Chapter Thirty-Four

––––––––

THE STOLEN VIAL OF elixir bruised my palm.

I trembled as the three men returned, striding through the door, all three staring hungrily at me. I tried to give each equal attention, to hide my thievery, but I couldn’t keep my eyes off Sully.

I’d seen him kingly and imposing, undone and furious, sea-drenched and secretive, tortured and solemn.

But this was different.

When I’d arrived in his office, second-guessing my warfare of wearing a ball gown at ten in the morning, he’d frozen the moment he’d seen me. A shroud fell over him, a deep midnight curtain where his morals vanished beneath want.

His hunger had been palatable. His need for me reached across the room and made me wet. I couldn’t deny that my skin had prickled and my nipples had pebbled and every reaction I wished I didn’t have sprang into an intensity that reeked with damnation.

I wanted that man.

I wanted him more than I’d ever wanted anyone.

And that made guilt braid with desire because I’d never wanted Scott the way I wanted Sully. Never felt a trickle of wetness just from his stare.

Sully had become my elixir.

His stare, his voice, his body...all custom-designed to make the animalistic parts of me rise, pushing down my decorum to the depths of my being where it belonged.

I was free when he stared at me.

Free in his need, knowing he felt it too.

Free to admit that there was something horribly wrong between us that had driven us into destruction. Born from hate and transmuted by fate...a conduit from his soul to mine.

That was why I’d stolen his elixir.

Why, when the men had vanished from his office, and the low murmur of voices floated back, I’d dashed to the apothecary cabinet and opened hundreds of little drawers, seeking, searching, hoping to find the one thing that might allow me to stay.

Each drawer I’d ripped open, I’d filled with deeper conviction. I allowed my mind to sample both scenarios. To envision a life being sold to Roy Slater and ultimately ending up his wife. Of sleeping beside him, of sleeping with him, of allowing age to turn a man already my senior into a grandfather before I was in my thirties.

The money would mean I would never have to work. My future would be paved with wealth and laziness. I might find a semi-decent existence. A marriage with him was no different than a contract with Sully—I would still be cut off from those I knew, still be dead to my family.

But the bars of my cage would be invisible, held fast by just a marriage certificate and my word instead of a vast turquoise sea.

I should fight for that option. I should fling myself on the helicopter and depart this place with a man who seemed kind.

But...

But.

Roy didn’t make my heart fist and flounder. Roy didn’t make my body tingle. Roy didn’t make common-sense bleed into chaos.

Roy wasn’t Sully.

And Sully...doesn’t want me.

By the thirtieth drawer, I found what I was looking for.

A tiny box holding multiple glass vials of elixir.

Tiny and innocent, its contents a trapped magic just waiting to wreak havoc on its victim.

I’d been its victim three times now. It’d irrevocably changed me into this wanton creature who was constantly wet in the presence of the monster who’d bought her. It’d shoved aside my ethics and scruples, leaving me as wild as the god who ruled this utopia.

A god who might fight against our connection.

But a mortal who would break beneath my choice.

And my choice was...to stay.

To accept that I’d come to this island by black designs but perhaps...fate had known where to send me. Maybe there was a future here—a future of freedom and truth...if I was brave enough to try.

Sully’s throat worked as he swallowed and tore his gaze from mine.

I clutched my vial tighter, hoping my pilfering hadn’t been noticed.

Now that he’d returned, he’d changed once again.

His lust was still evident, but he’d wrapped a chain tight around it. An unbreakable barrier that kept him from claiming me. His hair was disorderly, sweat decorated his temples, his eyes blazed a feverish blue.

What had happened behind that door?

What agreement had they come to?

Calvin was my hint, heading toward Sully’s desk, muttering, “I’ll draw up the bill of sale.”

My stomach fell.

He sold me.

Roy gave me a victorious grin, nodding with glee, and Sully stalked to the sideboard where a small silver fridge waited, keeping its contents cool from humidity.

Ripping open the door, he pulled free a crystal decanter. Amber liquid sloshed inside as he pulled the stopper free, then roughly, sloppily poured three glasses.

With a haggard inhale, he shot one of the drinks down his throat, wincing. His handsome face twisted in defeat.

My stomach twisted to match his pain, fighting the need to go to him, to tell him whatever plan he’d made...I was about to unmake it.

I wasn’t going to let him say goodbye.

I wasn’t going to let men play monopoly with my life.

This was my choice.

If I made the wrong one, then that was on me.

But I had to try.

Had to see.

Have to know.

Pouring another shot, Sully shoved the decanter back into the fridge, then grabbed two glasses. Turning his back on his drink, he stormed with brittle steps to give one glass to Roy and one to Calvin.

I didn’t wait or second-guess.

I’d stolen Sully’s elixir, but I hadn’t planned on how to make him take it. I’d clutched it like a talisman, hoping, somehow, an opportunity would come up.

This was that opportunity, a fraction of a moment, gone forever if I didn’t snatch it.

With measured footsteps, I went to Sully’s awaiting drink, hoping no man watched me. With my back to them, I untwisted the cap with shaking fingers.

My heart pounded so hard I almost dropped the tiny bottle.

Almost.

Clamping my teeth into my bottom lip, I quickly tipped elixir into the amber alcohol then wrapped my fingers around the vial.

“Jinx...what are you—” Sully stormed toward me, suspicion deep in his tone.

I grabbed his glass, swirled it a little, and held it up for him as he arrived before me. “Bringing you your drink. So you can toast my eviction.” I flicked my gaze to Roy and Calvin, wondering if the wobble in my voice revealed what I’d done.

But Calvin continued typing up a sale contract, and Roy stared dreamily at me with his drink untouched in his hand.

Only Sully narrowed his eyes, his nostrils flaring.

I held his stare, gathering all my courage to be impenetrable.

I wouldn’t ruin my one chance.

We stared for the longest heartbeats. I swayed with each pound of my pulse, my stupid heart magnifying in size until it filled me everywhere. I could barely hear around the thunder; the pressure throbbed in my skull.

And then, Sully took the glass from me.

Our fingers grazed.

Our eyes latched tight.

A matching moan fell from both of us as the electricity that’d constantly threatened to strike tinder found a rogue dust of gunpowder and ignited.

A blaze of heat. A buffet of hunger.

A wildfire gust of need.

Sully’s jaw worked as he brought the alcohol to his lips and...

...tipped the contents into his mouth.

My knees threatened to buckle, but I held his stare until he’d swallowed. I waited until there was no turning back from this.

As his throat moved, pushing the drug into his belly where it would branch off into all directions, dilating his arteries, overworking his heart, sending desire between his legs, I let out my tattered sigh.

His eyes flared. His tongue ran over his teeth.

His taste buds recognised the fragrant flavour of his elixir.

Absolute horror drowned his face. “Oh, fuck...what have you done?”

With tears clawing up my spine, I opened my palm and showed him the empty vial.

Was I prepared for this? Would I be alive after this? Would he choose to relieve himself with me or run to another goddess?

What if this is a terrible, terrible mistake?

“Shit.” Sully acted as if I’d just sentenced both of us to death. “Shit!”

And who knew...maybe I had.

His eyes snapped closed as he wedged a fist against his belly, already feeling the first effects, the first inhibitions, the first howling to fuck.

With a guttural groan, he turned to look at Calvin.

“Cal—” His voice had turned into rough, tumbling gravel. “Christ.”

Calvin looked up from the laptop, his gaze shooting from Sully who twitched as if the elixir had already ensnared him and me standing behind him.

I shook so badly, I dropped the vial. It plummeted to the tile and smashed into tiny glass shards.

The smash shot Calvin into motion.

He knew what I’d done.

He knew what was about to happen.

Sully roared with rage, “Get Slater the fuck out of here. Now!”

Calvin bolted around the desk and snatched Roy Slater from his stupor. Roy’s glass fell to the tile too, another explosion of glass and liquor.

“Hey! What are you—”

“We need to go.” Calvin dragged him to the door, not caring that Roy fought. It didn’t even slow him down. Stuffing him through the exit, Calvin turned back to look at Sully. “What do you want me to—”

“Just go. Keep the goddesses in their villas. Don’t –” Sully groaned, tearing at his blazer as his skin licked with lust. “Don’t let them fucking near me.”

Cal didn’t dally.

He swung the door closed and left Sully and me alone.

Sully paced away from me, dragging his hands through his hair. He tore at the strands as if he could rip out the elixir by the roots.

I tripped forward, my gemstone gown whispering on the floor.

I actually felt sorry for him. So intimately aware of the pain of having your self-control stripped away, your body becoming a slave to starving libido.

Hearing me behind him, he spun on me, grabbing me by the throat. “What the fuck were you thinking?”

I swallowed hard. “I...I didn’t want to leave until—”

“Until?”

“Until I knew.”

“Knew what?”

“What exists between us.” I forced bravery into my voice. “Before I knew why I can’t stop wanting you.”

His eyes snapped closed again, his fingers feathering hard around my throat. Marching me backward, he shoved me out onto his deck, struggling to release me and step back. “Go. Leave. Fuck off.” He doubled over as he fought another crippling wave of lust. His cock thickened until it strained against his trousers, searching for a way free.

Should I help him? Undress him? Undress myself?

Was I prepared for him to grab me?

I was wet enough for his quick entry but should I remove my clothes and—

“Go, Eleanor!” His snarl sent pure fear through my heart.

“I-I’ll stay and...help.”

“Help?” He laughed cruelly. “Help? Fuck, you don’t know what you’ve done. You can’t hel—” His groan cut him off. He fisted himself through his trousers, fumbling with his belt.

The clink of the buckle coming undone sent another wash of wetness through me.

Seeing him so unhinged, knowing what was to come...it turned me on. It turned me on until I felt as if I’d taken the elixir too. I wanted him. So much. I wanted him inside me. I wanted to know why we felt this way.

But as his hand wrapped around his cock and pure passion fogged his stare, I also felt fear. A primordial fear that this wouldn’t just be sex. This would be painful and ruthless and quite possibly the last thing I’d ever do.

“Run,” he hissed, masturbating in front of me. His lips glistened from his tongue. His hips rocked into his palm. “Run...please fucking run.”

I shook my head, stepping toward him, my hand outstretched to replace him with me. To tell him it was okay to use me. That I’d drugged him to force him to admit he wanted this.

But he fell to his knees, holding his cock as if he could throttle it into submission. His chest heaved as he looked up at me, his eyes wild and body even wilder. He looked on the verge of breaking, on the precipice of no longer being human.

Our gazes locked.

His savagery poured gasoline on my fear and struck a match.

I shivered with realisation of what I’d done.

Sully Sinclair no longer had any control.

And that meant very bad things would happen.

Very bad things would happen to me.

“Run, Eleanor.” His voice slipped past feral and straight to barbarian as he growled, “Run. Run. Fucking run!”

His anger didn’t make me obey...it was his desperation.

He dropped the shields from his gaze and allowed me to see how truly terrified he was. How much he didn’t want to hurt me. “Please...Jinx.” His voice vanished to a tortured whisper. “Run...”

“I’m-I’m sorry.”

He shook his head, curling in on himself, his hand still locked around his cock.

With a final look at the broken beast before me, I ran.