Page 83 of Better When Shared
But I was already moving, striding toward the elevator with controlled fury. Better to handle this quietly, efficiently, with the kind of personal attention that reminded people why the Bancroft commanded such respect.
I jabbed the elevator call button with far more force than necessary. The doors slid open immediately, and I stepped inside and used my keycard to unlock roof access. As the elevator rose, I studied my reflection in the mirrored walls. Pressed suit, perfectly knotted tie, face set in hard lines that had made hostile investors back down. I looked like exactly what I was: a man who didn't tolerate disruption to his carefully ordered world. A man who made the rules, and didn't allow anyone, not even a wild, impulsive, devastatingly sexy American couple, to break them.
The elevator doors opened into a small lobby with glass doors that led outside onto the flat expanse of the hotel roof, which we'd recently converted into a garden oasis, complete with a thermal pool.
At this time of night, all I could see through the glass was darkness broken only by strips of lighting that illuminated the pathways leading through the carefully positioned potted shrubs and flowers. The pool was at the far end of the rooftop garden, situated for the best view across Bath's historic crescent.
At night, with the city lights twinkling below, it became something almost magical, and Gemma had mentioned keeping it open later more than once. But we had to keep the noise down for guests staying in the rooms below, so I only allowed it two nights a week.
As I rounded the corner, the scene that greeted me stopped me in my tracks.
The thermal pool glowed like a jewel in the darkness, underwater lighting turning the naturally heated water into liquid amber. Steam rose from the surface in lazy spirals, creating an almost dreamlike atmosphere against the backdrop of Bath's Georgian crescents. The comfortable seating areas were empty, chairs still neatly arranged.
But the pool itself was very much occupied.
Two figures moved in the steaming water, their bodies creating ripples that caught the underwater lights. Even in silhouette,even through the steam and shadows, I knew exactly who they were. The gorgeous curls floating down the woman's back, grazing the water's surface, were unmistakable, as was the broad-shouldered man holding her in his lap. They both moaned as they deepened their kiss, lost in the passion of the moment.
It was Juniper and Marco.
My throat went dry.
They hadn't noticed me yet. Juniper's back was to me, her dark hair wet and gleaming, water droplets sliding down the elegant curve of her spine. Marco had a hand on the back of her neck as he kissed her. Their movements were slow, intimate, and tender. It was a private moment that no one else was meant to witness. And I was pretty sure they were naked.
I should have announced myself immediately. I should have cleared my throat and demanded an explanation.
Instead, I stood frozen at the edge of the pool, gripping the back of a chair for support, and watched.
The practical part of my brain—the part that had been trained since childhood to think in terms of liability and reputation management—screamed at the violation of the rules.
But that voice was being drowned out by something much more primitive, much more dangerous.
Lust. Pure, undeniable, impossible to ignore. Every rational thought I possessed was being overwhelmed by the view of Juniper's back arching, the tattoo on her back shifting with her movement.
They were beautiful together in a way that made my chest tight and my hands shake. Sexy, in a way that made my cock pulse with need.
Steam continued to rise from the pool, wrapping around their bodies like silk scarves. The soft sounds of water lapping against tile mixed with something else—quiet murmurs, the kind of intimate conversation that lovers shared when they thought they were alone. Oddly, I could have sworn I heard Juniper whisper my name more than once. But that made no sense.
I forced air into my lungs and straightened my spine, calling on every lesson in control I'd ever learned. Whatever was happening here, I was still the CEO of this establishment. I had authority, responsibility, a duty to maintain order, to enforce the rules. The fact that my cock was pressing insistently against my zipper was irrelevant.
"Excuse me," I said, my voice cutting through the intimate quiet like a blade. "The spa is closed. You'll need to leave immediately."
Both figures in the pool went still, the gentle ripples around them gradually settling. Juniper turned first, spinning her upper body to look over her shoulder at me. When her dark eyes metmine across the steaming water, something electric shot through my entire nervous system.
I'd been right. She was naked. Completely, gloriously naked.
The realization hit me like a freight train, stealing what little breath I'd managed to recover. Her breasts broke the surface of the water, nipples dark and peaked from the temperature contrast, droplets sliding down her brown skin. And the underwater lighting made the pool glow, so that what was happening beneath the surface was almost as clear as what was happening above.
"Mr. Bancroft," she said, and her voice was honey over gravel, warm and knowing. "What a pleasant surprise."
My throat worked soundlessly. Pleasant surprise. As if they hadn't broken into a restricted area after hours. As if she wasn't sitting naked in my thermal pool like some sort of water nymph designed specifically to drive me insane.
Marco ran a hand down her spine, his eyes on me. His dark hair was wet and tousled. His muscled shoulders were covered in tattoos that I wanted to see more of, glistening in the soft light as his body shifted beneath hers. "We were just enjoying the amenities," he said, his voice carrying a hint of challenge that made my jaw clench. "Hope you don't mind."
"This area is closed to guests after nine," I managed, my voice strained. "There are liability issues, and the noise disturbs guests in the rooms below—"
"Tristan," Juniper said. "We promise to be quiet. If you let us."
I opened my mouth, then closed it again, not sure what to say. "Let you?"
