was the problem. Had she built up that one magical night in her head? Everything had been so new. Almost foreign. She wouldn’t feel overwhelmed from the wild sensations if she had sex with him again. Yet the memory of sharing a bed with Sebastian still made her weak in the knees.
“If you have no intention of giving me back my home,” she asked carefully as her heart pounded against her ribs, “what are you offering?”
“You’ll be the caretaker and stay in the cottage behind the main house.”
She held back the flash of anger. She had been the mistress of the house. She had free rein of the island. Now he was offering the role as caretaker as if it was a gift? “Not good enough.”
He placed his finger against her lips. “Careful, mi vida,” he said softly as his eyes glittered with warning. “I don’t have to let you on the island at all. I don’t have to let anyone who is living there stay.”
She gasped at his thinly veiled threat. “No. This has nothing to do with the other families on the island. They’ve been there for generations.”
“You are going to champion the others?” he mocked. “How adorable.”
She thought of the five families that lived on the small island. They had been there for her during her darkest moments. Since then, she had provided for them and protected them. She wasn’t going to let them down. “Don’t interfere with their lives,” she said. “This is between you and me.”
“Yes, it is,” he drawled as he closed the door. Sebastian rested his hand above her head. He was too close. She felt trapped. Cornered.
It was a struggle to remain still and meet his gaze. “What do you want from me?”
“Two weeks in my bed.”
Her skin went hot and her mouth dropped open. “I wouldn’t stay in your bed for two more minutes, let alone—”
“Make it three,” he said coldly.
Her eyes widened. “You bastard.” She bit out the words.
“And now it’s four,” he said with no emotion. “Do you want to make it five weeks?”
A month with Sebastian? The wall she had painstakingly built around herself had shattered after one night with him. What would happen to her after four weeks in his bed?
Now if only she could silence the dark excitement building inside her, threatening to break free. She didn’t like this side of her. She was not going to let this sexual hunger govern her thoughts and decisions. She was nothing like her parents.
“Ashley, one month won’t be enough for you,” he promised.
She pressed her lips together as she struggled to remain silent. She shouldn’t have allowed him to rattle her. Her angry words always had consequences.
“It may not even last that long,” he said. “I have a short attention span when it comes to women, but you’ll beg me to stay.”
That was what she was afraid of. She prided herself on not being a sexual woman, until she met Sebastian Cruz. One look at him and the dormant sensations had sprung violently to life. Her response to his touch had frightened her. She hadn’t recognized herself. This man had wielded a power over her like no other.
She was going to break this spell he’d woven. She’d figure out how he lowered her defenses so easily, and kill the craving she had for Sebastian Cruz. And when this month was over, she would never let a man have this kind of hold on her again.
“I want to make sure I understand this,” she said shakily. “I will have a home on the island if I share a bed with you for a month?”
“Correct,” he said as his eyes held a devilish gleam.
There had to be a catch. Why would he kick her out of the main house only to give her a smaller one on the island? It was convenient for him to have a caretaker who already knew Inez Key, but did he think this arrangement would continue for as long as he wished? “How do I know that you won’t fire me?”
“You’ll have a contract just like my other employees,” he murmured as his attention focused on her mouth.
Her lips stung with awareness. They felt fuller. Softer. She tried not to nervously lick them. “How long do I have before I give you my decision?”
He moved closer, his mouth above hers. She felt his warm breath waft over her skin. “You have to give it to me now.”
Alarm jolted through her veins. “Now? That’s not fair!” What was she saying? Sebastian didn’t play fair. He played to win.
“Take it or leave it,” he said.
She wanted to look away. Find another option. As much as she wanted to stay on Inez Key, she didn’t think she was strong enough to fight the desire she had for Sebastian. But she couldn’t walk away from this. “I’ll take it,” she whispered.
Sebastian captured her mouth with his. His kiss was bold, rough and possessive. She wanted to resist. Was determined to give no response. Yet she parted her lips and leaned into him as he deepened the kiss. Their tongues parried as he pulled her closer. She tasted his lust and it thrilled her. She yielded as he conquered her mouth.
Ashley jerked away. What was wrong with her? Her heart was racing and she fought the urge to place her fingers on her tingling lips. She couldn’t look at Sebastian. She was confused. Aroused. Her emotions had been ambushed.
How could she have responded so eagerly? For him? Sebastian Cruz represented everything she despised in a man. “I need to leave,” she said as she clumsily reached for the door handle. “I have a few things I need to deal with back home.”
“You’re not going home.” Sebastian wrapped his hand around her wrist and pulled her hand away from the door. “You will return to Inez Key on my terms.”
She stared at him as his calmly delivered words filtered into her jumbled mind. He wasn’t allowing her to go home? How dare he? But then, it wasn’t her home anymore. Technically, it was his. “I said I would share a bed with you. There was nothing—”
“You are now my mistress,” he said as he raised her hand and pressed his lips against the skittering pulse on her wrist. “You live where I live. Sleep where I sleep.”
Mistress? Her knees threatened to give out. She hated that word. Her dad had kept many mistresses. Vulgar women who didn’t care who they hurt as long as they got the attention they felt they deserved. “I didn’t agree to that.”
“I didn’t say that I would share my nights with you,” he reminded her. “I am sharing a bed. That could happen at any time of day. Or all day.”
All day. The wicked excitement pulled low in her belly. No, this was bad. This was really bad. What had she gotten herself into?
“Backing out already?” he said in a purr.
This was her chance. She could extract herself from this agreement and run back to her safe little world. But that world no longer existed. He owned it. Now she had to fight for a little piece of it. Ashley swallowed roughly. “No.”
“Good.” Sebastian’s satisfaction vibrated in his deep voice as he pulled the door open and led her out of his office.
“Where are we going?” she asked, stumbling in her heels as she tried to keep up with him.
“To get you out of that dress.”
She went rigid. He wanted to seal the deal now? She wasn’t ready. Her mind froze yet her nipples tightened in anticipation as her legs went limp.
“I’m calling a stylist,” Sebastian announced. “The dress you’re wearing hides your body and ages you about two decades.”
She didn’t care. She didn’t like dressing up or bringing attention to her body. Her clothes were meant to fade into the background.