"See you at the hotel," she said, and he wandered back to his car.
***
Lea drove back slowly, feeling strangely pleased with herself. She hadn't seen Adam for almost two days, not since that breakfast together when he'd left so suddenly. They were staying at the same hotel and never even saw each other - she got the distinct feeling that he was trying to avoid her, though she couldn't imagine why.
So she was surprised and happy when he'd turned up at the beach. And she was pretty sure that he'd been checking her out. Her green bikini was pretty skimpy, and she'd have to thank Mel for making her pack it. Like most women, she had a few hang-ups about her body, specifically that her thighs were too fat and her stomach a bit too flabby.
Adam had a strange light in his eyes when he was talking to her, and though she told herself that she wasn't interested in him, it was definitely an ego boost if he was checking her out. When she'd bent over to pick up the towel, she was pretty sure she'd heard him gasp. Should she be annoyed and think that all men were pigs? Normally she wouldn't invite a wild-haired man's attentions, but Adam made her feel a bit strange.
There had been a heavy feeling in her stomach when he'd sat next to her, and when he'd looked at her after the sunset, she'd glanced away quickly, almost afraid of the heat she saw in his eyes.
Nothing was going to happen between. She didn't waste time with losers or nomads like him. But even as she drove back to the hotel she was aware of his car following her, of the knowledge that he was only a few feet behind her and soon after she parked and walked slowly into the lobby, she heard him drive up and park in a rush.
By the time she'd crossed the lobby and pressed the button for the elevator, Adam had joined her. They both stared straight ahead and she tried to think of something witty or relevant to say, but nothing came to her mind. Could she ask him if he had plans for dinner? No, that would sound too much like she was coming on to him.
When the doors opened, they both stepped in silently and Lea placed her beach bag on the floor. The lobby was quite empty at this hour. Most people were probably out, or getting dressed for dinner. Lea decided to ask him…
Her eyes met his and she forgot what it was she'd meant to ask. His eyes were dark and intense, the desire on his face obvious. The elevator doors closed behind them with a soft metallic thump and they continued to stare at each other.
After what seemed like ages, Adam reached out and placed his hand on her lower back. His hand felt large and warm through the thin fabric of her sarong, and he pulled her close to him.
The heat radiated off his body and Lea was inches away from his chest. She lifted her arm gently and placed it on his arm. His muscles were hard and taut and she wanted to place her hand on his chest and stroke downwards to his stomach.
Adam stepped closer suddenly, closing the tiny gap between their bodies, and she felt herself pressed against him, her breasts crushed against his hard chest. When she looked up, his face was inches from hers, and his eyes were glowing with a passionate hunger.
Nothing could have prepared her for his kiss. His lips came down softly on hers, but what started out as gentle and teasing quickly evolved into something hungry and desperate. Their lips fought with each other, and his tongue penetrated her mouth roughly, greedy and demanding. He tasted hot and spicy, like peppermint and lust, and she found herself sinking deeper and deeper.
His hand moved down from her back, moving along the curve of her buttocks and then squeezing tight. She moaned into his mouth, feeling the dampness between her legs, and found herself melting into a puddle of desire. She pressed against him, wanting more, and then suddenly, she found herself pulling away and moving quickly to the other side of the elevator.
She pressed the button for her floor and looked away. The metal of the elevator wall felt cool against her back and Adam stepped forward, grabbing her wrists in his hands and pulling them up high above her head.
The sudden movement made her thrust her breasts forward, and holding her wrists steady with one hand, Adam moved the other down to her chin, forcing her face up as he brought his lips gently down on hers again.
He moved away and traced his fingertips down her throat along the curve of her breast until he found her nipple. He pinched it gently between his fingers and she made a hoarse noise in the back of her throat. She closed her eyes and felt him twist the nipple, elongating it and making her wetter.
This isn't happening.
Lea opened her eyes and said hoarsely, "We can't do this."
Adam immediately let go of her wrists and nipple and stepped back. Disappointment flooded inside her, and she said, "This isn't going to happen."
"Ok then."
His voice was hoarse. He handed Lea her bag and said, "It's up to you."
The elevator had arrived at their floor, and Lea pressed the button to open the doors again. She stepped out and looked back at Adam, half-hoping he would try to convince her otherwise. But he just stood there, with his arms folded, and his eyes blank.
"Let me know if you change your mind."
The elevator doors closed between them, and it headed down again.
It was the right thing to do, Lea told herself as she walked briskly to her room. She didn't do one-night stands, and there could be nothing between them. He was a reckless war-journalist and they had no business being together. She ignored the gnawing disappointment that Adam hadn't tried harder to win her over, to get her to change her mind, and hoped she could forget how his lips felt against hers.
***
When Lea woke up the next morning, she couldn't decide if she should have breakfast at the hotel's breakfast bar or not. Chances were high that she'd run into Adam, and she didn't know if she wanted to or not. Last night she'd slept fitfully, and images of what might have happened and what did happen kept replaying themselves over and over in her mind.
One thing was for sure: she and Adam could never be together. They didn't have any future together, and if two brief kisses could send her into such a frenzy of hormones and lust, she didn't want to have anything more to do with him.
By the time she made up her mind and headed down to the breakfast bar, it was quite late and she was sure that Adam would be out by now. But as soon as she stepped into the room, she saw him sitting at her customary table, reading the paper with a cup of coffee in front of him.
He glanced up as soon as she entered. He was wearing a white shirt today, and it made his tan look deeper. His hair was as messy as ever, and the moment his eyes met hers they glinted dark, a mixture of desire, regret and something else she didn't understand. It felt like he could see right through her, and despite the tropical heat, a chill went through her body.
Lea hadn't intended to say anything to Adam even if she did run into him. But now that he was here, right in front of her, she found herself drawn towards him. She couldn't just walk away without speaking to him one last time.
As she approached his table the corners of his lips went up in a mysterious smile. Lea kicked herself mentally - he probably thought she'd changed her mind and was coming to tell him that.
I'm doing no such thing, she thought in annoyance. She pulled out the chair opposite to him and sat down, crossing her legs and leaning forwards.
"This isn't going to happen," she said in a low voice.
Adam leaned back, the smile never leaving his face. "And good morning to you too."
Lea scowled at him. "That kiss, the elevator - it never happened. Nothing can happen between us."
"I agree," he said smoothly, and Lea's heart dropped again.
Despite herself, she'd been expecting him to protest, to try to convince her otherwise. Clearly he wasn't that interested in her. So that was a good thing, right? Less trouble for her.
As if he'd read her mind, Adam said, "We're too different, we've got no future together and you're clearly not looking for a fling. You want a relationship, marriage, commitment, the works."
The scowl left her face, repl
aced by a look of mild surprise. "That's right."
"So I'm not about to force you into anything. You know how I feel about you. The ball's in your court now."
His eyes bored into hers and Lea felt her face flush. The waitress approached their table and asked Lea if she was ready to order.
She glanced up into the waitress' greenish-blue eyes and then looked back at Adam. The air above their table seemed to be throbbing with electricity and she was surprised that no-one else in the room noticed it. No, she couldn't sit through an entire meal with Adam and think straight, let alone engage in some kind of conversation.
She pushed her chair back and stood up. "I think I'll skip breakfast today."
The waitress glanced first at her and then at Adam, trying to hide her astonishment and obvious curiosity about what had just happened.
Lea walked out of the room before things got any more awkward.
Chapter FiveLea decided to spend the morning holed up in her room, checking out the forex market activity on her laptop. She pored over some charts and went through the financial news until her phone rang just before twelve.
"Lea? It's Angie. Stef, Penny and I are downstairs in the bar, and Michelle and Grace are coming down to join us soon. What happened to you? You were meant to call me this morning!"
"Oh no, I'm so sorry Ange." Lea felt like an idiot - she'd completely forgotten that the girls were arriving this morning and they were meant to have some girl-time together before the rest of the wedding guests arrived tomorrow. "I'll be downstairs in a minute."
She closed her laptop and applied a few coats of mascara before grabbing her handbag and rushing downstairs. She planned to have one round of drinks with the girls, before heading out to the beach, having a quick stroll around and then enjoying a light lunch. In the afternoon they could go shopping in the main island village and by evening more wedding guests would arrive and they'd all have dinner together.
The small bar was empty at this hour, and as soon as she entered she was greeted with squeals and hugs.
Michelle, Grace and Angie lived on the West Coast, Stef lived up in Maine and Penny lived in Chicago. It was great to see everyone again - they'd been friends in college and had moved in different directions since their graduation. Sometimes Lea wondered why the girls were friends with her - they were intelligent, had great careers and unlike Lea, they'd actually graduated instead of dropping out mid-way.
But she didn't question her luck too much and instead, ordered everyone a round of tropical cocktails, "The cute, colorful ones with umbrellas," Steph specified to the bemused bartender.
Within two hours, Lea had been forced to forget the plans she'd drawn up, and they'd gone through three rounds of drinks and a round of vodka shots as they caught up on each others' lives, and Lea remembered belatedly that she'd skipped breakfast. She wasn't hungry or tipsy, but she felt like it might be time for lunch. When she mentioned this to the girls, they all agreed and decided to head out in search of a cute, beach-side eatery.
They left the bar and turned the corner to enter the main hotel lobby and Steph bumped into a tall, broad-shouldered man.
"Oops," she giggled, and grabbed at the wall to steady herself.
Lea glanced from Steph to the man and realized with a sinking heart that they'd bumped into Adam. He was looking at her in amusement, as if she'd orchestrated this encounter, and she felt herself blushing and feeling annoyed.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"On my way back from a nice walk." He took in the group at a glance. "These your friends?"
Steph exchanged a glance with Grace and giggled again. "I'm Steph," she said, smiling at Adam, "And these are Lea, Michelle, Grace and Angie."
"It's nice to meet you all," he said smoothly. "And I already know Lea."
He glanced at Lea again, his eyes boring straight into her soul, and it seemed to her that his look implied just how well they knew each other. She remembered the feel of his hands drawing her close to him, squeezing her ass, and she felt the heat spreading down from her face to her neck.
"We're just on our way out," she said haltingly. "They're here for the wedding. They came a bit early, everyone else is arriving tomorrow."
Stop rambling said the voice in her head.
"I see. Well, I'll let you ladies enjoy yourselves."
He gave them all a dazzling smile and Lea noticed with growing irritation that everyone seemed to have fallen under his spell. "Come on guys," she whined, "Let's get going."
They all crowded into one taxi and poured out in front of the restaurant. As soon as they were seated and waiting for their lunch to arrive, the questions began, exactly as Lea had expected. She was just thankful that they hadn't started quizzing her within earshot of Adam.
"Nah, he's just a guy I met," she said, trying to brush off their queries. "We just kind of met at the hotel."
She didn't feel like detailing exactly how they'd met. She didn't even feel like talking about him.
Michelle and Grace looked at each other and Grace said, "He's cute."
They all laughed and Angie leaned forward. "I think he's into you, Lea."
"Yeah? I don’t really think so."
"Oh my God!" Steph exclaimed so loudly that two diners turned to look at her. "You're into him. You are totally into him aren't you?"
It was like the proclamation of the Delphi Oracle, Lea thought bitterly, as all the other girls agreed with Steph. "Puh-leeze. I'm not into him."
"Oh, you totally are. What happened, did you two go on a date or something?"
Lea sighed. "No, we didn't go on a date."
Grace's mouth dropped and she gave Lea a gentle shove. "Don't tell me you've hooked up already?"
Everyone giggled and looked at her in anticipation.
"Ugh." Lea rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I don't do random hook-ups."
"Well maybe you should."
Lea's eyes were about to pop out of her head. "I can't believe you're saying that, Grace. You and Dave are so happy, and I just want a stable relationship like that."
"Oh, come on." It was Michelle's turn to give her unsolicited advice. "You'll get a 'stable relationship' when it happens. In the meantime, go out and have some fun! You only live once."
"Yeah, but…"
"But what? This is St Martin's, it's in the middle of nowhere, and nobody's going to find out. Except for us." She winked broadly. "And we definitely approve."
"But what if I can't move on after that?"
"Well, you kind of have to, seeing how your holiday's going to end at some point."
And he's going back to cover some civil war or the other and probably get himself killed, Lea added in her head.
Steph nodded in agreement. "We're not telling you to go out and get your heart broken, but he seems like a nice guy and he's cute. Go and have fun! Why do you have to be so serious and uptight about everything?"
Lea made a face. "I'm not uptight and -"
"Prrrrwt." Angie stuck her tongue between her lips and made a childish noise to shut her up. "Everyone knows you're uptight, Lea, you live like a nun and run your life like a business meeting."
"I live like a nun? That doesn’t even make sense!"
Their food arrived and they continued bickering. Lea had a hard time trying to change the topic, but she finally managed to get the girls to discuss the wedding they were all here for.
After a short walk along the beach, the girls went back to the hotel and retired to their separate rooms. Lea didn't know whether the others would go out for a walk later or not, but she let the alcohol, food and excitement overwhelm her and sank into a deep siesta.
***
Lea woke up the next morning feeling slightly groggy. The dinner last night had been quite interesting, and thankfully the girls hadn't mentioned Adam in front of anyone else. Stacey, the bride-to-be, had landed after an afternoon flight, and everyone had stayed late, eating and drinking and catching up.
When she woke the nex
t day, she stuffed all her things into her carry-on and headed down to reception where she handed in her key.
“I’m sorry about the inconvenience,” said the receptionist, smiling politely.
“No, it’s not your fault. And I was told about it when I was making the booking – it’s a pity the hotel has to do renovations now.”
“Well, yeah, it’s usually less busy at this time of year, most people come here in the winter.”
Lea grabbed the key to her new room and she and the receptionist exchanged polite goodbyes.
It’s true – she had been told about the need to change rooms mid-way. They needed her room for another couple who was coming to the wedding, and changing rooms mid-way was a small price Lea was willing to pay in order to not have to shift hotels. It was a bit annoying, but there was nothing else to do – she didn’t want the wedding party to have to split up between hotels because of her.
The new room was a bit smaller, but just as nice. The rooms in this resort all had ocean views, and she spent a minute taking in the sights before she stuffed the carry-on, unopened, into one of the large wardrobes along the wall.
She headed down, and spent the rest of the day chatting with Stacey and her friends. They first couple of hours passed pleasantly enough, but then Stacey got news that her photographer had come down with chickenpox, and wasn’t able to fly over to St Martin’s for the wedding.
Stacey almost exploded when she heard the news – “Who has chicken pox when they’re an adult? Why couldn’t he do the decent thing and get it when he was five, like everyone else?”
To worsen matters further, Stacey decided that her flowers were all wrong, the décor wasn’t done properly, her dress was a bit wrinkled and… Pretty soon, she was in fool-blown panic mode, convinced that the whole wedding was going to be a disaster.
Lea was torn between feeling sorry for her friend and seeing the humor in the situation.
The wedding photographer had mentioned that a friend of his might be able to do the job, but Stacey made a few phone calls back home and found out that the friend wasn’t “up to the standard” she’d want. Lea suggested looking for photographers online, and the groom-to-be called his friends, hoping to find a good photographer who was available to come down to St Martin’s immediately and photograph their wedding.
Picture Perfect (The Wilsons) Page 4