Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 119597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 478(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 478(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
No one witnessed her departure.
No evidence of foul play or assistance from an outside party, either.
She docked her boat in our slip in Sitka and…what? Walked away on foot?
It’s inconceivable.
She’s always been resourceful, but to leave me in the dark like this? Without a phone call or a message or any sign of life? That’s not her. She’s too kindhearted. Thoughtful. Compassionate. Even for the asshole who broke her heart.
The Frankie I know would’ve found an untraceable way to tell me she’s okay. Especially in her condition.
She would be six months into her pregnancy now.
I clutch at the railing, feeling the weight of despair pressing down on me. She left behind her phone, her wedding ring, but took clothing and documents necessary for survival.
Effectively severing all ties to me.
Fine. I get it. But where did she go after she docked her boat?
Search parties have covered every inch of the Sitka Sound, assuring me she didn’t fall into the dark depths that night and drown.
But something happened. I feel it in my bones.
Across the deck, Sirena emerges from the companionway, her seductive gaze instantly latching onto mine.
Christ.
When Wilson agreed to provide a local team of investigators to assist in my search, I was pleased. Then I met the team leader.
Sirena is stunning, with her long, flowing, dark hair and piercing blue eyes that seem to hold the secrets of the ocean depths. Her unrestrained, flirtatious personality provides levity to my otherwise sour mood. Her intelligence and efficiency have been invaluable in managing the details during this tumultuous time. And her elegant body…
I catch myself stealing glances at her, admiring the graceful curve of her neck, the way the sunlight soaks into her golden complexion. Her presence is a comforting distraction from my relentless ache for Frankie.
Too comforting.
It’s a dangerous game, one that threatens to betray the vows I made to my wife.
Again.
My affair with Aubrey sickens my stomach. It was a moment of weakness, born of loneliness and rage. I was so fucking angry with Frankie when she left. I couldn’t stop picturing her in her happy new life, carrying our baby, and sleeping with other men.
I went to a dark place, drank too much, and fucked my office manager, which only served to deepen the pit of despair that separates me from my irreplaceable wife.
My infidelity cost Aubrey her job. I couldn’t look at her without feeling sick. So I let her go.
Then Sirena showed up.
She makes her way to me, hips swaying and mouth curving into a red-painted smile, shooting a jolt of electricity through my gloomy fog.
“Quite the view, isn’t it?” Her voice, low and sultry, strokes between my legs.
“Indeed.” I tear my gaze away, setting it on the horizon. “But I find that the true beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.”
“Smooth, as always.” She giggles softly, a melodious sound. “But I have to admit, it’s hard to compete with the splendor of nature.”
Frankie, gloriously nude and spread out before me, is the splendor of nature. I miss the authentic perfection of her body, her subtle curves without augmentation or surgeries, her natural red hair, and makeup-free ivory skin.
Fuck, I just…miss her.
“Nature may have its charms,” I murmur, “but there’s something undeniably captivating about the human form.”
“You do have a way with words.” Her laughter swirls with the wind, the salty tang of the sea.
She reaches out to brush a lock of hair from my face, her fingers lingering, stirring a conflicting surge of hunger within me.
We’ve spent too much time together, too many days at sea in close proximity, and too many nights in the cabins below with only a thin wall between us. Her glances and touches grow bolder. In the midst of my anguish, it’s a temptation I find difficult to resist.
It would be so fucking easy. She wants me, and eventually she’ll throw herself at me.
She’s not the first, nor will she be the last. The world is full of eager admirers drawn to my wealth, my dominance, and the magnetic pull of my presence.
I’ve fucked them all.
Despite the countless opportunities that present themselves, each encounter only serves to magnify the emptiness gnawing at my soul. The hollow ache of loneliness, like a persistent shadow, follows me wherever I go, a constant reminder of Frankie’s absence.
It’s a cruel irony to be surrounded by adoration and desire yet feel utterly alone. Sirena, with her beauty and charm, is a fleeting distraction, a temporary salve for the wounds that refuse to heal.
But she’s not the one I want.
I want the woman who turned me down a dozen times, who wouldn’t give me the time of day or fuck me on our first date. I want the only one who never chased me, who made me work for her attention for a goddamn year, the only one I pursued and wooed and crawled on my knees to win.