During the walk over, RJ had explained the layout of the resort, as if she’d needed to know this was where the people with the big bucks stayed. It was the exclusive area of the resort—not for those like her who’d put a slight dent in her savings to afford the airfare and two-week room stay. The pool outside her building was a nice size, and the cabanas around the bar area were large, as well. But this pool, with its cabanas the size of her apartment, was phenomenal.
“You sure you’re gonna be okay doing this?” RJ asked as they came to stand at the edge of the gated swimming area.
They’d stopped at his suite after hers, and he’d changed out of the navy-blue slacks and button-front shirt he’d worn at dinner. Now he wore light gray board shorts and a loose-fitting white tank top. On his feet were leather flip-flops, and he carried a black travel kit she’d watched him drop his phone, wallet and room key into.
She’d dumped the contents of the small clutch purse she’d carried at dinner into her tote bag and tossed in a pair of shorts in case the sarong she was wearing got too wet. “I’ll be fine. You don’t have to worry about me, you know. I’ve been around your family before.”
This was something she’d repeated to herself throughout the day in preparation for tonight’s dinner. But as it turned out, being around the Golds again had been easier than she’d thought it would be. While she’d expected anger and demands for her to explain what happened between her and RJ, none of that had occurred. Instead, Marva had been her wonderfully warm self and Maurice, Major and Riley had talked to her as if she hadn’t been away all this time. Desta and Nina had also been welcoming. Chaz and Tobias hadn’t said a lot to her directly, but they’d both seemed comfortable by the middle of dinner. Veronica had been her normal chatty self, annoying Grace only when she’d asked what happened between her and RJ.
Grace suspected they’d all been thinking that, but no one except Veronica had the guts to ask. She would be forever grateful to Ron for circumventing that question and changing the subject.
Things were different between her and RJ now, but that didn’t mean her mind never slipped back to a time when they’d been a couple, too.
As they’d all sat paired up at dinner, it had been so easy to let herself believe it was once again true. Good food, easy conversation—even when RJ reached for her hand in a way he often used to while they were out—she’d accepted and let herself believe, if only for that brief time.
“There they are. We were wondering what was taking you two so long,” Maurice said, winking at RJ when he looked Maurice’s way.
They’d taken the cabana at the farthest end of the pool. The one that was only about twenty feet away from the hot tub she was dying to get into.
“We saved you the two lounge chairs over here.” Desta directed Grace to the seat beside her.
It was strategic placement, she immediately noted. The four guys were sitting on the outside of the square setup while the women were in the center. Easier for them to talk to her without interruption. She might’ve been a little concerned if it didn’t work to her advantage as well. For as many questions as she was certain Riley, Nina and Desta were planning to ask her, she’d decided to ask them plenty more.
Grace put her bag beside the designated lounge chair and RJ dropped his on the one behind hers.
“Let’s get a drink,” he said, and waited while she walked around her chair to join him.
There’d been a larger bar when they first entered the pool area, but it was closed. The one a couple feet from their cabana was smaller, completely stocked and self-serve. No doubt something the Golds had arranged.
“What can I get you?” Chaz asked as she approached. “I’m the designated bartender for the moment, so keep it simple.” His smile came quick, giving her the impression that his ire during dinner hadn’t been directed at her after all.
“She prefers a martini, but keeping it simple, watermelon vodka or a glass of pinot noir,” RJ said before Grace could speak.
This morning he’d remembered she liked doughnuts and coffee for breakfast. Now he was recalling her favorite drinks. How she managed to smile when something like a billion butterflies fluttered in the pit of her stomach, she had no idea. “He’s right,” she told Chaz, and shrugged when Riley’s fiancé raised a brow in question.
“Okay, here you go,” Chaz said after pouring the watermelon-infused vodka into a glass over crushed ice.
“I’ll grab my own,” RJ said, stepping behind the bar with Chaz.
“Cranberry and vodka’s your comfort drink, but I saw you drinking it straight at dinner.” She had memories, too.
Chaz looked at RJ, who’d already grabbed the bottle of cranberry juice, then back to Grace. “You two are really something.”
We were. The wistful thought fluttered through her mind as Chaz walked away, leaving her and RJ alone at the bar.
“We’ve got good memories.” RJ finished fixing his drink.
“Yeah, glad the good ones stuck around.”
“Did we have bad memories?” He came back around to her side of the bar.
“Everybody’s got bad memories.” She lifted her drink for a sip.
“True,” he said. “But tonight, can we just talk about the good ones?”
Her every instinct said to scream no. They couldn’t talk about anything that involved their past. It had to stay off-limits, just like Ron had said earlier. But if that were true, she wouldn’t be here. Wanting to leave her time with RJ in the past but coming here to dig back through the years of Ron and Tobias’s early life was more than hypocritical of her. She had to make a choice.
“You used to enjoy sitting in the hot tub first, before going for a swim.” And in the years since they’d been apart, she’d grown accustomed to doing the same whenever possible.
He nodded in the direction they were walking. “Exactly where I’m headed now,” he said, looking over at her with a grin.
“Oh, we aren’t going back to the cabana with the others?” She’d been so busy trying to ignore the jitters in her stomach, hold on to this drink and keep her composure while being near RJ on a casual basis again, she hadn’t even noticed they’d changed course.
“They’re not going anywhere. Besides, I’d like a few minutes alone before we have to be part of the couples’ corner.”
She silently agreed. When they were at the hot tub, she placed her drink near the edge and stood to remove her sarong and flip-flops. He rounded the tub and did the same with his drink, then lifted his shirt over his head before kicking off his own sandals. They both stepped into the hot tub from opposite sides and eased down onto the bench.
“You still give those killer massages?” RJ asked, spreading his arms over the lip of the tub like wings.
Damn he looked good. Like really sexy delicious good lounging there with his naked chest and smoldering dark brown eyes.
“Haven’t given anyone a massage in a very long time.” She reached for her drink. She should’ve gotten it straight, or better yet, asked for whiskey instead. Brown liquor hit her harder and usually knocked her on her ass pretty quickly, which was why she didn’t have it while out in public. But tonight, she probably needed to be knocked out. Otherwise she had no idea how she was going to get through the rest of this night with RJ so close and so damn alluring.
“No boyfriend?” he asked.
She tilted her head and eyed him sarcastically. “Fine time to ask that question, don’t you think?” He’d been the one to bring up yesterday’s cabana tryst earlier this morning; now it was her turn.
“Touché,” he said with a sly grin. “So no boyfriend at the moment. That’s good.”
“Why’s that good? Because you don’t have a girlfriend at the moment?” She hadn’t recalled any tabloids saying RJ had a girlfriend.
“That, and because I don’t poach on another man’s property.”
&n
bsp; She tossed her head back and laughed. “Now you know damn well I’d never allow myself to be considered someone’s property.”
“You know what I mean. If you’re seeing someone, you’re not doing anything with me. Period.”
She sobered. “I wasn’t aware that I was doing something with you now?”
Silence. As sure as the water bubbling around them was warm and the night was dark.
He reached for his glass, wrapped his long fingers around it and brought it to his lips. “I meant what I said about enjoying our kiss in the cabana,” he said after taking a drink.
She’d enjoyed it, too, which was why she was still staring at his fingers on that glass instead of responding to his comment immediately. Remembering the feel of his hands on her was taking a quick and potent toll on her body.
“Did you like when I kissed you?”
First, she had to take another drink herself—a gulp was more like it—and she really wished for that whiskey now. Surely the dark liquor would’ve been strong enough to wash away the feeling that her body was more than a little prepared to totally betray her once again. “I wouldn’t have said I did if it wasn’t true. I always like when you kiss me.” She looked down into her glass. Her drink was half gone and she already wanted another. Anything to stop this burning need from attacking her.
“I liked how you tasted.” He took another drink before placing his glass on the rim of the pool again. “Smooth and sweet just like that drink.” When he nodded toward the glass, she followed the action with her gaze.
He was just about finished with his drink as well; just a few cubes of ice and barely a finger of red liquid was left.
“Your mouth was so warm and welcoming,” he continued. “I remember all the sweet, sexy things you used to do with your lips on me. So that quick, hot taste of you again made me feel drunker than I ever have from consuming any amount of alcohol.”
As she’d thought a few minutes ago, Grace had memories, too. Of the impromptu blow jobs she’d given him while he’d been driving, which could’ve easily ended with them veering off the road. Of kissing over each hardened nipple of his pecs, tangling her tongue in his mouth until they both moaned for more. She licked her lips and crossed one leg over the other, pressing one thigh down tightly over the other. “Why’re you doing this?” Her voice sounded low, quiet, pitiful.
“I want to kiss you again,” he said simply. “And more. How do you feel about that?”
RJ wanted to kiss her again. Her gaze flew to his mouth. His bottom lip was heavier than the top. She used to like sucking on it, dragging her tongue along the soft plumpness of his skin. That mouth, neatly framed by his goatee, was the most dangerous part of this beautiful man. His hands were another enticing feature, followed by the thick long dick that she knew from experience would rival any vibrator ever created.
Grace finished her drink, put her glass down and looked him directly in the eye. “I feel like that’s probably inevitable.” That was the damn truth. It would’ve been nice to say “Hell no, we’re not going there. We’re going to keep this just business and that’s all.” But every word of that would’ve been a lie, and if there was one thing Grace had never done, it was lie to RJ.
The next move was on him. Sure, she could simply stand up, cross the hot tub and straddle him, but he’d initiated this conversation. She wanted to see where exactly he planned to take it.
Before that could happen, someone called to RJ from the pool and just like that, the thick haze of desire that had cocooned them in the warmth of the bubbling water was cracked.
RJ didn’t speak right away but the immediate furrow of his brow said he was irritated. Well, good, ’cause now thanks to him she was hornier than she’d been in she didn’t know how long. If she had to suffer, so the hell did he. With that thought she stood and climbed out of the tub, knowing he watched the sway of her ass as she made her retreat.
“C’mon, you don’t want to miss nightcaps by the pool, do you?” She said over her shoulder, knowing she was playing with fire, teasing him and alluding to what was to come. It was something she’d always done well, something he’d always made sure she paid for later. A slither of excitement inched down her spine at the memory.
RJ got out of the water, too, grabbing his shirt and shoes in one hand before catching up with her. His gaze was hot and intent when he said, “They get half an hour, then you’re coming with me.”
CHAPTER NINE
RJ WAS TRUE to his word. Thirty minutes and another drink later, they were walking away from the pool and heading toward the villas. From what she could see through the darkness, there were at least four in this area, some a little larger, which she presumed meant they had more than one bedroom. RJ’s, she recalled, was on the far left and looked to be a smaller unit.
When they’d come here so he could change earlier, she’d opted not to go inside, instead sitting on one of the lounge chairs outside the floor-to-ceiling wall of glass patio doors. Now he was using his room card to swipe over the security panel, and she watched those doors slide open. He’d left the light on and the drapes partially drawn.
Her flip-flops were still a little wet as she stepped onto the natural-colored wood flooring. The room was bathed in golden light, the walls and furniture a pretty neutral tone. For her, the most intriguing part of this space was the high ceiling, accented with thick beams painted a rich chocolate brown.
“Do you want another drink?” he asked from behind her.
She could hear him moving about as she walked farther into what she presumed was the living room. He’d closed the door and then she heard a swishing sound she assumed was the curtains being closed. Turning slightly, she saw a table with four cushioned chairs surrounding it. A bottle of wine with four wineglasses was in the center.
“Not if you want me to remain coherent,” she said before turning to face him.
He startled her with how close he was, and his arms immediately went around her waist to pull her up to him. “Oh, you definitely want to be wide awake for this.”
There wasn’t a moment to respond before he came in for a kiss, his mouth taking hers in a fierce sweep of lips and tongues. The action took her breath away but she was quick to fall into the groove, lifting her arms to place her hands at the back of his head. His hands were everywhere, up and down her back, cupping her ass, pressing her into his already-hardened dick.
She’d known it was going to be like this. As they’d frolicked in the pool with his family, playing an impromptu game of water volleyball, the sexual tension between them had been ratcheted up to an almost explosive level. Each time he’d brushed past her in the water, his palms moving over her ass or down her spine, she’d felt a little more breathless with desire. When she’d lost her footing and gone underwater unexpectedly, he’d been right there, arms around her waist as they both floated, bodies pressed together. She’d wrapped her legs around him that time and he’d slid a finger between her legs and beneath her bikini bottom for a quick touch to her pussy. Already on the edge of need, Grace had almost come right that second. Luckily for them they weren’t alone in the pool, and the women had a point to prove by beating the men.
But that was over now.
With his palms planted on the cheeks of her ass, he hoisted her up until she was again wrapping her legs around his waist. He broke the kiss and she let her head fall back while he used his teeth to nip along the line of her jaw and down her neck.
“How many bathing suits did you pack?”
The question floated through the haze of heavy arousal in her mind as he began walking.
“Three, no, four, I think.” Truthfully, Grace couldn’t think. Not beyond how good his mouth felt on her skin, or how badly she wanted him inside her at this moment.
“I’ll replace this one,” he grumbled, and seconds later when they were in the bedroom, he set her down.
The
sarong and bikini bottom went first. He yanked at both until she heard a tearing sound and all the material fell from her body. To be fair, the sarong was nothing more than a gauzy strip of fabric, and the bikini bottom was even less—two triangles and ties at her hips. She’d picked the sexiest one to wear tonight when she realized RJ would be seeing her in it. The ones remaining in her suitcase were pretty basic one-pieces, because this trip hadn’t been planned to catch a guy and get laid.
His hands were busy on her top now, yanking at the strings until it fell from her breasts to join its companions on the floor. He lifted her again, this time dropping her onto the bed where she did a little bounce before scooting to the center of the king-size mattress.
The bed was in the center of the room facing another wall of windows with the curtains already drawn. More beams adorned the ceiling but she didn’t look at them long. Not when RJ was pushing his board shorts down past his thighs to step out of them. He hadn’t bothered putting his tank top on as they’d walked from the hot tub, so she’d had an unfettered view of his muscled chest for the past hour. She hadn’t realized how much she missed seeing him up close and naked, not until he climbed onto the bed with her.
She pulled him to her so she could get her mouth on his again. This kiss was hotter, slower, wetter as feelings of familiarity engulfed her. Kissing RJ had always been like a journey for her. Whether it was a small kiss or a full-mouth exploration, her body and her soul had always delved deep into it, as if she were made only to kiss him. At first, she’d thought that was a weird thing to consider—one woman, one man, one kiss, forever. But that’s precisely how it felt. He knew just how to drag his tongue over hers until she moaned with longing. With her eyes closed, it always felt as if the moment their lips met, she stepped into another place, a smaller space where there was only room for the two of them.
Harlequin Dare May 2021 Box Set Page 39