Page 53 of Cruel Pleasures

Something’s off. I can’t put my finger on what, but something’s definitely going on. Has everyone gotten together to conspire against me?

It wouldn’t be the first time I felt this way. It was the joke of my neglected childhood…

There’s nothing between Archer and I but heat and chemistry, but that doesn’t make it sting any less that he has disappeared out of the blue. Especially after he vowed he’d protect me from whatever trouble’s afoot at this manor. And especially at a time where I’ve lost my best friend and am trapped on an unknown island with a bizarre lady who wears a mask at all hours.

After spending the morning into the afternoon wandering the grounds, I end up in a different part of the estate I’ve never been before. Along the white sands of the private beach. It’s too misty and overcast to truly savor laying out on a beach, but that’s not why I’m here.

The private beach is the only part of the property not entirely behind the tall iron gates. Though that makes escape options no less minimal—the beach leads out to churning waters for as far as my eyes can see. I couldn’t escape unless I had a boat.

Or I found a way to transform into a mermaid.

A frustrated sigh deflates out of me. I turn to head back up toward the rest of the manor and then stop when I realize I’m not so alone after all.

I recognize him immediately. The same man I’d seen across the street from the Java King on Thirty-fourth. He’d been watching me like some sort of dark, insidious guardian angel. Of the dozens of people rushing along the busy street that day, he only had eyes for me.

This afternoon, as the winds pick up and whistle louder, he sits atop the jagged bed of rocks off in the near distance.

Just what he’s doing, I’m not sure. He peers out at the stormy waters like he’s certain he’ll find something in them.

I set off across the sand before even giving it a thought. Once I’m closing in on him, half of my nerve dissipates. I slow up and consider turning around to run for it.

But then he looks up and his dark, fathomless gaze meets mine. The crease in his brow deepens, his moody displeasure thick around him. He wants me nowhere near him and can’t believe I’ve wandered over.

Even at the beach he’s in all black.

It’s the single word that springs to mind when looking at him—from his black clothes to his shiny hair slicked behind his ears to the almond shape of his dark gaze that seem to freeze the air in my lungs. He’s all sharp angles, his cheekbones high and chiseled and jaw permanently clenched. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s never smiled in his life.

Though he’s perched on the rocks, I remember how long he is. How the overcoat he wears can’t disguise the length of him or the broadness in his shoulders. Curiosity stirs inside me as I wonder what it’d be like to peel back those layers. The many barriers he’s erected to keep others out.

Suddenly, the urge to stripe them back myself strikes me, and I give a hard swallow to fight it off. The dark, brooding type has always been my favorite, but that’s still not an excuse to lose my head.

“It’s you,” I say. “You were across the street outside the coffee shop.”

“I have no idea who you are or why you’re addressing me.”

“Because you were watching me. One afternoon last week. You were standing across the street and staring?—”

“I said I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he snaps. “I have never seen you before. Perhaps you have me mistaken.”

“Oh… sorry…” I say tensely, already backing away. “Maybe I do. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“And yet here you are.”

“It’s just… I haven’t seen you at any of the events.”

“So what?”

“So, I was curious. I went exploring the property and ended up on this beach. I thought no one else was around, but then?—”

“I don’t care,” he interrupts. “Save yourself the breath and turn around and go.”

Any politeness about me vanishes. I arch a brow and place a hand on my hip. “You don’t have to be a fucking jerk about it. You’re out here sitting all alone on the beach, acting like you own it. If I want to walk the sands, I can.”

“You can. But don’t be surprised if you come to regret it.”

“Is that a threat?”

“It’s whatever you want it to be.”