“I’m sorry, Autumn.”
“Don’t be sorry. Whether he stood me up or not, it doesn’t matter. I told you I am not ready to date right now.” I cracked two eggs into a bowl and started whisking them before dropping them into the hot pan.
“I know. I just thought it would do you good. I care about you.”
I took a sip of my coffee. I felt bad for being so hard on Evelyn, but she needed to understand. “If you care about me then please just listen to me. Even if it was only dinner as friends, I’m not ready to be out in public dating. I’m not ready to get involved with anyone, especially when it isn’t on my terms.”
Evelyn sat down at the table and started reading the paper. The silence, combined with the tension in the room, was starting to make me feel like a caged animal. I really needed to remember that Evelyn was only trying to help me; she only wanted what was best for me. I also knew it wasn’t really Evelyn that was making me so edgy, but the fact that I had seen Jason at that restaurant.
I cleared my throat and took a sip of coffee. I may as well drop the bomb on her now, I thought to myself. “You’ll be happy to know that I booked a trip.”
Evelyn immediately stopped flipping the pages of the paper and looked up at me. “What? Where are you going?”
“Jamaica, to the Pacific Jewel Resort. Dr. Plante thought it would be a good idea for me to get away. So, I booked it last night after I got home. It was the last straw when I saw Jason last night at the restaurant. It’s just me and my e-reader on the beach for one week.”
“By yourself? You’re going all the way to Jamaica alone?”
“Yes, Evelyn, by myself. Don’t worry. I am perfectly happy going away alone. I need this.” I sat down at the table with my breakfast. “It’s all good, really,” I said, taking in her surprised expression.
“Okay. If you’re sure. When do you leave?”
“I’m sure. I leave in two days. Now, onto the fun part. I know you love to shop. We need to go out and get some shopping done for my trip. I need a few new things.”
Evelyn’s eyes lit up and she rubbed her hands together in excitement. She loved to shop, and now with that project, she would hopefully drop the dating crap. “All right, yes, we can hit the mall tonight after I finish work. I want to make sure you’re the sexiest thing on that island. Maybe you’ll meet a tall, dark, handsome stranger who will rock your socks off there.”
I dropped my head into my hand. She wasn’t going to let it go. Instead of arguing with her, I just ignored the comment and continued eating breakfast, making plans to shop.
“I don’t know about this bathing suit either, Evelyn,” I called from inside the dressing room. I was beginning to feel very insecure. I hadn’t bought a bathing suit in close to five years, and from what I remembered, they had way more material to them than they did now.
“For the fifth time, just open the door and let me see. I’m sure it’s all in your head.”
I unlatched the door and came walking out in the multicolored bikini Evelyn had forced me to try on. “I don’t know, Evelyn. This is basically string holding three scraps of material together. I think I like the black bikini instead; it at least has more material to it than this one.”
“Girl, you look amazing. Don’t be stupid. You have to have this!”
“I don’t know.”
“I’m telling you. You look hot.”
“You have said that about every suit I’ve put on. And I am sorry, but how you kept a straight face with some of them, I will never know.”
“Yep I have, because it’s true. You’re a beautiful woman, Autumn, whether you choose to believe it or not. You’re going to look even more amazing after you get your hair cut, colored, and styled too. I’ve booked us at the salon tomorrow for that, plus a mani and pedi as a surprise.”
“You what?”
“Well, I am not letting you go away without some pampering. It’s my treat.”
I rolled my eyes and turned to go back into the dressing room. Once I was changed, I grabbed both suits and came walking out. Evelyn stood and watched as I set the multicolored bikini on the table in the back room with all the other discarded suits.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m just going to go with the black one.” I walked out and grabbed a white knit cover-up off the shelf and headed to the front cash register. While I was waiting my turn to check out, I watched Evelyn grab the suit off the table and come up to the counter. “What are you doing?”
“If you’re not going to buy it, I’m going to buy it for you. If you don’t believe me that you look hot in it, then put the suit on when we get back to the house and let Derek tell you.”
I looked at Evelyn like she had lost her mind. “That’s just plain weird, Evelyn—having Derek give me an opinion on how I look as I stand before him half naked. No thanks.”
I ripped the suit from her hands and placed everything on the counter. I’d buy the suit just to shut her up, and if I didn’t wear it, I would just return it when I got back. That way Evelyn would be happy, and I wouldn’t need to listen to her complain.
6
Autumn
I had landed less than an hour ago and was already feeling more relaxed. Evelyn had wanted to drop me off at the airport, but I wouldn’t let her. As I was leaving, she once again brought up meeting someone. “Go have a good time, and for goodness’ sake, if someone shows some interest in you, don’t be a bitch.” Those were her wise words. Sure, it would be nice to have someone in my life again, but I was so afraid of getting hurt that it was almost impossible to let my guard down.
The bus pulled up outside of the resort entrance. As I exited the vehicle, the warm breeze washed over my face. Within minutes the driver had all the luggage unloaded, and I grabbed my bags and walked over to stand in the line that was forming at the front desk, so I could check in. It had to be 90 degrees, and it was ten o’clock at night. I shrugged out of my light jacket and tied it around my waist.
As I was waiting, one of the staff members approached with a tray of champagne. “Miss? A welcome drink for you.”
I smiled and took one of the glasses. “Thank you.” I took a sip, loving the way that the bubbles exploded on my tongue.
I glanced around. The lobby was lined on both sides with little stores and a couple of restaurants. There was a lobby bar off to the left that was surrounded by other guests. Laughter and music floated through the air.
“Welcome to the Pacific Jewel Resort, miss.” I stepped up to the desk and handed them my booking information. “Thank you. It will just be a couple of minutes.”
While I was waiting, I grabbed my cell phone and connected to the resort’s Wi-Fi. I typed out a quick email to Evelyn and Derek, letting them know I had arrived and that I was shutting off my phone until I returned. I had promised that I would contact them, but that was all. I wanted no interruptions on this trip, no reminders of home. Hitting send, I shut the phone off, just in time for the girl to return with my key. “Ah, miss, you’re staying in room 4432. I will have someone bring you to your room.”
The bellman pulled the cart up beside the walkway to my room. It was a little bungalow-type building that housed only two rooms. I hoped my neighbors were quiet. He pulled my bags off the cart and headed up the walkway in front of me. He opened the door and turned the lights on. “Your room, miss,” he said, leading the way in and placing my suitcase down.
While he busied himself, I glanced around the room. It was decorated in beautiful, bright tropical colors. I looked to my right and saw a little galley way that had a sink on one side and the closet on the other, which led to the bathroom. Walking in, I looked around. There was a shower tub to my right and another door to my left that led to the outside, to a small walled-in courtyard that held an outdoor shower. A bench seat was surrounded by two tropical plants, one on each side, and a bamboo ladder held two white towels. I had already decided that this was the first place I was heading in the morning. Walking back in, I we
nt into the bedroom. A king-size bed filled the upper part of the room and a flat screen TV was facing the bedroom, and there was a small sitting area below, which contained a couch and a couple of chairs. The bellhop pulled open the sliding glass doors, letting the room fill with a warm breeze and the smell of hibiscus. “This way to your private sun deck, miss.” I peeked out the door, and sure enough, there was a little balcony with two Adirondack chairs and two sun loungers.
“Is everything all right, miss?”
It was more than all right. I was here, and now I could relax. Turning, I gave him a smile and a tip. “It’s perfect.”
“All right, miss, if you need anything, just ring the front desk. Also, room service is available twenty-four hours if you would like something to eat. Oh, and I almost forgot, you do have a fully stocked mini bar as well. No extra charges will be applied.” He pointed to the small fridge in the room.
I nodded and walked him to the door. “Thank you.” I watched as he made his way back to his cart, and then I shut the door. I looked around the room again. I could feel more of the tension I’d been holding leave my body, and my muscles were starting to ache in response. Opening my suitcase, I took a few minutes to hang up some of my dresses and then changed into a wrap so I could head to the lobby for a drink.
Fighting my way through a crowd of people, I finally made my way up to the lobby bar. A pianist played soft music off to the side while some couples danced. The laughter from the crowd was, at times, louder than the music. I spotted a single chair off to the side at the bar and took a seat. It felt good to get out and be around this type of energy.
“What can I get for you, miss?” I looked up and saw a young bartender smiling down at me.
“Gin and tonic with lime, please.”
“Is that everything?”
I nodded and sat back, taking in my surroundings. I saw a young bride and groom with their wedding party, older couples sitting on couches along the walkway to the lobby bar, and staff running everywhere making drinks and taking orders. “Your drink, miss.” The bartender set the drink down on a napkin and slid it in front of me.
“Thank you.” Taking a sip of the drink, I glanced across the bar, and that was when I saw him for the first time, standing and talking with two other men who closely resembled him. He was insanely good-looking. He wore white linen pants that hugged him just tight enough. The black shirt he wore was perfectly pressed, and even though it hung loose on him, it didn’t take away from his powerfully built chest, back, and bulging biceps. I watched as his forearms flexed as he held a glass in his large, strong hand. When he stepped up to the bar, I couldn’t help but study him. His icy-blue eyes stood out against his deeply tanned skin and black hair. His chiseled jaw flexed as he ordered his drinks. He was easily the best-looking man I had ever laid my eyes on. When our eyes finally met, I felt a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach causing me to quickly look away.
I took a long gulp of my drink, emptying the glass. Just then the bartender dropped another drink down in front of me. Taking another long gulp, I couldn’t help but look back over to him. As our eyes connected again, he flashed a soft, sexy smile and winked at me. I glanced away. I could feel the heat in my face, as well as the long-lost ache throbbing between my legs. Taking a deep breath, I locked eyes with him again. I stood, drank down the last of my drink, and made my way back to my room.
Hunter
“Three of the same, please.”
I stood at the bar while I waited for the bartender to finish making our order. The night had been kind of boring until she walked up to the lobby bar. I had barely been able to take my eyes off her. It wasn’t my style to gawk, but she was so damn cute. She had been watching me for a bit, but I pretended like I hadn’t noticed. I was waiting to see if anyone joined her, but when she sat down by herself in the corner and ordered one drink, I knew she was here alone.
It didn’t stop her from looking over her shoulder from time to time, looking for someone to talk to her, when she had made eye contact with me. Her grey-blue eyes were stunning against her flawless skin. Her dark, windblown hair hung just past her shoulders, and I wondered what it would be like to run my fingers through it. When we finally locked eyes for a third time, I felt my dick twitch in my pants. I was going to head over to talk with her, but she downed her drink and headed toward the rooms.
“What the fuck is taking so long?” Bryce said, coming up behind me. Chase pushed his way through the crowd on the other side of me and leaned against the bar. I had barely heard them; hell, I had barely heard anything going on around me for the last five minutes, I was so taken with her. My eyes followed her as she walked through the lobby, my gaze firmly planted on her ass.
“You find something, Hunter?” Chase jabbed me in the ribs, trying to get my attention.
The bartender set down our three drinks and went on to his next customer. I couldn’t even dignify them with an answer. Picking up my drink, I continued watching as she disappeared into the darkness. I walked away from the bar and sat down at an empty table, waiting for my brothers to join me.
“Fuck, you got it bad already?” Bryce asked, sitting down next to me.
“She is cute!” Chase chimed in.
“If you don’t want her, I’ll have a go at her,” they both said in unison, laughing.
I ignored their comments. I didn’t have to tell them to stay away. We had an unwritten rule.
“How about we go hang back at my room,” I suggested. It had been a long day of traveling and I was done. I wanted to be on my game tomorrow for whatever or whomever presented itself to me. I wasn’t going to lie, I was silently hoping it would be her.
7
Autumn
The green lights screamed two o’clock. I rolled over. Two in the morning and the music was still going, and the laughter was getting louder on the other side of the wall. This was going to be a nightmare if I had to listen to this every night for the rest of the week. I flicked on the TV, hoping that it would drown out some of the noise, but it just kept getting louder. I had placed a call to the front desk over forty-five minutes ago, requesting they send security, but clearly, they were not coming.
A large bang against the wall, followed by more raucous laughter, caused me to jump. That was it; I couldn’t take any more. I jumped out of bed, threw on my shoes, grabbed my key, and darted out the door. Walking to the other side of the building, I pounded on the door. They probably couldn’t even hear me with all the noise they were creating. I pounded again. I was getting angrier by the second. I went to pound a third time when the door was abruptly opened.
I was ready to bawl out whomever was on the other side of the door, but as soon as I saw who it was, I choked on my words. It was him, the guy from the bar. Instead of saying anything, I stood there, taking in the sight that was before me. He was shirtless, and I couldn’t keep my eyes from traveling from his bulky muscular chest to his very solid eight pack. His pants hung just low enough to give me a peek at that deeply carved “v.”
“Can I help you?” His eyes trailed down my body, and I could feel myself heat up under his gaze. At that moment, the realization hit that I was standing there half naked, bra-less, wearing nothing but a short white T-shirt that barely covered my pink silk panties. I watched as his eyes once again trailed down my body.
“Hey, eyes up here!” I demanded, raising my voice. The music that had poured out of the room stopped suddenly, and I saw two heads peek around the corner.
“Not that you care, but I’ve been trying to sleep for the last three hours! Could you please keep it down?” I swallowed hard, trying to cover up myself the best I could from his gaze.
“Sorry, beautiful. My brothers can be pretty loud when they get drinking.” His deep, sexy voice sent a quiver right to my center. The corner of his mouth quirked up as his eyes traveled my body again.
“I said, eyes up here!”
“Don’t blame us, Hunter,” his brothers shouted in unison. “You were the
one who wanted to party back here.” Hearty laughter fell from inside the room. I couldn’t help the smile that came to my lips. As soon as I looked back up at him and saw him watching me, my smile quickly vanished.
“They were just getting ready to leave. I promise, no more noise.” He gave me a wink.
I nodded and turned to walk away, pulling my shirt down to try to cover myself from his gaze.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name?”
“That’s because I didn’t give it to you,” I said, glancing over my shoulder at what I was now sure was the sexiest man I’d ever seen, his eyes scanning over me once again as I continued to walk back to my room.
“Good night then, beautiful.”
I ignored him, walking back toward my room, trying to calm my heavily beating heart. Once inside, I leaned up against the cold door. I could still hear the murmur of deep voices followed by laughter on the other side of the wall, but I ignored them. I went to the sink and ran cold water and splashed it on my face, trying to calm the heat that was running through me. Never in all the time I had been with Jason had he ever looked at me like that, nor had he made my center throb the way mine was throbbing right now from just being near him.
Once I had cooled down, I crawled into bed, my thoughts quickly traveling to the man on the other side of the wall. I squeezed my thighs together. I would never get any sleep if the hot, heavy pulse between my legs didn’t calm.
The voices carried on for another five minutes, and then I heard the door slam on the other side. Finally, it was quiet.
8
Hunter
I glanced at my watch. It was almost noon, and I still hadn’t seen Bryce or Chase. After leaving my room last night, they more than likely headed back to the bar to cap the night off. I on the other hand couldn’t get that brown-haired beauty off my mind. The way that T-shirt had ridden up over that perfect ass as she walked away from me, giving me a peek at those pink silk panties—that image had permanently imprinted itself on my brain. After the guys left, I jerked myself off twice to thoughts of what it would be like to have my hands gripping that ass while I planted my tongue in her hot pussy.
The Malone Brothers Boxed Set Page 3