Scorched Veil (Wicked Seasons #1)
Chapter 1
SUMMER
The gold band on my finger feels like a fucking noose.
I'm still sitting in the plush leather seat of the private jet when the cabin door cracks open and the tropical heat rushes in.
It's thick, suffocating air that doesn't let you breathe so much as drown you.
Sweat breaks out across my skin in seconds, sliding down my spine and pooling between my breasts.
The white silk wedding dress that looked elegant hours ago is already ruined, clinging to my thighs and hips in damp, transparent folds.
I can feel every seam against my skin. Every stitch is a reminder of the ceremony I didn't choose.
Kairo Saint doesn't give me time to breathe. He unbuckles his seatbelt, stands, and grabs my wrist in one smooth motion, yanking me to my feet beside him.
I dig my nails into his hand and pull back hard. "Get your fucking hands off me."
He ignores me completely, wraps his fingers tighter, and drags me toward the open door like I weigh nothing.
The second we step onto the top of the stairs, the island hits me full force.
The humidity is so heavy it's like breathing through wet cotton.
The sun is merciless, turning the black tarmac below into a shimmering haze.
Dense jungle presses in on the left, thick and overgrown, a wall of green so dark it's almost black at the base, where the roots tangle together.
On the right, the turquoise ocean stretches to the horizon, the water so bright it hurts to look at.
He pulls me down the metal stairs. My strappy heels click loudly on every step, the thin soles barely protecting my feet from the heat of the metal.
Sweat beads on the back of my neck, and my hair sticks to my face in wet strands.
A sleek black SUV waits ten feet away, its rear door already open.
The driver stands beside it like a statue, eyes on the ground, he doesn't look at me.
I plant my feet the second we hit flat ground. "I said let go of me, right now, Kairo."
He stops and turns to face me, those dark sunglasses hiding his eyes, but the tight set of his jaw tells me he's already losing patience, if he ever had any to begin with.
His black dress shirt is plastered to his shoulders and chest from the humidity, the fabric pulled tight across muscle that wasn't built in a gym.
Sleeves rolled to the elbows, tattoos crawl up both forearms, disappearing under the folded cuffs, blending into scar tissue, adding to the aura of danger that surrounds him.
"Keep testing me, Summer." His voice is low and rough. "And I'll throw you over my shoulder and carry you the rest of the way. Don't test me today."
Rage burns through me. I rip my arm free and climb into the SUV on my own, sliding all the way to the opposite door and pressing my shoulder against the window.
Kairo gets in right after, his body taking up too much space, his thigh pressing against mine even though the seat is wide enough for three.
He sits like he owns the air around him, probably because he does.
He owns the car, the driver, the island, and the ring on my finger.
The door slams shut, and the cold air conditioning blasts over my overheated skin.
Temporary relief, I know that already. Everything on this island is designed to give you just enough comfort to remind you how much can be taken away.
I stare out the tinted window as the SUV pulls away from the runway.
Palm trees and thick jungle blur past on the left, the ocean glitters on the right, mocking me through the glass.
That water is my only possible way off this island, and swimming it would kill me long before I reached the next shore.
Even if I could swim, I have no idea which direction to go.
The silence stretches, and I can feel him watching me, but I don't turn. I count the palm trees instead, seven, eight, nine. My hands are clasped in my lap, and I realize I'm digging my thumbnail into my palm hard enough to leave a mark. I stop, I don't want him to see what he does to me.
"You're quiet," he says. He sounds pleased with himself, as if my silence is my obedience.
I turn my head slowly and look at him. "Would it kill you to give me five fucking minutes with my thoughts?"
A smirk pulls at the corner of his mouth, and I want to punch it. His face would be handsome if there weren't something cruel living behind it.
"Careful, wife, that mouth belongs to me now. I can think of much better uses for it than sassing me." He smirks darkly.
He wishes. "Screw you.” I hold his gaze even though every nerve in my body wants to flinch. "And I'd rather bite off my tongue than let you anywhere near it. This ring doesn't change a goddamn thing," I say, shoving my hand in his face.
He leans back against the leather, completely at ease, arms spread wide across the seat back, one hand close enough to my shoulder that I can feel the heat radiating off his skin even in the cold air.
"We'll see how long that fire lasts once this heat really gets under your skin. A pretty Rayne princess is going to melt fast down here."
My jaw clenches at my family name. Rayne.
The family that sold me to him like livestock at auction.
My father didn't even walk me down the aisle, I got married in Kairo's office this morning after my father handed me a white dress and told me I needed to accompany him to a meeting.
He signed the contracts, poured himself a drink, and sat there while I said I do.
The second it was done, he stood up and walked out without a word.
No goodbye and definitely no apology for what he did to me. Did you expect anything less?
The SUV winds down a narrow road carved through the jungle.
Even with the AC blasting, I can feel the humidity pressing against the windows.
Vines hang low over the road, scraping the car’s roof.
The canopy blocks the sun in patches, throwing the interior into stripes of shadow and light that move across Kairo's face.
In the dark patches, he could be anyone, but in the light, the scar tissue on his knuckles catches, and I can see the history written into his hands, every fight, every broken bone, every man who bled under those fists.
I can't stay quiet, the silence gives him too much power. "You really think this marriage is going to fix anything? My father only agreed because he's desperate and drowning. The second he gets what he wants from this arrangement, he'll come for you."
Kairo removes his sunglasses and looks at me, those amber eyes burning not with anger but with something worse, patience. The look of a man who has already decided how this ends and is just waiting for me to catch up.
"Your father is a coward who couldn't hold his empire together with both hands.
That's why he wrapped you in white silk and handed you over to me.
" He pauses, his gaze moves down my body slowly, deliberately, taking inventory like he's cataloging what he bought.
"I don't need the alliance to last forever, Summer. I just need enough time with you."
"Enough time for what?" I dare ask.
His eyes come back to mine. "To take you apart, piece by fucking piece."
A shiver runs down my spine despite the heat, and I force out a bitter laugh. "Good luck. I'm not one of your disposable whores. I won't break for you."
He raises one dark brow. "No …" he says, voice dropping so low I feel it in my ribs. "You're not disposable at all. That's what makes this fun." He smirks darkly.
The car slows as the tall black iron gates rise out of the jungle, flanked by armed guards in dark tactical gear with rifles slung across their chests, faces blank.
They’re not bored, just well-trained. The gates swing open without a word being spoken, without a signal given.
They knew we were coming, and every step of this has been choreographed.
Beyond the gates lies the villa, modern and angular, all dark wood and floor-to-ceiling glass that reflects the jungle back at itself.
An infinity pool wraps around one side, the water spilling over the edge into what looks like open sky, but it’s the ocean.
It should look like paradise, except it looks like the most expensive cage ever built.
A place someone disappears into, and the world forgets they ever existed.
We pull up to the entrance, and Kairo gets out first. He extends his hand toward me, not as an offer but as a test. One I fail because I ignore it and step out alone.
The heat swallows me instantly, it’s sticky, pressing against every inch of exposed skin making my dress cling tighter.
The silk is nearly see-through now, and I know he notices because his eyes drop to my chest for one long second before he looks away.
Not out of respect but out of restraint.
The difference matters. Respect means he cares about my boundaries, restraint means he's choosing when to cross them.
Two staff members wait by the glass doors, heads bowed.
They don't look at me either, and I'm starting to understand the rules of this island. Kairo Saint is the only one allowed to look. His hand presses flat against the small of my back, hot through the wet silk, and guides me inside. The foyer is cool as I’m greeted by soaring ceilings and dark marble floors that echo with every step.
Expensive art adorns the walls, abstract, violent slashes of red and black on white canvas, art that probably costs more than a house.
Wide glass doors stand open to the pool deck and the ocean beyond.
The whole place smells like salt air, wood polish, and money.
"Welcome home, wife." His breath is warm against my ear, his body close enough behind me that I can feel his chest against my shoulder blades.
"There is no phone signal past the front gate.
Every inch of this island is mine." His fingers spread wider against my lower back as his thumb presses into the base of my spine. "And so are you."
I spin to face him, heart hammering against my ribs. "Then you'd better get ready for one hell of a war, Kairo. Because I'm not breaking for you, not today, not ever."
He crowds me back against the cool marble wall, one hand gripping my jaw, tilting my face up to his as his thumb drags roughly across my lower lip, slow and deliberate, as if he’s testing what I'll allow before he takes more.
His eyes are dark, pupils blown wide, and this close, I can see a thin scar that cuts through his left eyebrow.
"We'll see about that," he says softly, almost gently.
The gentleness is worse than the grip on my jaw.
Because the gentleness is a lie, and lies from men like him are the most dangerous thing in the world.
"This heat has a way of burning through all that fight.
" His gaze drops to my mouth and lingers for a moment before lowering.
"And when yours burns out, and it will, I'm going to be right here, Summer, waiting to take what is mine. "
I slap his hand away, hard enough that the sound echoes across the marble.
He smiles dangerously as if I reacted exactly the way he wanted.
With a smile that promises things that make me nervous, he steps back, adjusts himself, and then walks away deeper into the villa without another word, his footsteps echoing off the marble until they disappear.
What the hell? I stay pressed against the wall, my pulse hammering and my skin burning where his thumb was. I press my fingers to my mouth without thinking, then catch myself and drop my hand.
This is going to be a long summer.