Liam’s threat plays in my head on a nerve-wracking loop. His harsh words struck me in the heart, bringing about an inescapable melancholy that’s only exacerbated by the rain. I try to escape my impending reality by visiting the boutiques on the main part of the island with my ladies.
The thing about reality? It’s rarely avoidable.
So is the rain attacking in a torrential downpour. The relentless precipitation has been a steady annoyance for days. We return to the tower drenched and all shopped-out. The bodyguard Liam insisted on—a stoic man with muscled arms and a thick neck—opens the door of the main entrance, and my ladies and I spill inside, dripping rainwater everywhere.
“Today wasn’t the best day for an outing,” Faye says, letting the bags she’s holding drop to her feet.
“It’s as good a day as any.” Elise sets the rest of our haul on the floor. “Jerome says it rains at least 250 days out of the year here.”
Jerome is the wealthy businessman who’s been courting Elise for the last few weeks.
Faye rolls her eyes. “Jerome this and Jerome that.”
Elise shoots her a rare scowl. “You don’t have to be catty about it.”
“Sorry,” Faye says, sheepish. “I’ll try to rein it in.”
Selma appears from the kitchen. “The chancellor would like to see you in the library,” she tells me as she hands out towels to the three of us.
“Do you know why he requested to see me?”
“It’s not a request. I don’t know his reasons.”
I dry my hair, patting down the combination of strands and braids, and a tingle of wary excitement rushes through me. Ever since our chess game, things have become more strained, teeming with undeniable sexual tension. He hasn’t sought me out at all.
Until now.
I part ways with my ladies and take the journey down the long hallway. My dress sticks to my skin from the rain, but I forgo a trip to the penthouse to change first, much too eager to see Liam. As I pass the portraits of the Brotherhood’s ancestors, the portrayal of Evangeline Castle draws my focus. What must it have been like to be in her position, locked away and used by twelve men? Did she grow to love any of them?
One?
Two?
Three or more?
I can’t fathom falling in love with two men, but I can’t deny I’m attracted to both Liam and Sebastian.
The latter makes zero sense.
I turn down another hallway, and that’s when I realize I took a wrong turn. As if my thoughts conjured his presence, Sebastian’s raspy timbre filters into the hall from an ajar door on the left.
“Fucking gorgeous, Mona.”
A feminine voice murmurs something in response, words indiscernible, and I slow my steps, drawn to what lies beyond that door. Every bone in my body bids me to keep going, to not look into that room and lay eyes on him. To not give him another opportunity to unleash his cruelty on me.
Apparently, I’m a glutton for punishment. Holding my breath, I peek around the edge of the doorframe, and the depraved sight before my eyes knocks the air from my lungs. Breath escapes me in a silent whoosh.
A woman is spread out on a lounge, her deep burgundy locks flowing over creamy, bare breasts. It’s the pose that has me in a trance. Her legs are bent, splayed in repose, the shaven lips of her womanhood on proud display. She’s without shame or modesty, and something about her confidence calls to me.
Sebastian has his back to me as he transfers the likeness of her onto his canvas, and I can’t help but study the broadness of his shoulders, or the way his dark blond hair sticks up in dishevelment.
He’s the polar opposite of Liam.
Brazen where the chancellor is reserved.
Carefree instead of controlled.
Unrestrained sexy compared to Liam’s more classic dark looks.
Sebastian’s low-slung jeans steal my attention as his brush hits the canvas with confident strokes. The man paints as well as he fills out a pair of jeans.
“Bash,” the woman says, and when I turn my attention back to her, I find her deep brown eyes on me. She points in my direction, and Sebastian turns around before I can duck into the hall.
The instant his blue eyes meet mine, I’m frozen, caught red-handed, cheeks hot with embarrassment. A lifetime seems to pass in the lock of our gazes. My pulse speeds up. His brows narrow. I run the tip of my tongue along the seam of my mouth, and when his attention stalls on my lips, I can’t help but tuck the bottom one between my teeth.
He frowns, sets down the paintbrush, and that’s when I spring into motion, darting down the hall as fast as my jittery legs will carry me.
But footsteps chase me, accompanied by deep and harsh breaths. A large, warm hand clamps around my bicep and yanks me to a stop. I turn slowly, every tortuous beat of my heart sounding-off in my ears as I face the accusation in his brilliant stare.
“Did you get a good eyeful?”
“I-I didn’t mean—”
“Didn’t mean to spy on me?” he cuts in, invading my personal space. He’s not as tall as Liam, but his presence is overbearing enough. As I try to retreat, his fingers dig into my arm, making escape impossible.
“I wasn’t spying.”
“Does Liam know you’re down here?”
“Yes.” Though I’m sure the chancellor wouldn’t be happy to find us in our current position—his hand gripping my bicep as my bosom heaves against his chest.
The furrow between Sebastian’s brows deepens. “I’m surprised he let his little pet roam free.”
“He requested my presence in the library.”
“This wing is off-limits to you. It’s reserved for my public studio.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“Well now you know.”
“It won’t happen again.”
“Make sure it doesn’t.” He lets go of my arm, and I miss the warmth of his touch, which is crazy because he’s treated me with nothing but disdain every time we’ve crossed paths.
But I can’t deny I’m alive from the intensity in his gaze, the seriousness of his brow, the way he’s clenching those large hands. I imagine them gripping my thighs and flush even hotter.
What is wrong with me?
It’s not like me to become so tongue-tied in the company of a man.
But maybe that’s the problem—Sebastian isn’t some average guy standing in front of me. He’s one-hundred percent alpha with a legal and binding claim on my life.
He’s the kind of man who paints naked women for fun.
And in four months, he’ll have total dominion over my body.
A shudder tears through me, laden with arousal at the unwelcome thought. As if he senses my reaction to his nearness, he steps forward again, crowding my personal space. Inch by inch, he pushes me against the wall. My spine bumps against cold stone, and I gasp as something hard presses into my thigh.
Sebastian is sporting an erection, and though he was just painting an attractive nude woman not five minutes ago, I’m positive his hard-on is for me.
“You might as well make yourself useful since you interrupted my session,” he says, voice a sexy murmur as he sifts my blond locks through his fingers.
“What do you mean?”
“Provide me with a little inspiration.” His body is hard against mine, tempting my soft curves to mold to the contour of his muscles, the planes of his abs.
I stare at his lips. “I’m not taking my clothes off for you.”
“You could wear your hair instead. It’s amazing.”
The compliment is unexpected, and I stutter out a thank-you.
“I’ve wanted to paint you from the moment I first saw you.”
I blink, and in that millimeter of a second, I imagine myself sprawled in front of him like the woman he left in the other room. No clothing, legs open to his gaze as he captures how he sees me on canvas with bold, sure strokes.
No exam bench or hostility.
No other men.
But would he see me as a girl or a woman? Something tells me he’d see me as the latter.
“You’re thinking about it, aren’t you? Would you spread your legs and let me paint your cunt, princess?” His eyes are alight with amused curiosity, but the vulgarity of his words spark the opposite in me.
“Let me go,” I demand, pushing against his chest.
The amusement fades from his expression, and he separates himself from me in the space of a second.
As if I burned him.
“Forgive me,” he says. “For a moment there, I thought your fully formed tits meant you’d grown out of the child queen I met six years ago.”
Indignation takes hold of me. The last thing I want is for him to see me as a child. “I’m eighteen now.”
“Like I said. A child.”
I resist the urge to stomp my feet and argue with him, as I’m sure that sort of behavior will only prove his point. “You’re insufferable. Why do you have to be such a jerk?”
With a sigh, he takes another step away from me. “It’s in my DNA, princess. You’re too innocent to see it for what it is.”
“I’ll kindly remind you I’m a queen.”
His lips twitch with renewed amusement. “No reminder needed. I’ve got plenty of pressure from my family to ensure a marriage to you.”
“You don’t sound happy about it.”
“I’ve accepted it.”
“Am I not what you expected?”
His gaze travels the length of my body, heating me all over again. “No, my queen. I expected a prim and proper child less appealing than a nun. What you are is innocence wrapped in the body of a porn star.”
I grit my teeth. Rising to his bait will only heighten the tension between us because Sebastian is fire and passion rolled into one impossibly gorgeous, unstable male. Movement catches my attention, and a glance over his shoulder reveals his gorgeous subject standing in the doorway of his studio, her body wrapped in a black satin sheet.
“Are you coming back, Sebastian?”
The very essence of her is sinful, and I’ve never envied another woman until now. Her attention shifts, and when I follow the direction of her gaze, I find Liam standing in the shadows of the hall, arms crossed and mouth grim with displeasure.