Page 26 of Scandalous Lover

She gets her footing and tries to stand back up, but I hold her arms tightly, my body refusing to obey my mind.

I don’t want to be gentle.

I want to press her to her knees and make her beg.

My hands drop to my sides as the thought shoots through my brain, causing my cheeks to flush and mybreath to catch.

Naomi watches the whole thing with a knowing smirk, shaking her head and smiling back at me as Avery helps her into the front seat of the cart.

I’m stuck in the back with photographer and YouTube star Tomás from Spain, listening to him recount his travels in an accent I know would make most women melt.

I want to be included in the conversation going on in the front seat where Avery has Naomi talking at length about something I can't quite grasp with this guy talking nonstop in my ear about transfers and gate changes.

When we finally pull up to The Sands, I’m irritable and sweaty. I put on my best host smile and help unload the luggage.

“Sam, you want to take Naomi up? I’m going to get Tomás checked in.”

Walk Naomi up to her room…alone? That’s the last thing in the world I need to be doing.But what comes out of my mouth?

“Sure.”

I snag the keys to 215 from the rack behind the counter and leave the guys there, pushing the cart I loaded with Naomi’s suitcases. “Looks like you’ll be staying for a while?”

She’s quiet behind me long enough that I glance back to make sure she’s still there. She’s following me with her eyes downcast. I can see the exhaustion in her whole demeanor, and I know it's more than the long day of travel.

We reach her door, and I lean against it, cocking my head at her. “Everything okay?”

She finally meets my eyes and gives me a shrug. “It will be.”

“What happened? Last time I saw you you seemed to be on top of the world.”

Another pointed look, this time with an eyebrow raise. Ifshe’s surprised I brought up our meeting in Austin, she’s not the only one. “People are not always what they seem.”

It’s my turn to look surprised. “I guess that’s true, but?—”

“I don’t really want to get into what happened right now, okay?”

“Oh, of course. You must be exhausted.” I unlock the door and hold it open for her, following her inside with the cart.

“This room is fantastic,” she says, spinning in place in the center of the tiny living area.

I glance around the room myself, seeing it through her fresh eyes.

It may be one of the smallest rooms, and on the non-view side of the property, but it’s a cozy, well-designed space.

I picked out furniture that would be welcoming and easy to relax on, rather than the wicker and cushions that were here when we bought the place. This room has a teal corduroy loveseat-sized sofa with a small maple coffee table and matching end tables with seashell shaped lamps. A rattan screen partially hides the queen-size bed, where I know a seafoam duvet is waiting for her with towels twisted into some tropical creature shape by our creative housekeeping staff.

Not that I'm going over there myself to check.

I unload her bags and stand them next to the bar that separates the small kitchenette from the living area. “I guess I’ll leave you to it.”

“Let me give you my number,” she says, turning back from the sliding doors where she was examining the patio.

I’m tempted to say something about the room phone and how I can always get ahold of her that way if I need to. That would be the wise move here. But do I? No. I don’t.

I pat both of my pockets and come up empty. “I must have left my phone back in my office.”

Hermouth drops open in shock. “You don’t have your phone on you?”

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