I Do (Hate You) by Sienna Blake

 

Prologue

Shell

 

 

Oh. Fuck. My. Head. Hurts.

That was the first pounding thought that came to my mind when I woke up that morning. The second was, Thank God I made it back to my wedding villa in the Whitsundays Skye Hotel. Without the bride it would be, well, just a villa.

Actually, not “just” a villa. It would be a luxury villa on a tropical island next to the Great Barrier Reef of Australia’s coast where a one-night stay cost more than a used Honda.

Anyway, I was too hungover to actually move my body, so I rolled my eyes to my left. There was a naked man in the bed facing away from me. I squinted. I couldn’t actually tell since the blackout curtains were drawn and my eyes still wouldn’t focus. It had to be my fiancé, Rupert.

Hmm…we must have come back here together after the hen’s night. Why couldn’t I remember how we got back here? For that matter, I wondered why I couldn’t remember anything that happened last night. At all. With a hangover that big, I was sure I had a good time, though.

I was also sure that I needed coffee immediately. Getting up and figuring out how to work the cappuccino maker in the corner seemed way too complicated, so I thought I’d call room service and order a gallon of it with a side of aspirin.

My right arm automatically slid out from under the luxurious sheet to reach for the phone, but it got caught on something. I yanked again and realized that I had on a chunky bracelet. Maybe it was caught on Rupert’s pajamas? Rupert loved pajamas.

I pulled down the covers to see a weird silver bracelet that I didn’t… HOLY SHIT, THAT IS A HANDCUFF!

It was hard to see in the half-darkness but after a few seconds, it hit me. I must be handcuffed to Rupert. He must have been completely bombed if he agreed to this. I mean, no one would be surprised that I whipped out some handcuffs in bed, but Rupert? Now, that was surprising.

And to be honest, a major turn on.

Just between us girls…I didn’t think he had it in him. I mean, Rupert was a lovely, standup guy, but the sex was not what I’d call adventurous. But heck, you can’t have everything, right?

I yanked on the cuff to wake him up for a repeat of what I assumed we did last night, since I couldn’t remember. He slowly sat up with a groan, his back still to me. My fuzzy brain wondered how his shoulders had gotten so wide overnight and his back so muscled. Then it hit me.

Like a hammer.

That was not Rupert’s back!

The man I was handcuffed to was not Rupert.

I gasped so hard in surprise that my head started to throb again. I closed one eye with pain and grabbed at the sheets and tried to cover up my naked breasts.

“Who are you?” I shrieked.

The wide-shouldered, muscly-backed douchebag turned to face me. How did I know that he was a douchebag, you ask?

It was James Kane. My brother’s best friend and my secret hate-fuck.

Yeah, I said hate-fuck. Don’t judge. Did I mention the muscles and the shoulders? He was an absolutely terrible human being, but his face and body… I mean…his face alone could make you cream your pants. He had dark brown eyes and lashes so long and thick that they belonged on a camel. Not to mention that hair. James kept his dark brown hair pretty short and swept to the side, but it looked sexiest when it was all messed up like it was now. His jaw was wide and manly and covered in stubble, just the way I liked it.

I willed my eyes to stay looking at his face, but as they adjusted to the dim light, I realized that he was naked just like I was. Oh my God, he looked damp too.

Keep your eyes on his face, Shell. Keep your eyes on his…

My eyes just kept on sliding south down his smooth muscled pecs and biceps as wide as my thigh and down to his flat stomach with a faint dusting of dark hair starting just below his navel. If I’d seen him on the internet, I would have guessed those six-pack abs were airbrushed in, but they were very real and very hard. His lower abdominals popped out in a V pointing down almost like an arrow to his…well, the sheet covered him from there down, but I knew exactly what was underneath that thin silk fabric.

As much as I was enjoying the view, I knew his muscles and perfect bone structure didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was answering one question.

What the hell happened last night?