He wasn’t even sure how he had ended up here. He had a vague recollection of a taxi driver asking him if he was British and if he wanted to go to a British pub. He tried to protest that he was American but the words didn’t seem to want to roll out of his mouth.
This place was awful, with a bunch of Neanderthals singing about God knows what and some horribly drunk, vulgar girls splayed over a table in the other corner. This had all the signs of a night that was going to end messily so he decided to get a quick drink and look for a taxi back to his yacht.
The only bright spot in the whole place seemed to be the cute little waitress who scurried back and forward between the tables. She looked very…Derek struggled to find the right word. Sweet? Innocent?
At that exact moment she dragged the billionaire out of his daydream by asking him what he wanted to drink.
“Umm. Do you have any good cognac?”
“Cognac? Do you mean brandy? I think we have some but it’s the supermarket brand. I’m not sure if it’s any good but it’s as cheap as chips.”
“Ok. Let me try a glass of that supermarket brandy. It’ll be a new experience at least.”
“Hey, are you Australian? I’ve never met a real Austrian before.” Lucy was genuinely struggling to understand Derek’s accent. She had hardly ever spoken to any foreigners before coming here. The place where she lived didn’t appear on too many tourist itineraries for some reason.
“American, but Spanish taxi drivers tend to believe I’m British for some reason.”
“I’ll get your brandy. I mean Cognac.” Lucy smiled cheerily and headed to the bar. With a start Derek realised that she was the first person on the island he had even had any sort of conversation with.
The brandy was predictably nasty but the rich American had a nagging sensation that he should hang around a bit longer. After all, there was no-one waiting for him on the yacht and he had the feeling that something interesting might happen in this dive.
The noise from the group of young men singing in the corner got louder until one of them stumbled up from his chair. The rest were drunkenly encouraging him to do something and Derek looked over to see what was going to happen.
It all happened in a flash. The drunk staggered towards Lucy and clumsily fondled her breasts. Shocked, she dropped a drink on the floor and tried to pull his hand away.
In a matter of seconds the hand of Derek had grabbed the drunk by the shoulder and thrown him heavily to the ground. It felt good to do something like that and he spun round hoping that someone else in the group would challenge him. Maybe those expensive jiu-Jitsu classes were going to come in useful after all.
Lucy felt humiliated and her eyes welled up with tears as she awkwardly fixed her clothing and went behind the bar. Her boss put his arm around her shoulder and told her to take a break from work until she felt better. He told her that this happened a lot in the bar but that didn’t make it any less horrible.
She sat down shakily on the steps next to the beach where she was sure no-one would see her crying. She had seen guys like that get absolutely wasted here before but she hadn’t considered the possibility that one of them could grab her.
She still felt the stinging heat left on her body by that disgusting hand. Maybe she would need to go to work with big, baggy t-shirts on from now on.
“Do you know what works well for shock?” The instantly recognisable voice somehow soothed her, even though she knew nothing about the person behind it.
“Cheap brandy?”
“Hey, how did you guess? I got a better quality brand from the bar across the road. I hope you don’t mind me spending money at a rival bar.” Derek poured out the drink into the two glasses that he had persuaded the bar owner to sell him for a ridiculous price.
“What’s an American like you doing in Magalluf?”
“An American like me? I’m on vacation. What’s a Brit like you doing here?”
“Working. Speaking of which, I need to get back.” Lucy went to stand up but Derek put a hand firmly on her shoulder.
“Your boss said to tell you that you could take the rest of the night off to recover.”
“Really? That’s sweet of him. Did he get rid of that group of chavs?”
“Umm, chavs? You mean the drunk guys?”
“Do Americans not say chav? What would you call them? Dudes? Red necks?” She was very aware that his hand was still resting on her shoulder. Suddenly, she remembered how skimpily dressed she was and how close they were.
“Red necks is a good description, I guess. I helped move then on. They were so drunk that it was like throwing out a bunch of kittens.”
“Oh my God! You are a heartless kitten beater.”
“Only when the kittens are being naughty and need to be taught a lesson.”
Derek laughed and changed position to sit beside the waitress on the middle step. She felt him rub against her as he sat down and trembled imperceptibly.
The billionaire kicked of his leather sandals and burrowed his feet into the sand.
“Hey, it’s still warm.”
“You should feel it at mid-day. I have to dance across the beach like one of these people who walk across hot coals.”
“I did that once in India. I was terrified but all I got was a couple of blisters and the fright of my life.” He poured another couple of glasses of the fiery liquid.
Lucy felt his hand on her thigh but this was nothing like the repulsive touch from the creep in the bar. He kept talking but she didn’t say a word until she felt it slide slowly upward and under her shorts. A light, dizzy sensation came over her as she felt a pair of fingers playing provocatively around the area that no man had ever touched.
“Maybe…too soon.” Her words came out heavy and slurred.
Derek wondered how long it would take to get back to his yacht in a taxi. No, he liked the girl a lot but he felt the need to hide his real identity for some reason. For the first time ever he didn’t want to come across as that rich guy with a stunning yacht and a perfect lifestyle.
What if he rented a hotel room for a few hours? This sounded like a good idea. He leaned over to kiss her and felt her hand slide tentatively over his chest.
“Let’s see if that hotel over there has a spare room for us?”
Lucy tried to protest but her soft whimper when Derek put his hand on the small of her back made a mockery of her words.
While the waitress sat in reception Derek slipped a handsome tip to the receptionist to ensure that a good room was found for them very quickly.
As the billionaire fiddled with the electronic key of the door the young Brit reached round from behind and put her hands round his waist. With a moment of audacity that she wouldn’t have believed she was capable of, she opened his zip and slipped her hand inside just as he managed to open the door.
By the time the door was closed behind them all of his clothes were strewn on the floor. Lucy had taken the initiative and it seemed as though he loved it. She ran her tongue down his naked torso while he pulled down her bikini bottom and caressed her naked bottom.
A few seconds later Lucy was lying on her back on the bed with Derek’s head between her thighs.
She caught a glimpse of them in the mirror and bit her lower lip in delight. She had her back arched and was slowly moving her hands in circles around her breasts. Derek’s head was still hidden but she could see that with one of his hands he was busy giving himself pleasure.
She whispered in his ear that maybe there was a more comfortable position for them both to enjoy and he understood immediately. Lucy felt like a rebellious, bohemian woman of the world as she reached down and explored while he gasped.
Her new lover understood that she was a novice and patiently showed her what to do to make it a better experience that lasted longer.
By the time the first rays of sun started to shine weakly in through the window the two of them were finally fast asleep. Their sticky bodies were still entangled but each was dreaming a
very different kind of dream.
Chapter 4
It had been a massive shock to Lucy when she woke up with a thumping sore head and found a man’s hairy leg draped over her body. She looked over at him and suddenly it all came back clearly. Too clearly.
What has she done? She had got horribly drunk and then made crazy, passionate love to an American guy that she didn’t even know. After thinking desperately for a few seconds she remembered his name; Derek. Derek Serrano. Like the ham, he had joked last night.
She couldn’t resist looking over his naked body while he slept. She was fascinated by every part of him and felt herself getting turned on again despite her dry mouth and pounding headache. God, that brandy was strong stuff.
Her little lost prince had turned out to be not so lost after all. She felt slightly jealous as she wondered how many other girls he had smooth talked into a hotel bed with him so easily.
Lucy got up from the bed delicately without waking Derek up and went for a shower. The water was lovely and refreshing so she stayed in there for ages, working up a massive lather with the free bar of soap.
She looked down at her body and felt that something had shifted in the last few hours, as she now saw it in a completely different way. It was now a body that knew how to give and receive pleasure. It was amazing how she had known what to do so easily.
“Good morning” Lucy almost jumped out of her skin as the voice appeared out of nowhere.
He was fully dressed and obviously ready to leave right away. Standing in the shower dripping wet and with nothing on Lucy suddenly felt self-conscious and very vulnerable. She tried her best to cover up her modesty with her hands, despite the fact that he had explored every of inch of her body with his hands and tongue just a few hours ago.
“Leaving so soon?”
“Yes I…I’ve got a meeting.”
“A meeting. I see.” Couldn’t he have told a less obvious lie to make her feel better?
The truth was that he had woken up in a panic. He hadn’t planned to get involved with any woman just now, and certainly not a waitress. He liked her but she was from a completely different social circle. How could he take here to business functions or to a classy casino?
They stood awkwardly for a moment, with Lucy feeling worse with every passing second. Never in her worst nightmares could she have imagined a more embarrassing situation.
“What hotel are you staying in?” She regretted saying it as soon as the words left her mouth.
“I’m…um…staying in my yacht.”
“Your yacht? You’re a sailor?”
“No, my crew sail it. I just enjoy the ride.”
“Wow.” She genuinely didn’t know what else to say.
They exchanged phone numbers and he left with a vague promise to meet up in the bar one day soon. They each wanted to say more but the conversation had fizzled out tamely.
When he shuffled out Lucy hunched down in the shower and cried. Her first night of passion wasn’t meant to end like this.
After a while she pulled herself together. She was already dry from the heat that had built up at the start of the day so she put on her clothes from the night before and went to do some research on the internet.
While the young girl was Googling everything to do with Derek Serrano and his yacht, the billionaire was already slumped across his bed. He couldn’t get the image of Lucy’s shy smile and her deep, dark eyes out of his head. He had always been a sucker for a woman who looked sweet but had a wild side to her.
When he thought about Louise and all of the other women had known recently they just couldn’t compare to Lucy and the devilish spark that he had seen in her eyes when they chatted on the beach. Her eyes had lit up the darkness of the beach as they had got drunk and joked.
It had been a fantastic night so why had it gone so terribly wrong in the morning? He had gotten scared and ran away like a baby, that was what had happened.
Meanwhile, Lucy put a hand over her mouth to stop the gasp that had inadvertently sneaked out. She had just spent a wild, unforgettable night in a hotel room with the man voted last year’s 5th most eligible bachelor in the world.
He was a genuine billionaire and he really did have a yacht. And a mansion. And a business empire. After the initial excitement had passed she started to feel like a silly girl. He had used her, of course.
A man like that could be with any woman he wanted but he had gone after her just to get some cheap thrills with an easy, naïve girl. The worst of it was that she had really fallen for him. His charming voice, his strong arms and his cool, sparkling blue eyes had won her over the moment she had set eyes on him.
As she closed the Wikipedia entry on Derek Serrano she knew deep in her heart that she would never see him again.
The same thought was running through Derek’s head at the exact same moment, but for very different reasons. He guessed that she would look him up on Google – why did he tell her his surname and about the damned yacht? – and that would scare her off.
Still, each in their own way came to the conclusion that it was for the best. They were from different worlds and all the insane physical attraction and shared jokes couldn’t change that simple, harsh fact.
Chapter 5
The next day passed uneventfully for both of them. Lucy went to work and Derek caught up with emails and Skype conferences. In a way, it felt good to close this strange chapter in their lives and get back to normal.
Yet, they each checked their phones a lot more than usual, just to see if a message had popped up from the other. As the balmy day in paradise ended neither had the courage to send a message to the other.
Lucy was sitting eating an all-day breakfast with her friend Anna the next day in a small restaurant run by an exuberant Scottish woman.
Eating bacon, sausages and beans at mid-day on a Spanish island in the middle of summer felt wrong on so many levels but that only seemed to make the greasy feast taste more delicious to them.
A British quiz show was on the TV and the girls once again had the disorienting feeling of being in Britain and Spain at the same time. Maybe this is what life would be like if the UK miraculously drifted down to the Mediterranean one day.
Lucy was startled when her phone started ringing. Her new ring tone was a Spanish dance tune and it turned a few heads as it blared out at full volume over the sound of the contestants who were struggling to name the world’s longest river.
“The Nile, you fools. Who’s calling you at this time of day? Don’t they know we’re hard working lasses?” Anna knew nothing about the events of the other nights but her sixth sense had already warned her that her childhood friend was hiding something big.
“The phone. Oh. It’s just a…friend from…there…” She let her voice tail off as she stepped outside onto the sand. God, wasn’t it just fabulous to be on the beach as soon you stepped out of any building here?
“Hello?”
“Lucy. This is Derek. Err, the guy from the other night. Derek Serrano. The American.” A few words in and he was already babbling. For a billionaire who had just torn a strip off his high-powered executive team for losing a million on the stock market it was crazy to be acting like a silly little boy with a young waitress.
“I remember. Did you make the meeting on time?” It was meant to come off as a light, playful joke but Lucy hated hearing the sarcasm and hurt dripping off her own voice.”
“Yes.” An awkward pause. Why had he phoned instead of going there to talk face to face?
“How’s the yacht? I trust your mansion back home in New Hampshire is being well looked after too.” Lucy put a hand on her forehead in despair. This was the worst phone call ever.
“They’re both as fine as inanimate objects can be I guess. I see you had a chat with our old friend Mr Google.”
“Yes. You can look me up too if you like. You might find a nice picture of me chilling with Justin Bieber or laughing with Ryan Gosling just like you were dancing and flirting wit
h Jennifer Lawrence last week.”
“I wasn’t strictly dancing with her. It was a premiere and my company-”
“Listen Derek, you’re a nice guy but why don’t you get on with your life and left me get on with mine? Thanks for everything, though.” She has planned it as a question or a debate but it came out as an order.
“I see. Yeah, that’s what I called you to say actually. Thanks for the, well, the brandy and the night together.”
They ended the call as awkwardly as they had started and each went back to their own lives. Lucy stared at her half-eaten plate of breakfast. The chef at his New Hampshire mansion would probably throw up in disgust if he saw this greasy abomination.
“Who was that you were speaking to?” A couple of beans fell from Anna’s mouth onto her bare legs as she interrogated her friend.
“Oh, just a billionaire calling me from his yacht. I told him to get lost.”
“Sure you did. You go girl.”
Further along the coast, past the Royal family’s summer residence in Marivent, the resort at Cala Mayor and Porto Pi shopping centre, Derek Serrano angrily threw his phone down so hard that one of the precious stones popped out of it and rolled across the polished floor.
“Idiot. Idiot. Idiot.”
He wasn’t sure who exactly he was calling an idiot. The luxury of his yacht and the vast sum in his various bank accounts seemed like millstones round his neck at this moment.
Was his destiny to die alone, surrounded by piles of gold and silver as his empty-headed trophy wife sobbed dramatically into her handkerchief while secretly planning how to spend his money? He had seen too many sad and pathetic old billionaires living shallow lives to ignore the warning signs.
The trapping of his enviable lifestyle now looked like some sort of golden cage that he couldn’t get out of even if he wanted to. Did he want to? His legs went weak at the thought of this conundrum with no solution and he slumped onto the bed.
Billionaire's Paradise Virgin Page 2