Page 56 of Emerald

“A moment of madness.”

“It was hot.” She grins.

“Never to be repeated. I don’t know why I did it in the first place,” I tell her.

“Might be something to do with seeing me naked.”

“You have a high opinion of yourself,” I bite back.

“I do. You saw me naked. Why wouldn’t I.”

“I’m going to bed,” I say, trying to cut this conversation short.

“Good night. And if you hear me moaning, don’t worry, I’m just finishing myself off. It’s an occupational hazard,” she says, sauntering off back to her room. It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her I’ll help, but I think I’ve done enough tonight, and Brooks’ words “Don’t sleep with her” ring in my ears.

“Night, Ellie.”

20

ELENA

What the hell happened last night with Nash? That wasn’t in my plan. Believe me, yes Nash is hot, and I was curious about what he was packing underneath those board shorts, and I wasn’t disappointed. Even from that far away, I could see how big and thick he was. What surprised me was the fact that he pulled himself out and started touching it while I fucked Manuel. That was … unexpected. Hot. But also, not what I thought he would do. I also thought he hated me. Yes, I did think he thought I was hot, but not enough to do that. Now I’m intrigued. Nash has a kinky side. Maybe we could explore it, seeing as when I’m working it never gets me off. I wasn’t lying when I said I would go back to my room and finish myself off. Because I did, thinking about him. But he doesn’t need to know that. I need to keep him on his toes. Last night I should have looked at Manuel’s phone, but I ended up passing out.

Grabbing the phone, I sit up in bed and start to scroll through. Ew. He likes to send a lot of dick pics to women. I’m offended I never got one. I continue to search and look through his phone, scouring every inch, but there doesn’t seem to be anything incriminating on it. Fuck. He had his personal phoneon him, not his work phone, which must have been left with his bodyguard when he came home with me. Fuck. I throw my phone down, get up, and walk out of my room. What I wasn’t expecting when I walked out of the room was the strip show. Nash has come back from a run, and he is pulling off his sweat-soaked tee. I watch as the corded muscles bend and move with each movement against his golden-tanned skin. A flutter between my legs starts to turn into a needy throb. No. You can’t fuck him. You have a job to do, and Nash Madden is a delicious distraction that I don’t need. Except I continue to watch as he launches himself into his pool to cool off. I bite my bottom lip as I watch him emerge from the water, the droplets cascading over his broad shoulders, rivulets running down his back.Is it getting hot in here?I shake my head. This isn’t me. I don’t act like a schoolgirl with a crush. Turning around, I head back into my room and call the one person I can talk to about this.

“Hey, how is it going?” Mackenzie answers the phone.

“If I tell you something you won’t judge me, will you?” I ask her.

“No. Of course not. Is everything okay?” she asks, and I can hear the concern in her voice.

“This is kind of embarrassing. I’m a confident woman. My job is to be able to read men but …”

Mackenzie bursts out laughing. “Oh my god, is this my chance to give sisterly advice to you? This is huge. Okay, tell me everything,” she says excitedly. I let out a sigh at her enthusiasm, but it makes me smile as I’ve never had anyone I could trust with my inner thoughts, not since Anna, but I know I can trust Mackenzie. “Something happened between you and Nash?”

“Kind of,” I answer, which makes her squeal.

“Tell me everything.”

So, I do. I explain to her how he annoys the hell out of me, how he doesn’t trust me and has second-guessed me the entiretime I’ve been here. That he doesn’t think I am strong enough to take on the cartel no matter what Brooks tells him. I also tell her that I hate that he’s hot, too, which makes her giggle. “What does it mean when you are fucking someone else, and he stands there jerking off to it.”

“I’m sorry, what the hell did you say?” Mackenzie squeals.

“I had a job last night, I had to seduce this cartel guy. I brought him home, and well, you know what my job is. Nash came home, caught me naked, and putting a tracker on the guy’s phone while he was passed out by the pool. We kind of had a flirty moment, and then I kind of told him to watch me blow this guy’s mind. Not sure why, but he irritates me. Plus, I saw him screw some woman the other night and I guess I wanted to show him. I woke the cartel guy up from his slumber with a blow job, and then I jumped into his lap but couldn’t keep my eyes off Nash. I silently sent him a dare, and the next thing I knew, he pulled his cock out and started stroking himself while I fucked the other guy.”

“Um …” Mackenzie says.

“What do you think that means?” I ask her.

“I don’t know. Maybe Nash has a voyeur kink?”

“You think?”

“I don’t know. That is not a problem I’ve ever encountered before and seems out of my wheelhouse when I can’t even get laid.” She sighs.

“I thought you and the IT guy were, you know …” I say.

“No. He won’t go any further, he’s scared of Sophie and Brooks.”

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