your purpose and I was done. I have no interest in playboys.”
He dropped his hand. Served his purpose? He knew she said that to hide the fact that he would always be a significant part in her love life, but she was going to pay for those words. “I’m not a playboy.”
“Ha!” she said bitterly. “You tried to hide it when you were at Inez Key, but I grew up around womanizers. I know what kind of man you are. You would dangle a woman’s home as bait, but we both know you will not give it back.”
Sebastian bit back a smile. Ashley Jones thought very highly of herself. Did she really believe he would give up his treasure for another taste of what they’d shared? “I never said I’d give back your home.”
She went still and frowned. “I don’t understand. You asked me—”
“How much you wanted Inez Key,” he clarified as he stepped closer, inhaling her citrusy scent. “The ownership of the island is not up for grabs. I keep what is mine and I will not let it slip through my fingers.”
Ashley paled and she leaned against the door. “I’ve taken care of the island for years,” she said in a whisper. “I have given it my love, sweat and tears. I’ve sacrificed everything for it.”
“Why?” There was nothing remarkable about the island. It had no natural resources or historical significance. It was in an undesirable location and he had been the only prospective buyer interested in the island.
“Why?” she repeated dully. “It’s my home.”
Sebastian saw the guarded look in her eyes and knew she wasn’t giving the whole answer. He also knew she wouldn’t share it with him. She’d learned her lesson and didn’t trust him anymore.
There had been moments during that weekend when Ashley had been unguarded and spontaneous. Now she was wary. He ignored the surprising pang of regret. It was time she learned how the real world worked and he had given her a very valuable lesson. “Your attachment to Inez Key doesn’t make any sense.”
“What about you?” she countered. “Not that many people would go to such lengths to steal someone’s home.”
“I didn’t steal it,” he said with a hint of impatience. “You couldn’t pay back the loan so the island is now mine.”
“What are your plans for it?” she asked as if it hurt to think of the changes he was going to make. “I can’t imagine you want to live there. I’m sure you have many homes. Inez Key is practically roughing it in comparison.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said as he reached for the door. It was time to force her into making a decision. “Inez Key is now my concern.”
Ashley bit her bottom lip as she stared at the open door. The beat of silence stretched until her shoulders slumped. “Cruz.”
“The name is Sebastian,” he reminded her. She had said his name repeatedly during that one night. She’d said it with wonder and excitement. With longing and satisfaction. And tonight it would be the last thing she said before she fell asleep.
* * *
Sebastian. No, she wouldn’t call him that. Sebastian had been a mysterious stranger on the island. His intensity and raw masculinity had unleashed a fierce sexual hunger that she hadn’t known was in her. She would never be the same again.
This arrogant man was calculating and intimidating. He was breathtaking and she couldn’t take her eyes off him. But he was not the fantasy lover she remembered.
Maybe that 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
