by Tia Siren
“Yeah.”
His voice was a low, sexy rumble that came from deep in his broad chest. Riley had the oddest desire to put her fingers there, just to feel those vibrations rumbling when he spoke. That uncanny notion sent fresh little jolts running through her body.
“You don’t seem to be heading to a club,” he said.
She laughed nervously. “Oh, I’m not. I’m not really a club kinda girl, I guess. In fact, I don’t really go out much at all.” She winced at the sound of her own lame confession. Why the hell did I say that, of all things? Now he must think I’m some kind of weirdo.
“Are you here alone?” Grayson asked, even though he already clearly knew the answer.
“No. My friends are on the trip with me, but they went with some guys they met on the beach. I stayed here.” Again, she regretted the words as soon as they clumsily tumbled out of her very socially unskilled mouth. Duh. Of course I stayed. I’m standing here, aren’t I?
To make matters even worse, she suddenly realized why he knew she wasn’t heading for any of the popular nightclubs in the area: She was dressed like some sort of character off The Golden Girls, in a very loose, not-at-all-flattering dress she’d basically thrown on just so she wasn’t walking around naked. She would have done just as well to wrap herself in the curtains from her room. Why does this always happen to me? she silently fumed. Why do they find me at the worst possible moment, when I’m walking around looking like freaking Bea Arthur or Quasimodo? The last guy she was interested in seemed to have a knack for catching her in the middle of cramming for some extremely difficult and important exam, wearing sweats and no makeup, with her hair in a messy knot.
His left eyebrow tilted up just slightly. “So, no plans then?”
She bit her lip. It was too late to try to make herself sound interesting, wild, or fun, and even if she did manage to pull that off she wouldn’t be able to play the part for long. “Not really. I mean, I’m headed to the restaurant, but then—”
“Do yourself a favor and skip it.”
“Well, I’d like a bite to eat, so—”
“There’s an awesome pizza place right across the street. I’m going there now.”
She paused, not sure what that meant. Is he asking me to come along? She cleared her throat, a nervous habit of hers whenever she felt frustrated or unnerved, which she certainly did in that awkward moment. “Is that right? Across the street, you said?”
He nodded. “I’m Grayson, by the way. Most just call me Gray.” His voice held a hint of a slow drawl.
She stuck her hand out. “Riley.”
“Nice to meet you, Riley.”
“Nice to meet you, too,” she parroted, then shuffled her feet. Be bold, damn it! the little voice in her head urged her. She was seldom bold, and she usually didn’t care to be, but damn, she wanted to be. “Hmm. Well, pizza does sound good. Do you mind if I walk with you?”
Just then, her eyes moved past him. Her bodyguards were pretending to check out the front of the building and a few women sashaying by. Her toes hit the pavement, and her lips compressed. Lorna’s right. Those nosy brutes have to go. It was ridiculous for Dad to send them, and I don’t need them.
“Sure. I’ll even buy.” This time, his voice held a hit of laughter.
Riley turned as red as marinara sauce. “No, that’s okay. I can pay for my own pizza.”
“Nah, I got it.”
Riley’s teeth sank into her bottom lip. “Look, I don’t know how much a bartender makes these day, but… Well, I’m really okay with money, so I insist on paying for my own dinner.”
His eyes twinkled. “I do all right,” he said, sounding a bit defensive. “Anyway, if we’re going, we’d better get a move-on. In a few minutes, we won’t be able to cross the street.”
“Really? Why?”
“Traffic, pedestrians, you name it. About this hour, the place gets packed like crazy and stays that way for a good long time. Everyone seems to know the resort restaurant sucks.”
“Oh.” She looked at the high gates surrounding the resort. “Now that you mention it, I did notice that last night, when I looked out the window. What a mess! Good for business, though, huh? I mean…at the bar?”
“I guess,” Gray said with a shrug. “You ready then?”
That’s a good question. Am I? It’s just pizza, for heaven’s sake! She took a deep breath and answered, “Sure.”
They cut across the parking lot, and she had to move her legs double-time to keep up with him. He was long-legged and swift, like some kind of majestic racehorse, and Riley was more than a little out of breath by the time they got to the gates. Gray noticed and slowed his stride a bit, but he didn’t make a big deal of it. Riley couldn’t help but admire the way he walked, with all that power and lithe grace, like a feline hunting down its prey. Her face flushed when his body accidentally brushed hers as they stepped up on the narrow strip of sidewalk that fronted the busy street.
“Can you run?” he asked. Then, before she could even answer, he took her hand and took off.
Riley, taken by surprise, resisted only slightly before her legs began to move. Traffic barreled toward them, which was quite frightening and nothing she was used to. The day had dissolved into night, and neon lit the funky strip of stores and bars that ran along both sides of the street. Riley was terrified yet laughing like a hyena, letting her legs pump faster and faster. Her cute little sandals slapped at the pavement, and the heat from the day, trapped in the dark asphalt, slid up into the soles of her feet. A matching heat flushed her upper thighs and awakened a long-dormant burst of heat that seemed to prickle every nerve ending within her.
Her core clenched and released as they ran. Her nipples stiffened below her dress. It was a simple act, just crossing the street against the flow of traffic, without a traffic light or crosswalk in sight, but it was a type of rebellion that simply wasn’t part of her life, something she would never normally do. Of course, it wasn’t in her nature to flippantly agree to go anywhere with a guy she barely knew either.
As Gray warned, the pizza place was packed. They had to stand in line a few minutes, but they did manage to locate a tiny vacant booth crammed into a corner. It was a tight fit for both of them, so tight that she practically wound up sitting in his lap. His strong thigh pressed against hers, and she felt as if she had to fight for breath. The air-conditioning was on full blast, and the chilly draft wafted across Riley’s body, but not even that high-powered rush could cool the rising flood of want racing through her body.
If Gray noticed, it didn’t show. “You want a beer or soda, maybe some sweet tea?” he asked nonchalantly.
“Beer,” she said, even though she wasn’t a drinker. The drink she’d ordered from him earlier was left sitting beside her lounge chair, most of it still in the glass, until it turned into a watery mess and a server carted it off. Now, though, she wanted to look cool, like a woman who was out for a good time, so a cold one was in order. She wasn’t sure why she wanted to impress him, but she got the feeling that he most enjoyed good-time, wild girls. After she gave him her drink order, she shifted in the booth seat, hoping to break the contact between their bodies before he noticed how turned on she was or before he could turn her on even more. “Um, how long have you worked at the resort?”
“Too long. Years.” He beckoned to a server and ordered two beers, then asked for a menu before elaborating, “Ever since I was a teenager.”
“Wow, that long? You must really like it then, huh?”
“For the most part.”
He shifted, too, and his thigh met hers again. Her entire lower body went to liquid when he rested his hand on the table, right next to hers, leaving only one small inch between them.
“What about you? Do you have a job?”
“I’ll be—”
The beer arrived before Riley could finish, with the tops already popped. She took a small sip and winced at the bitter, yeasty taste. “I just graduated from the university. I have a job
waiting when I go home.”
His eyes ran over her face again, probing.
Riley had the uncomfortable feeling that he was looking deep down inside her, seeing something she wasn’t ready to let him see. She fiddled with the paper label on the bottle for a moment, then asked, “Can I ask how old you are?”
“Twenty-two.”
Her smile was full of relief. “Really? Me, too.”
“Where’s home, Riley?”
She liked the way he said her name, slurring it just slightly on the vowels. “New York, the Big Apple. How about you?”
He tilted the beer bottle to his lips and took a long swallow. “I grew up right here, actually right on that beach. You know, it’s weird.”
“What?” Riley asked, trying to make a conversationalist out of herself, which was all new to her.
“When I was a kid I couldn’t wait to get away from here, to see something else, but the whole time I was away at college I missed this stupid place so much that I couldn’t wait till summer so I could come back. I never thought I’d be one to be homesick, but I was.”
“I understand,” she said. “I miss the city a lot.”
“What are you planning to do there?”
Riley took a second shallow sip of beer, even though she didn’t really like it and was seriously beginning to wonder if it was what horse piss tasted like. “Don’t laugh.”
“Why would I?”
She vacillated for a moment, then blurted, “I found this really amazing little studio apartment in Yorkville, on the Upper East Side. I really love it. I mean, it’s tiny, but there’s a loft in it, and I’d love to use that as a storage area or bedroom. It has a little kitchenette, and… Well, I just want the place. I adore it. I wanna buy it and live there,” she admitted, as she had no desire to remain in the monstrously huge brownstone she’d been raised in.
Gray’s brow knit into lines that seemed too deep for his age. “Why would I laugh at that?”
He’s right. Why would he? She was sure he had no idea that her father was a billionaire and that she had a trust fund that was probably enough to pay off the debts of a small country. She was expected to rent some swanky place in trendy Tribeca or Chelsea, until she married Mr. Perfect (per her father’s standards). Then, after the parentally-approved nuptials, she and her husband would undoubtedly buy a house in Westchester or Connecticut and commute into the city, or at least her husband would. In spite of that expensive education she had, she would most likely be expected to stay home and work with the nannies and household staff to keep the house picture-perfect, to maintain the image of a perfect woman who was doing exactly what she was reared to do. Damn. I’m not Mary Poppins, she thought. I’m Mrs. Banks.
The thing was, it was not at all what Riley wanted; in fact, she couldn’t think of anything she wanted less. She most wanted to be free and happy, to live a life that was solely her own, driven by her own choices, even if those choices included living in a tiny studio apartment with a loft.
They ordered a medium pizza with olives and sausage and conversed while they ate it. She found Gray surprisingly easy to talk to, but sitting right next to him was a more difficult task. His body heat seeped into her, even steamier than the melting cheese on their hot pie, easily warding off the chill of the air-conditioner. His hand occasionally brushed hers, and his elbow gently bumped her ribs once. Riley found herself swinging between wild excitement and a terrible fear, and she hoped he sensed none of it.
Everything about him excited her, though. When Gray lifted a slice to his lips, bit down, then chewed slowly, licking his pink triangle of tongue across his lips in a sexy little gesture that was as hot as it was natural, she absolutely melted. Riley’s insides quivered, and her breasts lifted and fell as her breath sharpened while she watched that tongue of his tantalize that full lower lip.
“Hey, I know you said we’d go Dutch,” he said after he finished his beer, “but I’ve never let a woman buy food when we ate together, and I’m not gonna start now. Leave the check to me.”
Riley opened her mouth to protest, but before she could he got the server’s attention Gray handed him a few crisp bills that more than paid for the food, along with a generous tip.
“You ready to go back?” Grayson asked, turning to her.
No, not at all. Really, she wanted to sit there for a long time, maybe forever. She wasn’t at all ready to pull her body away from his. Since she had no idea how to phrase that, she just nodded and slid out of the booth so she could stand. When he moved off the bench, with those muscles of his flexing and loosening, Riley’s heart felt like an Olympic gymnast doing a routine in her chest. He was making her wet and crazy without even trying, and that was something she was just not used to.
They walked out of the restaurant, and she stared at the street with real dismay. The traffic was much heavier, and there were so many headlights and neon signs about that it almost appeared to be daytime.
“Should we try to cross at the intersection?” she asked timidly, pointing at a traffic light straight ahead.
When she spotted her guards not far away, pretending to be interested in the display window of another souvenir shop, her mouth flattened. She desperately needed to rid them from her vacation, and she made a vow to call her father as soon as she got back in her room and demand that he promptly relieve them of duty. She wasn’t sure he’d listen but her impromptu date with the handsome bartender had emboldened her, so it was worth a try.
“Yeah, that’s probably our best bet. Lots of those drivers are dead drunk. It’s a damn shame, but it happens all the time, and I don’t wanna be anywhere near the asphalt right now.” He took her hand and guided her over a small, broken section of concrete.
Riley’s heart leapt high in her chest. Her pulse quickened and her body leaned toward his, but she kept moving, keeping pace with him.
“I’ve gotta go in alone,” Gray said when they reached the resort.
“Why?”
“Well, it’s just be better if we, uh… It’s best if nobody sees us together.”
“Wait. You live here?” she asked, awestruck.
He nodded. “I do.”
“Oh.” Damn. Riley was no fool, and she knew no hotel or vacation rental would allow the intermingling of guests and staff. Of course she, as the guest, wouldn’t be chastised for their fraternizing, but he, as the staff member, would likely be out the door. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t even consider that you might get in trouble for… Well, anyway, thank you for walking me over and back.”
“You’re welcome, but I really gotta go.”
“Yeah, me too.” She wanted to kiss him, wanted to press her body against his and let her breasts flatten against his chest, to feel his heart beating against hers and his cock hardening against her crotch, but she didn’t have time to do any of that before Gray turned away. Exasperated, Riley stepped toward the elevator and looked back just in time to see him turn to watch her go. She lifted a hand while a sliver of hope ran through her at the thought that he was interested after all. Not only that, but he wasn’t at all the playboy she had taken him to be, or at least he didn’t seem like it, and she was relatively certain the only contagious thing about him was that body heat of his. Was it wishful thinking?
She ran into the elevator, wearing a huge smile on her face, but it curdled as she reached her room and peeked down at the parking lot, where she spotted her bodyguards heading toward the elevator. Their room was right next to hers, which annoyed the hell out of her suddenly.
She, Lorna, and Megan didn’t share a room simply because she knew they would both eventually engage in some loud, noisy sex, if not with guys they picked up, then at least with each other. They always told her it wasn’t serious and that it was no big deal, but whatever it was between them Riley didn’t personally feel any interest in it. Frankly, she was always slightly shocked by their antics in the bedroom when they had nobody but each other to amuse themselves.
She found her phone and hit
the button that would connect her with her father. Talking to her mother would definitely prove useless, as she was completely against Riley taking that vacation in the first place. Riley held her breath as the phone rang shrilly on the other side.
“Hello?” her father finally said.
“Hi, Dad.” She closed her eyes. “I need a favor.”
“What? Why? Did something happen? What’s wrong?” he interrogated, since he was already expecting the worst.
No, Dad. That’s the problem. Nothing ever happens. Riley closed her lips over that retort and said, “No, Dad. I’m calling about the guards.”
“Why? Have they been ignoring their duties? If so, I can send—”
“Actually, Dad, they’re too good at their, uh…duties. They’re too intrusive. I mean, the whole point is for them to be somewhat undercover, right?”
“I suppose.”
“Dad, everyone notices them, and they’re calling a lot of attention to me, as well as Megan and Lorna. No one here really knows who we are or who we’re connected to, and we certainly aren’t blabbing that to anyone, but with those two goons hanging around like our own personal Secret Service… Well, people are gonna start wondering. In fact, I’ve already heard people grumbling, asking if they’re perverts or something,” she fibbed, the best thing she could think of on the spur of the moment. “I mean, it’s three days, Dad. I’ll check in constantly and all that, but I gotta tell you, after just two days here they’re already standing out like sore thumbs.”
Richard Teeter cleared his throat. “I see. Well, I warned you that the place isn’t at all like our usual destinations.”
“It isn’t the place, Dad,” she said with a groan. It was very different, but that was precisely why she had chosen it. A frown marred her forehead. “Dad, I swear I’m not doing anything awful here, and I’m not planning to, but the longer they’re here the less chance I have of really enjoying myself.” She didn’t add that she deserved to enjoy herself just once in her life, as much as she wanted to say it; she felt brave at the moment, but she hadn’t traveled over to stupid.