Page 48 of Playing for Possession
I knocked on the door to the en suite. “Joanie?”
Silence. “Joanie, are you in there?”
I tried the door. The knob twisted freely in my hand, and I stepped inside the tiny, empty bathroom. A shiver of agitation went through me. I sent a quick message on my phone.
I fell asleep. Where are you?
Maybe she was in the courtyard. I headed to the door, but a neat handwritten note on the dresser caught my attention. I scanned the first couple of lines.
Joanie’s fuck-it list.
1)Wild, horny rebound sex in Menorca. (Kieran Earnshaw???)
A jolt went through me.What the actual fuck?I glanced around, with a sudden fear that she’d walk in and catch me. I caught sight of my reflection in the large oval mirror on the dresser. Surprise marked every inch of my expression. Guilt washed over me. Whatever this was, I shouldn’t have been reading it. If I had any decency I’d put it down right away, but something stayed my hand. Had Joanie written this? The same Joanie who had blushed bright pink at the idea of a kiss? It was so... out of character.
Every item on this list was more daring than the last.Give a really good blow job. Sex outside. Sex on a beach. Multiple orgasms.What was this? Some sex to-do list? Joanie had a wild side, and I was at the top of the list? A thrill ran through me. I could do wild and horny. The tension between us was so palpable, I’d struggle to be anything else. There was writing on the other side, but this list was more mundane: be a zookeeper for the day, take a cookery course.
Cow bells tinkled on the field outside and brought me back to my senses. I shouldn’t have been reading this list. No matter that it was about me; it wasn’tfor me. I also couldn’t be the person to indulge in any of these items. I’d made an agreement with Mortimer. This had already gone too far. Jack needed me at Calverdale. No matter how I wanted this woman, it was selfish to risk getting kicked out of the team.
I put the note back exactly as I’d found it, and went to search for Joanie downstairs. As I walked past the kitchen table, another piece of paper with neat handwriting caught my attention.
I’ve gone to the seafood place we passed today. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be back soon.
She’d gone alone? Why didn’t she wake me? I’d have to find her. I checked my phone again and fired off another text. Why wasn’t she replying to my message? Was it the kiss? It had felt so good. Did it not feel that way for her?
It was a short drive to Cala Galdana. Warmth and lively conversation hit me as I stepped inside the restaurant. I scanned the bustling room, but there was no sign of Joanie. I found the waiter working front of house.
“I’m looking for a friend. Is she here?” I showed the waiter a photo of Joanie on my phone.
“Too late, my friend. She’s already gone. Do you want a table?”
“How long ago since she left?”
He shrugged. “Over an hour.”
An hour? That couldn’t be right. She would have been back at the villa. Tension made my jaw stiff. Joanie didn’t know this area. She shouldn’t be wandering around in the dark. It was weird that she hadn’t replied to my text.Relax. She’ll be fine. Joanie is a grown woman.Still, accidents happened all the time. What if she was lost? What if she went into a bar and met some creep? It only tookone moment. One brush with the wrong person. One wrong turn down a dark alley.
“An hour ago? You’re sure?”
“Sí.” The waiter nodded and drifted away.
I darted out of the restaurant onto the main strip. Bright lights from the bustling cafés and bars reflected on the moonlit sea. The waves rolled in; their gentle lapping made my teeth grit with irritation. I had to calm down. This wasn’t a big deal. I just didn’t like the idea of her being alone at night in this place that she didn’t know when she couldn’t speak the language. I skirted around a couple holding hands, enjoying an evening stroll. This could have been me and Joanie. If I hadn’t fallen asleep. Why wouldn’t she answer my damn text? Was she in trouble?
Cigarette smoke wrapped around me as I pushed through a crowd outside a lively bar. Music and laughter pulsed through my feet. Joanie wasn’t here. I pressed on, my heart pounding harder with every fruitless search of the restaurants and cafés. My phone buzzed in my pocket and I almost dropped it in my eagerness to answer.
I’m fine. In a taxi. On my way back now.
A wave of relief went through me.
Why didn’t you answer my text?
I ran out of battery. The driver has juiced me up.
My thrumming anxiety shifted so quickly to irritation it made my breath hitch. I’d rampaged around every bar and restaurant in the town looking for her.What the fuck?I’d been worried out of my skull. I’d lost my shit over this woman. She’d had me running along that promenade and panicking like my life depended on finding her. Joanie brought out something too vulnerable in me.
This world was terrible sometimes. Joanie was a grown woman, and she was strong. She had to be to persevere in the face of an ACL tear. But she was fragile too. I’d seen the tears glittering in hereyes when she grabbed my hand on the flight over here. I wanted to keep her safe and stop her from shaking.
All my rage flowed out of me and left a stark defeat in its place. I’d overreacted, running around this place in a panic like my arse was on fire. Exhaustion overwhelmed me. I drove back to the villa, drawing shaky breaths. Back to this woman who had made me lose my fucking mind.
