“Fifty thousand,” Markus rushed. “Fifty k for five hours.”

I pinned him with a feral scowl. “You’ve just offered me less than Wordworth. Fifty for five hours? That’s ten an hour. I already said twenty would be too low.”

“Fine.” Markus wiped his mouth. “Seventy.”

I bowed politely. “Good day, gentlemen. I’m highly confident you’ll enjoy the talents of Neptune and Calico. They’re both exceedingly proficient at delivering a session guaranteed to leave you—”

“One hundred thousand, Sinclair. For however long you want.”

I paused.

My heart crashed and clawed to hold out my hand for such a sum, only to shred it into confetti and throw it in the sea. Normally, that figure would sway me. I’d pat myself on the back for a well-orchestrated deal and snap my fingers to ensure a staff member scurried off to prepare the goddess in question.

But now…now there was hesitation.

A pause, a reluctance—that motherfucking envy that filled me with resentment and rivalry, acting as if I had to compete with these bastards, stewing with malice at the very thought of one of them tasting what I hadn’t.

My hands slipped from my pockets and curled tightly into fists.

I very, very much wanted to punch him. Punch both of them.

Once they were broken and bleeding, I’d be fully within my right to claim my prize. To return to Jinx as the victor and push her to the sand, strip her clothes, spread her legs, and fucking thrust over and—

“Sinclair, glad I found you.” Dr Campbell appeared from the sandy side path that led to his surgery. His forehead furrowed as he noticed the three of us, testosterone ripe in the air, aggression a distinct purr beneath it.

Nodding at the guests, he cleared his throat and pulled a white bottle of pills from his cargo shorts. For a doctor, he kept his uniform lax, adopting the tropical relaxation instead of retaining strict professionalism.

I’d have a word with him about that.

I’d remind him he wasn’t retired…yet.

“Here. Jinx needs to take these for the next week at least. It’s just a comprehensive vitamin and a few other bits and bobs to boost her system—from your own pharmaceutical company.” Pushing the bottle into my palm, he had the audacity to cup my elbow and guide me away from the panting men already enjoying fantasies of fucking a girl who’d fainted at my feet.

“Are you forgetting your place, Campbell?” I snarled, ripping my elbow from his control the moment we were far enough away.

His eyes flashed, nonplussed by my temper. “If you’re renting out Jinx, it’s with strict medical advisement that she be given a minimum of five days to adjust.”

We stood toe to toe. He was shorter, but he used his skills as a medical practitioner to stand on a proverbial box and tower over me.

“She’s perfectly recovered,” I seethed. “No ill effects of her fainting episode. I personally checked she was eating before leaving her to her own devices.”

He shook his head. “One afternoon of food won’t be enough.” He lowered his voice to ensure the impatient guests didn’t overhear. “Her system has no reserves. It will take time to replace what she’s lost, not just one meal. If you put her in Euphoria; if you make her take the elixir”—his eyes narrowed— “for the second time in as many days, I’m afraid she might suffer worse than low blood pressure and mineral deficiency.”

I crossed my arms. “I appreciate your concern, but dabbling in my business affairs is not permitted. Jinx is here to work. I won’t have a freeloader on my shores.”

“So, you’d rather have a dead goddess, is that it?”

I laughed quietly, icily. “She won’t die from a night of fucking, Campbell.”

“No, she’ll die from that damn elixir.” He squeezed the back of his neck. “It’s too potent, Sinclair. It wreaks havoc on hormones and imbalances the natural cycle of just about every system in a human being. They forget to drink, eat. They can’t sleep or rest until it’s run its course. The adrenaline alone that feeds the inflated libido causes hyperawareness, rapid blood flow, and drenches the brain in—”

“I don’t need a science lesson. I’m fully aware of what the body undergoes.”

“Do you?” He scowled. “Have you personally sampled the drug you expect others to take?”

I barked a chuckle. A chuckle that vibrated with ridicule and disbelief.

Me?

Take elixir?

Fuck, the world wasn’t ready for that.

Any girl in my radius wouldn’t be ready for that horror.

I struggled to contain myself on a good day.

If I took one droplet of that substance?

Fuck me, it would be a shit-show.

An endless, BDSM, no-holds-barred, black-listed pornography where the girl most likely ended up in pieces.

An image of Eleanor with bite marks all over her pristine skin, sprays of cum all over her face, rope burns on her ankles, cuff bruises on her wrists…dead from my lust, suddenly swamped my mind.

Immediately, my chuckle turned to a choke, and I coughed.

The reminder of what I would be capable of was better than any argument or negotiation.

Eleanor—Jinx—had to be kept as far away from me as fucking possible.

I’d retained my humanity by refusing to partake in what I sold. I didn’t cripple beneath my urges. I wouldn’t start now.

Rattling the bottle with the pills inside, I levelled an arctic look at Dr Campbell. “She gets three days.” Raising my head and my voice, so the two impatient guests could hear, I added, “The first man to pay one-hundred-and-fifty thousand wins four hours with the spirited, wicked-tongued Jinx.”

Both men agreed at the same time.

I didn’t know who spoke first, and I didn’t care.

I needed a swim.

I needed the ocean where the salt could put out any fire and the coolness could temper any rage.

I needed to sink deep, deep to the reef below and swim with my fellow finned monsters, curbing my urges as surely as they curbed theirs, doing our best not to take advantage of our place on the top of the food chain.

I’d learned from them the art of sheathing sharp teeth and gliding elegantly past our prey—hiding a predator’s privilege, fighting the need to eradicate every morsel in our path, pretending we weren’t a weapon naturally designed to kill.

Chapter Nineteen

AFTER THE MANIA OF the past thirty-six hours or so, Sully left me alone and peace reigned.

I didn’t budge from that table laden with food all afternoon, taking my time to eat what I could out of each dish. When I grew full, I paused and curled up my legs to watch the golden sun glitter on turquoise water, spangling diamonds into my eyes.

When I grew thirsty, I sipped from the ice-cold carafe of mint and mango-infused water I found in the kitchenette. And when I grew peckish again, I returned to sampling, moaning often at the explosion of flavours and appreciating the culinary masterpieces of cuisine.

Even at island temperature and exposed to humidity, nothing could ruin the subtle and spicy tastes of so many exotic dishes, and I became obsessed with clearing each meal, so the chef wouldn’t think I didn’t love their creations when it was the best food I’d ever tasted.