Page 39 of Wild Ever After
Sitting up, I take her in. My mouth goes dry. A red bikini covers only enough of her body to keep the important bits hidden. Her boobs are trying to bust free from the top and the bottoms sit low on her hips. She takes the chair next to mine.
“I see you got the party started without me.” She takes one of the drinks and slurps up the melted ice and what’s left of the fruity drink.
“Finished working?”
“For today.” She takes out sunscreen and starts rubbing it all over her skin.
“Does your boss really expect you to work while you’re on your honeymoon?”
“I don’t mind. Work is the only thing keeping me going. I’m good at work.”
“Yeah.” I mull that over. I’ve definitely put work first for most of my adult life.
“Missing Sam?”
“I don’t know if I’m missing him or just mourning the relationship I thought we had. Work is the only thing that distracts me.” Her gaze briefly scans my naked torso. “The only productive thing.”
“You’re in paradise. You don’t need to be productive. Enjoy it.”
A smile that tells me I’m going to eat my words spreads across her face. “Don’t you worry. I plan to.”
* * *
As expected, I eat my words over the next twenty-four hours. Enjoy it, she does. In bikinis of every color and pattern. The only thing that they all have in common is how little of her they cover.
I am in hell.
We’ve skipped structured activities, but spent lots of time at the pool with a swim-up bar, and eaten at different restaurants around the resort. We’re together nonstop, but carefully avoid touching or any topics of substance. Almost as if we both know that getting too intimate in conversation and letting our guards down, could lead to a repeat of our all-night bang fest.
But I’m already tired of surface conversations. There are only so many times you can talk about how beautiful it is here. Or ponder what our friends are doing back in Minnesota.
Tuesday, we split up after breakfast. While she works for a few hours, I sit on the beach and call my contractor, Rick. He’s been able to continue most of my renovation plans while I’m gone, thankfully.
On my way back to the room, I spot a couple just arriving. They can’t keep their hands off each other—or their lips. They ask the concierge for a restaurant recommendation somewhere off the resort. Something romantic and quiet. I pause long enough to hear his answer. A night out sounds nice. Maybe I’ll suggest it.
Just because it’s romantic and quiet doesn’t mean Jade and I can’t go and have a good time. It’ll be fun, maybe we can reach a level of comfort with each other that makes my attraction take a back seat to friendship.
A guy can hope.
By the time I get back to the room mid-afternoon, I’m hopeful Jade’s done working because I’m eager to spend some time with her. I like being around her. Under almost any other scenario, a trip like this with her would be amazing. I’ve let the weirdness of the situation drive a wedge between us for the past couple of days, but I’m done with that. Maybe we can grab lunch and then go snorkeling or something before taking her to dinner off the resort. But when I get to the room, there’s no sign of Jade.
I wait, but after thirty minutes, I’m too antsy to sit in the room by myself. She doesn’t reply to a text. I check the restaurant downstairs and even the quieter lounge area, thinking maybe she wanted to work someplace other than the room.
I can’t find her anywhere. I’ve all but given up on locating her, when a flash of long, red hair grabs my attention at the outdoor bar. Fun, upbeat music pumps louder with each step closer. A crowd has gathered, mostly guys, and Jade is standing on top of the bar, holding a drink the size of her head, and swaying in rhythm to the music.
She’s a damn sight in a little pink bikini that pushes up her boobs and cuts low on her slender hips. And I am not the only one that’s noticing.
I shove through a group of dudes to get to her. When she spots me, her brown eyes light up. She lifts both arms in the air, spilling her drink in the process. “Declan!”
People sitting at the bar make room for me.
The closer I get, the drunker I realize she is. I tip my head back toward the hotel. “Wanna come down from there and we can grab lunch?”
She shakes her head. “I want to drink until I can’t remember anything.”
“All right. We can do that, but let’s go sit by the water or in the pool.”
After taking a long slurp of her drink, she finally nods. “Okay, but you need to put a shirt on.”
