“How desperate?” Sebastian asked. Ashley wasn’t the kind of woman who would sleep with any interested man, but he knew how she responded when she was desperate and cornered. “How did you repay him for the favor?”
“What are you suggesting?” she snapped. “Do you think that I would sleep with him? Of course you do. After all, I’m sleeping with you for a chance to stay on this island.”
“I don’t think you had sex with Salazar,” Sebastian said. Ashley was wild and sexy with him and only him. He had seen how she recoiled from Salazar’s touch. She may have played on Salazar’s twisted desires to get a ride home, but Ashley wouldn’t touch another man. “I do, however, believe you went with him to hurt me.”
She covered her face with her hands. “You’re right. I did. I’m ashamed of what I did. I swore I would never act that way, and what happened? I allowed my emotions to take over. Oh, God. I’m just like her.”
Her? Sebastian frowned. Who was Ashley comparing herself to?
“It doesn’t matter how much I tried to...” She took a deep breath and lowered her hands. She squared back her shoulders and struggled to meet his gaze. “I’m sorry, Sebastian. I felt I had to leave but I didn’t need to go with Salazar. There were other options. Better options. I can tell myself that I was desperate to get back here, but the truth is I wanted to swing back at you.”
She’d succeeded. It was as if Ashley knew exactly where to strike. He must have lowered his guard or revealed how he felt when they were in bed. He was addicted to Ashley. He couldn’t stop thinking about her, couldn’t refrain from touching her. She was his weakness and she exploited it. Just as he knew Inez Key was her weak spot.
“Why is this place so important to you?” he asked. “Why are you willing to fight for just a piece of it?” He watched as she swallowed roughly. For a moment he didn’t think she would answer.
“It’s where I grew up,” she said unevenly, as if she had to pull out the words. “It was a special place for me and my mother.”
“That’s it?” He sensed there was more. This island had a pull on Ashley that she couldn’t break. What would cause that?
“No, it’s more than that,” she admitted. “Whenever the tabloids found out about my dad, my mom would bring me here. There was no TV, no internet and no paparazzi. We could stay here and heal.”
“You’re lucky you had this place,” he said harshly. “I would have killed for this island when I was a child.”
“I’m not so sure.” She held her arms close to her body. “Sometimes I felt like my mom used this place to hide from reality. The lack of distractions should have given her some clarity. Instead, it became a cocoon that blocked out all the facts. It gave my dad a chance to hide the worst of his sins. He would beg for forgiveness, swear it was all lies, and we would head back to the mainland until the cycle started all over again.”
Inez Key wasn’t quite the haven he thought it was for Ashley. It was connected to good memories and bad. It was part of her childhood and the loss of her innocence.
“And there is no need to escort me off the premises. I’m going.” Ashley announced. She bent down to brush the sand off her jeans.
“You’ll leave with me and return to Miami.”
“Our deal is off,” she said as she straightened and dusted off her hands. “From the moment you broke your promise.”
“Which one?” he muttered.
She narrowed her eyes. “I’m confused. What are you saying?”
“About last night...” He took a deep breath. This was going to be difficult but it couldn’t be ignored. “We didn’t use protection.”
Ashley went pale as she stared at him. She didn’t say a word. He wasn’t sure how she was going to handle the news. From the way she interacted with the young islanders, he knew she liked children. Sebastian could easily imagine that she would be a fierce and protective mother. But that didn’t mean she liked the idea of having his children.
“I apologize,” Sebastian said as he raked his hand through his hair. “I don’t know what happened. I always remember to use protection.”