Total pages in book: 17
Estimated words: 15515 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 78(@200wpm)___ 62(@250wpm)___ 52(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 15515 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 78(@200wpm)___ 62(@250wpm)___ 52(@300wpm)
Jesus Christ. She thinks she’s scaring me, but all she does is turn me on. Yet I believe her. She’s a spitfire, this one. And goddammit if it doesn’t make me want to conquer her.
“I understand, Miss Lang,” I tell her.
She tips her head gracefully. “Good because this is my island. You’d do well to remember that.”
I expect some micro-aggressions during the ‘tour’, but I’m wrong. Very wrong. Olivia is downright aggressive, and she doesn’t even try to hide it or make her attempts subtle.
For the past hour, she’s subjected me to alternating rounds of sarcasm, insults, and commentaries that border on rude. She’s doing it on purpose, and I’ve never felt this much entertainment in my life.
This is our first stop, and the salty sea breeze whips against my face as I make my way up the rocky cliff. Obviously, I don’t have hiking boots on, and the closest thing to it is a pair of sneakers I borrowed from my assistant. Is it comfortable? Fuck no. But it’s still better than the dress shoes I have. Olivia has been making fun of my slacks as it is.
Meanwhile, she looks stunning in a pair of denim cutoff shorts, a crop top, and flip-flops. She looks so effortlessly beautiful, I can feel my heart constrict each time I steal a glance at her.
“If your goal was to kill me on the way up,” I say breathlessly, “then you’re halfway there. I haven’t lost my breath like this since tenth grade when my teacher made me run ten laps for snacking in the middle of class.”
She almost smiles but thinks better of it. Huh. I’ve never been the funny type, but I’ll bend over backward if that means I can pull one of those rare grins from her. “I told you I could kill you 101 ways.”
“You did. I can’t say I’m excited to learn about the other 100.”
“You don’t know the half of it, sir.”
Sir. That single word makes my loins tighten with primal lust. “My name is Oliver.”
She casts me an amused gaze. “Okay, sir.”
Goddamn, Olivia is stubborn. I fucking like it.
“You know, Olivia, fuck my ego. Let me sit first.” I sink into the massive boulder, feeling the cool, rough surface beneath me. The muscles in my legs twitch with fatigue—something I plan to bring up to my gym trainer when I get back.
Olivia sits across from me on a smaller boulder. She rests her palms on either side of her and lifts her face to the sky, the wind tugging at her short curly hair.
I sit there, wondering if I should kiss her, paint her, or just continue gawking like a creep. I choose the last option. I trace her jaw, slender neck, the freckles on her chest, the small rounds of her breast accentuated by the thin fabric, and her smooth, toned legs.
The view here is breathtaking—the horizon stretching out endlessly, the white caps of the waves sparkling in the sunlight, boats dotting the water below us—but it still has nothing on her.
Olivia Lang is a vision. The more I stare, the more I can’t look away … until I feel something stirring to life against my zipper.
Fuck me. I need a distraction.
“Olivia, talk to me. Tell me why you don’t want to sell and explain everything to me like I’m a five-year-old.”
“Well, your predecessors were worse than five-year-olds. At least kids understand what no means.”
“Lies. My assistant has a three-year-old. You tell her she can’t eat chocolates, she’ll spend the next five minutes stuffing her face with it.”
Olivia bites her lower lip, trying to stifle a laugh. “Fair point.”
At first, she doesn’t say anything else, just closes her eyes and sighs. Then, she sits straighter and rests her palms on her lap. “Okay since you’re the first one to actually ask instead of demanding I hand our land to you in exchange for money.”
Our lawyers did that? Shit. I will have a lengthy discussion with them when I get back, which is again hypocritical since I might have done the same if it wasn’t her. “I’m sorry for what they did to you and your family.”
“And the rest of our neighbors.”
“And the rest of your neighbors.”
Olivia waves it off and looks at a point behind me. “I know it’s just a piece of property to you and your multi-billion company. To me, my mom, and my sister, it’s more than that.” She bites her bottom lip again and blinks quickly. “It’s the only thing we have left of Dad.”
I don’t interrupt or even breathe so noisily because I can tell this is important to her. Plus, I need to understand her, so I can make my case to my brother. It wasn’t a lie when I told her that. Paul is bullheaded, but I can make him listen to reason.