The Tycoon's Seductive Revenge Read Free

rigid.
    Ellie’s gaze snapped up, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. In the next moment, her blood turned to ice.
    Piercing gray eyes took her breath away. Turbulent, fierce and compelling, like the ocean during a storm. Like Carter Stratton .
    A strangled word wheezed out. “How...?”
    The angles of his face softened slightly, but those eyes remained sharp, calculating, like a hawk targeting its prey. Ever so slowly, he slid the towel down from his ruffled hair, drew it along his chest, finally tucking it around his waist. An obnoxiously confident smirk lifted one corner of his mouth.
    Was he taunting her?
    Ellie didn’t feel mocked, she felt intimidated. He had changed. “Carter, what are you doing here?”
    Ignoring the question, he asked, “Is this the new wakeup call?” He stepped toward her, droplets clinging to the spiked ends of his hair. “I think I like it.”
    The closer he came, the further she retreated. “This isn’t—I’m not here to—”
    “I think you are.”
    Her shoulder blades hit the wall.
    He didn’t stop until his hands were flattened on either side of her head. “You’re here to pick up where we left off.”
    “I didn’t even know you were coming!”
    Eyelids lowering, he murmured, “Not yet, but we can work on that.”
    “Carter,” she hissed.
    He grabbed her chin, angling her mouth up to him. God help her, she wanted him to kiss her. So badly she ached from head to toe. It seemed like ages since she’d felt such a strong sexual response to a man.
    Her lips trembled. “I—”
    “Why the hesitation? You knew this day would arrive.” His body came up solidly against hers. Ellie stifled a moan. “Remember what I told you twelve years ago?”
    She nodded shakily.
    “I always keep my promises.”
    The instincts of terror and surrender collided inside her. “I know,” she whispered.
    “Still, you’re surprised to see me.” His unshaven jaw scraped along her cheek. His breath was warm and tantalizing against her ear. “Why is that, Eleanor Grace Montgomery?”
    Ellie cringed at the use of her full name, a burden of expectation few people understood.
    Carter pulled back, perhaps interpreting her response as rejection—the way he’d misinterpreted her actions years ago. He thought she’d abandoned him when she told him goodbye. In truth, she was protecting him.
    Regardless, his eyes didn’t waver from their target. He didn’t even blink. She shivered.
    Chill warning resonated in his voice. “I’m back to take what was denied me.” His grip tightened on her chin. Their lips nearly touched. “Including you.”
    After they’d parted on miserable terms, she swore she’d never be that vulnerable to a man again. But her frozen limbs and speechlessness betrayed her.
    Did he know? Did he have any idea how painful this was for her?
    She tilted her face up to him. His gaze flicked to her lips. Without thinking, she closed her eyes and waited for the press of his mouth.
    Suddenly, he released her. Her eyes flew open and she watched him saunter back into the master bath. He slammed the door.
    Ellie recoiled as if she’d been slapped. In the span of five minutes, an old scar had ripped open inside her.
    Heart throbbing, she exited the suite. As she traveled the hallway toward her uncle’s office, the floor felt uneven beneath her feet.
    She had no idea what was going to happen now. However, she recognized one certainty—whatever transpired in the next five days, Carter Stratton would be at the center of it. For better...or worse.
    *
                  Carter opened the bathroom door two minutes later. Ellie was gone.
    Something strange happened in his chest, a pinching sensation he didn’t like. He brushed it off. Now that he was back on the island, he could sever the final thread tying him to this woman.
    Swiping his cell phone off the bedside table, he hit number one on his speed dial. The island’s remoteness delayed call connection for a full minute. When