Well, fuck. That had gone about as well as botched root canal.

Frowning, I watched through the open sliding glass door as Natalie stopped on the deck, glanced right and left, then tore off into the trees, barefoot and wearing nothing but a cotton tank and sleep shorts.

It took every ounce of willpower I had not to go after her.

Footsteps sounded behind me, followed by Sela’s harsh sigh at my back. “She ran off already? And you’re not stopping her?”

I clenched my jaw and turned to face the woman who managed my estate while I was away. “Yes.” I pushed past Sela. “And no. I’m not stopping her. She’ll tire herself out soon enough. Trust me, she’ll come back when it gets dark.”

“And what if you’re wrong?” Sela called after me.

I wasn’t wrong. I knew Natalie was angry, but she wasn’t stupid. She was in a strange part of the world with no knowledge of the dangers that lived in the wild here. She’d use common sense before too long. I turned into my office and shot Sela a pointed look over my shoulder. “Then you can tell me what an ass I am to my face instead of muttering it behind my back like every other day of my life.”

Sela chuckled. “Something tells me you and your ass are in big trouble this time.”

I slumped into the chair behind my desk as Sela’s footsteps disappeared toward the kitchen. I wasn’t upset with her. She’d been managing my Balinese-style villa here on the island for the last two years. But the woman didn’t know how right she was when she said I was in trouble. I was in deep shit because I hadn’t stayed away from Natalie James when I should have, and now we were both in danger because of my inability to keep my hands to myself.

My gaze shot beyond the wall of glass to the lush tropical foliage beyond, and I immediately searched for any sign of Natalie, but I knew she wouldn’t be hovering close to the house. Odds were good she was already a quarter mile away by now, thinking if she ran far and fast enough, she’d find a means of escape. Too bad the only thing she was going to find was that she was still trapped—just not in any way she expected.

My mood plummeted with the realization she was soon going to hate me more than she already did. Knowing there wasn’t much I could do about that though, I flipped my laptop open and decided to see where she was.

After typing in my access code, I pulled up my cameras. They were positioned all over the island for security reasons. I scanned the five closest to the house and found her fairly quickly. She was headed toward the north side of the island where the waves broke against the rocks with increased force this time of year.

A whisper of unease shot through me. The last thing I needed was for her to get some bright idea to try to swim to freedom. Sitting forward with a scowl, I watched her swat at a bug and sweep away the brush so it didn’t scratch up her legs.

Muscles flexed in her quads and shoulders. The base of her tank was already damp with perspiration, reminding me of the way she’d looked in Italy after I’d ravaged her that last night, lying limp and sweaty in my arms. Heat spread through my body—a familiar heat I’d been trying to bank since we’d arrived on the island. Refocusing on what she was doing, I held my breath as she stopped and looked around. And when she angled to her left—away from the rocks and water—and disappeared into the trees, I finally relaxed in my seat and breathed a sigh of relief.

Natalie was deathly afraid of water. I’d seen it in Venice when she’d clung to me on that water taxi as if I were her last lifeline. Even if the hounds of hell were on her ass, she wouldn’t dare try to escape through water. Which meant bringing her here was the smartest thing I’d done since I’d met her.

My mood dipped even lower as my mind shifted to the reason I’d had to bring her here. My father was likely fuming in the family villa in Tuscany right this minute. Especially since—by now—he knew I’d thwarted his attempt to have Natalie quietly disposed of.

The only thing I had going for me at the moment was the fact this island was off the grid and that no one knew where we’d gone. They’d find us eventually—with the Salvatici resources, my father wouldn’t give up until he scoured the ends of the earth—but I was confident I had time. Enough time to convince Natalie that the only way she could survive now was as my wife.

My lips turned down. Somehow I had to find a way to make sure she accepted that willingly, or we were both fucked.

Reminding myself that she would, that I had time to make her see reason, I scanned the rest of my cameras, not for Natalie, but for any signs of a threat. There were none. The twenty-five-acre private island in the South Pacific wasn’t on any maps, and only a handful of people I trusted with my life knew about it.

Confident Natalie would be back before too long, I closed my laptop, retreated to my bedroom, and changed into gym shorts and a tank. I’d been a ball of stress ever since I’d discovered Natalie had run from my parents’ estate in Tuscany. That stress had only amplified when I’d found her in Idaho, being attacked by that assassin my House had sent after her. And it had flown sky-high when I’d had to drug her to get her out of there without anyone taking notice. I thought I’d feel better once we were here on the island, but so far, I didn’t. My stomach was a hard knot in the pit of my gut, and I had a sinking suspicion that knot wasn’t going anywhere until Natalie submitted the way I needed her to.

And now that she was awake, seeing her sweet little ass in those shorts and her pert breasts pressing against that thin tank, I could add sexually frustrated to my list of stresses as well.

Since that situation clearly wasn’t about to change anytime soon, my only hope was to slough off a little of this stress with a run. I cut through the kitchen and told Sela I was heading down the beach. She scowled in disapproval because I wasn’t going after Natalie, but I ignored her.

I had a plan, and I was going to stick to it. Natalie would come around. I knew her better than she thought. Regardless of how angry she was at the moment, I was confident she’d bend to my will.

She had to. Because I wouldn’t accept any other alternative now.

Eight miles later, I finally called my run quits. I wanted to get back before Natalie.

By the time I made it up from the beach and into the house, the sun had set on the horizon and darkness was already pushing in. I was hot, sweaty, and still strung tighter than a drum, but at least I wasn’t desperate to shake some sense into Natalie as I’d wanted to do earlier. Unfortunately, though, all I’d been able to think about as I’d been running was those short shorts she’d been wearing when she’d left and how long it had been since I’d had my hands on her cute little ass.

I let the screen door slap closed behind me and crossed to the fridge in the wide kitchen. The scents of something cheesy and spicy filled the room as I grabbed a water bottle and guzzled half of it. I was pretty sure Sela had made enchiladas—one of my favorite meals—and I was already running through ways to get Natalie to agree to sit down to dinner with me so we could talk things out.

Footsteps sounded on the tile behind me. Lowering the water bottle, I glanced over my shoulder to where Haych, who managed the grounds on the island, stood in the doorway, a piece of paper in his wide hands. His thick dark hair was mussed and damp at the edges from perspiration, and his normally relaxed brows were drawn together in what I immediately knew was concern.

“What?” I asked, turning toward him. Haych rarely came into the main house. It was Sela’s domain. My thoughts immediately went to Natalie. “What happened to her?”

“Nothing, Mister Luc. At least not yet.” He crossed the kitchen and handed me the paper. “This just came in on the wire.”

I scanned the weather alert, and my heart dropped into my stomach. The low-pressure system we’d been sure wasn’t going to hit us had turned and was rapidly growing in strength. My gaze shot to the wide windows and the dark clouds already gathering on the horizon that I hadn’t noticed during my run. Hell, I hadn’t even been looking because I’d been thinking about all the ways I planned to get Natalie naked and beneath me once she finally came to her senses.

Tingles rushed across my skin, tightening my shoulders. Systems down here could move in without warning and do a hell of a lot more damage than expected.

I looked back at Haych. “Is she back yet?”

“No, sir.”

Fuck. I pushed past him and strode into my office, where I flipped open my laptop and scanned each camera on the island.

No sign of Natalie.

Panic pushed at my chest, but I told myself to stay calm. She hadn’t left. She was out there somewhere. Probably relaxing under a palm tree. It was a hell of a lot hotter inland than here on the beach. I just had to find her before the storm hit.

Haych was standing in the doorway when I turned, already awaiting orders. I grabbed the two-way radio from the corner of my desk. “Where’s Sela?”

“At her place. When she heard about the storm, she raced back there to bring in her dogs.”

That explained why she hadn’t been in the kitchen. Sela was an animal lover. She had two mutts she’d picked up in Tahiti and adopted. She fawned over those dogs more than I’d seen women fawn over babies.

There were two caretaker residences on the island, and both were set inland a half-mile away from the main house. For a moment, I wondered if Natalie could be with Sela, but quickly dismissed the thought. If she’d found Sela’s or Haych’s homes, they would have let me know.

I pushed past him and headed for the front door. “Strap down anything that could get picked up by the wind. I don’t know how rough it’s going to get tonight.”

“Yes, sir.”

I moved out onto the deck, jogged down the steps, and crossed to the shed where Haych kept the tools and landscaping equipment. Shoving one side of the massive sliding door open, I spotted the four-wheeler and grabbed the keys from the hook on the wall. “When you’re done, go back to your place and make sure Sela’s okay.”

“What about you?” Haych stepped back as I rolled the vehicle out of the building. “And Miss Natalie?”

“I’ll find her. Keep your radio on just in case, though.”

“Will do,” Haych said. “I’m sure you’ll get to her before the storm hits.”

I nodded as I slung a leg over the seat and started the ignition. The engine revved, echoing in my ears like an ominous warning. Haych moved farther back as I flipped the headlight on, shifted into gear, and tore away from the house.

That knot of stress twisted tighter in my gut. I hadn’t lied to Haych. I was pretty sure I’d find Natalie in time—the island wasn’t that big—I just didn’t know if I could convince her to come back with me voluntarily.

Or if I’d have to drag her back against her will before the storm turned deadly.