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But no, apparently not.
Apparently he was the one who’d got one over on me. Because by simply handing those islands over to me, he’d won.
He owed me, so Delaney had said.
Over the years, he’d tried to pay me back the money he’d lost, but I hadn’t accepted it. Because he’d thought it was just about the money and it wasn’t. It was about the years of working hard, the long hours of all the various jobs I’d had in order to save that money. And my mother, the long hours she’d put in to earn her nest egg.
The nest egg she’d lost because of me.
Dumont couldn’t give me those hours back. He couldn’t give me back my mother’s broken trust, either.
It’s not just about Dumont, though, is it? You don’t deserve any of this and you never have.
My jaw ached, the pounding fury propelling me down another gleaming white marble corridor and up some stairs.
No, fuck that. Of course I deserved it. I’d worked for everything I had. Fucking everything. My whole business was literally based on the blood I’d shed. My blood.
I’d fought for it and I’d been expecting to fight for this too. Except he’d denied me. It wasn’t the money he owed me, it was the fucking battle.
I strode down yet another corridor, not knowing where I was going. I had to walk off this rage because I wasn’t fit for any kind of polite company right now.
The corridor was full of doors and I opened one at random, entering a lavishly appointed suite that had a huge canopied bed pushed against one wall, French doors opposite leading out to a balcony with lots of white marble fretwork.
The parquet floor was covered with silk rugs and cushions, curtains of brightly patterned fabric billowing in the breeze coming through the open French doors. Another door led off the bedroom, probably into a bathroom.
Obviously I’d stumbled into some of the Billionaires Club intimate suites.
I turned around, intending to stride out again, only to come face-to-face with a flushed Ellie.
She was standing in the doorway, one fist holding a bunch of green fabric out of the way, breathing hard, as if she’d been running to catch up with me.
‘What are you doing here?’ I snapped before she could speak, furious that she was here when I was angry and no doubt dangerous. ‘Have you been following me?’
‘Of course I’ve been following you,’ she said breathlessly. ‘You just upped and left without a word. I wanted to see if you were okay.’
‘As you can see, I’m fine.’ I took a couple of steps towards her, hoping she’d get out of my way, but she didn’t.
‘You’re not fine.’ She tilted her head back to look up at me. ‘You’re furious.’
‘Move, Ellie,’ I growled, in no mood for her to argue. ‘You don’t want to be around me right now.’
She didn’t move. ‘What’s going on, Ash?’
No, I did not want to have this conversation with her. Not in any way, shape or form. I didn’t want to explain the rage that sat inside me, not when I could barely explain it to myself. And I certainly didn’t want her floating around in her gown with its plunging neckline and tight-fitting bodice, outlining the lovely shapes of her breasts and hips. How the green made her skin look creamy and her eyes glitter like emeralds.
How it made me want to get rid of this rage by ripping that dress from her body and taking her down on the silken rugs right here, right now; to unleash myself on her lovely body, hold her down while I fucked away the fury that I could never quite seem to escape.
But I didn’t want to do that. Not after what she’d been through with one man who’d hurt her already.
And besides, I wasn’t in any mood to hear the word ‘no’ from anyone.
I took another step towards her, making myself seem as big and as intimidating as possible, hoping to scare her into getting out of the way.
But she only frowned, coming into the room and shutting the door behind her.
Silly, silly girl.
‘What the fuck do you think you’re doing?’ I demanded, trying to get a handle on myself. ‘Get away from me.’
