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Slamming myself into the lounge chair, which wasn’t nearly as comfortable as it looked, I grabbed the light blanket hanging over the back and wrapped myself in it. I didn't need it since it was a rather balmy night, and my simmering anger kept boiling. I could have plunged a knife right into Nik’s glorious, tattoo-covered chest. Thinking about his chest just made me angrier. At him, not myself. Why should I have been mad at myself?

I mean, he did tell me as plain as day that I could sleep on the floor, but did I really dare test him out on that? And hadn’t I shoved away from those delicious kisses of his once already, out here on this very deck I guess I was calling home for now? He had just walked away as if he was affected at all, while I melted down like Chernobyl. Damn Russian and his nuclear-level hot kisses.

Oh damn it all, I was pissed at myself more than Nik. It was his mouth, the look in his eyes, the concern in his voice, but yeah, mostly his mouth, that had me throwing myself at him. What did I do?

No, it was too dangerous to think back over every thrilling moment of what we did. Sure, Nik might have been in the role of the boss, but I was a very willing accomplice. My cheeks burned from shame, but not quite regret, which only made my whole body burn at how badly I’d betrayed myself.

Maybe, just maybe, I could have gotten an annulment when we returned to Los Angeles. That was surely out the window now, because, oh boy, had we consummated the marriage. Something told me a divorce from one of the most powerful men in California would be impossible, and somewhere deep down, I wasn’t sure that was such a bad thing. And it was all because my traitor of a body was still buzzing from every masterful thing he’d done.

I wrapped my head in the blanket as if I could shut out the memories that tormented me and also made me want to race back into the bungalow for that second round Nik had promised when he thought I was asleep. I had almost been on the verge of it, ready to deal with the confusion that was closing in once he was no longer giving me all those heavenly distractions. Then he had to go and kiss me again, reawakening the beast within me. His smug whisper about round two was too much. Reality crashed down around my ears, and I had to try to regain some semblance of the upper hand.

Now I was out here on the deck, trying to get comfortable and forget everything about the last few hours.

Sleep. That was what I desperately needed. My nap on the plane had revitalized me, but I was running on empty once again, unable to think straight. Starting to get overheated, I kicked my bare feet out from under the thin blanket and let the breeze cool them off. Breathing in and out to the soothing sounds of the water lapping against the pylons beneath me, I felt calm enough to stick my head back out of my homemade turtle shell to get some fresh air.

The bungalow was still lit and I had a clear view inside to see Nik sprawled out on the bed, talking on his phone as if he wasn’t concerned about me at all.

But why should he be? I chose to be out here. The only small choice that was available to me in this mess was sleeping outside. My calm dissolved, and I rolled over, a button from the lounge cushion digging into my hip. So what. It was better than getting caught staring mournfully inside at Nik, as if I’d ever go back in there, even if he invited me with a thousand apologies.

That wasn’t going to happen, and if he dared to give me one of his patented smug grins, I would either find a way to toss him into the ocean or end up back in bed with him. Shifting away from the button and punching the stiff, mostly decorative pillow to make it more pliable, I was tired enough that I thought I might be able to fall asleep at last if I could shut off my thoughts for a few minutes. Yes, the air had grown markedly cooler all of a sudden, and the breeze had picked up. It was no longer too warm, and my eyes grew heavy.

Then the sky started gushing rain. Bucketloads crashed against the deck and splashed up on me. Almost instantly, the narrow overhang above my head became a waterfall. I had to scramble to shove the lounge chair sideways and curl up into a tight ball to get out of it, but it was too late. I was soaked to the bone, and big drops pinged off me from seemingly every direction.

Damn it all to hell.

I absolutely refused to cry. Growing up, my parents had never been supportive of any of my ideas or dreams, and if they got to me and tears flowed, they’d only tell me that I was crying because I knew they were right and I was being foolish, as usual. So I’d long ago taught myself to hold back my tears, no matter what the situation.

Even being stuck outside in a tropical downpour and rapidly dropping temperatures. Not that I was actually stuck, except by my pride. I curled up into a tighter ball and pulled the one dry edge of the blanket over my head. Surely, this deluge couldn’t last forever. A minute or so later, Nik’s gruff voice boomed out through the crashing rain.

“Get inside before you get sick.”

I ignored him, only to feel his hands sliding under me and scooping me up like the drowned rat that I was. Tucking me close to his warm chest, he clamped his arms around me and hauled me back inside. Not straight to bed, but to the bathroom, where he plunked me down in the shower and turned it on.

Steaming hot water cascaded down to erase the goosebumps that had covered every inch of me. My already sodden clothes stuck to my skin and keeping my head down, I tugged at my shirt to better let the warm water envelop me. At the same time, I sighed with relief. Nik grumbled something I couldn’t make out. I refused to look up even though I was certain I looked like a disconsolate puppy who’d displeased its master.

Stomping out, he slammed the door shut behind him, and I breathed a real sigh of relief, stripping off my clothes and tossing them into a dripping wad on the floor outside the shower. I switched the rainfall washing over me to the handheld and adjusted it to a stinging spray, running it up and down my aching body.

Not just from the uncomfortable lounge chair, and not aching in a completely bad way, either. But I wasn’t about to think about the reasons behind that and just let myself get warm and relaxed. Hell, sleeping on the floor would be a step up from the deck, and since Nik had dragged me back in here, my pride was still intact. In the morning, I’d be refreshed enough to face a new battle that I would not lose.

Closing my eyes, I let the soothing hot water help me believe I had a chance to do just that. They flew open when I heard the door click open. Nik stood there with a plush robe in his hand and a ravenous look in his eyes as they swept the soaking wet length of me. I froze and stared right back, fighting the heat that rose in my belly and simultaneously preparing for the fight of my life.

“There’s coffee brewing if you want it.” He turned, dropped the robe on the counter, and left.

I turned off the water in a hurry and doubled over with relief. Why was that brute being so nice again? I scrubbed my skin dry and threw on the robe, fired up enough to not want to cower in the bathroom any longer. The rain had stopped, and the first tinges of dawn were appearing on the horizon outside the glass wall. Nik sat in the armchair closest to the bed, sipping a cup of coffee. He barely glanced up from his phone to nod toward the state-of-the-art cappuccino maker on the counter behind me. The rich fragrance was too intoxicating to resist, and it was easier to give in to than Nik, so I filled a porcelain cup and sat down on the couch furthest away from him. Staring at the dark water through the clear part of the floor, I studiously ignored his chuckle.

Did he think I was being childish? Did I give a single damn?

Well, now he was being childish, getting up to move over to the chair closer to me. He placed his phone on the table between us and clasped his hands behind his head, smiling toward the view outside.

“You know I’ve never been here, either? My brother owns part of this resort, but I’ve never found the time to visit it. It was a good choice.”

So we were pretending nothing had happened, and I had to admit I was grateful.

“On your brother’s part?” I asked.

He snickered. “You, silly. For suggesting we come here for our honeymoon.”

Oh, don’t remind me why we’re here.

I kept my eyes on the foam on top of my coffee, still too scalding hot to take a sip. I was getting dangerously close to being relaxed in Nik’s presence, but sleepiness was overcoming me again, and I didn’t want to start another fight.

His phone buzzed on the table between us, and as I glanced at it, I saw that the name Mila was on the display. Not just the name, but a baby emoji next to it. This stern and powerful mafia lord put a freaking baby emoji next to some woman’s name?

And not just that, he jolted like he’d been struck by lightning, hurrying to grab the phone and reject the call. With a thunderous look on his face, he got up and went back to the other chair. As soon as I couldn’t make out what he was up to, he started texting feverishly, as if his very life depended on it.

Who the hell was this Mila woman?

And why did I suddenly feel this nightmarish stab of pure rage? And not just at Nik for scurrying away from what was beginning to be a civil conversation, but at Mila baby for interrupting us. Oh God, it couldn’t be jealousy. There was no way.

The coffee didn’t look so appetizing anymore, and the last thing I needed was a caffeine hit to work me up further. I left the cup on the table and crawled into bed.

“Wake me up when you’ve got my flight back home ready,” I snapped.

He never glanced my way, but the edge of his lip curled up as he kept sending messages. To Mila, presumably.

I put my head under the pillow and yanked the covers up to my chin, praying I could fall asleep before he dared to crawl in next to me.