I wake to morning sun pouring in the window. I roll over to see the plates from our dinner still sitting on the floor next to the bed. I was half-asleep last night when Noah woke me up and made me eat, before I passed back out again with his mouth between my legs. This seems to be the story of our lives. I want to know something and Noah makes love to me or distracts me until I pass out. He’s hiding something, and I know I need to face it, even if I don’t want to. I’m falling in love with him. Or maybe I already am in love with him. Another thing I’m not sure I want to face yet.

I love how he makes me feel. I’m alive for the first time. Parts of me that were hidden deep down have been brought to the surface. He’s waking me up, and the more he does it, the harder I’m going to fall when I find out what’s really happening here. I don’t want to shatter this perfect illusion that’s been built, but I know it’s not as it seems.

I roll from the bed. Seeing one of Noah’s shirts on the ground, I pick it up and slide it over my head. I wonder where Elina is. In fact, I haven’t seen anyone since Noah took me on the floor of the dance studio. The island seems deserted now.

I make my way to find Noah, knowing I need answers. I know there’s something more between us. I can feel it. I can’t believe that sex feels this way for everyone. It can’t. Something about what we share is different and has to be a once-in-a-lifetime thing. He seems to know the deepest darkest thoughts inside my head and lays them out for me to see. Things I would never voice, he brings them to life. He calls to a dark part of me that I try to keep hidden, but nothing is out of his reach.

I walk to his office, and a feeling of déjà vu hits me. I hear a woman’s voice once again, and the pit in my stomach forms. I pause for a moment, unsure what to do. Then anger starts to take over as jealousy burns its way to the surface. I’ve had enough of being pushed around my entire life. It’s time I finally stand up for myself. I shove open the doors of his office, letting them fling open and smack against the walls. The woman jumps, and Noah stands up from behind his desk. The office is still a mess. Things are flung all over the floor from where he cleared it off to make love to me.

I glance over at the woman who looks to be in her thirties. Her blonde hair frames her face. She’s pretty. No, she’s more than pretty. She has curves like you see in magazines. Her bright green eyes narrow on me. She looks like the opposite of me in every way.

“Leave,” Noah growls, and I look over at him. He’s got his eyes trained on the woman. I can see the anger written on his face. “Step foot here again and you’ll have bigger problems than you already have now.”

I look back over at her, and I can tell she wants to say something. She shakes her head and stomps from the office, leaving us alone. Noah leans down, picking a phone up from off the floor and hitting some numbers.

“Make sure she’s off the island and never comes back,” is all he says, before he tosses the phone back on the floor. He lets out a deep breath, and I can see he’s trying to get his anger under control.

“Is she your wife?” The words leave my mouth, and I pray that I’m wrong. If he’s married, we’ve been having an affair, no matter if they’re separated. And I didn’t like the way he so easily dismissed a woman he once loved, even if they aren’t together any longer.

“Come here,” he says softly. I pause for a moment, but my feet do as he commands and I find myself walking toward him. The anger that was on his face is gone as he picks me up by my hips, sitting me on his desk.

“I’ve never been married,” he admits. “Never been in love before this.”

“Noah, please.” I want more. I need more.

There are too many questions floating around in my head, and I think he just said he loves me. A part of me doesn’t want the answers, because I know something isn’t right here. I think it’s why I’ve been letting him take over and haven’t been pushing for more. I get lost in him because I know something is coming. This perfect little world I’ve fallen into is going to crumble. Nothing this good can be true.

He drops his forehead to mine. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you things, little star. I want to give you everything you could ever want and more.”

“I don’t understand.” I wrap my arms around his neck, needing to touch him. The hands on my hips grip me tighter, and he lifts me up. I wrap my legs around him as he makes his way out of the office and down the hall. He takes me back into our bedroom and sits down on the bed, with me straddling him.

“Anna works for me. Worked for me,” he corrects. “She wanted me to come back to our offices in New York, but I have no plans of going anywhere you’re not.” His hands grip me possessively, as if I might disappear. “There is nothing, and there has never been, anything between Anna and me. She’s a workaholic who can get carried away. Before you, I didn’t care, because I was on that same page. She worked well as my assistant, but now I’m here on the island. With you.”

“You’re not a dance instructor, are you?” I search his dark eyes. He leans up, taking my mouth in a slow, soft kiss before he answers me.

“The only dance I know is yours.”

“Am I some toy?” I ask, recalling what Anna had said before. I don’t want to be someone’s plaything. I don’t want to be something for someone to show off like my mother always did with me, but then neglect and resent me when I’m not shiny and new anymore.

He releases his grip on my hips and cups my face with gentle hands. “No, Aurora. You’re my everything. I brought you here to let you blossom. To watch you become whatever woman you want to be. To be free.”

“Am I free?” I lean in, looking into his eyes. “Have I just gone from one cage to another?”

“If you want to leave the island, we will leave.” He smiles at me and strokes my cheek. “You are free to go anywhere you want.”

My heart aches at the thought of leaving the island.

Something flashes in his eyes, and I see a dark promise. “But you will never be free of me.”