to trust.” She gripped the stem of her glass. “Now my father is gone, I have no close friends, I can’t leave the island, my family heritage is up for auction, and a mountain of debt will haunt me for the rest of my life.”
She polished off her wine.
A tide of irritation rose up inside him.
First, she never expressed her fears and loneliness to him when they were together. Second, he’d experienced a parallel reality growing up even though their lives had been totally different. Third, when she talked about Steven Jackass, Carter felt...something. Deep down. And he couldn’t identify it. Like an infected splinter lodged under a fingernail where he couldn’t reach.
When it came to Ellie, he didn’t want to feel anything except the satisfaction of vengeance. Instead of investigating his frustration or giving into her sob story, he pretended to yawn. “I know. Life’s rough.”
Her fury sizzled in the air between them. “Why are you here, Carter?”
“Just enjoying happy hour.”
She shook her head. “Why did you come back to the island?”
He had to play this carefully. “Why do you think?”
“To make my life hell.”
“That’s right. It’s all about you, Ellie.”
She stiffened. “Go back to your beachfront hotels, and leave us alone.”
“What fun would that be?”
“It figures. You’re not happy unless someone is ripping me apart. I’ve gone a whole three hours without criticism. Thanks for doing the honors.”
Ellie scraped her chair back from the table and left the restaurant. Carter wasn’t far behind. He paid the tab, ignored the bartender’s advances, and headed back to his room alone.
Distractions weren’t going to give him what he wanted. He needed to narrow his focus on luring Ellie to him, while maintaining the detachment he’d perfected.
He noticed a blotch of red a few hundred yards away, the color of Ellie’s sweater. She moved quickly over the cobblestone path through a cluster of trees. Running away from the big bad wolf, are we?
Wearing a smug grin, he slowed his pace. “You can run but you can’t hide.”
You will be mine again .
Chapter 3
The following morning, Carter surfaced from forty-five minutes of laps in the Montgomery Hotel’s indoor pool. He shook his head to flick off the water. It might’ve been the chlorine messing with his eyes, but he swore he saw Ellie standing mostly naked on the other side of the pool room.
He shook his head again. The vision was real.
Ellie stood in a skimpy swimsuit, setting her robe and towel down on a plastic pool chair. The strapless bikini top cradled her breasts. Her sleek stomach curved like an hourglass to her hips. And those legs...
He imagined tracing her legs with the tip of his tongue, up her thighs to her juncture. His hands clenched water. After he finished tasting her there, he’d wrap those legs around his waist and slide inside her, taking her hard and fast.