Chapter Eighteen

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SULLY SWITCHED FROM RABID to frozen.

His lips still glistened from our kiss and his chest still rose and fell with tattered breath, but all hint of carnal connection vanished the moment his gaze locked on the tiny bird that’d chosen that moment to claim me as its own.

Little feathers bristled by my ear. A tune of disgruntled chirps fell quietly from its beak. It reminded me of a disapproving relative—slightly afraid, mostly disturbed, but defiantly protective.

Sully swallowed and shook his head, his eyebrows tugging low over his blistering blue gaze. Ever so slowly, he zipped up his trousers, buckled his belt, and dragged both hands through his hair.

His motions were meticulous and refined, his moods mercurial in their swiftness.

Why did he care that a parrot had befriended me? He had one. He loved Pika more than he was capable of loving someone of his own species. Why couldn’t I have a confidant like him?

I braced my shoulders, nudging my cheek against the feathered creature. The parrot puffed up, covering my cheek with beak kisses.

Sully actually groaned with dismay.

My heart flip-flopped. My stomach turned gooey. I’d gone from fighting my dangerous emotions toward Sully to falling madly in love with a bird.

Sully pinched the bridge of his nose as if warding off a headache. When he finally dropped his hand, a thin veneer of composure covered him, but something behind it ached with pain. His sea gaze snatched mine. “Care to tell me why you stole my caique?”

I balled my hands, activating blisters from rowing. He could take away my freedom. He could steal away my heart. But he couldn’t accuse me of theft when I hadn’t done so. “It followed me when I left in the kayak.”

“It?” He cleared his throat. “It’s a she.” A softness glimmered in his stare. “She came from the same clutch as Pika.”

I tasted something I hadn’t had before. Conversation. A glimpse behind the curtain that made up the man before me. “They’re siblings?”

“I suppose you could call them that.”

“Where did they come from?”

His lips pressed together, refusing to reply, but Skittles squeaked and flew around Sully’s head. She didn’t land on him, though. She returned to me, settling lightly on my shoulder as if she’d always been welcome there.

He sighed heavily as if pissed by this change of events, hurting by the fact I’d earned affection from something he believed was his own. “Fourteen years ago, I found her in a wire bottom cage.” His temper flickered, threading with his sudden gentleness. “I stole the eggs and hatched them. They’ve been with me ever since.”

I turned to stare at the tiny parrot. Her wing speared upright as she nibbled at the feathers underneath. She seemed perfectly content and trusting, when only yesterday she’d still watched me warily—almost as if she’d been judging me, examining me for any sign that I wasn’t worthy before deciding I was hers.

I’d never had a pet before—never had that bond between creature and human—but it wasn’t from lack of trying. I’d constantly begged my parents for any sort of animal to adore. A squirrel, hamster, cricket, frog, even a cow, goat, and pig. I’d already asked for the standard dog, cat, and rabbit only to be refused any of them. To me, they all deserved love and kindness—not just the ones sold in a pet shop but also the ones born for slaughter. That was probably why I’d become a vegetarian. I couldn’t separate the pets from the consumed. They were all the same.

I was exceedingly aware I stood naked before Sully, adorned by a single bird and his tie around my throat, but I ignored my vulnerability in favour of talking. If I could figure out what had caused him to become the way he was, maybe I had a chance of undoing the tangles around his heart. “Why doesn’t she hang out with you and Pika?”

Sully sighed again. “She doesn’t like people. She prefers the wild.”

Stepping carefully toward him, I asked, “Then why did she land in my kayak and travel with me?” I reached up, testing the incredible new connection with a feathered flyer and waited until she hopped onto my finger. She did so without hesitation. Her talons wrapping tight, her eyes inquisitive and smart.

Sully scowled as I brought my hand closer to him. I offered Skittles as a peace offering, a reminder I hadn’t stolen her, she’d stolen me. He looked as if he’d back away, but at the last second, he raised his own hand, our fingertips touching.

A zing of power shot from his blood into mine, making our breath catch. Skittles permitted him to stroke her head, but she refused to transfer to his offered perch. Skipping up my arm, she snuggled back into the dip of my shoulder and neck.

Sully dropped his hand with a guarded, black look. “It appears she has chosen you.”

“Does that bother you?”

“She’s free to make up her own mind. For some idiotic reason, she’s picked you.”

“Why?”

His eyebrows tugged together. “Why? Who knows.” His gaze skimmed over my nakedness. “Perhaps she feels sorry for you. Maybe she thought you would die and decided to chase suicide beside you.”

I ignored his deliberate barbs. Too much had passed between us not to see through his rage. He felt something. Something he couldn’t control.

And he didn’t want it. He didn’t trust it. He was determined to kill it before it could grow any deeper. Which was fine by me because I also didn’t want it, trust it, or was strong enough to endure it. By allowing him to find me, I’d sentenced myself to four years.

Four years of sleeping with a stranger once a week.

That would be all I could handle.

I couldn’t cope falling in love with the monster who served me to those strangers too.

“Maybe...or maybe she found her person, just like Pika found you.”

He froze. “You’re claiming my parrot now?”

“She claimed me first.”

“She’ll soon realise it was a mistake.”

I stiffened. “Are we still talking about a bird, Sully? Or—”

A crash sounded behind me. Sully’s head snapped up. His eyes shuttered, hiding any hint of connection we’d shared.

“Stay where you are!” His hand swooped up as I turned to look over my shoulder. A man appeared. Local to Indonesia, lean and lanky, running toward us. The guy heard Sully’s shout, skidding to a stop, his face animated and impatient.

Where the hell did he come from?

I blushed as the guy’s eyes zeroed in on my nakedness, blatantly drinking me in as his mouth fell open in shock.

The rustle of clothing ripped my head back to face Sully. With a furious look, he shrugged his charcoal blazer off his shoulders, followed by his silver-grey shirt beneath.

My stomach clenched as his arms bunched, undoing the buttons, then pulled it away and revealed the perfection of his chiselled chest. I gawked just like the man behind me gawked at my nudity.

I’d seen Sully half-naked a few times. For a man who wore suits like armour, he swam a lot, seeming much more comfortable in board-shorts and saltwater. But the impact of his perfection still stole the final strength in my legs.

My thirst returned with a vengeance. Only this time, it wasn’t just water I wanted to drink.

Before I could tear my gaze away from his impeccable physique, he wrapped his shirt around me. Skittles took off with an angry chirp, circling me while Sully roughly did up the buttons, hiding my naked form.

His rough hands brushed against my skin, his knuckles nudging my breasts, his teeth clamped on his bottom lip.

I grew lightheaded as he buttoned me up, going lower and lower until his touch skimmed my pussy and upper thighs. His scent enveloped me. Coconut and salt, jasmine and sandalwood. Intoxicating. Arousing. Heady.

I gulped as he finished and looked up. Our gazes snagged, and once again, all our lies burned at the stake of our truth. We wanted each other. His erection in his trousers and the wetness on my thighs proved that. But we wanted more than just sex. We wanted something neither of us could understand. Something fierce but tame. Catastrophic but endless.

Clearing his throat, he ducked to collect his forgotten blazer. Shrugging into it, he looked even more divine. Glowing sun-etched skin, shadows of hard-earned muscle, and a flat-ridged belly all adorned with a masculine suit.

It’s not fair.

Not fair that I was falling for someone who would ultimately break me in all the ways I never wanted to break. Not fair that I finally had to admit that I was falling, and the slippery slope had no safety rail.

I couldn’t stop it.

My loyalty to Scott couldn’t prevent it.

My desire not to feel it was useless.

It didn’t matter he wasn’t a good person or that I should be smarter than this.

Slip, slip, slip.

How long before I fall completely?

“Come.” His voice sounded thick and gravelly, his eyes dancing over me now that I wore his shirt. Did it cause a visceral reaction for him too? To see something of his on me—his shirt swamping me, protecting me, touching me in places he wanted?

Snatching my palm, he paused and narrowed his eyes at my blisters and wounds from the oar. His teeth ground together, but he didn’t speak. He merely let me go and grabbed my wrist instead, as if aware touching my hand would hurt.

The moment his fingers wrapped tight, he pulled me into motion, dragging me toward the guy who waited patiently on the other side of the helipad.

The grass cushioned my bare feet with carpet-like spring. Skittles floated down to resume her position on my shoulder, and Sully refused to look at me.

We slowed as the man came to greet us. “Mr. Sinclair. I saw your helicopter. I thought you were here to visit, but when you didn’t arrive, I came to see if everything is okay.” The man bowed, his black gaze skipping to me, then back to Sully.

Sully stayed tall and regal, despite not having a shirt under his blazer anymore. “That’s fine, Andika. My arrival wasn’t because of the sanctuary but because of other business.” His fingers tightened around my wrist. “However, now that I’m here, I could return with you to check on your charges.”

The guy beamed, shoving shaggy black hair from his eyes. “Oh, yes. That would be much appreciated, sir. We are proud to show off our latest arrivals.”

“Good.” Sully nodded, opening his arm wide. “Lead the way.”

We fell into step behind him, Sully cold and silent, me with a tiny parrot keeping me calm.

My mind raced with questions. Did Sully know all his staff by name? If so, that was impressive. If not, why would he know this man’s name on some remote island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean?

“We’ve been successful in rehoming the last shipment, sir,” the guy said over his shoulder. “We aim to be equally as successful with the upcoming arrivals.”

“I’m glad.” Sully sounded distracted, but his hold on my wrist never loosened. He kept me leashed as surely as he had when he’d knotted his tie around my neck. “Let me know if you need more supplies.”

The man ducked his head in embarrassment, as if asking for things went against his culture even if Sully was his boss. “We could do with another vet, sir. And another import of your animal-approved pharmaceuticals.”

“Consider it done.” Sully smiled stiffly. “I’ll ensure my company sends whatever you need. And I’ll enlist my assistant to begin interviewing acceptable candidates for an extra vet.”

“You’re very kind. Thank you.” The man pressed his hands together in prayer, bowing respectfully. “Very kind.”

Sully lost his edge of coldness for a moment. “Not kind. Just grateful for the great work your team does.”

“Only because you are our role model, sir.”

Sully scowled. “Don’t push aside credit when it’s due. You picked up my work when I grew too busy to continue. I’m grateful for you, not the other way around.”

The guy just smiled evasively and bowed again, accepting Sully’s compliment but also refusing it.

I hid my wince as we traded soft grass from the clearing to the prickly undergrowth of a jungle path. This one wasn’t manicured with orchids and palms but wild and barely tamed. Parts were so narrow, Sully had no choice but to let me go, frowning with sternness. “You follow my every step. You run, and the punishment I have planned for you will be a thousand times worse.”

I nodded.

I’d already attempted escape and now knew the futility of such a thing.

I wouldn’t waste my energy trying again. Instead, I’d search for other ways to claim my freedom. Ways that might include bartering my heart in return for gaining the reluctant one in the chest of my enemy.

The rest of the ten-minute walk was silent, all while my mind tortured me with guesses of what my punishment would be. Plotted a seduction that I wasn’t brave enough to try. And did my best not to watch Sully’s sleek and powerful body, striding before me.

* * * * *

I’d had many experiences since being snatched from that backpacker’s kitchen. I’d endured more than I thought I’d ever have to face. Yet when we arrived at the home base of the staff who’d come to get us, I struggled to combine all those experiences and all those endurances into one cohesive existence.

I’d expected to be beaten, abused, and ultimately craving death by now. And yet...I drifted through a paradise. Not a paradise like the island Sully had created for girls he called goddesses but a paradise for creatures who’d suffered.

Tears sprang to my eyes as Sully and his staff strode faster, familiar with what they’d created here, unable to see the magic and compassion painting the very air within.

I stopped in the middle of a small city.

A small city hidden and protected by an island in the tropics. Huge pens made of bamboo and vine held animals of their same species. Dogs romped in one. Platforms with beds, tunnels, toys, freshwater, and food. The huge space encouraged the canines to form packs, friendships, and loll in happy contentment.

It could’ve been a scene from a Doctor Doolittle movie or some strange kind of zoo, if it weren’t for closer inspection. Each dog had something not quite perfect. A few had ears missing, a leg, a foot, a tail. Some were bald with cream smeared or bandages wrapped, some hopped, some ran—all recovered from some injury but all of them seemed so unbelievably happy. They glowed with joy. They were the epitome of grateful bliss.

Drifting forward, I peered into the next township. Skittles inched closer to my ear, almost as if aware that this place changed everything. That it broke the final chain preventing me from free-falling.

This one held rabbits. Just like the dog’s enclosure, this one housed hidey-holes, cubbies, and holes in the ground for warrens. Big piles of grass were nibbled happily by fluffy critters, their noses twitching, their bodies alert but calm. And just like the dogs, none of them were perfect. So many of them were missing an eye, an ear, and even a paw.

It broke my heart to see such bravery from such timid, vulnerable things. They didn’t ostracise each other for their disability. They didn’t let depression steal the joy of today. They were wise in their acceptance of whatever they’d endured.

Sully glanced back, noticing I wasn’t close by. He snapped his fingers, and I sprung into speed. Catching up to him, I noticed another large enclosure, this one full of mice. Wheels and tunnels, nesting boxes, and food bowls. The tiny rodents ranged from hairless to horribly scarred.

“What is this place?”

Sully grunted but didn’t reply.

His staff held no such qualms about talking to me, though. He didn’t question why I was there, where my clothes were, or how I came to be in Sully’s control, and was proud to show off his charges. “This is Serigala. It’s wolf in my language.” He beamed, waiting for Sully to pass him by to slip beside me. “Mr. Sinclair called it wolf because we have teeth to protect the weak and a pack to heal the sick.”

I gawked as we entered a modern-day structure. Thatched roof and sweeping beams but the inside spoke of technology and competence. Embarrassment filled me to be in such a place dressed only in a shirt and tie. My bare legs were visible. The silver-grey of Sully’s shirt barely hid my decency.

“Where do the creatures come from?” I asked quietly, awed and slightly frightened by the magnitude of empathy, the size of the heart required to build such a place.

Sully cleared his throat. “No need to answer all her questions, Andika.”

“Oh, I’m happy to inform her, sir.” His chest rose with pride. “All these animals have been liberated from labs around the world.”

“Labs?”

“Yes, you know. They were binatang coba...eh, guinea pigs.” He grinned. “We also have guinea pigs. We have otters and cats and fish and hamsters and pigs and—”

“Enough,” Sully interrupted. He turned and crossed his arms, his gaze navy with secrets.

“But...” I shrugged helplessly, looking around at the sanctuary this man had created. “How can you walk me through here and not give me answers?”

“This is not a school excursion, Jinx.” His face stayed remote and closed off. “You weren’t supposed to be here. This part of my life does not mingle with my main enterprise.”

“Why? Because it shows you have a heart, after all?”

Andika cleared his throat, moving off toward a paddling pool with no barriers or bars.

Inside frolicked three otters, all sleek and swift, rolling and darting through the water. One had no tail, and the other two had patches of waterproof fur missing. It didn’t matter that the tiles of the foyer were covered in water from their antics or that their happy barks pierced the otherwise sedate silence.

They were perfectly at home.

Sully looked to where I stared, flinching as an otter launched itself from the water and zipped quicksilver fast to twine and rub against Sully’s suited leg. The adorable squeaks and insistent affection whittled at Sully’s temper.

With a glower at me, he dropped to his haunches and scooped up the wriggly, besotted creature. All signs of anger and cold-heartedness vanished as the otter squirmed in his arms, rising up to rub his head against Sully’s chin. “You’re looking much better,” he murmured, stroking the sore looking skin on the otter’s spine. “I’m glad we’ve finally created a waterproof cream that’s helping.”

I couldn’t help it.

I fell.

I tumbled.

I wanted.

All control over my own emotions had been stolen by this enigma of a man. Beastly to humans. Saintly to animals. How could I not fall for a man like that? Crave to know a man like that? A man who saw the world in such black and white. Who understood what humans were capable of and turned his back on his own race to defend the creatures at our mercy.

God, how would I ever survive him now I knew this existed?

I stepped closer to Sully and the otter squeaking joyously in his arms. I didn’t know what to say, how to speak, or how to stop the smarting in my soul. I remained quakingly silent as Sully ignored me, kissing the otter as it strained to nudge his chin again, then ever so gently placed it on the ground.

The otter didn’t run off, though; it stayed twined around Sully’s legs as if showing him thanks, speaking in otter tongue with all its gratefulness that Sully had found it, saved it, healed it.

A loud oink sounded from behind a closed door. Sully turned to look just as the door opened and a black and white pig bowled free. A woman with long black hair and wearing a cream coat ran after it, calling in Indonesian. She noticed Sully and slammed to a halt, letting the pig dart to the man every creature seemed to adore. It oinked and nosed the otter out of the way, wanting its own chance to say thanks.

I gasped, studying the pig’s skin. Where healthy colour and flesh should exist, he was almost translucent. Sores pockmarked his body, and the parts of skin he did have revealed veins and arteries that looked sickly and weak.

Sully once again ducked and rubbed the excited animal. He touched him exceedingly carefully, stroking only the healthy areas, aware of causing pain. “Hey, Cuthbert. You’re also looking better but not ready to join the main sty yet.”

“Sorry, Mr. Sinclair. He heard you while I was administering his antibiotics. He has learned how to open doors.” She shrugged, a capped needle in her gloved hand. “He is too smart.”

Sully smiled. “He’s relaxing...learning he’s safe.”

“Yes.” The woman smiled back. “He takes his medicine well. Even with the injection twice a day.”

“Is the new formula working better?”

She nodded. “It seems to be. His condition has cleared up quicker this past week. Soon, he’ll be able to go to the powder antibiotic instead of the needle.”

“That’s good to hear.” Sully studiously avoided my stare.

I was sure my mouth hung open as my curiosity blazed bright. I wanted to grab him and demand to know everything.

But Sully moved away, motioning for the woman to follow.

I stayed glued to the sandstone tiles, suffering a more profound change than I had when I’d been washed and prepared for sale.

Who was he?

Who is Sullivan Sinclair?

Andika moved quietly to my side, his attention on Sully and the vet but his words just for me. “I see your confusion, ma’am. Do you want to know what this place is?”

I turned to look at him, desperation in my gaze. “Please, tell me.”

Andika cast a look in Sully’s direction again before giving me his full attention. His black eyes glowed with affection for his employer and pride at his vocation. “When Mr. Sinclair took over his family’s pharmaceutical empire, he rewrote the rules. He banned all animal testing in his labs. Those already there, he took with him on his sixth day in power. He healed the ones he could, humanely euthanized those in too much pain, and made it his purpose to deliver a life worthy of the soul his scientists had almost destroyed. Most still live on the island, some have been transferred to other islands to live the way nature intended, and others have been gifted to loving homes—all with very strict follow-up contracts to ensure continued well-being—but all of them are happy and healthy.”

“I...I don’t know what to say.”

“There is nothing to say, ma’am.” Andika shrugged. “After he liberated the animals from his own labs, he set about changing the rules for everyone. He, eh...went to war for them. He did unspeakable things. He...um, chose animal lives over human life and set up this sanctuary for them.” His eyes dropped to the floor. “He lost so much by fighting for those who couldn’t.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean—”

“Jinx.” Sully broke us apart, shooting a livid gaze at Andika. “The helicopter is here. We’re leaving.” Holding out his hand, he shook Andika’s. “Thanks for your excellent care. I’ll ensure you receive your requests.”

“Thank you, sir.” Andika shot me a final look before bowing and stepping back.

Sully glowered at me, his gaze probing mine, searching to know how much I’d been told. His features etched with anger as his hand lashed around my wrist again and yanked me outside.

Behind the animal hospital, the helicopter waited.

Ready to fly me back to hell.