Cullen just stood there and watched her walk away. As much as he hated to admit it, he couldn’t help but feel like he’d been sucker punched. Who was he? Her boyfriend? She sure had a funny way of acting for someone who belonged to someone else.
“If you want to see her tonight, I can text her and let her know,” Drea whispered, stepping closer to him.
“Who is he?” Cullen asked through gritted teeth.
“Carlos is one of our maintenance technicians.”
“Is he her boyfriend?”
“Oh no,” Drea answered quickly, shaking her head. “They’re just— You know, it’s probably better if she explains it to you.”
Cullen grunted in confirmation as he strode away, leaving her and the other two men behind. As he headed to his cottage, the thought occurred to him that his statement from earlier was taking on a new meaning all over again. Maybe she really wasn’t who he thought she was.
Chapter Seventeen
The walk back to the main building was normally a relatively short one. However, in this moment, Leona felt like it was taking forever. Probably because the silence between her and Carlos was the loudest thing she’d heard in a long time. Every little noise seemed amplified by it, from the crunch of the gravel under their shoes to the sound of fabric rubbing together from his coveralls.
After what seemed like an hour, rather than the five minutes it actually was, they finally reached the outside of the lobby. The lobby was abuzz with all sorts of guests coming and going. Late afternoon and just before dinner was generally a time when she tried to avoid the lobby and dining room if she could. She had figured out over the years that hiding out in her office or the laundry room was the best option to avoid the insanity, yet still be close enough that she was available if needed. Standing outside the lobby now, it was interesting to watch all the action in progress with the knowledge that unless there was a major emergency, she would not have to be the one to deal with whatever popped up.
“So, you and Cullen Cruz,” Carlos said, breaking the silence. “Thought there was nothing between you.”
The look on his face wasn’t quite accusatory but wasn’t playful either. Leona wasn’t entirely sure what that look was, but it was certainly not a happy one. There was almost a level of hurt to it. Frankly, she couldn’t blame him either. She probably would not have been entirely thrilled if the tables were turned and she had seen him hanging all over some super-hot, ultra-famous model.
“It’s not what it looks like,” she started.
“It looks like you just spent the day out on the water hanging out with a football star,” he remarked, turning away from her.
“Okay, well, yes, that I did,” she admitted. “He wanted an excursion, and Vaughn and Grayson volunteered a group of us to join him.” It wasn’t a lie, exactly. Her bosses knew exactly where she was and that she was entertaining a VIP guest. Carlos just didn’t need to know that it was because said guest had requested her. Just prior to making her lose her damn mind up against a shower wall.
“You seemed to be having a lot of fun for having been forced onto a boat.”
“What would you have me do? Act miserable in front of our guest? A VIP guest at that?”
“It’s okay to admit you enjoyed it,” he said, turning so they were now facing each other head-on.
She had enjoyed it too. It had easily been one of the best days she’d had out on the water in a long time, maybe ever. The whole group jelled really well, laughing and joking around. Even Maeve had joined in. Plus, she’d gotten plenty of alone time with Cullen, just talking and getting to know each other. Her feelings had changed so much for the man over the last twenty-four hours, and she wasn’t sure exactly what those feelings were anymore. But she knew one thing for sure—she wanted to continue to explore them and spend time getting to know him.
“I did. I had a lot of fun. He’s not who I thought he was,” she said, sighing.
“An arrogant, footballing manwhore with more money than God?” he offered.
“He’s not that at all. There is a lot more to him than the face he puts on for the world to see.”
“You would know all about that, Lee.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she remarked, unsure if she was supposed to be offended.
“You do the same thing, Mamacita. You let the whole world think you are this tough, no-nonsense, uncaring person, and only let a few of us in to know that you’re anything but that,” he answered, stepping closer and cupping his hands around her shoulders.
“Carlos…”
“Look, Lee, I know I’m not your boyfriend. That was never our arrangement and I’ve never presumed myself to be. But that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you. Deeply. I just don’t want to see you get hurt, especially by someone who has brought a different woman with him every year and when he leaves here, will be all over the Internet with yet another new one.”
His words hit her hard. It had been so easy to forget all the different women Cullen had paraded in front of her over the years and all the ones that he’d been linked to back in the UK. Was she just a fling? Something he needed to conquer? She reminded herself that he’d confided in her on the boat today, but then again, maybe that was just a line he used to win over the women he was trying to seduce.
“I’m a big girl, Carlos. Let me make my own choices, please,” she said, trying to hide the fact that what he’d said about Cullen had cut her up inside.
He sighed heavily, dropping his head and stepping back from her. “Okay,” he replied, giving in to her request. “It’s against policy to take up with a guest, VIP or not, so please be careful. With both your job and your heart.”
“I will,” she said, loving how sweet Carlos was. She felt a slight pang of guilt that she didn’t have real, romantic feelings for him. Some day he would make some woman very, very lucky with that attentive, sweet nature of his. She just wasn’t that woman. “That said, I’m probably no longer needed to help replace light bulbs.”
“Yeah,” he said, resigned. “We had a good run, though.”
“We did,” she said, smiling sadly.
“Well, you better go find Vaughn.”
She nodded and turned away to go find her boss. A few steps into the lobby, she heard Carlos call her name again. Turning to face him, she found him still standing in the exact spot she had left him.
“Lee, I’m here whenever you need me.”
Vaughn was not in his office, behind the front desk, in her office, the laundry room, or the dining room. For someone who apparently needed to talk to her, he sure was doing a damn good job at hiding. For just a moment, she considered that maybe it was something Carlos had invented to get her away from Cullen, but then she realized he would have had no idea she was even out on the boat if Vaughn hadn’t asked him to go down there to grab her.
In a last-ditch effort to find the man, she walked into the kitchen. It wasn’t unheard of for staff to hide out in here, seeking comfort with Miller’s cooking. It was also still dinnertime, so it was entirely plausible he was simply grabbing something to eat. Miller was sitting at the family table eating a sandwich, with his right-hand man Rafe manning the stove.
“Hey, Uncle Miller, have you seen Vaughn?" she asked as she approached the table.
“He blew through here about an hour ago, in a state because he couldn’t find the fragrance-free toiletries a guest was requesting.”
“Oh goodness. Okay, well, let me go grab some and continue to hunt him down.”
“Don’t worry about it, love. Carmella straightened him out and showed him right where they were behind the concierge desk. Pretty sure he and Simone headed back to the Big House, so don’t worry about him until tomorrow.”
“Oh, okay. Guess I’ll head out too, then,” she said, a little unsure what to do with herself now.
“Need some food? You must be starving after being out on the water all day,” he said, getting up from the table and heading over to the food prep area.
“If you will wait ten minutes, I’m almost done with Mr. Cruz’s room service order. Could you deliver it?” Rafe asked her, barely looking up from what he was working on.
Room service? Oh, this could be fun, she thought, a sly smile forming on her face.
“Sure, works for me.”
Rafe nodded his head and went back to work, oblivious of Miller flitting around him.
“Should we pack enough for two?” Miller asked her, eyes wide with curiosity.
“Uncle Miller, what are you implying?” she asked him, trying to feign innocence.
“Leona, you have been in my life since you were five. You might as well be another niece,” he started, looking at her lovingly. “I know you, and I saw the flash in your eyes just now.”
Shit, shit, shit, she thought. Miller knowing something was up would not be a good thing. She couldn’t have the uncles knowing what was going on.
“No, Uncle Miller, it’s not—”
“Your secret is safe with me, love,” he said, cutting her off. “I’m the family romantic, remember? My only advice is to remember that when you love someone, you love the whole person, ugly warts and all. No one is perfect. Everyone has made mistakes and has a past, but all of that made them who they are now. It’s not always easy, but it is always worth it.”
There was a board in the deck attached to the backside of La Isla Bonita that let out a weird squeak every time he stepped on this one spot. A part of Cullen was annoyed by the noise, but not enough to actually change the pattern of his pacing. He wasn't even sure he knew why he was pacing. No, that was a lie—he knew exactly why.
Watching Leona walk off with some other guy made his internal caveman rage and try to claw his way out. It had taken more restraint than he realized he had to keep from walking up to the guy and decking him. But Leona wasn’t his to claim in that way. Not to mention, Carlos, as Drea had called him, had shown up telling her that their boss was looking for her. Nothing about that interaction would suggest that there was anything more going on. But the look in his eye when he looked at Cullen told him all he needed to know. He had thought his territory was being trespassed on, and he wasn’t happy about it either.
Then there were Drea’s words to him as they watched Leona walk off—"it’s probably better if she explains it to you.”
So there was something to explain.
Had she just made a fool out of him? It’s not that he probably didn’t deserve it. Admittedly he had treated her all kinds of wrong over the years, but he’d apologized last night. He’d asked her to give him a chance to show her that wasn’t who he was. Did he just open himself up to be made a chump? And then there was everything he told her today. He could count on one hand the number of people who knew that he’d witnessed his father’s death. The last person he remembered telling about it was Oliver, and that was close to fifteen years ago.
The sun was all but fully set and there was a coolness to the air that hadn’t been there when he’d returned from the outing. He headed back into the bungalow, wondering how much longer until his food arrived. His head wasn’t any clearer than before, and he had no idea what to do about talking to Leona about it. So he figured he’d stick with a de-stress ritual he knew worked—comfort food and a bubble bath.
Just as he was locking the sliding glass door, he heard the latch to the front door disengage and open up, followed by the sweet voice of his favorite little blonde.
“Room service!” she called, slipping inside. She didn’t turn to look to see where he was, just made her way over to the glass table in the living room, setting down the tray she had been carrying. When she looked up to find him standing only a few feet from her, she jumped, letting out a little yip.
“Hi. Miller sent me over with your dinner.”
“Is that the only reason you’re here?” he asked, his voice cool and rough. He didn’t want to be an asshole in this moment, but he didn’t know how else to react. Still unsure about what he had actually witnessed back there, he wanted to make sure that his guard was up.
“Well, I guess that depends on if you want me to stay,” she said, trying to feel out his mood.
“Depends on what I just witnessed back there,” he remarked.
“You mean Carlos?”
“Carlos? Good to know he has a name,” he gruffed. “He your boyfriend?”
“No, he is most certainly not my boyfriend,” she said, very matter-of-factly.
“He know that?”
“He is very aware of that fact. Especially since we just went over it.”
“Could have fooled me. He certainly looked like a man who thought his toes were being stepped on.”
“You mean like how you look right now?” she asked, calling him out.
He closed his eyes, sighing. She was right. He was acting in the exact way that it seemed like Carlos had wanted to but hadn’t, at least not in front of Cullen. He circled the side of the table across from where she stood, and collapsed onto the couch.
“Touché,” he said.
“You really think I would have let you touch me the way you have the last couple of days if I was in a relationship?” she accused. Her voice was strained and the look on her face was one full of fury.
“No, I don’t,” he answered. “But between the look on his face, and Drea telling me you’d explain, I may have let my imagination get the best of me. I owe you an apology.”
He saw her body relax upon hearing those last few words. Shifting her weight, she started to lift the covers off the dishes and plate the meal. She handed him the plate with some utensils, grabbing the second plate she made for herself, and slipped in between the table and couch, making herself at home next to him. She curled her legs up underneath herself and snuggled into the throw pillows behind her.
“Carlos is one of our maintenance technicians here. We have known each other since we were teenagers, since we started working here around the same time. A few years ago, we upped the ante on our friendship and added benefits into the mix.” She took a bite of the mac and cheese on her plate and chewed slowly, letting him digest her words.
“So you’re fuck buddies,” he clarified, also digging into the food on his plate. Miller’s mac and cheese was incredible, but it was his garlic Brussels sprouts that did Cullen in every time.
“To put it bluntly, yes. I was very clear when we started out that I did not want a relationship, and he accepted that. It was about meeting physical needs, not emotional ones. We have never been more than friends who sometimes meet up to replace light bulbs.”
“Replace light bulbs?” he asked, confused.
“That was our code. Whenever one of us had the urge, we would text the other that a light bulb needed replacing somewhere, and then would go meet up.”
“Well, aren’t you a naughty little girl,” he said teasingly.
She blushed, trying to hide a smile. “He and I are not together, Cullen. Not even close. Even if he got down on his knees and begged me—which, for the record, he did no such thing this evening. I have no interest in him that way.”
“Are you interested in me that way?” he asked, finishing his plate and putting it back on the coffee table. He wanted seconds, and there was more than enough left on the tray, but he wanted to hear her answer more.
“I know what it meant for you to open up to me the way you did this afternoon. I want you to know that it means so much to me that you would trust me with that secret,” she said, looking down at her plate.
Cullen could tell she was getting nervous, and he wanted so badly to take her in his arms and comfort those nerves away. But she still hadn’t answered his question, and he dared not touch her again until he knew what was going through her head.
“You didn’t answer my question, Menina,” he pushed.
“I know.”
“Because I’m scared,” she admitted, finally looking up at him. Her eyes were wide and glassy, showing off every emotion flowing through her.
“Of?” he prodded. He wanted to hear her say the words. Wanted the full confirmation that she was in as much as he was.
“I don’t just want to be another notch on your belt, Cullen,” she sighed. She looked away again, so he couldn’t read the emotion on her face. Breathing heavy, she turned back and looked him in the eye. “If we do this—if I let you into my world, let you into Josef’s world, let you see the real me—then I just need to know that you understand that.”
“You were never just another notch on my belt.” He had to stop himself from reaching over and taking her in his arms again. He wanted so badly to hold her, reassure her. “And I promise that I not only understand it, I cherish it, and that we’re in this together.”
“Then yes, I’m interested.”
Chapter Eighteen
The words had barely left her lips before he was pulling her into his lap and pressing his lips to hers. Her mostly empty plate clattered to the floor, making a harsh noise, as the food that was left on it went scattering across the hardwood. His flurry of movements caught her off guard, forcing her to break the kiss to catch her breath.
“Cullen,” she whispered.
“Time for talking later, Menina,” he growled, returning his lips to hers.
All the tenderness from his touch this afternoon on the boat was gone, replaced with the pure primal wanton lust that he had displayed last night. His growled words, paired with his rushed, rough actions were exhilarating, and Leona wasn’t sure she had ever felt as wanted by another person as she did right then. Big, rough hands made quick work of removing the tank top she was still in from the boat ride and tossing it aside, barely breaking their kiss. When those big hands found her bare skin, the feel of his flesh against hers made her feel as if she’d come alive in this moment. As they started to roam over her body, they left a trail of heat behind, further igniting her insides.
Caught Up In You (Indigo Royal Resort Book 2) Page 15