Elara stared at the walk-in closet. It was stocked with rows of designer clothes, all exactly her size. In the center drawer, she found the swimwear.
She sifted through the microscopic bikinis, her cheeks burning. Alexander hadn't packed for a business partner. He had packed for a mistress.
She finally settled on a sleek, black two-piece. It wasn't quite a string bikini, but the high-cut bottoms and plunging top left very little to the imagination.
She tied her hair up into a messy knot, took a deep breath, and slid the glass door open.
The tropical heat hit her instantly, thick and heavy. But it was nothing compared to the heat of the gaze that locked onto her the second she stepped onto the wooden deck.
Alexander was waiting at the far edge of the infinity pool, his arms resting on the wet stone ledge. The crystal-clear water lapped against his chest. He didn't say a word as she walked toward him, but his pitch-black eyes tracked her every movement, darkening with a hunger that made her pulse hammer in her throat.
"You took your time," he noted, his voice a low drawl over the sound of the crashing waves below.
"I was deciding if drowning you was a viable business strategy," Elara shot back, stopping at the edge of the water. She crossed her arms, trying to feign nonchalance.
Alexander chuckled. Water dripped from his dark hair, trailing down the jagged scar on his ribs. "You can try."
He reached a hand out toward her. "Come here."
Elara hesitated. She sat on the edge of the pool, dangling her legs into the cool water. "I think I'm fine right here."
Alexander tilted his head. The playful amusement in his eyes vanished, replaced by that dangerous, predatory focus.
He didn't swim toward her. He simply sank beneath the surface.
Elara frowned, peering into the rippling water. "Alexander?"
Before she could blink, two large hands wrapped around her waist.
With a sharp gasp, she was yanked forward. She plunged into the pool, the cold water rushing over her head.
She broke the surface a second later, sputtering and wiping the water from her eyes. But she didn't have time to find her footing. Alexander caught her, hauling her flush against his chest. His arms wrapped around her waist, keeping her afloat in the deep end.
"Are you crazy?!" Elara gasped, gripping his broad, slippery shoulders to keep her head above water.
"I told you to join me," Alexander said, entirely unbothered. He treaded water effortlessly, his legs tangling with hers beneath the surface. "You don't get to sit on the sidelines anymore, Elara. Not with me."
Elara glared up at him. "You are infuriating."
"And you are hiding," he countered softly.
He swam backward, pulling her with him until his back hit the edge of the infinity pool. He leaned against the stone ledge, pinning her between his hard chest and the endless drop of the ocean behind him.
The sudden shift in the current pressed their bodies together. Skin against skin. The thin fabric of her bikini top was absolutely no barrier against the solid, burning heat of his chest.
Elara's breath caught. The anger evaporated, instantly replaced by a suffocating, heavy tension.
"I'm not hiding," she whispered, acutely aware of how his hands were resting on her bare hips.
"Yes, you are," Alexander murmured. He reached up, gently untangling a wet strand of hair from her cheek. "You've spent the last three days wearing armor. You built a wall out of my money and my name, and you used it to crush the people who hurt you. It was brilliant. But the war is over."
His thumb brushed over her wet lower lip.
"I don't want the CEO of Vance Corporation right now," he said, his voice dropping to a rough, demanding register. "I want the woman who proposed to me in a ballroom to save her own life. I want to know who you are when you aren't fighting for survival."
Elara stared into his dark eyes. No one had ever asked her that. In her past life, Julian had only ever wanted her money. In this life, she had only focused on revenge.
She realized, with a terrifying jolt, that she didn't actually know who she was outside of the battle.
"What if there's nothing left under the armor?" she asked, her voice cracking slightly.
Alexander's grip on her hips tightened. His gaze dropped to her mouth, and the raw hunger she saw there made her toes curl.
"Let me strip it off," he whispered fiercely, "and we'll find out."