ASHLEY
I furrow my brows, my heart hammering against my ribs like a caught bird. I straighten, trying to look unbothered.
“Firstly, you had no right to manhandle me like that, and secondly, I have nothing to hide.”
“So, you do love him. And that's why you wanted to eliminate Tessa as a competition?”
“Oh please,” I say. “She can swim.”
“And if she couldn't?”
I sigh. Now, he's just messing with my head. “Why did you let me know that she insulted me if you didn't want me to do anything to her?”
He gazes intensely at me, his eyes low and dangerous. “Because she had no right to call you ugly. I was expecting you to use your words too, not a severe action.”
Just as I'm about to get down from the bed, he steps closer, invading my space until his knees brush the edge of the bed. He leans
