by Tia Siren
She casually turned her attention back to the bar. Gray was hard at work, and she noticed that he was wearing nothing more than a pair of brightly colored board shorts. He was golden brown and so hot, both literally and figuratively. Little beads of sweat dotted his skin, and she actually licked her lips as she gawked at his glistening, sweat-dappled flesh. She wondered what it would be like to lick him all over, to actually taste his body.
That thought had her squirming in her seat. She was thirsty, but she didn’t want alcohol. She was afraid that if she drank too much, she would lose control of herself, and was pretty sure that wouldn’t be a good thing.
Or maybe it would, she pondered, staring again at Gray. Maybe I should get gut-ripping, mind-numbing drunk so I’d have the guts to hit on him. Then again, maybe I’d be so sloppy that I’d make an all-out idiot of myself, she thought, remembering the way her friends stumbled back to their rooms.
The sun began to rise higher in the sky, bringing flesh-melting heat with it, and she sought shelter beneath an umbrella, still watching Gray. When a server appeared by her chair, she made a quick decision. “No thanks. I’ll go to the bar myself,” she said politely.
She stood and quickly wrapped a bright red sarong around her frame. As she headed for the bar she thought of a thousand things to say, but she forgot each and every one of them. She just stood there, dumbfounded, feeling stupid and awkward as Gray mixed a few drinks and winked at the girls who had ordered them.
“What can I get ya?” he asked, walking over to where she stood.
She said nothing.
“What do you need?” he repeated, an eyebrow raised.
“How about…you?” she blurted, surprising herself as much as she surprised him. Her face instantly went hot, and she could not believe that thought had so carelessly tumbled out. “Just kidding,” she mumbled and added quickly, “Just a diet soda.”
He smiled coyly, nodded, and walked to rack of glasses. He pulled one down, layered in some ice, filled it with diet soda, then slid it over to her. His adorable grin faded quickly, and switched to a bored expression.
Riley tapped a foot, trying to contain her annoyance as he turned away and gave another girl a long wink and a slow, sexy smile. Damn it. Here I am, and he’s just ignoring me. What now? As soon as he turned around. Riley put what she hoped was a sexy smile on her face. “Um, thanks for the pizza last night,” she murmured.
“No problem,” he said, then walked away without another word.
What the hell? Is this even the same guy, or does he have an evil twin or something? He seemed so different from the guy who squished into the booth with her the night before that she couldn’t think of what to say or do. She blinked a few times, then asked, “Uh, would you like to go to dinner with me?”
He slung a towel across one of his strong, muscled, perfectly glistening shoulders. “Sorry. I already have plans.”
Yeah, I bet—probably with that skanky brunette sticking that pouty lip and her boobs out at you from the pool. Good for you. I hope you catch an STD! she secretly raged. “Oh, okay. Just thought I’d ask.” Her eyes dropped as her faced burned with embarrassment. It had taken her a lot of courage to even ask, and he’d shot her down in less than a second. Halfway there, she realized she’d left her drink on the bar.
Instead of going to the pool, she changed direction and headed to her room instead. She knew she was acting like a spoiled brat, as she had no claim on him, but she didn’t care. She had gone out of her way to make an effort, and he insisted on acting like the giant asshole she had assumed him to be when she first met him. “Absolutely uncalled for!” she seethed as she made her way out to the balcony. He was a Jekyll and Hyde. Jekyll by day at work, maybe Hyde when he got off. She wasn’t interested.
She wandered back into her lonely room and plopped down on the sofa. She texted Megan to see if she and Lorna had already left; she received a quick response that said they were already in the air, winging their way toward Miami, then onward to the Bahamas. Well, so much for dancing on Pro Bono’s yacht, she thought.
Her anger was stupid and pointless, and she knew it, but still the frustration lingered. Was she jealous? Impossible! She also didn’t understand what was wrong with Gray. He’d morphed into an absolute asshole overnight. Maybe he wanted more than pizza, she reasoned, but that’s no damn excuse! I thought women were supposed to be the moody ones.
Puzzled and angry, she headed for the shower, hoping to cool her temper and figure out what to do next on her suddenly very lonely-looking vacation.
Chapter 6
Gray watched Riley slip away and couldn’t believe how disappointed she seemed. It was an unexpected reaction, as he assumed she would just give him a frosty screw-yourself glare and walk away with her cute nose in the air. Her soft little exit confused him. Of course he was a jerk to her, but he had to be. The blow-off really wasn’t a big deal. Most chicks didn’t take it that personally, and whether she knew it or not he was doing her a solid by not getting involved in her life.
As he thought about it, though, the guilt wouldn’t go away. They’d had a good time at the pizza place, and suddenly he was asshole supreme. It wasn’t really so weird for her to be so upset. In fact, she had every right to be mad because he’d done a damn good job of being a jerk. She seemed nice enough, and the last thing he wanted to do was make her feel bad.
He set the towel down and stared out at the sea. It was in the upper nineties, and everyone was in the water or lounging near the pool—everyone except for him. Once again he was stuck serving drinks all day to people he couldn’t care less about. “This job sucks balls,” he mumbled as he washed the glasses. “Dad needs to find someone else.”
He didn’t mind the work most days but the heat was getting to him, as were his conflicting feelings for a certain pretty girl he didn’t want to think about. On one hand, he really wanted to see her. On the other, he knew that if he did he would be conceding to his dad’s plans, doing what his dad wanted. No…what he needs, he thought, and that was the real rub of it.
His dad needed Riley’s father to invest in their business. They were practically tapped out. That was why Jon had not hired a new bartender. The resort was pulling in buckets of money, but it took even more buckets to keep the place up and running. They were on that very thin line between the red and black, thanks to that stupid money manager and the project in Destin, which would never get off the ground and would end up costing them everything if it failed. If it did take off at all it could at least be sold, but at the moment the property it was supposed to be built on was the only thing of value, and Gray knew damn well that there were other debts that had piled up thanks to the halted construction. Even if his dad did manage to sell, it would still put them in bankruptcy.
Shit. He decided he had to leave her alone because he didn’t want to drag her into that mess. He knew a well-off, spoiled person would never understand, except she didn’t really seem spoiled. She also was sweet, like she might just be understanding. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings or make her think he was only going after her because of her dad’s loot. He knew she would think that, whether it was true or not, and she would probably be right to some degree. When he first saw her he had marked her as hot but snobby, and he wasn’t all that interested.
Bull. He’d noticed her from the get-go. The way she moved, the hesitant part about her, the way she didn’t jibe with her friends. The bodyguard dudes had been her main giveaway. Those guys didn’t even look like they belonged. White bodies used to being stuck in suits. He’d nearly laughed at the burn on the back of one of them.
But Riley. Damn it. He hadn’t wanted to like her. He’d been fine brushing her off yesterday. Then last night she’d looked like a lost puppy and she smelled… Gray inhaled, almost imaging her scent mixed in with the alcohol and fruit at the bar. Until then and at the pizzeria, he hadn’t even seen her as a human being with real feelings. Now that he knew she had them, he was determined not to hurt them.
There was more. Sure, he played the ladies vacationing at the club. Why not? They were all looking for the same thing. Except it seemed different with Riley. He barely knew her and he knew that. He didn’t want to feel like the dick that laid the golden egg. There was no way he wanted to be the family whore, the fuck-for-cash hero of the day. I’m not just a slab of meat, damn it! The truth was that his dad had never seen him as the heir or even the help. His father, Jon, had no respect at all for his ideas—and he had a lot of them. All he had ever thought of Grayson, and he reminded him constantly, was that he was a slacker and a playboy. So of course his father wanted him to do his best in those roles and go after a hot woman just to save the family business.
As he checked the ice, the brunette from earlier caught his eye. She gave him a lazy smile and licked her lips in a gesture that could not be mistaken for anything else. Gray decided it was way better to fuck her than to get involved with Riley. She would only want more, and he had no more to give to her. He wasn’t her type. She was the kind who fell in love, and Gray knew he was only cut out for lust.
Why should he even care so much? She’d be gone in a week or less. Sure, she was smoking hot, with a great body that any dude would want. Why not just sleep with her and say nothing to Dad about it? I can keep it on the down-low. She had run up on him for a reason, and he knew very well what it was. Her reaction to him at dinner the night before was obvious: She wanted him just as much as he wanted her.
It should be that simple, but it wasn’t.
It was so complicated that it was almost laughable.
The brunette walked up and leaned over the bar, her enormous tits practically falling onto the surface. “You busy after work?” she asked, wearing a suggestive smile. Her hands moved along her own body as she straightened again, settling right on her belly. Her fingers pointed downward, toward her crotch, shamelessly suggestive.
Gray was willing to bet there wasn’t a single hair on her pussy, that she kept it bare and ready for whatever, whenever. Except, today, he didn’t want to be her next whatever.
The realization shocked him. He was usually ready for action; it was sort of his calling card. He liked women, and he especially liked women who liked men a lot. He had no idea why he said it, but before he could even stop the words he sputtered, “Sorry. I’ve gotta work late, and then we have a big meeting and some other stuff.” He was careful to avoid her alluring eyes as he spoke. He hated lying now, even though he’d never minded that before either.
Damn you, Riley Teeter! he thought, and his cock hurt and throbbed at the mere remembrance of her. He knew fucking the very eager brunette would take the painful edge off. Otherwise, he’d just end up jacking off in the shower again, and that had hardly accomplished anything at all except to make him bitterly aware of how much he really wanted Riley.
The one thing he couldn’t have.
Chapter 7
Riley spent the rest of her day hiding in her room, reading books and watching old crime investigation shows. She also treated herself to room service along with a nap, but none of it helped. She was hiding. From Gray, from life, from herself, from everything.
“I should just go home.” The words came out of her mouth later that evening as she huddled up on the sofa, utterly depressed by the day’s events or lack thereof. The doors were open and she could hear the ocean below, slapping against the shore. A sadness crept over with the sound of that splashy lullaby, burdening her even more. Maybe I’m just not cut out for a grand adventure. Or adventure of any kind, she reasoned. Nothing in her life had prepared her for one, and there was no reason to think she would be granted such an experience anyway. Wild times were for girls like Megan and Lorna, and Riley was just not one of them. This wasn’t a wild vacation, and even this low-key place felt bigger than her.
She stood and looked out the balcony. What was she doing in her room? She had a few days. Why not at least enjoy the view?
Restless, and annoyed with herself, she got up and headed out to the beach. The sky was a perfect arc of ebony, and the white sand gleamed like exposed bone as she walked along the sugar-fine drifts of it, warm bits occasionally squeezing between her toes over her sandals. The sea turtle habitats were roped off, and the sea oats whispered and waved in the silky breeze wafting up off the water.
“Hi.”
Her entire body stiffened at the sound of the very familiar voice coming from behind her. She turned, wary, with real, genuine anger rising within her. There stood Gray, the object of her disappointed affection, with his feet solidly planted in the foaming tide. “Hi,” she parroted, her tone guarded. The last thing she wanted to do was engage in a verbal sparring match with him, as she had no idea which of his personalities he was donning that night.
He approached swiftly. “Hey, I owe you an apology.”
“For what?” She didn’t want his sorry. In fact, she didn’t want anything from him, not anymore.
“I was a real douche bag to you earlier, and that was uncalled for. I just…had a lot on my mind.”
Like getting laid by that skank? She didn’t ask that question and only stared at him suspiciously.
He lifted his shoulders and dropped them. “Riley, I really am sorry. I shouldn’t have been cold and mean. I wasn’t in the mood to work. It was so hot, and… Well, it’s my job to make the guests happy and I treated you poorly. I guess I’m just more than a little frustrated these days, but I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
“That’s no excuse.” She swallowed as her eyebrows pressed together. “It’s not my fault it’s hot. Maybe you were pissed I interrupted something—” She cut herself off before embarrassing herself again. “I’m not going to do this. Excuse me please.” She tried to move past him, but he shot a hand out and took hold of her upper arm, sending a jolt of little electric tingles through her body.
“Wait,” Gray pleaded. “Don’t just… I swear I’m not usually such a dickhead. Can’t you give me a chance to prove it?”
“Really? So you’re nice at night and a dick by the bar? I mean, you weren’t so bad last night, so at very best you’re an ass with an occasional dick-free moment,” she said, instantly regretting the words she didn’t mean to say out loud. She certainly didn’t mean to sound like such a witch, either, but it was too late to take that back, just like it was way too late for him to apologize. “Look, I’ve gotta go.”
“Okay.” He let her arm go. “I deserve that but, again, I really am sorry.”
She peered into his face. Everything in her brain told her to keep walking, to just pack her stuff and head home, to forget all about that place with its wonderful ocean views, the long vistas of water and sand, and that hot bartender with the bad attitude and a personality as cold and hot as a bottle of Fire and Ice schnapps. “Okay then,” she stuttered, not sure what else she could possibly say to him.
“Would it be okay if I walk with you for a while?” he asked as she stepped past him.
Yes, I mind. I mind a whole damn lot. She wanted to tell him that, but instead something else tumbled out of her silly, snarky mouth: “It’s a public beach. You’re free to do whatever you like.” What the…? Vexed and irritated by her inability to just tell him to fuck right off Riley stormed away from the resort, her feet sinking deep into the sand.
“It’s easier to walk on the wet sand,” Gray suggested quietly.
She glared at him. “I know that.” She took a few steps sideways to maneuver herself to the darker sand, and it infuriated her that he was right. “I’ve never seen sand this soft before.”
“I know. I’ve been to Daytona a few times, and it always shocks me how hard the sand is there. I don’t see how people can stand it.”
“The beaches on the East Coast can be rocky.”
He nodded. “Yeah, not my favorite thing at all.”
“You travel a lot?”
He shook his head. “Not as much as I’d like. You?”
“Not as much as I’d like,” she mimicked,
wondering why she was even talking to him. Sure, he was being nice at the moment, but she was just waiting for him to go all Sybil on her any minute. “What are you doing after the summer?”
“Working. Same as always.”
She scrunched up her brow as she looked at him; his answer was just as vague as it had been the night before.
He shrugged and continued, “It’s one of those things I’ve been putting off thinking about, to be honest. I don’t mind the job I’m taking on, but I really wish I could do something else.”
That feeling certainly resonated with Riley, and their shared misery helped convince her anger to slide away. “I get that. I really don’t want the job I have either.”
“What would you do if you could do something else?”
She sighed. “I’ve never really thought about it. I mean, my parents sort of planned my life out for me, and time got away from me before I even knew I had a chance to say no, if that makes any sense.”
His chuckle was rueful. “Same here…well, in terms of my dad anyway. Mom died when I was a kid, and he hasn’t remarried.”
Her heart softened slightly. He lost his mom? “He must have loved her a lot.”
Gray hesitated. “Yeah, maybe that’s it,” he said, but there was a noticeable pain in his voice.
Riley surveyed his face for a moment, turning her head so she could see his profile. The sliver of moon was obscured by clouds and the shadows cast by the swaying palm trees that dotted the grounds of the many resorts set back from the beach. “What about you? I bet you miss her.”
“I was too young and really didn’t even know. I was only four when she died, so I don’t remember very much about her at all.”
Sympathy filled her. She still had both of her parents, alive and well, but she had been raised by nannies, maids, and housekeepers. In fact, the only time her parents really interacted with her was when she needed to appear as part of the family unit for good PR in a photo op or public appearance. For that reason, in some ways she knew exactly how disconnected he must have felt. “I’m sorry.”