by Melody Anne
“I’ll make sure she’s taken care of,” Drew said and shook her awake. She partially opened her eyes, as if it took real effort.
“What’s your full name?” Drew asked her.
“Trinity Mathews,” she squeaked at him. “I’m on vacation,” she added with a smile. Her small smile lit up her face, making his breathing shallow once again. He was trying to shake off the dizzying effect she was having on him.
“Are you here with someone?” he asked and found himself holding his breath. He’d noticed she wasn’t wearing a ring but that didn’t necessarily mean anything.
“No I’m here on my own,” she answered. “My head really hurts,” she added with another wince of pain.
“The doctor gave you a shot for that. It will work much faster than pills. It should kick in soon,” he told her. She lay back down and drifted off to sleep once more. Drew sent a staff member out to get him the information he needed on Trinity. She came back quickly and confirmed Trinity was there alone and staying in one of the smaller rooms in the hotel. Well, he thought, Ms. Mathews just earned herself an upgrade to his nicest suite in the building.
He called in a bellhop, “move Ms. Mathew’s possessions to the executive suite,” he said. He then had to wake her back up again.
“Trinity, the resort is going to move you to a suite,” Drew said to her. She smiled at him, as if she was only half listening to what he said. Drew picked her back up in his arms, leaving the blanket on her and trudged through the hotel. A few employees tried to approach him but quickly backed off, after one look.
He made it to the elevator and rode it to the top floor. There were only a few rooms on that level and you had to have a special room key to even get up there. The doorman was waiting when he approached the door and held it open for him. He carried her inside and laid her down on one of the huge beds.
She snuggled down into the feather mattress and sighed. The doorman left and he found himself all alone with the gorgeous female. He shook her awake again and she glared at him. He had to suppress the smile that wanted to break out on his face. It was obvious she was getting tired of his interruptions.
“Trinity, I’m sorry to wake you but the doctor said you need to get this lotion on, or you’ll burn badly and hate life even worse, come morning,” he said to her. The drug the doctor had given her must have also been a sleep aid because her eyes closed again and she was out cold.
Drew groaned, as he realized he was going to have to apply the lotion himself. He looked skyward and wondered how much he could take of touching her supple body. He sang out loud, as he poured the lotion into his hands and began rubbing them together. He didn’t want to shock her, with cold lotion, on top of everything else. Once he rubbed it around his hands for a while, he began applying it to her legs.
He figured if he started with her legs, it would be easier on his libido. He was wrong, so very wrong. By the time he got the lotion all over her incredibly beautiful body, he had a throbbing erection and was breathing like he’d just run a marathon. On top of that, he had sweat dripping off his brow.
He walked out of the room and quickly jumped into a very cold shower. He stayed there until his skin started turning blue and his goose bumps had their own goose bumps. He got dressed and took out his laptop to start working on some business. If he was stuck indoors, he may as well get back to work.
Trinity woke up and her first thought was how famished she felt. She smelled something delicious drifting towards her and laughed as her stomach growled very loudly. She noticed she was in the softest bed she’d ever slept in and then looked around her. This wasn’t her room. She began to panic as she looked around. She vaguely remembered everything that had happened.
She’d been swimming and the next thing she remembered was the sexiest guy she’d ever seen in her life, leaning over her, with panicked eyes. Those eyes had been the same color as the gorgeous sea behind him and his uncovered chest had been dark and muscled. She tried to keep her eyes open and listen to what he was saying. She hadn’t known men that gorgeous really existed, beyond a Hollywood movie or one of her romance novels. She was thinking it must have all been part of her delusions because men that hot certainly didn’t exist in real life.
The next thing she remembered was the throbbing headache. She had been really irritated when someone kept waking her up because then she had to endure the pain. She reached her hand up to her head and felt around. There was a large lump on the side but the headache was gone. She could vaguely remember a doctor giving her something. Whatever it was had worked magic because she felt really good.
She climbed from the bed and looked into the closet to see her few clothing items were there. She slipped a sundress on and followed her nose. The man from the beach was sitting at a table, in an enormous room, removing lids from what looked like a very good salad and seafood pasta. He spotted her and immediately jumped up. She had to blink twice to make sure she was really seeing him. She couldn’t believe he was real. She came really close to asking him to remove his shirt, so she could see if his chest and stomach were really as gorgeous as she remembered, while delirious.
“How are you doing, Trinity?” he asked her, with concern.
“I’m fine. Where am I and why are you here?” she asked with curiosity but not really caring all that much. She wanted the food that was on the table, though. He saw her gaze focused on the food and laughed, before he led her to the table and removed some more lids. She grabbed the bowl of salad and started shoving bites into her mouth. It was the best thing she’d ever tasted. She actually groaned, before she could stop it, then laughed.
“I’m sorry but I don’t know when I ate last,” she said and gobbled up more food. She couldn’t remember ever being as hungry as she was right then.
“It’s fine really; I was getting ready to wake you up when you came out. You have been asleep for fourteen hours. The doctor said he’d given you a pretty large dose of pain killer and I was checking on you often but still, I was beginning to worry. He also didn’t want you alone, so I volunteered to take care of you,” he finally answered her earlier question, or at least half of it.
“Where am I?” she asked him again.
“The hotel upgraded you, since you went through such a bad accident,” he said with a shrug.
“That’s so great. My old room was pretty spectacular but come on, look at this room,” she said with excitement. He looked around, trying to see it from her eyes. It was really nice but he’d gotten so used to luxury rooms he tended not to notice them anymore.
“So what exactly happened? I was swimming one minute, then all I know is I felt this horrible pain in my head, then blackness, till I woke up to see you above me,” she asked him, as she continued eating.
“I was out surfing and didn’t see you. I ran into you with my surfboard,” he said, afraid she was going to get angry. She surprised him when she started laughing. He stared at her, like she really did have a concussion and maybe he should call the doctor.
“Sorry, really I am but you have to admit, it’s pretty funny. I’ve never had a vacation before, ever in my life. I’m always the good girl who does everything right and always plays it safe and then on my first day of vacation I take a swim and get whacked in the head. It’s pretty amusing,” she said still laughing.
He had expected her to get angry or even worse, to know exactly who he was and threaten to sue but no, she was laughing like it was no big deal. He began to relax, which could be dangerous.
“I really am very sorry,” he tried once again.
“Seriously it’s not like you went out there on purpose and thought to yourself, ‘hmm I think I’d like to hit someone today,’ so don’t worry about it. After all, I did get this amazing suite and that’s worth a nasty headache,” she said with sincerity. “I actually feel a bit guilty about it because they could rent it to someone else. I’ll tell them it’s no big deal tomorrow,” she said, in a matter of fact tone.
“I’m sure th
ey are more than happy to let you stay here and recuperate fully. Why not enjoy the nice room and have a spectacular vacation. There are some amazing things to do here,” he told her. She wrinkled her brow, as if she really had to think about it.
“I’m too tired to even think about moving at the moment, so I’ll have to think some more on it. What time is it anyway?” she asked
“It’s about five in the morning,” he said with a yawn. “You slept the rest of the afternoon and most of the night,” he finished.
“Wow that’s a bummer. I wasted an entire day of vacation. I’ll just have to make up for it today,” she said with a shrug. He could think of ways of making the vacation pretty great. He hadn’t wanted a woman so quickly in too long to remember. He was starting to hope they could benefit each other.
“I’d love to be your tour guide, if you’d let me,” he offered her.
“Are you here on vacation too?” she asked.
“I am for now,” he told her. He was telling her the truth, partially. He’d come for a vacation but it was only supposed to be for a few days, then he had to get to work. He decided right then his vacation was extended.
“Well in that case, I’d love to have a tour guide,” she said and then she looked up at him with suspicion. She took in his surf shorts and t-shirt with a frown. “What do you do for a living?” she asked him suspiciously. He knew it was a test of some sort but he didn’t know what the right answer was. He knew he didn’t want her to know he owned resorts because she’d figure out quickly this one was his. He also didn’t want to stray too far from the truth because once you started weaving lies, it was really hard to break free from them.
“I work for the resort,” he answered her. It was the truth, as he worked nonstop at the varying resorts.
“Oh, you work here. But you said you’re on vacation,” she said, with a wrinkle back in place. He needed to be really careful not to chase her away.
“I’m off for a few days, which is always a vacation, when you’re in paradise,” he answered her. His answer seemed to be the right one because her face lit up and she went back to eating. He was blown away with the amount of food she was shoveling in. He had no idea where she was putting it.
“Well in that case, I could most definitely use a guide, especially one who knows the area but I don’t want to take you away from your other activities,” she told him.
“Spending time with a beautiful lady is never a hardship,” he said and gave her his most heart stopping smile. He’d been told by more than one woman, his smile stopped them in their tracks. He wasn’t above using everything in his arsenal to seduce Miss Trinity Mathews.
Trinity thought she may melt right through the chair when he looked at her like that. Her first reaction was to withdraw and say goodbye but hadn’t she just had a huge pep talk with herself about living life to the fullest. Why not spend time with the adorable local guy and see where things led on her short vacation. She’d soon be back in the real world, where she could be sensible once again.
“I just realized I don’t know your name,” she said and waited.
“My name is Drew and it’s my pleasure to officially meet you,” he said and stuck out his hand. She grasped it and felt some sparks shoot down her arm. She had to suppress the shiver of need rolling through her. Her vacation had certainly become far more interesting since she had decided to go for a swim.
Trinity finished her meal and headed to the bathroom to shower. Drew got on the phone and called his staff. He told them no one was to approach him with any business, he didn’t care if the place was on fire. He was officially on vacation and didn’t want his guest to know he was the boss. They were incredibly loyal employees and he had no doubt they’d keep his secret.
Right after he hung up the phone, it rang again. He saw the number was from his attorney and answered. He wasn’t happy when he hung up. His attorney was faxing papers over and wanted to make sure Trinity signed them before the day was out. He was worried there would be a huge lawsuit if she found out the person who had mowed her over was the owner of the resort. Drew really hated politics and lawyers.
He once again called his staff and asked the manager to handle the paperwork. He made sure they were going to comp her room, all meals and any activities she did for the rest of the week. Ms. Mathews had earned an all-inclusive, free vacation. He had the manager upgrade her return tickets to first class and the hotel was giving her a ten thousand dollar settlement as well. He had a feeling she was going to balk but he’d be there to talk her into it, of course as a friend and not the owner of the resort.
He prayed she didn’t find out the truth because it wouldn’t go over well. In the meantime he was going to give her the vacation of a lifetime. She got out of the shower and they headed downstairs. The manager called her into his office and presented his offer to her and her reaction was exactly as Drew thought it would be.
“I’ll sign your papers, promising not to sue but you really don’t need to give me all this extra stuff,” she said. She wasn’t used to taking any kind of hand out and felt greedy even considering the generous offer. It would be nice to take the money and enjoy a free vacation but it wasn’t their fault Drew ran into her. It wasn’t even Drew’s fault. It was just one of those freak accidents.
“Trinity these corporations make massive amounts of money and can afford it, besides its most likely coming out of the insurance anyway. Why don’t you just take what is being offered and have an incredible vacation. Just think of all the spa services and playing you can do,” Drew said, with a trust me smile on his face.
“You really think so?” she asked and he nodded. She then turned to the manager, who was nodding his encouragement, while holding out the pen. She finally took it and signed the papers, with reluctance.
“We’re sorry your vacation has been interrupted and hope this will make up for it. Please take advantage of all our services and fully enjoy your stay,” the kind man said.
“It really wasn’t bad and you’ve been very kind. Maybe I’ll use the money to go to one of your other resorts,” she said, like the idea really excited her.
“That would be excellent Ms. Mathews,” the manager said. “If you decide to do that, give us a call and we’ll make sure you get the royal service, for a fraction of the cost,” he finished. She knew she’d be far too uncomfortable to take anything else from them but she nodded her head.
She and Drew left the room and headed out, just as the sun was rising over the ocean. Even though it was very early in the morning, it was still pleasantly warm outside and the two of them sat down in the sand to enjoy the view.
Drew pulled her in front of him and wrapped her in his arms. Trinity knew she should pull away, as she barely knew the man but it felt so good to be with him. She caved in to her own desires and laid her head against his chest. Her first thought was the man was truly as hard as a rock. She’d never had such a desire to run her hands up a male torso before. She could feel heat pooling in her stomach, the longer she nestled close to him.
Drew was fighting his own urges as he held Trinity. When she finally relaxed and laid her head against his chest, he had to fight the urge not to lay them both down on the sand and love her, as the sun rose over the ocean. Her presence alone was enough to send his body into overdrive. He didn’t think he’d ever be able to look at a sunset the same way again.
“So, what would you like to do next?” he asked her.
“I told you earlier this is my first vacation, so I’m going to leave it up to you. Whatever you think would be fun and adventurous, I want to do,” she told him. He had to fight a groan once more because there was only one fun and adventurous thing he really wanted to do and that involved them being in the bedroom, day and night.
“Okay but be prepared for the consequences of leaving it all to me,” he said. He then stood up and helped her to her feet. Their hands seemed to slide together as they walked down the beach. For once in Trinity’s life she was in no hurry.
She wanted to enjoy her week in the exotic place and forget all about the real world. She was off to a really good start.
Chapter Two
The next few days flew by in a whirlwind for Trinity. She was having the time of her life with Drew and didn’t want the vacation to ever end. She’d invited him to use one of the spare rooms in her suite, not wanting him to leave. The cautious Trinity would’ve never done that. She was having a hard time not asking him to share her own room. She couldn’t be that bold, though. The only reason she was being brave was because she knew she’d never see him again after the week was over.
They were taking a late swim, in the heated pool and Trinity was actually a little bit frustrated. She had never in her life been so flirtatious with a man and he was either completely clueless, or didn’t desire her. She decided she only had two days left and it wouldn’t hurt her to put herself out there a bit.
She was tired of being the good girl and always being cautious. She was going to throw caution to the wind and see what happened. If he still didn’t make any moves, then she had her answer and could still call the vacation a success. She’d be unsatisfied but at least she was relaxed.
“Mmm this water is heavenly,” she purred, as she swam up close to him. The man looked so unbelievably good in nothing but a pair of swim trunks.
He’d been trying for two days to keep his hands to himself and each moment he was with her, it was becoming harder and harder. He almost laughed aloud at his own thoughts. That was certainly not the only thing becoming harder.
Trinity was quickly losing her bravado. She wished she could be one of those bold women who could make the first move and just lock her lips to his. She didn’t think she’d ever have that kind of courage.