Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 76390 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76390 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Her winsome smile amused and disgruntled him at the same time, especially since he realized then that it was true. If he didn’t want a photo of them – of her – he wouldn’t have hesitated to delete the photo right then and there.
Ignoring her knowing look, Nik asked with exaggerated politeness, “Shall we go now?”
Daria only giggled. “You’re welcome,” she said gaily. They had only walked for another minute when she blurted out, “I don’t want to go back yet.”
“What do you propose we do then?” Nik tried to mask his cynicism as he asked the question. He had wondered how long Daria would last without the finer trappings of life, and her words seemed to signal that she had reached her limit.
His belief was further cemented when Daria peered at him under her lashes with a calculating gleam in her eyes. He waited for her to ask him for something expensive – perhaps a treatment at an exclusive spa by the beach or drinks at one of the fancy bars lining the path – just to see how much she could milk him for. Or if not that, he thought grimly, then perhaps she’d ask for any of those and offer to pay. People like Daria Everest had to keep up appearances, after all.
“I’ve decided,” she announced.
“Have you now?” he murmured. “So what is it?”
An impish smile touched her lips, and despite everything, he was mesmerized by it. And then she asked seriously, “How good are you at building sandcastles?”
Chapter Three
“My turn to ask,” Daria said the next day. She was lying flat on her stomach on a lounge chair that faced the beach – or at least where the beach was supposed to be. Because Nik’s room was further in the island, all they could see were a few palm trees and the throng of tourists that spilled into the inner walkways, offering shortcuts to the island’s plaza where all the fancy boutiques were.
“You’ve been asking all the questions,” Nik pointed out dryly.
“It’s not my fault you take too long time to think of your question,” Daria protested. Then she released a little moan, her eyes sweeping shut in pleasure at the way Nik kneaded her back. “Oh, that’s so good.” Conscious of how Nik didn’t seem to have that much money – at least not enough to pay for a $100 treatment at her favorite spa – Daria had suggested they take turns giving each other a massage. So far, it was proving to be the best idea she ever had, with Nik’s firm, sensual touch so much better at making her feel deliciously hot and relaxed all over.
The dreamy smile on Daria’s face tempted him to kiss her, but Nik fought to keep himself in control. It could all be an act, he reminded himself. This and everything that had happened yesterday – all of it could be Daria simply pretending to be the kind of girl she imagined he wanted.
Yesterday had only added to the enigma Daria represented. They had indeed gone on building sandcastles – or at least he did, while hers appeared more like prison wards she had tried to beautify by sticking seashells to its sides.
Afterwards, they had gone swimming, time passing them by as they alternated between talking about anything under the sun and making out. The last one had been entirely Daria’s idea, of course. Dinner had been vastly simple, Daria insisting they buy meat and seafood from the local market and grilling them outside their room.
Throughout it, he had waited for Daria to show signs of boredom or exhaustion. He had waited for her to slip – waited for her to leave him for one of the supposedly richer guys in the island. And there had been plenty of them. Daria turned heads wherever they went, and most of the men never bothered to hide their admiration.
Any of them would have willingly dropped a couple of thousand euros just to have Daria smile at them. She could have had her pick among those men, but she hadn’t.
She had chosen to stay with him, and when she had fallen asleep in his arms after another long, wild, and passionate bout of lovemaking, it had been with the same dreamy smile she had on her face now.
Either she wanted sex from him that much, Nik thought grimly, or he was close to getting what he wanted: Daria falling in love with him and leaving herself open to his revenge.
“Nik...can I ask my next question?” Her voice was a mixture of sleepy and determined, like a child unable to admit she was ready for bedtime.
Again, there was an urge to smile – an urge he had felt more times today than he had in his entire life. It was not a pleasant thought, and with it came an equally strong urge to leave Daria. To get out of her life and never look back.