“Yes, it worked,” he told her—not because it was true but because it should have been. “You may use the shower if you wish. But after that, you should go.”
JAZZ
You should go.
All the warm and fuzzy feelings from that amazing sex popped like a bubble inside of me.
Making me feel stupid for thinking the answer to that question would be no. Hadn’t his original date told me the deal in that downstairs bathroom?
He doesn’t let girls spend the night—that’s his policy. But he makes having to take that middle of the night Uber ride home worth it. Believe me.
I’d finally caught the big wave. I’d paddled hard to meet it and jumped on it on my terms—just sex. No feelings. Bet.
But then, I’d made the rookie mistake of letting myself rest, of turning my board toward the beach as opposed to watching out for dangerous incoming waves on the horizon.
I rose from the bed, feeling as dirty as he had insinuated with that gracious offer of the shower. I quickly gathered my clothes and all but ran to the bathroom suite. It was gorgeous. Marble and wicker and full of Polynesian charm.
But I didn’t stop to marvel at any of that. Instead, I stared at myself in the mirror, naked and tousled. Vulnerable. That had been the best sex of my life. I’d felt so happy and complete afterward. And I finally understood why mortal girls gave up their human worlds to be with Fae Kings.
Magic…
For the first time since I found out about my father’s diagnosis, it had felt like something in my life was going right. That the stars had aligned to give me exactly what I needed on Valentine’s night.
But then he dismissed me just like he had Lana—you know, the woman I’d thought I was out of her mind to hand over her pride so easily to him?
Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry, I commanded myself until the emotions brimming in my eyes finally receded. Because you know what? I deserved that wipeout. I deserved everything I was feeling now because I’d let my guard down when I knew…I knew better.
I rinsed off after I got a hold of myself. The body wash smelled like jasmine and had a hand-drawn picture of my mother’s favorite flower splashed across its front. The luxurious scent covered up my latest mistake with the ruthless triad dragon. But it clung to me even after I toweled off, mocking me as I put back on the bikini and then the flower vomit dress and cardigan.
So no, I wasn’t surprised by how things turned out when I opened the bathroom door. But I was surprised to find Han right outside when I came back into the suite's main room.
He’d pulled his boxer briefs back on, and he had a look on his face that reminded me a little too much of pity.
“Jasmine…” he started to say, taking a step toward me.
First rule of self-defense, never let them get too close.
I held up a hand to keep him from advancing. “Don’t. I don’t want to talk about this with you. I get it.”
He started to speak again, but I cut him off. “I’m going to pay you back. I don’t care if I have to work my fingers to the bone. I’m going to pay you back so that I never have to see you again. Here, take this. I don’t want it anymore.”
I pulled the phone out of the crossbody purse my mom loaned me and tried to hand it to him.
But he just looked at it, and that soft pity dissolved from his eyes. “You haven’t paid me back yet. And until then, the terms of our deal are still the same. If I call, if I text, you answer it.”
Son of a…
Apparently, Han was one of those horrible assholes who somehow always managed to get in the last word.
And you know what, he could have it.
I walked out without another word. But his phone burned inside mom’s bag as I left. And it continued to do so for the next two months, knowing that he could call me. Anytime. Because no matter how huffy I got about it, until I paid him back, I still owed him a year and a half of…how had he put it when he showed up at the Broken Billionaire’s villa?
“Two years of doing what I say. Whatever I say.”
So I braced myself for the call that could come at any second. But he didn’t call me. More months passed, and the phone didn’t light up with an unknown number. Not even once.
Good. Great. That left me free to work even harder. I gave up my dawn solo surfs and added a Waikiki sunrise class to my roster. I also bought some water-proof LED lights, sent a prayer up to the insurance gods and added a night surfing class for my advanced students.
