Reckless (Fractured Farrells: A Damaged Billionaire Series Book 2)

by Mallory Crowe

  “And after I carried you down here, I was reminded that this is the nicest bed on the boat by far. But I didn’t get under the covers with you.”

  “Oh, for the love of—” Malia shook her head as she turned around, sitting on the edge of the bed, facing away from Robert.

  “We’ll be back on land today, if that makes you feel better.”

  “Nothing would make me feel better.”

  “I didn’t touch you, though. Besides the normal touching that came from you falling asleep on me.”

  “You’re not a perv. Congratulations.”

  “No, definitely a perv. In fact, ever since you pulled that little stunt, I’ve had an unending stream of dirty thoughts in my mind. So thanks for that.”

  The corner of Malia’s mouth lifted. “So my revenge plan part A worked?”

  “Fuck, I don’t think I can take any more parts.”

  She turned around and smiled at him. “So many more parts.”

  Robert held out a hand. “Come here.”

  “I don’t think—”

  “You just slept next to me all night. Come on, I won’t bite.” She still didn’t move closer or farther, and he motioned with his fingers.

  She ended up compromising by not taking his hand, but she did lay back down, covering herself with the blanket. As she lay down, the wire from her bra cut into her, reminding her of the uncomfortable way she’d slept.

  “I’m still mad,” she pointed out as she adjusted the covers over her. “I just...” She had no idea what to do. They’d be getting to shore soon, and she’d be basically penniless and jobless, and the only one she could ask for help was the one who put her in this situation.

  But she didn’t want to be mad at Robert. She wanted to go back to the nice guy he’d been on that beach. The one who’d given her a place to stay, no strings attached.

  Robert reached over and intertwined his fingers with hers. “You’re allowed to be mad.”

  “What are we doing once we get to California?”

  “You’re coming with me?”

  “Do I have a choice? I have nowhere else to go. You have me backed into a corner here, Robert.”

  He rolled onto his side to look at her. “I’m going to figure out what’s happening. I will. And once I do, we’ll go from there.”

  “We? There is no ‘we,’ Robert. There’s just...some strange sort of attraction that we both need to get over.”

  “If we’re both attracted to each other, why fight it?”

  “Because I’m making you stupid. And I’m stupid around you.” Malia shook her head and sat up. As much as she would love to lie in bed with him all day, listening to the sounds of the ocean as the boat gently rocked, none of that was real. Every single time she let Robert get closer, it only ended in pain. And as much as she wanted to believe that he truly had feelings for her, she was more and more convinced he didn’t know what love was.

  She didn’t see her clothes she’d worn before and had a feeling they were still on the deck above. So she grabbed one of her other t-shirts and a pair of navy-blue shorts.

  “Malia, I—”

  “You had good intentions.” She cut him off. “I do believe that. But this, you and me, we’re just no good.” She looked over him once more, and mentally groaned. This would be easier if he were dressed.

  He sat up, and there was an edge to the way he stared at her. A sign that he was really starting to believe her when she said things were over. “I thought that last night would prove that I could control myself around you. That I was trying.”

  Malia glanced down, trying to steel herself for what she wanted to say. “It did. And it did mean a lot to me that you listened, because I was actually shocked that you were capable of taking orders from someone else.” A bitter smile crossed her lips as she remembered testing his control. “But the very fact that I put you in that situation, that I put us in that situation, is a reminder that I can’t control myself around you.”

  Malia sighed and cursed herself once again for getting herself in this situation. She should’ve slapped him the second he kissed her for the first time. There were a million different things she could’ve done differently, but the very thought of not having those few good moments was crazy to think about.

  “I’m going to get some fresh air. Think you can give me some time alone?”

  Robert fell back on the bed. “Yeah. Go.”

  Malia left the room and crossed through the galley to the stairs. Sure enough, her discarded shorts and shirts lay on the polished wood. She picked them up and frowned when they were damp with dew. Hopefully wherever they were going had a washer and dryer. She lay down on the cushions and looked up at the overhang. This boat that had seemed so big and luxurious at first now seemed claustrophobic. She wanted to go for a swim or a hike or do something that would allow her to use her muscles.

  She wasn’t used to all this sleeping and lounging around. Her days were normally filled with almost nonstop movement. Always places to go or jobs to do. Funny: if she’d planned this trip, it would’ve been amazing. But the circumstances of how they’d gotten to this point were too convoluted. Even if she could forgive him, which she could see herself doing much too soon, the trust was too far gone.

  But for now she was stuck with him. And if she closed her eyes and pretended he was sitting next to her, that they were enjoying this beautiful day together, no one would have to know.

  It came to no surprise to Malia that Robert’s LA home was amazingly beautiful. It was at the top of one of the hills that made the area so popular and overlooked a breathtaking view of the ocean and the busy streets below. The decor was almost the opposite of what she’d grown accustomed to in Hawaii.

  It wasn’t laid-back or beachy. Everything was all sharp edges and bold, dark colors contrasting with the bright light coming in from the windows and the white marble floors. Though it was beautiful, it was also very...impersonal. As though some decorator had come through and put the best of everything in and Robert had no say in anything.

  Just like another resort. There was maid staff, food to be delivered, and nothing to his taste.

  He led her to one of the guest bedrooms that at least had a little feminine touch. The furniture was cream-colored, and the bedspread was a light purple; the attached bathroom included a tub that had an amazing view of the water.

  “Are you going to be okay here for a few hours?” Robert set her bags in a corner of the room.

  Malia almost laughed. She’d be comfortable here for weeks. At least, under the right circumstances. “I’ll be fine.”

  Robert stood still for a moment, as though searching for the words. “Your phone should have signal now. And your charger is in that bag, so if you wanted to, you could leave.”

  “I want to.”

  “But I’m asking you not to.”

  She smiled bitterly. “You know I can’t go anywhere.”

  He frowned. “All you need to do is call a cab and you could go wherever you wanted. Not that I want you to do that.”

  “Yeah, because the fifty bucks in my pocket is going to get me so far in LA. Just go, Robert. I’ll be here when you get back. Promise.”

  Robert seemed incredibly tense, and a part of Malia wanted to reassure him or tell him that it would be fine, but she didn’t have any comfort to offer at the moment. All she could tell him was the truth. She wouldn’t go anywhere because there was nowhere for her to go.

  “There’s food in the pantry and the pool is cleaned every week, so feel free to relax. Every TV in the house has cable and a selection of online movies.”

  She nodded. “Thanks.”

  He let out a deep breath before he turned, cursing under his breath.

  She really wasn’t good at these awkward conversations. She’d never really been in a relationship that required post-breakup talking. Hell, she’d really never been in many relationships.

  Malia stayed in her room until she heard the front door shut. Once Robert was gon
e, she decided to take his invitation to make herself at home to heart, and she wandered around the upstairs. She started with another extra bedroom, which was a bit more masculine with a green bedspread and black furniture, and then an office with beautiful dark wood built-in bookshelves and a window overlooking the hillside view. Which made the last room on this floor the master bedroom. Robert’s.

  The door was open, so she stepped in cautiously. Unlike the dark, modern furniture in the living room and kitchen, the bedroom had an older-looking aesthetic. A medium-color wood that looked as though it had been used in a few different homes before this. The bed was big, maybe bigger than a king, and this comforter was also green. Was that his favorite color? What a strange thought. She never considered what color would be a Farrell’s favorite. Such a simple fact made him seem so much more...human.

  Malia ran her hand along the blanket. It was super soft and smooth against her fingertips, but cool to the touch. A set of double doors led out to a balcony that overlooked the cliffs below and had an amazing breeze. She tried to imagine Robert sitting on this chair and overlooking the view, but it didn’t really work. He wasn’t the type to stop and smell the roses. He was always moving and going or trying to get something done.

  Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since breakfast. She could snoop later. For now, she might have to take advantage of his free-for-all offer on the food.

  The stairs were the modern type with glass paneling as the railing. She padded to the first level and went past the stainless-steel counters to the massive fridge. There wasn’t much food, which made sense considering he traveled a lot. She had better luck in the walk-in pantry, where there was a nice selection of nuts and energy bars. She took the bulk-sized container of almonds and finished giving herself the tour of the house.

  There was the full entertainment center with fancy reclining seats, a second office area, and then a large outdoor patio around a beautifully landscaped pool that was made to look like a rock-bordered pond, complete with a small waterfall flowing into the main body of water. Seeing the gorgeous sight, her body itched to get into the water. It had been too long since she’d been swimming.

  Luckily, one of the items that Lindsey had made her buy was a new swimsuit, and Robert had made sure one of his resort henchmen had grabbed all of her stuff. After she ate another handful of nuts, she headed back upstairs to change. She was just shimmying into the top, working to get the ties just right, when she heard the front door open.

  Robert had made it sound as though he was going to be gone for longer. But it didn’t make a difference. She was getting in that pool one way or another. She pulled one of the white towels from the bathroom and headed down the stairs. “You’re back early,” she said as she descended. “I have your almonds stashed in my room, so if you want me to put them back in the pantry I can, but it would be nice to have some snacks—” Malia shut up as soon as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

  That wasn’t Robert.

  But she’d seen enough pictures of the family to recognize Alex Farrell. Alex’s hair was a bit longer than Robert’s but he had the same dark-brown color and bright blue eyes. He was maybe an inch or two shorter than Robert, but he was still much taller than Malia.

  “Umm...hi,” she said awkwardly.

  He nodded. “I’m hoping you are here with my brother. Or should I be calling the police?”

  Her eyes widened. “I’m not a squatter. Robert went out just a little bit ago. I don’t know when he’ll be back, though.”

  “Sometime today?”

  “Oh, yeah. I think he had a few errands...” Errands sounded like too casual of a word for anything Robert did, but it was all she could think of right now. Her week had been stressful enough without getting arrested on top of everything else.

  Alex shook his head. “Sorry for the interrogation. Robert doesn’t bring a lot of women home, so you’re a surprise.”

  Malia cautiously smiled. “It’s fine. I’m assuming he wasn’t expecting you?”

  “He said he’d be here this afternoon and I took the liberty of inviting myself over. Once again, there aren’t usually half-naked women here when I let myself in.”

  Malia tensed at the reminder that she was only wearing a bikini. She brought the towel up to her chest to give her some sort of modesty. “This is kind of awkward. If you want, I can tell Robert to give you a call when he gets back.”

  Alex scoffed. “No. I’ve been trying to get a hold of him for days, but apparently he decided to go off the grid for almost an entire week at the worst fucking time with some chick he just met. No offense.”

  Malia was taken aback by the harsh words. This guy had no idea what she’d been through and he was going to give her shit for Robert’s actions? “Offense taken. I’m not responsible for your fucked-up family.” She passed Alex and walked out to the relaxing waters of the pool that were beckoning her.

  Except Alex apparently wasn’t done, because he followed her out. “So you know who I am?”

  “I’ve seen enough pictures.” She set her towel at the edge of the pool and climbed down the tiled steps quickly. Funny how she could be in a bikini on a beach surrounded by people without any concerns, but when it was just her and one other person, it seemed so much more intimate.

  “You have me at a disadvantage then.”

  Malia walked out into the water, sucking in a deep breath at the chilly water. “Malia.” She turned around again. Now that the water covered up to her mid-chest, she felt a bit more confident. Alex wore a black suit with a light-blue shirt underneath, so he was covered from head to toe. Malia prided herself on being confident, but not confronting a stranger half-naked confident. Especially not a Farrell.

  “Well then, nice to meet you, Malia. How do you know Robert?”

  She smiled. Alex felt bad and was trying to play nice. That was kind of sweet. “We met on the beach in Hawaii and he...swept me off my feet.”

  Alex gave her a skeptical look. “Robert? He did sweeping?”

  “Yep. Even tracked me down after that and made a very convincing argument for why I should go out with him.”

  “Really?”

  It gave Malia a little thrill to know that Robert didn’t chase after every girl he met. Sure, she knew he wasn’t in the tabloids as much as the youngest Farrell, Nathan, but she’d assumed all the brothers were womanizers. Was she really different to Robert? Though she hoped that he didn’t go around kidnapping women all the time.

  “Trust me, I didn’t do it on purpose.” She debated starting to swim laps, but it seemed too strange to just ignore Alex. Instead, she tried to fish for more information. “So what did you barge into Robert’s house for?”

  “I have a whole list of things he missed out on these past five days.”

  So Robert had let his work suffer so he could con her into getting on a luxury boat. Between the cost of that yacht and the anger of his family, he had really lost a lot by forcing her to come here. Considering that he said he’d only done it to keep her safe, that seemed rather decent.

  Didn’t make it okay. “He seemed so work-focused back on the islands.” If he wasn’t in meetings, he was always on his laptop. The only time she’d really seen him relax was when he was around his sister.

  “Obviously something changed.” Alex squinted in the sunlight as he looked at his watch. “Do you have a job that’s going to be missing you?”

  Malia couldn’t help but smile at the question. She had about five jobs that would miss her, but she couldn’t help herself. “I’m kind of between gigs right now. But I have a lot of connections out on the islands.”

  Alex, for his part, managed to keep a straight face. “That’s nice.”

  Maybe his brother getting involved with some unemployed Hawaiian wasn’t a big deal when they had Farrell money. Wasn’t as if they were worried about a gold digger spending it all.

  “So how long do you think you’ll be staying with Robert?”

  Malia
almost threw her head back to laugh. If only Alex knew how she felt about the subject. “Oh, I don’t know. I suppose as long as Robert wants me here.”

  Robert cursed as he saw a shiny BMW in the driveway. Alex didn’t own any cars in this part of the country, but it was his go-to rental. And if Alex was over, that meant he was alone with Malia.

  He cursed again as his car screeched to a halt in front of the garage. He grabbed the papers and envelopes he’d picked up while he’d been out and got through the front door as quick as possible. “Alex!” he called, but there was no answer. He was halfway to the stairs when he saw his brother on the patio, looking over the pool.

  And then he realized Malia was in the pool. “God damn it.” He set his documents on the stainless-steel island and got to the door as quick as possible. “Alex!” he called again once the door was open.

  His brother jerked around and glared at Robert.

  Fuck. The last thing he needed was that sanctimonious attitude. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’ve been trying to reach you for days. When I heard you were finally back on land, I came over as soon as possible.”

  “Anything we have to talk about can wait.”

  “We have to talk about Logan.”

  Robert let out a sigh. That couldn’t wait. “Leave Malia alone and come inside.”

  Alex turned back to the water. “It was nice meeting you, Malia.”

  Robert glanced to the water and could see the outline of Malia’s tanned curves beneath the water. She raised a brow at him and smirked from her spot in the pool. What exactly had she told his brother? “Inside, Alex. Now.”

  Alex gave Robert a questioning look as he walked inside the house, and Malia stayed where she was under the water. Good. He had a few choice words for Alex. Once they were inside with the doors shut, he let loose. “You can’t just walk into my fucking house, Alex. My private life is none of your damn business.”

  Alex cocked his head at the outburst. “This isn’t the first time I’ve come over uninvited. You’ve never had a problem before.”

  “This is the last time you’re doing it. Now tell me what you want and get the hell out.”