Tropical Tryst: 25 All New and Exclusive Sexy Reads

by Nicole Morgan

  "Anything, I'm not fussy." Olivia shrugged and winced as the movement tugged at her sore skin. "Could you get me some more water? There's a jug in the fridge in there." She waved a hand vaguely at the door that led into the lounge.

  "Gotcha." Cory picked up the near-empty bottle, headed into the next room, and came face-to-face with Suzannah. She raised her eyebrows, looking past him at Olivia lying facedown on her bed in only a pair of panties.

  "Well, you certainly move fast, surfer boy," she drawled, looking amused and highly entertained.

  "It's not like that. She's got a sunburn."

  Suzannah's smirk vanished at once. "Merde, on her first day? How did you manage that, Olivia?" She pushed past Cory and bent over Olivia with a concerned frown. "Oh, that is going to hurt."

  "Already does, but Cory's been generous with the aloe." Olivia gave her roommate a wry smile. "My fault. I forgot I'd burn through my T-shirt once it got wet, and didn't put sunscreen on my back before I went snorkeling."

  Cory came back in with the water bottle and set it down on the nightstand. "I'm gonna go get her some dinner," he said. "Are you working tonight, Suze?" He suspected he knew the answer; the restaurants were just about to open and the chef would have already been in action for quite a while if she were on duty.

  "No." Suze shook her head. "My night off. Which is good, I can keep Olivia company and we can get to know each other, yes? In fact, if you are going to be room service waiter, Cory, you could bring me some as well." She grinned at him, and he threw his hands up in surrender, laughing.

  "I shall return!"

  * * *

  "YOU COMFORTABLE?" Suzannah asked as soon as Cory was gone. "Need more aloe?"

  "Has it soaked in already?" Olivia groaned when Suzannah confirmed it had. "Yes, please. But just to clarify, I had no problem with Cory being here and rubbing it in for me."

  Suzannah laughed throatily as she picked up the aloe bottle Cory had left behind. "Trust me, sugar, I wouldn't have a problem with that hunk of delicious man rubbing his hands all over my naked body either!"

  Olivia couldn't help but giggle at Suzannah's remark, delivered in her thick French accent that could have made reciting the telephone directory sound unbearably sensual. Suzannah had brought in her laptop, and the two girls lay side by side on the bed, swapping favorite websites, when Cory returned bearing a covered tray.

  "It's amazing what results I get when casually mentioning that this was for you, Suzannah," he said, hooking an ankle around a chair and pulling it up to the end of the bed. "Why do I have the feeling all your kitchen staff are terrified of you?"

  "Because they are," she replied, perfectly unruffled. "If a chef's staff are not calling her a tyrant when her back is turned, she is not doing her job properly."

  Olivia and Cory just looked at each other.

  "You'll never understand, so don't try," Olivia warned. "I did some marketing campaigns for restaurants in New York. The chefs are a law unto themselves, and it's pretty much expected. I don't think they live in the same world as the rest of us."

  "We live in the world of good food," Suzannah said regally, claiming the bags Cory had brought with him and opening them, sniffing inside each and wrinkling her nose. "Let us see what offerings my followers believe are fit for consumption tonight."

  Cory tactfully headed into the lounge while Olivia sat up and pulled on a loose shirt. He returned with plates and cutlery, dragging the table over to the end of the bed so Suzannah could lay the food out on it. She sent him back to collect soda from the fridge, and he grinned at her.

  "I can do better than that. I've got beer at my place."

  "Fetch." Suzannah flipped her hand at him.

  Olivia giggled as Cory trotted off to do Suzannah's bidding. "You are so bossy. Does everyone just ask how high when you say jump?"

  "Why would they not?" Suzannah arched her brows curiously.

  "Wow, I admire your confidence. Do you have a boyfriend?"

  "Non. I intimidate a lot of men." Suzannah gave a very Gallic shrug. "But if a man is intimidated by me, then he is not man enough for me anyway. I'd prefer no man at all than a weak one." She slid a plate over to Olivia. "Here. Tell me what you think of these."

  Cory returned with a six-pack of cold beers, setting one down in front of each of the two girls and twisting the tops off. "Would you like a glass?" he checked with Olivia, suddenly wondering if she would think they were uncultured for drinking directly from the bottle.

  "No, it's fine." She smiled up at him, picked up the bottle, and took a long sip.

  Olivia couldn't remember the last time she’d such an enjoyable evening. The food Suzannah's staff had sent her was absolutely amazing, the beer ice-cold, and the company excellent. They must have been making enough noise to sound like quite a party, because Rosie soon tapped on the screen door and came in to join them. Bryce, the dive instructor, followed not long after, though Cory promptly sent him back out for more beers.

  * * *

  "I THINK SHE'S ASLEEP."

  Olivia roused enough to mutter, "No 'm not," and heard Cory's quiet laugh.

  "Yes, you are, angel. Shh. I've kicked everyone out. Let's get that shirt off and I'll put some more aloe on your back before you sleep."

  "I can do that," Suzannah's accented voice said, but Olivia waved her off, sitting up to fumble at her shirt buttons.

  "No offense, but I like Cory's hands on me better."

  Suzannah laughed, nudging Cory. "All right, but you, keep those hands on the burned parts only, hmm?"

  "Scout's honor," he promised.

  "Do you even have Boy Scouts here in Australia?" She was maybe a little bit drunk, Olivia realized, as her words slightly slurred. She'd only had three beers but that was a lot more than she usually drank these days. In her time at the center of the social whirl of New York, she'd probably had a much higher alcohol tolerance.

  "Yes, we do. Need the bathroom? Come on, those teeth want scrubbing." Cory helped her up and into the bathroom, going back out to give her privacy but not quite closing the door, insisting she keep talking to him. When she came back out and gave him a grumpy look, he even managed to keep his eyes on her face and not her exposed breasts as he led her back to bed and helped her get comfortable on her stomach.

  "You're such a sweet guy," Olivia mumbled as he poured more aloe on her back and smoothed it in gently.

  "I'll be honest and say that my thoughts are not at all sweet at the moment." He lightly stroked the two dimples on either side of the base of her spine. "And that if you weren't so badly burned, me giving you a back massage would be a prelude to something other than sleep."

  Olivia smiled into her pillow. "Can I get a rain check on that?"

  "Anytime." She felt a gentle kiss on her nape, then Cory drew the sheet gently up over her. "Get some sleep, Olivia. And stay out of the sun tomorrow!"

  "Stay," she said impulsively as his weight lifted off the bed.

  "Hmm?"

  "Would you stay? And just sleep here?"

  "You sure?"

  "Yes, please."

  "Give me five minutes." He left her alone but was back in less than the time he'd promised, breath smelling freshly of toothpaste. Wearing a T-shirt and boxers, he slid into bed beside her. "This okay?"

  Cheek turned towards him on the pillow, Olivia gave him a sleepy smile. "Perfect."

  "Sleep well then, angel." He leaned over to kiss her lips gently before turning out the light.

  CHAPTER 8

  O livia woke with a sore, stinging back, and an exceptionally comfortable front. At some point during the night, she'd apparently migrated completely atop Cory and now lay with her cheek on his chest, head tucked under his chin, breasts pressed against his rock-hard abs, their legs tangled together. It could scarcely be a more intimate position.

  Cory was still asleep, his broad chest rising and falling slowly. It was a comforting rhythm, and if Olivia hadn't been so sore, she'd probably have been soothed straight back to
sleep. As it was, one of his broad hands was splayed across the small of her back and she felt hot and sweaty. Edging carefully off him, she headed for the bathroom.

  "What time is it?" Cory mumbled sleepily as she returned.

  "Almost six," she replied quietly, checking her watch.

  "Ugh, I gotta get up. I'm taking a group on a rainforest hike." He sat up, eying her appreciatively in the early morning light filtering past the blinds. Olivia smirked at him as she sat on the bed, making no effort to cover her bare breasts.

  "Getting a good view there?"

  "Magnificent," he breathed, eyes riveted as she deliberately took a few deep breaths. Giving himself a shake, he reached to the nightstand. "But I know the back view won't be pretty. Down on your face, angel."

  She lay down without a word, extremely keen to get another soothing layer of aloe on her back. The skin felt hot and tight; she hadn't gotten much of a glimpse in the dimly lit bathroom when she peered over her shoulder at herself in the mirror, but enough to know that her back was practically glowing.

  "You should really stay here and rest today," Cory said, generously slathering the aloe over her back. "I'll get someone to bring you some breakfast and check in on you through the day. I've got a really busy one scheduled, unfortunately. I'll get some more aloe for you too."

  "I don't want to be a bother, and really, I should get up..."

  "You should absolutely not. I saw Luke last night when I was fetching dinner and told him you'd got a nasty burn; if he sees you around the resort today, he'll be ordering your ass back to bed, so you may as well stay here."

  "I'll go mad with boredom!" Olivia protested mutinously.

  "No, you won't, because Suze left you her laptop." Cory gestured to where it sat on the desk. "She'll have it connected to the resort's staff Wi-Fi too, so you can binge on Netflix all you like."

  "Netflix and chill?" Olivia gave him a wicked grin as he moved away, heading for the bathroom to wash his hands.

  "In the most literal use of the term, yeah." He grinned over his shoulder at her, so she knew he was aware of the colloquial meaning. "But when you're better, I would love to Netflix and chill with you."

  Cory dropped a kiss on her cheek and smoothed her hair before departing. "Try and get some more sleep," he said before closing the screen door quietly behind him.

  Feeling wide awake, Olivia thought she wouldn't go back to sleep, but she must have dozed off, because the next thing she knew, there was a quiet tapping on the screen door.

  "Olivia, you awake?"

  "Uh-huh," she managed vaguely. It was a woman's voice, so she didn't worry about pulling a sheet over her, though she wished she had when the door slid open and Jill came in.

  "Hey." Jill set a tray down on the desk. "How are you doing... oh wow, that is some burn. Cory wasn't exaggerating."

  Her back felt sore again; too much so to hold on to her pride. "Would you put some more aloe on for me?" Olivia begged pathetically.

  "Of course. Cory told me to bring more." Jill held up a fresh bottle. Her expression looked genuinely sympathetic, Olivia thought. "I'm sorry."

  Did her words have more than one meaning? She sounded contrite rather than just sympathetic. "What for?" Olivia asked as Jill squirted a fresh glob of aloe onto her back.

  "I've been a bitch, and you didn't deserve it."

  Olivia lay silent for a moment before saying, "I feel like someone's read you the riot act. Was it Cory?"

  "Rosie, actually. She said you were really nice and it's none of my business who Cory wants to date. Which is absolutely true." Jill's hands stilled on her back. "He's not really a player, if you hadn't figured it out yet."

  "I was pretty sure."

  "Yeah, it's pretty obvious." Jill sighed and got up, going to wash her hands. "I'm not really still in love with him," she said, returning and sitting at the desk, reaching to put the tray beside Olivia on the bed. "I was just... jealous that he's finally moving on. He hadn't so much as looked at anyone in ages."

  Olivia said nothing, just picked up the sealed cup of orange juice on the tray and opened it. The tray held a covered plate that contained a still-warm croissant and a flaky Danish, a little pat of butter on one side. "I don't suppose your olive branch extends to making me a coffee, does it?" she asked hopefully.

  Jill's worried expression eased and she laughed. "Of course it does," she said warmly. "I think I owe you a few, to be frank. How do you like it?"

  "Well, my regular barista back on the corner of Madison Avenue and East 32nd Street used to make me an amazing cinnamon-vanilla macchiato," Olivia said and couldn't hold in her laughter at Jill's horrified expression. "Milk and no sugar will be perfect."

  Jill giggled too as she went to put the kettle on. "For a moment there I thought I was getting belted in the face with that olive branch!"

  Olivia quickly discovered that she liked Jill a lot. The other girl was sharply witty and great fun to be around when her jealousy wasn't eating her alive. Jill shyly asked if Olivia would like some company as she didn't have anywhere to be that morning. Later she mentioned she was working late that day, as she was taking the boat into Airlie Beach to collect a large group that was arriving at the mainland airport in the early evening.

  "I want to go." Olivia desperately needed to go clothes shopping, and to replace the electronics that had been drowned in her fall off the boat.

  "Cory said you should stay here..."

  "Are you serious? Cory is definitely not the boss of me. I'll be fine. I'll cover every inch of skin, I promise... and I'll stick to you like glue so I don't get lost."

  Jill snickered. "I suppose I could show you the good shops. Some of them are a bit too touristy and expensive. The boat goes in earlier to deliver the departing tourists to the airport, so we could have a good couple hours before we need to collect the new arrivals."

  "Sounds like a plan. What time do we have to leave?"

  Jill still took a bit of persuading, but Olivia eventually convinced her that she would go mad if she had to stay in bed all day. She found a button-down denim shirt in the things Rosie had loaned her and put it on without a bra—the straps would have been too painful on her sore skin. Fortunately she wasn't so well-endowed that she'd bounce. A pair of long linen trousers from her own wardrobe, a large sunhat and sunglasses, and Jill pronounced her safe to go outside.

  * * *

  SEVERAL HOURS LATER, tired but content, Olivia was half drowsing when Jill nudged her.

  "Think you might have a small problem."

  "Hm?" She jolted out of her doze, looked where Jill was pointing as the boat came in to dock. "Oh dear." Cory's height and blond hair were unmistakable, as was the way he paced up and down the dock. "Do you think he's gonna be a grump because I didn't obey his orders to stay in bed?"

  "Not once he sees that you're perfectly fine, no." Jill grinned at her. "I highly recommend grabbing him and sticking your tongue down his throat to cut off any tirade before he gets started, though."

  "Good idea, because I'll probably smack his face if he tries to boss me around!" The two girls were fast friends after spending the afternoon together. Jill had kept her word to show Olivia the shops, and helped to carry the bags full of her purchases back to the boat before they headed for the airport, and in turn Olivia had helped Jill corral the arriving guests and get them all organized.

  Cory seemed to be struggling with himself as he watched Olivia disembark laden with shopping bags. She walked towards him a little hesitantly, offered up a small smile.

  "Shopping? Really?" he said resignedly.

  "You did witness all my electronics getting drowned." She waved the bag containing her new laptop, tablet, and mobile phone at him. "Plus, I really need some Sunfish-appropriate clothing. Can't be wearing Rosie's stuff all the time."

  He sighed, and to his credit said not one word about her promise to stay in her room. Which technically, she hadn't actually given, Olivia thought virtuously. Instead, he just held out his hands. "
Can I carry those for you?"

  Olivia beamed at him and unloaded the heavier bags from her haul. "You earn lots of brownie points for that, you realize."

  "I was hoping. Is there a reward?" Cory smiled at last.

  "There could be." She gave him a coquettish look. "But it'll have to be delivered in private."

  Cory walked very quickly, long legs eating up the ground as he headed purposefully back to the staff accommodation area. Laughing her ass off, Olivia followed. By the time she caught up, he was unpacking her electronics purchases on her desk.

  "Figured I'd save you some time. Now, about that reward?"

  "Well"—she deposited her own bags on the chair—"you get to put your hands all over me again."

  "How's that back?" He came over to gently ease her shirt off her shoulders as she unfastened the buttons, hissing softly between his teeth as he saw her back. "Still red as hell, but it does look a bit better, I think."

  "I want a shower. Want to come in and wash my back?" She cast him a coquettish look over her shoulder. Catching her waist in his hands, Cory pressed a kiss to her shoulder before seeking her lips.

  "Definitely," he said, voice dropping to a low husk. "I'll wash any body part you like. All of them."

  "Sounds good to me." Dropping her shorts and panties, she darted ahead of him into the bathroom. Cory didn’t hesitate in giving chase, though he drew the line at hopping under the shower as she stepped straight under it, hissing with pleasure as the cool water rained down on her back.

  "You are one hardcore ballsy babe," he said admiringly, stopping to shuck his own clothes.

  Olivia peered at him from underneath the spray. "What does that even mean?"

  "It means I'm crazy about you, you beautiful, crazy, impulsive woman." His eyes moved to her breasts, where her nipples had peaked hard in the cold water. It was starting to warm up, though, so he stepped in with her and closed the shower screen, sliding his arms around her and bending his head to kiss her as she tilted her face up to smile at him.