no idea what to do. She’d never felt so out of sorts with him. They were either right in each other’s faces bickering away, or locked in each other’s arms. This new distance was confusing.
Why had he even brought her here, if he didn’t mean to have his way with her?
With his glass, he motioned to the leather couch. “I’ll have Rafael make that up for you. You should be comfortable enough.”
Pain twisted her heart. He was so cold. When his dead eyes made contact with hers, the pain tightened, and a shocking burn singed the back of her eyes. There was no sign of the Aidan she knew. Was he even real?
“Thank you,” she forced out.
When she didn’t move, he lifted one condescending eyebrow. “Did you need something else?”
You.
She almost gasped at the realization, but it was true. She needed him. Not the Aidan who stood before her, that one she could go a lifetime without seeing again, but the Aidan who had such a lazy amusement about him it infuriated her. She moved closer, and his eyes narrowed.
“What do you want, Jaylin?”
She didn’t know. All she knew was that she couldn’t spend the next few days with this stranger. Before she could change her mind, she moved to him and threw herself at him, locking her mouth to his…needing to somehow break through that ironclad control of his.
For a brief second, his body relaxed into hers, his lips softened as his tongue sailed past hers, and his arms wrapped tight around her. Then she felt the change. The distance. His hands found her upper arms and he pushed space between their bodies. His lips turned hard. Remote. Even the feel of his tongue, which had ever so briefly caressed hers in that tender way Aidan did, became only a tongue in her mouth, robotically moving against hers but nothing more.
He ripped his mouth away and tried to shove past her, but she grabbed his arms and tugged him back against her. Blue flashed in his eyes before she cinched her mouth to his again. A growl came from his chest, and she reveled in the sound as he once again softened into her.
This was her Aidan. Hers!
Then his mouth stilled. Ceased to move. Frozen, and she froze along with it. He stood ramrod straight—his body as hard as stone. She pulled back, and looked up at him. Nothing but green irises stared back at her. No desire, no tenderness, not even coldness.
No emotion whatsoever.
Swallowing back a rush of humiliation, she stepped away from him, their gazes locked.
“What did you wish to prove with that, Dr. Avgar?”
The use of her last name was like a slap to the face and she gasped, taking another step away from him. A muscle ticking in his jaw was his only reaction before he turned and stormed from the room.
She blinked back tears.
Why did it hurt so bad that it felt like she’d completely lost him? Why did she want more than anything to say to hell with the consequences and beg for Aidan to come back to her? Why did she feel all of this, while knowing they had no future?
…
An hour later, Aidan walked out of the bedroom, buttoning a crisp white shirt. Not wearing one had been a mistake. The feel of Jaylin pressed against his skin had been pure torture—just being around her was pure torture. Damn she was right, as much as he wanted her to be wrong.
He hadn’t seen a glimpse of her since their encounter in the living room, which had been fine with him. He’d needed the time to regroup. Not that it’d helped. They hadn’t been on this island five hours and his plan to keep his distance until she willingly came to him was all but imploding around him. And not the way she’d just thrown herself at him—out to prove him wrong, show that he was helpless to his instinct. That she was right.
It wouldn’t happen.
He hoped.
He didn’t know how much longer he could keep the charade up. He felt beat down, by his beast, by the Drall, by Jaylin. His head pounded, his muscles ached, and he was exhausted, all from fighting the instinct.
This trip wasn’t turning out as he’d planned. So far, he’d only succeeded in pushing her further away. He regretted lashing out, wanting to take back his words as soon as they came out of his mouth, regretting even more the flash of hurt he’d seen in her