I came to, coughing up seawater onto the gritty shore. Morning light spilled over the horizon, outlining a lanky figure in a white tee and shorts.
When he turned, sunlight caught the scar above his eyebrow, making his smirk look even wilder. Not the sun—him.
"Awake?"
I nodded, his voice tugging at some half-remembered familiarity.
"How'd you piss off Victoria, that deranged b***h?"
My lips sealed shut, eyes locked on him.
He scoffed at my hesitation. "Relax. I'm not with them." A beat. Then, smirk widening. "Wait, you're the Blake family's 'successfully rehabilitated lunatic,' right?"
I tensed, my fingers clawing at a sharp rock nearby.
He crouched and wrestled the rock from my hand. "Told you I've got it worse than you." A humorless laugh. "Carter family's bastard son here. They c
