Read Online Wrong Kind of Paradise by Suzie Grant - Free Book Online Page B

and there weren’t many colors to choose from: Black, white, grey and browns.
    Blac isn’t one for variety . But he definitely has a knack for organization.
    She banged shut the doors and sat on the edge of the ornate claw-footed table surrounded by six
    matching chairs in the middle of the floor. The room didn’t tell her much about the man, other than he
    preferred order and cleanliness. The only other decorations, save for the pillows, were the heavy damask
    velvet curtains at the windows and the bright colored Persian rug on the floor.
    If this room said anything about him, it said he was bland and boring. Or perhaps he tried to
    suppress a passionate nature with order. Excitement chased her spine every time he neared, so how could
    he be bland or boring?
    She strode to the far end of the cabin and sat in one of chairs. Maps and charts littered the end of the
    table in neat little stacks. Angel fingered the stiff parchment. Blac had been tracking her for months now.
    Each red mark indicated where she’d been seen last. She removed the quill and closed the lid of the ink
    jar. She found it interesting to think he’d been so doggedly pursuing her all this time. Was it simply guilt?
    Or could there possibly be a more interesting reason why he was so intent on catching her?
    Her heart twittered in her chest, and she found the idea exhilarating. Half her life she’d followed
    this man with love struck eyes. Everyone in the world had known of her infatuation except the man
    himself. He’d been clueless. There had been a time when she would have done anything just to get an
    ounce of attention from him, and now...those days were over. She’d grown up. He’d forced her to see life
    as it really was. She and Blac would never have a future. He’d made sure of that the day he’d betrayed
    her and her father.
    Her gaze rose to the gallery of windows. The sun had just crept over the last hurdle and was well
    on its way toward its zenith. She jolted when the ship first moved. They were underway. Where were they
    going ?
    The door swung open and Blac stood there, a triumphant grin on his handsome face.
    She gritted her teeth. His arrogance repelled her while at the same time, her childish fantasies
    resurfaced, making her want to throw herself into his arms.
    “My crew will follow,” she said, determined to conceal her attraction to him.
    “I’m counting on it.” He shut the door and crossed the room to the mahogany table secured to the
    floor. “So I would make myself comfortable for now and enjoy the...ride.”
    Her eyes widened at the remembrance of those words. His dark gaze focused on her, so he
    remembered those very same words that day so long ago. She pursed her lips and turned away. “Words
    spoken by a girl,” she murmured. “A naïve girl who didn’t understand their meaning.”
    “And do you know their meaning now?” His whisper came from directly behind her.
    She stiffened. Did he know the effect he still had on her? She had to pretend she didn’t feel the
    shock at his nearness, or the heat. Her heart thundered in rhythm to the waves crashing against the hull of
    the ship. Why, after his betrayal did he still have this kind of power over her?
    She peered at him over her shoulder. “I know their meaning.” She closed her eyes. And never had
    those words been truer than now. Never had she wanted that ride he spoke of, more than at this moment.
    She’d missed him. More than she cared to admit. Had he missed her at all? She wouldn’t ask. He
    would know just how much she’d come to care for him over the years. When she had imagined her future,
    it had always been with Blac. And now...he was here, but he wasn’t at her side as she’d hoped he would
    be.
    She ducked her head, took a deep breath, and then turned to face him. “I had a little girl’s fantasy,
    and it’s over,” she lied.
    His chin lifted. A bruised ego? Oh, she hoped so. Those grey eyes like hammered metal, pinned her
    to the spot