Page 28 of Kylo
“Ten? Darlin’, this is Golden Beach. This manse cost thirty-nine million dollars. I’d be disgusted by that if I didn’t knowthat Teddy was a really philanthropic guy. He runs a community clinic, a food pantry, and is working on some project to get the unhoused off the streets and into houses that provide some dignity. That’s not including all the smaller shit he does. Actually, I should bring him to the shop sometime.”
“Why’s that?” I asked, sliding out of the car as the door opened for me.
“Because he owns a string of hotels, apartment buildings, and rental properties. I’m assuming they might all benefit from live plants.”
That would be pretty life-changing for the shop.
But my stomach automatically tightened at the idea of needing to have more shipments come in.
“Maybe. Live plants are a lot more work for staff, though, so maybe not.”
“Well, I’ll ask,” Kylo said, shrugging. “Want a tour?”
“We can go inside?”
“Of course. I’ve got a key and everything,” he said, flashing it at me.
“Um, not to be rude, but would it be possible to do the parasailing first? Because, like, if I have time to get myself all worked up about it—”
“You’ll talk yourself out of it.”
“Exactly.”
Kylo nodded to the driver, who walked off to, I assume, get things ready.
“Let’s go around the back then and use the outside bathroom to get changed and put our shit down.”
The backyard featured an outdoor kitchen with attached cabanas that each had a small sitting room and bathroom, a lovely built-in pool (that I scratched my head about because how did you have a built-in pool on anisland?), and some smallpatches of grass before there was a two-foot wall you could step over to get to the sandy beach.
“Take pictures,” Traeg said in my ear as I tried to strip out of my clothes with one hand so I could give him a quick whispered update.
“I can’t take a picture of a stranger’s home!”
“I don’t want to see his S&M collection, just a shot of the pool and master bathroom.”
“Maybe,” I said. “You have my location, right?”
“Right.”
“Okay. We’re going to get right to the parasailing so I don’t get a chance to chicken out.”
“I still can’t believe you rode on a motorcycle with that man.”
“I know. Me neither. I might have to leave my phone in the cabana to go on the boat. But you have the address where I’m at.”
“I do. Have fun on the boat. Andoffthe boat.”
With that, I moved a bit self-consciously out of the cabana in my swim shorts and bikini top, suddenly kicking myself for not going out and buying a tankini top for this.
But all the worries, yeah, they slipped right out of my head when Kylo’s door shut.
Then there he was.
In black swim trunks.
And nothing else.
My gaze was helpless but to slide over his body, finding not only more tattoos I hadn’t been able to see before, but the outlines of muscles that I suddenly wanted to run my tongue along.
