Wanton Heat (A Feel the Heat Novel) (Entangled Brazen) (15 page)

Chapter Eight

Zoe had to get off this friggin
g island before she went insane.

Apparently the afternoon ferry was delayed due to a problem with the engine, and she had two choices. Either sit on the dock and wait until the tugboat left or charter a private boat.

It was a no-brainer. She could charge it to the Kaluna expense account. Her visit to these godforsaken islands had been business. She’d been the dumbass to complicate the issue with pleasure.

The sex wasn’t all that great.

Could she have told a more monumental lie? Sex with Dom had been phenomenal. And it would be one of the many things she’d have to forget about her stay.

Jeez, she’d messed up. Not only was the ad campaign in ruins without Dom’s approval, but she may have single-handedly sunk AW Advertising for good.

What if Kai Kaluna thought the company was incompetent because
she
hadn’t landed the Ancora ad campaign? What if he took his business and walked?

Fuck.

This was her worst nightmare.

She’d failed. Again.

But this time was so much worse, because losing Kaluna would finish AW once and for all.

And she’d have to tell her BFF who’d always been there for her, that she was the one responsible for sinking their company.

Damn it.

Her fingers dug into her leather bag while she wished she could wrap them around Dom’s neck and squeeze hard.

He’d hurt her. Badly. By not trusting her enough to give her the benefit of the doubt, by not caring about her enough to believe she’d never do something like that to him.

How had she gotten it so wrong? After their time together on Ancora, she’d thought…what? That he had feelings for her? That he may have fallen a little in love like she had?

Yeah, right. Looked like His Highness had been sowing his royal oats, and she’d been nothing more than a pleasant diversion while they’d been stranded.

She was such an
idiot
for believing otherwise.

The boat engine roared to life. Good. The sooner she got back to Naples, the sooner she could head home.

She’d read somewhere in her research that Ancora translated to light and Osturo to darkness. Wasn’t that the truth? It was almost like Dom had been a different person on Ancora, his personality infused with a lightness she loved. On Osturo, he’d been a prick. And that’s the guy she had to remember if she had any chance of forgetting him.

Water churned as the boat edged away from the dock and cruised toward open water. Zoe kept her gaze firmly on the receding shore. She wanted to memorize her last glimpse of Osturo and all it stood for. Pain. Heartache. Foolishness.

She’d deliberately chosen a seat at the stern for this purpose. Not because she wanted to look back, but because she needed to face her fears and prove she could do this anyway.

So she’d fallen in love and had her heart broken? Millions of relationships shattered every day. And technically, she hadn’t had a relationship to begin with.

She’d had a physical connection with a very sexy alpha prince. They’d had mind-blowing sex. That was it. End of story.

The sun’s rays caressed her face, the comforting warmth making her eyelids droop. She was exhausted. Physically. Mentally. Emotionally. If only she could nap and awaken to find it had all been a nightmare.

She closed her eyes and tilted her face up to the sun. Maybe a little siesta between here and Naples wouldn’t be out of the question…

Ten minutes later, the boat stopped, and her eyes snapped open.

Osturo was a long way behind and a quick glance port and starboard showed there was no land on either side.

Shit.

That’s all she needed. For the boat to sink. Though drowning might be the easy way out considering how crappy her life was right now.

The boat bobbed like a cork as she made her way to the front. “Is there a problem…?”

“Depends on how you look at it,” Dom said, emerging from the cabin. “If you want to hear me out and discuss this like two rational adults, there’s no problem. If you don’t, your only option is to jump overboard, in which case, that could be a distinct problem.”

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“Same thing you did.” He had the audacity to grin. “Kidnapping you so I have a captive audience.”

Secretly impressed by the lengths he’d gone to, she frowned and folded her arms. “Why don’t you get your own material rather than copying mine?”

“Because yours worked so effectively, don’t you think?”

The implication behind his words was clear, and she didn’t need a reminder of how her kidnapping stunt had panned out.

“Well, your captive audience is right here.” She stamped her foot for emphasis. “Though why you think I’d listen to a word you say is beyond me.”

He gestured at the sea. “Because we’re in the middle of the ocean, and you have no choice?”

“Smart-ass,” she muttered. “I’ll listen but doesn’t mean I’ll believe any of it after the shitty performance you put in at the castle.”

He winced. “I’m sorry. I overreacted and said some heinous things.”

“Heinous?” She snorted. “You can take the boy out of the castle, but you can’t take the castle out of the boy.”

“You’re mocking me.”

“Ten points to the guy with a crown on his head and a stick ten feet up his—”

“Be nice,” he said, those mesmerizing lips she’d kissed so many times curving in amusement.

“Why? You weren’t.”

“Sulking doesn’t become you,” he said, pointing to the nearest bench seat. “Shall we sit and talk?”

“I guess.” She shrugged, sounding every inch a recalcitrant kid, when in fact curiosity was eating away at her. He’d gone to great lengths to apologize. Which he’d just done. So what did they have to discuss?

“I want you to know I believe you,” he said, waiting until she’d sat before doing the same. “I let my past cloud my judgment, and that was a stupid thing to do.”

“It was.” She nodded. “You should’ve asked me rather than flinging wild accusations.”

“I should’ve done a lot of things…” He shook his head and stared straight ahead. “What happened on Ancora between us…the connection we shared…it unnerved me.” He made circling motions at his temple. “Made me go a little crazy.”

She knew the feeling, but she waited for him to continue.

“My recluse reputation isn’t something I cultivated over the last few years. I’ve always been a loner by choice.” He still didn’t look at her, and she resisted the urge to hold his hand to encourage him to go on. “People always want something from me, and they’ll stoop to any level to get it. So I learned to close myself off. To become unreachable emotionally. Then I turned to Lilia for comfort after my parents’ death, and you know how that turned out.” He cleared his throat. “She was just using me, too. It’s easier being alone. Being shut off. Not having to depend on anyone for anything, least of all to feel good about myself.”

He finally swiveled his body to face her. “But that’s how you make me feel. Happy. Like I’m truly alive for the first time in years.”

He grimaced. “When I fucked everything up and thought I’d lost you?” He tapped his chest over his heart. “Hurt like a bitch in here.”

His sincerity melted Zoe’s resentment. He thought she’d betrayed him like Lilia had. But this didn’t change anything. She needed a man to trust her, to believe in her enough that he wouldn’t automatically assume the worst.

She’d vowed to never become like her mom, dependent on a guy for happiness. Yet that’s exactly what she’d opened herself up for with Dominic.

The way he’d treated her? Had hurt more than she could’ve ever thought possible. She’d been shattered.

While she appreciated his apology, it didn’t mean anything. Trite words to soothe his guilty conscience once he’d discovered the truth.

Ironic, that they both didn’t let people get close, but for different reasons. The pain she was going through now when she’d only just fallen for him? Imagine how much worse it would be if she gave him her heart completely.

Not a chance in hell.

“And I don’t want to lose you. Not ever again.” He wound his fingers through hers and held on tight, while she attributed the queasiness in her stomach to the rocking boat. “I want you to stay with me, Zoe. What do you say?”

Zoe’s fissured heart yelled a resounding yes.

Her head? Had just ruminated on every reason why she had to say no.

“I can’t.” She tried to slide her hand free but he tightened his grip. “My life is in LA—”

“The Kaluna ad campaign is yours,” he blurted, the fear in his eyes beseeching her to understand. “And I’m well aware this will probably accelerate your departure. But I’m hoping…” He dragged in a breath and placed her hand over his heart, where it bucked like a wild thing. “I’m hoping you’ll understand that I’m giving you this. My heart is yours.”

Zoe swallowed, several times, unable to speak past the lump of emotion lodged in her throat.

Considering how he’d just revealed his innermost fears to her, that people only wanted him for what they could get, he’d virtually handed her his heart on a silver platter complete with carving knife.

Making a declaration like that, while expecting her to leave now that she’d gotten what she came for, was a bold move. She should know. She was prone to making brazen moves herself.

But considering the way he’d treated her before this, now wasn’t one of those times.

“I appreciate your honesty, but I can’t stay—”

“Your life can be here. You can work here. That idea you had, to develop Osturo and highlight both islands with an ad campaign?” He pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled, and for a horrifying moment Zoe thought he might cry. “Shows me you get it. That you get
me
. I never wanted to change Ancora for personal reasons. But Kaluna found a loophole in the contract and is going ahead, so I need to make the best of a bad situation, and that means changing the way I think.”

He released her hand, only to reach for her, but she sidled away. “I want to hear more about your ideas,” he said.

So much for him giving her his heart. She hadn’t said yes so he’d reverted to other means, appealing to her business sense. He made it sound so logical, but she wasn’t a complete fool. “So now you want to hear me out because you have no other option? Nice.”

“It’s not like that.” He swiped a hand over his face. It did little to ease the tension furrowing his brows. “There’s a reason I’ve been against expanding and promoting Ancora.” He puffed out a breath. “My dad loved Ancora. He loved its wilderness. He pretended that Kaluna’s resort didn’t exist, so when he died, I made a promise to myself to preserve the island in his memory.”

“That’s noble,” Zoe said, admiring his loyalty to his dad. “But surely he would’ve wanted this region to thrive?”

He shrugged. “Guess I’ve been reluctant to change anything on the islands for fear of letting him down in some way. Which sounds lame when I say it, but it’s what I’ve believed in here for so long.” He tapped his chest over his heart. “Thankfully Kaluna’s new developer seems dedicated to preserving Ancora’s wild beauty, so it’s not all bad.”

She nodded, increasingly touched by his devotion to his father.

“And if Ancora will be on the tourist map, it’s time to develop Osturo, too, which is where you come in.” His gentle smile made her heart twang. “Please tell me your ideas.”

She could be an ass and tell him to stick it, but his honesty had gone some way toward soothing her wounded heart. “If Ancora is all about preserving its unspoiled beauty, I wanted to do the opposite with Osturo. Make it hip and happening. Provide a nice contrast for tourists coming to see the islands.”

The appreciation in his eyes encouraged her to continue. “I thought it’d be cool to break with tradition and develop Osturo into the hot spot of the Mediterranean. A luxury resort, exclusive villas, restaurants, an open-air shopping marketplace, so people will want to visit and not only use it as a ferry stop to Ancora. With the bonus of providing new jobs and bringing in tourist dollars.”

Zoe inadvertently held her breath, waiting for the verdict. Not that she cared what he did any more, considering she wouldn’t be around, but she’d put a lot of thought into her plans. For him. Because she loved him.

A sentiment she needed to forget pronto.

Dom beamed, the kind of smile that hit Zoe in the solar plexus: swift and hard and damaging. And right then, she knew it would take her a long time to get over this man.

“You’re amazing,” he said, staring at her like she’d handed him a crown on a platter. “Absolutely brilliant.”

Humbled by his praise, she nodded. “Good luck with it all—”

“But it’ll mean nothing unless you devise a kick-ass ad campaign to put Osturo on the map.” He held out his hand. “So what do you say? Fancy being my personal PR ad exec?”

Ironic, that in thinking she’d sunk AW Advertising, she had just landed the opportunity of a lifetime. Doing a personal campaign for Prince Dominic Ricci would ensure the company would have clients bashing down their door. And went a long way to assuaging her battered confidence after the debacle in LA, not to mention making amends with Allegra. Whom she could now tell the whole truth to.

But how could she work with Dom and keep things professional when she had to steel her heart?

“So let me get this straight. You’re approving my ad campaign for Kaluna’s resort on Ancora?”

He nodded. “But I want you to delegate Kaluna’s campaign, so you work on my ad campaign only.” His piercing blue gaze bore into hers. “You’re exclusively mine.”

For one fantastical moment, Zoe wished.

But she’d given up on wishes a long time ago, around the time her folks first separated before their inevitable tension-fraught reunions, and she learned there was no such thing as happily ever after.