The calm doesn’t last long though, as I sense someone approach. I turn away from the peaceful night scene and find myself face to face with the guy who can only be described as the personification of daylight. Even in the darkness, he glows with some ethereal light. As if he carries the sun with him wherever he goes.
I realize that I had been hoping that the image of perfection that I’d seen on the beach would turn out to be too good to be true. That up close, I’d see that he isn’t, in fact, the most beautiful person I’ve ever laid my eyes on. But I’m sorely disappointed, because this guy is just as beautiful up close as he was from afar, even more so. He’s the kind of guy that could break hearts with just one look. I notice the little details that make his perfect face even more devastating—the sexy indent on his top lip, the even sexier dimple on his chin and his impossibly long golden lashes, so thick, that it’s sinful. I find myself thinking again that he looks exactly like an angel might.
But when he opens his mouth to speak, that image is quickly banished.
“You don’t belong here.” His harsh tone is as cutting as his words.
My initial surprise quickly fades and I return his icy glare with one of my own.
“Oh, yeah? Says who?” I say, although in the back of my mind, I’m sure that I agree with him. I don’t belong here. I knew it from the first moment I stepped foot on this planet and the less than welcoming ceremony only reinforced that fact.
“Says me.”
I didn’t pick up on his arrogance earlier, but I don’t know how I could’ve missed it now. Everything about him screams privilege and wealth and the way he carries himself makes it clear that he is well aware of it. This guy has an entire world at his feet, and when he speaks, it’s with the authority of a crown that’s his by birthright.
Because I know it’ll infuriate an arrogant prick like him, I say, “And sorry, who are you again?” I’m pleased with the cool disinterest in my tone.
Those sensuous lips twist in a mocking smile as he takes a step closer, disrupting the air around me.
“Oh, I think you know who I am, Jaz.”
“Jazmine,” I correct him.
He pretends to think something over.
“Naah. Too many syllables for someone so insignificant. It’s a waste of breath. I think I’ll call you Jaz.”
The insult stings and I can feel the swell of indignation in response.
“And I think I’ll call you a fucking bastard.”
I see the surprise flare in those piercing blue eyes. I expect him to be offended but he seems … oddly fascinated instead. He’s probably never been insulted before in his life. Probably used to girls just throwing themselves at his feet and is expecting me to follow suit. Well, he has another think coming.
He cocks his head to the side as he regards me.
“No. that would be you—you’re the bastard here, remember?”
The indignation turns into white hot rage at his words. This guy may have the face of an angel, but he has the mouth of the fucking devil. It figures that someone so hot would be such an asshole. It only makes perfect sense. I guess I hadn’t been wrong about what I hoped I’d find up close after all—because his face may be even more beautiful up close, but his personality certainly isn’t. This guy is the biggest asshole I’ve ever met in my entire life. Some part of me is glad. Because if he hadn’t turned out to be such a bastard, I’m pretty sure that I’d be in trouble.
“Fuck you, asshole,” I hiss, giving him a look that could kill birds in mid-flight.
His eyes travel the length of me and I’m suddenly aware of his closeness. His scent engulfs me, making me think of citrus and cool winter mornings. My traitorous body responds to him on an almost primal level, which surprises the hell out of me, because I haven’t even so much as looked twice at a guy before, regardless of how good looking.
But there is something about this guy that makes me feel like my body has a mind of its own, something about him that makes me feel like the whole room, hell, the entire universe disappears in his presence, leaving only me and him in the vastness of time and space.
The smirk on that impossibly beautiful face tells me that he is well aware of the effect that he has on me.
“Are you offering to fuck me, Jaz?”
I think my jaw hits the floor at the outrageous question. Then I throw my head back and let out a harsh laugh. Is he being serious?
When I turn back to him, he looks far from amused. In fact, he looks pissed.
“I’d rather swallow glass than go anywhere near you.”
His gaze rests on my neck where my pulse is fluttering just beneath the surface, and he flashes me another arrogant smirk.
“You sure about that, Jaz?”
“Hmmm. Let me think.” I tilt my head to the side, and narrow my eyes before looking at him straight on.
“Yeah, pretty damn sure.” I meet his gaze unflinchingly, although it’s a struggle to keep eye contact when those impossibly blue eyes make me feel like I’m falling through the sky if I let myself look into them for too long.
“I think you’re a liar.”
“And I think you’re delusional.”
“Because you’re new here, I’ll let you insult me this one time. Once. But let me get one thing straight, Jaz—around here, I run shit. One word from me and I can make your life a living hell. This is my planet, my world—and you don’t belong here.”
His words are like a slap to the face, but I school my expression into staying blank.
“And let me get one thing straight, you spoiled prick—I don’t give a shit who you are, I’ll talk to you however I want. I didn’t choose to come here. I was kidnapped and now I have no other choice but to stay. But just because I have to be here, doesn’t mean I’m going to put up with threats from a spoiled asshole like you. You have no idea what I’ve been through or who I am. You want to make my life a living hell? Go ahead. I’ve been there, done that.”
Something flickers in the depths of those vivid blue eyes just then, and his gaze seems to falter for a moment. But he recovers quickly, flashing me a cold smile.
“Watch yourself, Jaz, you’re not in the trailer park anymore.”
I’m not sure how the hell he knows about foster home number ten, and I don’t even want to think about what else he knows. I make sure that my expression betrays nothing.
“Wow. So, not only are you a total dickhead, you’re stalking me, too.”
He bares his teeth in what would be a smile, if it didn’t look so menacing.
“Don’t flatter yourself, baby.”
I almost gag in response.
“Urgh, trust me, there is nothing flattering about the thought of an ass-wipe like you stalking me. In fact, the thought gives me nightmares.”
He narrows his eyes at the insult and I can feel the venom in his gaze. But there’s no way I’m going to let this asshole intimidate me.
“You don’t know what you’re messing with, Jaz. This world may seem beautiful, but you have no idea.”