Page 73 of My Favorite Bad Decision
KIT
The following afternoon, I’m on the patio making him a shell necklace he’ll never wear—he’s told me outright he’ll never wear it, and I’m bartering with sex acts to convince him.
He slaps my bare ass—the bartering led to sex on the chaise once already, with no concessions made on his part, which is why I’m currently naked and he’s only in boxers. “There’s nothing you can offer that’s going to convince me to wear a shell necklace at a social event. There’s also nothing you can offer that I can’t persuade you to give upwillingly, as I believe I just proved.”
“There are afewthings I haven’t given up,” I taunt, continuing to string shells onto the thread, raising a brow at him. “Doggy style was low-hanging fruit.”
He laughs. “If I hadn’t just come five minutes ago, I’d take that as a challenge. Ask me again in ten minutes.”
He starts typing on his laptop again. I can always tell when he’s working by the speed with which he types—there are no pauses; the keystrokes are hard and decisive. I can’t tell if this is simply because he’s a decisive boss or if it’s because he resents having to email anyone when he’s on vacation.
“Do you like your job?” I ask when he slams the laptop shut.
He startles, as if doesn’t understand the question, and then shrugs. “I do. I mean...it’s not fun the way it was at the start but I’m in Turks and Caicos with a naked woman at my disposal?—”
“I’m not at yourdisposal, cocky bastard. I might say no at any moment.”
He slides a finger between my legs. “I don’t see you saying no, Kitten.”
I huff an exasperated, needy exhale. “I still could.”
He removes his hand with a grin. “As I was saying, I’ve got a naked woman at my disposal, willing to do every filthy, degrading thing I demand of her?—”
“You’re seriously pushing it.”
He laughs. “So I can’t complain. And the company’s at a point where I can tell them ‘my phone is off, only email if it’s an emergency’, as I have now, and they mostly manage without me. It’s a good gig.”
I roll over to face him. “Itisa good gig. That doesn’t mean you can’t complain.”
He sets the laptop on the ground beside him. “It was more fun at the start, I’ll admit. Back when I was just getting it off the ground and there were a million things to do. I think the part I like is the development stage. And that’s really over now.”
My head tilts. “Then why haven’t you started something new? You’ve got the money. You’ve got the time,clearly.”
He glides a hand over my hip. “I think I prefer spending my time the way I have for the past few days.”
I look up at him from beneath my lashes. “The swimming? Making avocado toast?”
He leans down, his breath grazing my skin as he pulls my nipple between his teeth. “Those are okay, too.”
A breathy sigh eases out of me. We’ve talked enough, I think...
The purr of a golf cart jolts us both.
“What the fuck,” groans Miller, sitting up and covering me with a towel. “I canceled everything this week.”
“Mr. West?” calls a voice, and then one of the hotel employees appears.
“Hey,” says Miller, his palm pressing the towel flat to my back. “I canceled all the regular services this week.”
The man nods. “Yes. Your guest? Someone is asking that she check her cell.”
Miller thanks him, and I scramble upright the second the guy is gone, rushing to my room for the phone I’ve left on silent sincelast weekend.
There are multiple missed calls and dozens of texts, which are telling me the same thing.
Miller walks up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. “Is everything okay?”
My legs wobble. “No. My mom is in the hospital. They think she’s had a heart attack.”
