I sigh, glaring up at him. “On second thought, I’ll thank him in person, Lay. Talk to you later.”

As soon as I hang up, I shove the phone into Jonathan’s hand, seething on the inside.

He tucks it in his pocket and sits beside me, still cradling his tablet. “You will not thank Ethan, on the phone or in person. The next time you see him, you’ll walk the opposite way.”

And just like that, he returns to his tablet. Now that he’s issued his order, his job is done.

Well, screw him.

I take a few moments to suck in deep breaths, because if I speak while agitated, it’ll just backfire on me. Jonathan’s level of conniving intelligence doesn’t hesitate to use people’s emotions against them.

“If I’m thankful to Ethan, I’ll express it.”

He doesn’t lift his head. “You will not.”

“Well, you wouldn’t know if I meet him behind your back.”

I realise the severity of what I’ve just said too late. Jonathan’s attention zeroes in on me, his jaw clenching under his five o’clock shadow. “What did you just say?”

“I said I’m free to meet whomever I like.” I stand my ground, yet my fingers tremble. To say Jonathan looks scary right now would be an understatement.

“Repeat your exact words, Aurora.”

When I remain quiet, he abandons the tablet. I don’t notice it until he grabs me by the throat and tugs me to his side. His touch is firm, merciless, and while it usually turns me on, the expression on his face terrifies the hell out of me.

“Did you just say you’ll meet Ethan behind my fucking back? Is that it?”

“Well, if you don’t let me —”

“It’s a yes or no question,” he cuts me off.

“I won’t do it,” I whisper. Even though I like challenging Jonathan, stirring up his ugly side is an entirely different thing.

He gets weird about anything that includes Ethan, and I sure as hell don’t want to get in the middle of that.

“You won’t do what?” His grip tightens on my throat, and this time, arousal expands across my skin.

During the days we’ve spent on this island, I’ve gotten used to his touch more than ever before. It might have to do with the different toys he keeps shoving up my arse. Whenever he fucks me with one inside me, I feel like my orgasm hits me from a dozen different places all at once.

But deep down, I know it’s not only because of the toys, punishments, or exotic positions. It’s because of him — Jonathan. The way he listens to me, the way he keeps telling me that the past isn’t my fault. I never knew I needed to hear those words from him until he said them.

Whenever we walk or lounge on the beach, we talk about everything. Our lives, our visions, and our goals. For Jonathan, it’s his pursuit of power. For me, it’s proving my artistic streak. The ability to somehow grasp the uncatchable time through design. He raised an eyebrow when I told him that was part of the reason why I chose watches. It might have started with the present Alicia brought me, but it was my fascination with the notion of time that became my driving force.

When I was little, I took time for granted. But after my life flipped upside down, I wanted to commemorate every second possible. When I told Jonathan that after losing my inhibition due to alcohol, he said he was proud of me. And I might have climbed him and demanded he take me then and there.

The fact that he’s turning out to be more than I ever thought I needed is pushing buttons I didn’t know I had.

I don’t know how it happened or why, but Jonathan has effortlessly become an undivided part of my life. I couldn’t get rid of him even if I wanted to.

That’s both terrifying and exciting.

Instead of answering his question, I deflect, “Why do you hate Ethan so much?”

“You know.”

I shake my head in his hold. “It’s not only because of Alicia’s death. If anything, he also lost his factory, wife, and nine years of his life. If you compare things, Ethan had endured more damage than you.”

He traces my jaw with a deceptively tender thumb. “Are you taking his side, wild one?”

“I’m just stating facts. I…I want to get to know you.”

“And you think decoding my relationship with Ethan would do that?”

“Whether you like to admit it or not, he’s the only one you consider a worthy rival.”

“Worthy isn’t the word I would use. Try infuriating.”

“Come on, tell me what it’s all about.”

His thumb continues gliding up and down my skin, creating maddening friction. “All you need to know is that I don’t like him close to you.”

“Why?”

“Because.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“It wasn’t supposed to.”

“Wait. Is it because of your attraction to the same type of women?” I can’t believe I haven’t thought about that before now. It makes complete sense that Jonathan wants me away from Ethan because he thinks Ethan also sees me the way he does.

His thumb halts as he narrows his eyes. “How do you know about that?”

“Ethan told me.”

“Ethan told you,” he repeats with a lethal edge. “What else did he tell you?”

“He said you used to have threesomes and share women, and that you’re attracted to the same type.”

“And then he said he could be better than me, didn’t he? I’m going to fucking murder him.”

“He didn’t say that.”

“He always said that to the women.” His lips twists. “In fact, he didn’t need to. They gravitated towards him anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

He pauses, and I suspect he won’t answer my question, as usual, when he feels pressed, but then he speaks quietly. “In the past, I was always the one the women wanted to fuck, but the one they envisioned a relationship with was Ethan.”

Oh. Jonathan feels like I would be like them. Far from it. It’s crazy, but I wouldn’t choose anyone above him.

“In case you didn’t notice, you’re intimidating, Jonathan.”

He narrows his eyes on me again. “Right.”

“I mean it. You have a god-like presence that no one dares to come near.”