Page 24 of Maneater
“Yes,” he remarks simply, continuing to give me nothing.
“God, you’re so talkative,” I say with a laugh. He just glares at me, and I let out another giggle. It’s not even part of my mask, part of the act I’m playing to lure him in, either. I just find his frustration hilarious. “You were much more amenable in the bar.” I reach over and barely graze his pinky with my own. It’s the barest brush, chaste, even, but it still sends a bolt of heat through me.
Well,thatmight be a problem.
“Like I said, different circumstances,” he says.
“So you’re back to thinking I’m some pretty little gold digger?” I expect him to brush it off, but to my surprise, he looks over at me with a fierce look.
“Now I think you’re trouble, and I don’t have the time for trouble.”
I smile then because I’m considering it progress before he rolls his eyes and averts his gaze again. I take in our surroundings as he walks quickly to the other side of the resort where my room is located, making note of people and places and things to explore later with Rory before eventually catching sight of a sunny area through a set of French doors, flanked by tons of foliage.
“What is that?” I ask, looking to the right through large glass windows. I can see the glittering ocean far off and a few chairs, and my steps stop. The area looks like a dream, and suddenly, I want nothing more than to check it out.
“A lookout,” he says, blunt as ever, continuing to walk but a bit slower as the gap between us grows.
“Can we look at it?” I ask.
He stops moving then, turning to look at me with a glare. “I thought I was taking you to your room.”
“Would a detour kill you?”
He stares at me, but before he can tell me that a detour would, in fact, kill him, as I’m pretty sure he wants to, I take off in that direction, my intrigue piqued as I push open a door. The area is empty, just a couple of chairs on the far side of the large area that lines the side of the building, taking in the sun. The entire area is gorgeous, with a glass wall that overlooks the beach and the ocean straight ahead and a sharp drop-off of the cliff the actual hotel is built on. To the right is the wooded forest, a few hiking trails I saw on the brochures visible through the leaves. The area is absolutely breathtaking, with pots and planters filled with flowers and greenery everywhere alongside the most spectacular view.
“Oh my god,” I whisper, looking around and deciding that tomorrow, Rory and I will spend at least an hour here, even if we get zero intel while doing it.
“This is why we picked this location,” Rowan says, seemingly reluctantly, coming up behind me, waving an arm in the direction of the sparkling ocean with bright, crystal-clear water. I look over my shoulder at him and see his face cast in confusion like even he can’t discern why he’s sharing this with me.
“There’s no one out here,” I say, looking around.
He shrugs.
“It’s small and doesn’t have the amenities the pools or other surrounding areas have. Staff aren’t assigned to monitor this area heavily, but that’s part of why I like it. It’s smaller but more impactful.”
“Hmm,” I say, taking in him and then the ocean. “Didn’t peg you as the type.”
It’s not a line: I didn’t peg this for him, and each time I find myself wrong regarding him, I get a bit more concerned. I’m never wrong. I can often discern someone’s thoughts, desires, and likes within just a few minutes of conversation.
But Rowan seems to be a complete and total anomaly.
“What?”
I shrug and give him a playful smile, burying my own concern behind my charm. “You’re the kind of man who thinks bigger is better. This is not bigger.”
He’s staring at me now, taking in my face without shame or trying to hide it before he answers, voice low.
“But it’s better.”
A long moment passes as I take him in. Fuck, he’s handsome. So much more so than I gave him credit for the dozen or so times we’ve bumped into each other. Like this, smiling and at ease for the smallest moment in time, he looks completely different.
His eyes drift down to where I know the mark he left on my neck the other night is just barely visible, and his eyes flare with satisfaction. I didn’t cover it up this morning, since I knew I’d be getting on a plane, and I forgot before we left for the pool, but now I’m wondering if, like so much of this trip, it was meant to be. That I met up with Rowan a few days ago was exactly for this reason: for him to be my source of information.
Without even meaning to, I take a step closer.
“This feels like kismet, you know?” I ask with a smile, pushing my hair over my shoulder and subtly leaning in toward him. “Both of us at that bar, then both of us showing up here? Right place, right time.” He looks down at me, and a rush runs through me, pleasure and satisfaction rushing through my veins. He isn’t nearly as unaffected as he’s making himself out to be.
“I’m starting to think nothing is the right place, right time when it comes to you.”
