by Missy Lyons
“No, but we might.”
“Colt! I can’t be your mistress, ready to jump at your beck and call.”
“Why not? You said so yourself, it’s not like you have anything else going on for the next week.”
“People will talk.”
“Let them talk. They won’t be having near as much fun as we are.”
Susannah shook her head knowing arguing with him was pointless. “You might be used to being in the gossip rags every week, but I’m not. My parents would be shocked if they found out I was considering doing this.”
“Does it really matter what your parents think?” His tone was quiet but serious. He did have a point.
“I guess not, but I do still care,” she answered.
“I found out a long time ago it was useless fighting rumors. If you don’t give the people something to talk about, they make up their own juicy lies, not that it will be an issue this time. My hotel is safe from the paparazzi. They don’t have access, and they never get to see what goes on behind closed doors.”
“Uh-huh, right.” Susannah wasn’t convinced. The paparazzi were everywhere and lived off this kind of stuff. She managed to keep her name out of the tabloids for most of her life, but dating someone as rich and powerful as Colt Vance was certain to attract attention.
Her parents had made her stay inside for a year after she was kidnapped as a child. Every photographer in a three-state radius wanted a picture of the Gibson child who managed to get herself ransomed off by the Mexican mafia.
“You said you need a swimsuit. How about this little number?” Colt held up a handmade crocheted swimsuit. It had just enough lining and material to not show her nipples and her most intimate body parts, but it would mean shaving. Down there.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever worn anything that…” Susannah paused searching for the right words.
“Sexy?” Colt searched for her.
“No.” Her nose pushed up in distaste at the word. She hated to think of her clothing as sexy. “I was thinking more along the lines of skimpy.”
“I’d love to see it on you.” Colt nuzzled her ear as he held it up against her body. Having him this close to her stirred something deep inside of her soul.
His voice made her want to do things for him. It was strange. They barely knew each other, and she never felt this kind of attraction for anyone this early in the friendship.
“I’m not making any promises, but would you like me to try it on for you?”
“Would you?” His heavy brows lifted.
“Sure.” Susannah grabbed the tiny fabric of material and went to the back of the small shop where she met up with the retail clerk. She looked down at the name tag Debbie and the mountain of clothes she collected.
“Is that all for me?” Susannah asked in surprise.
“Yes, of course. You do need clothing for an entire week, right?” The clerk seemed mildly annoyed.
“It’s just a week,” Susannah muttered, but Debbie seemed to ignore her and pushed her into the nearest fitting room along with the plundered clothes.
“If you need anything at all, please let me know,” Debbie said before she left and the door shut behind her.
“Are you sure there isn’t something I can get for you, Mr. Vance?” Susannah heard the associate ask Colt, but the way she talked to him was in this throaty purr that had a sexual undertone. It was the kind of voice used in the bedroom, not in public, and it irritated her that she knew his name. Of course, on an island this small, everyone probably knew everyone. It wasn’t like he took all his girlfriends here.
“No, thanks,” he answered.
“I won’t be far if you change your mind.”
Susannah heard her leave, and she was grateful to not have to feel like she was competing with the other woman for Colt’s attention.
She muttered to herself as she tried to undress and find something to change into. She decided to try on the bathing suit that Colt picked out first. The bottoms went on easily enough but the top was like trying to put on a wet noodle. The thin strings kept slipping from her fingers and she couldn’t see what she was doing behind her back. She tried to use the mirror to her advantage and reach behind her back for the strings.
She lost her balance and went slamming into the wall, making quite a bit of noise in the process.
Thud.
She squeaked out a sharp, high-pitched, painful noise after landing on her butt.
“Do you need some help in there?” Colt asked with obvious concern in his voice.
“No—don’t worry. I’m fine,” she said all too quickly while examining her rear for bruising in the mirror. There was a red mark where she hit the small bench in the corner, but it was otherwise unblemished flesh. It was too soon to tell, but she was sure that she would have some black-and-blue marks from that fall. It was too painful not to have some lasting evidence.
She was half naked in the little stall, and having him come in would be more than she could handle. Then again it could get her on the fast track to getting pregnant and satisfying her parents’ request quicker. He also would be less likely to have another condom in his wallet after just using the last one in the airplane.
“Are you sure? You don’t sound fine,” he questioned again with more concern in his voice.
“Yeah,” she wavered, “on second thought why don’t you help me with this?” She used a really soft voice meant only for him but made no attempt to cover her naked top. Hopefully, the sales clerk wouldn’t even notice his disappearance for a few minutes and a few minutes would be all she needed. “I can’t quite reach this to tie it up.”
“Okay, I’m coming in,” Colt announced.
As if it mattered. She gave him a full-frontal view of her nearly naked body. Susannah smiled gracefully and tilted her shoulders back to make her breasts even perkier and held the top of the bathing suit in the palm of her outstretched hand.
Colt froze in place. His eyes immediately drawn to her naked chest.
“Umm.” His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.
“Well, are you just going to stand there or are you actually going to help?” she asked. She was thrilled to the core that Colt liked what he saw enough to remain speechless. She imagined it wasn’t often that anyone got that kind of reaction from him.
His feet shuffled forward, and he came to within inches of her, touching her only to retrieve the small pile of strings and thin material. The door closed, and she was careful to latch it so they would get uninterrupted privacy.
“This is unholy what you are asking me to do,” he muttered before untangling the wad of strings and material she just handed him.
“Why, Colt, I don’t know what you mean.”
“You are a vixen. This”—he shook his head and touched her bared breast, cupping it in his hand—“should never be covered up. Asking me to do it is like asking me to commit a crime.”
He ran the callused tip of his thumb over her nipple, and it elicited a gasp from Susannah. She swallowed, not sure of how to ask for it to go further except very directly. She put her hands on his chest and felt her way down his sharply muscled abdomen to his pelvis where a hard-on waited for her caress. “I thought you might enjoy the view.”
He kissed her on the lips, sharing his passion and his lust in a juicy smack. A shiver of anticipation went straight through her to the tips of her toes.
“I do,” he answered after a few minutes, finally slightly breathless. “I like it far too much to cover it up with anything but me.” Then, without warning, he sank down lower and put his mouth to her bare breast.
Her heartbeat sped up and her chest rose up and down as she took sharp, shallow breaths.
“You know I don’t usually do this kind of thing with guys I just meet.” She felt the urge to clear the air suddenly. He may be used to women that were willing to do anything for him, or to him, but she never felt this way with anyone.
With her previous boyfriends, it was them as much
as her. She never would have done it in a public place before today. Sex was exclusively behind closed doors in a bedroom, but not with Colt Vance.
He was exciting and made her want to behave badly and act on an impulsive naughty streak she didn’t know she had.
“You don’t have to explain, sweetheart. I don’t mind at all that you have a naughty streak.”
He pressed her up against the wall in his eagerness. She felt his hard, hot cock ride up against her thigh. Everything about him seemed to fit just right to her body. She wrapped her legs up around his midsection and ground her pelvis into his.
He grunted, and she answered with a moan.
A knock came at the door.
“Everything all right in there?” Debbie, the ever-helpful retail associate, asked after knocking on the door.
“Yes,” Susannah and Colt answered simultaneously.
“Oh, my,” she answered, clearly shocked.
“I’m okay. I’ll be right out.” Susannah fumbled to get back into her clothes.
“Look, I don’t mind what you Americans do in your country, but at Percy’s department store we don’t allow more than one person in a changing room at a time.”
Susannah fought to remain cool, calm, and collected. “I assure you it was perfectly innocent.” At least it started out that way.
“What is he doing in there?” Debbie insisted on knowing the truth.
Susannah cleared her throat in a silent warning when she felt his teeth graze her nipple. She searched her mind for a logical explanation. “Ugh, Mr. Vance was just helping me tie this string I couldn’t reach.”
“Well, I certainly hope there isn’t more going on in there. I don’t get paid enough to clean up messes like what I think you are doing. One of you needs to leave the room. Immediately.” Susannah listened to what she hoped was Debbie walking away.
“Maybe I should just leave,” Colt whispered to her.
“Wait a second.” Susannah scrambled to pick up her clothes in the tight space and put her clothes back on. “Let me finish dressing, and then we’ll go together.”
He waited like a true gentleman, keeping his hands to himself, but Susannah noticed that he didn’t stop looking. Colt may attract every single female creature on the island, but he only had eyes for her.
Her head swelled with the power of the thought.
She took her time getting dressed and gathering her things together.
Colt held her hand in his when it was time to leave. Susannah felt her face flush with embarrassment under the condescending gaze of Debbie.
It seemed like Debbie pretended not to notice the increased red on Susannah’s cheeks or the way her clothes seemed thrown on and kind of rumpled. She asked in the most polite voice possible, “Did you decide on anything?”
“Not really,” Susannah answered while patting the wrinkles out of her clothes. “I’m not sure any of these are quite my style.”
“We’ll take everything,” Colt said over her objections. “Just have it sent over to my hotel, care of Colt Vance.”
“Absolutely, Mr. Vance. I’ll have it charged to your account and delivered this afternoon.” Debbie lit up with excitement and gathered up the clothing abandoned in the dressing room.
“Hold the phone, I don’t need mmff.” Susannah’s train of thought suddenly ended with the impact of his lips on hers. Colt kissed away any further protest and all rational thought. She was weak kneed with lust and hopeless desire.
“I think you and I have some unfinished business to attend to, at my hotel. Isn’t that right, madam?” Colt asked in a tone that wasn’t meant to be answered.
Susannah nodded. It might not be enough to get him alone with her in a hotel for a few hours. Days might not even be enough to explore the strange sexual attraction she felt for him.
Chapter Eight
“This is the hotel I booked myself for a week before the boat arrives. Why don’t you wait in the lobby while I go check in?”
“It just so happens this is my hotel.” He gave her a wicked grin.
What were the odds? “Well, isn’t that a coincidence?”
“I don’t believe in coincidences. It was fate. You were meant to meet me and stay with me. Checking in can wait, can’t it?” Colt asked while nuzzling her neck.
If she didn’t do this now she’d spend all day in his arms, which more than likely would turn into a week in his bed.
“It won’t take long. I’ll be right back. I promise.” She carefully extricated herself from his arms and gave him a quick wink. She knew what he really was interested in was getting physical.
Susannah waltzed over to the clerk waiting at the counter and leaned against the wooden surface. Colt was good for her. She felt like she was on cloud nine with him.
“My name’s Susannah Gibson, and I believe you have a reservation for me.” She waited patiently while he tapped away at his keyboard behind the countertop.
“I don’t know if it will be a problem with your reservation, but they accidentally overbooked the hotel this weekend. Let me see if they assigned you a room yet.”
“What do you mean they overbooked the hotel?”
The clerk looked distraught, and it made Susannah feel a horrible weight drop into her stomach. “Ugh, how do you spell your name?”
“It’s Gibson. G-I-B-S-O-N. I made arrangements months ago. I should be in the computer already.” She licked her lips nervously.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Gibson, but I don’t see your name.” The clerk finally stopped tapping away at the keys and looked her dead in the eye.
“Check again,” she insisted with a nervous tremor in her throat.
He kicked his heels together, making a clicking sound on the tiled floor while looking down at the computer monitor again. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I just don’t see you.” The clerk gave her a sad face, but if he really cared he’d find her a place to sleep for the night.
“Try again,” she insisted while tapping her fingernails nervously upon the countertop.
“Aww, I see what happened. It looks like your card was declined for the charges and your room was given away at the last minute. I’m sorry, but there’s really nothing I can do.”
“You’re kidding me.” Susannah’s jaw dropped in her shock. Why would her credit card get declined? It wasn’t like she was delinquent in any of the payments. She wracked her brain, trying to figure out what happened. Her parents weren’t happy she was going to the Caribbean, and they were trying to force her to focus on settling down and having a family, but it wasn’t like they could…and then the light bulb snapped on in her head. They had set up that account and cosigned when she had no credit and was still in college. They probably cancelled the card, hoping it would force her to stay in the states and do their bidding.
“Is there a problem here?” Colt Vance seemed to appear out of nowhere directly behind her, and her body reacted immediately as she sensed his nearness. Heat lit up her insides, radiating to her limbs. Why the hell a man could affect her this way was beyond her understanding. She liked to be in control of herself—and this wasn’t even close to that.
“N–n–no, of course not Mr. Vance.” The clerk’s strong personality seemed to wilt under Colt Vance’s scrutiny.
Susannah jumped at the opportunity for help. She couldn’t be homeless for a week, and she couldn’t go begging to Mom and Dad for help. They’ve made it clear they didn’t want her to focus on her career. They wanted a grandchild. Yesterday.
“Yes, there is a problem. He doesn’t have my hotel reservation, and now I have nowhere to stay.” She felt tears well up at the corners of her eyes. This was her bad luck. She did not want to have to beg a room off her new friend. It would make her feel like a gold digger, like this entire affair was orchestrated from the beginning just to use him and his money. This was so embarrassing. She had to wait two days before the research vessel came to port to pick her up. When it did she would have a permanent place to live for the next six months, but un
til then she was homeless.
The clerk apologized profusely to Colt Vance, and his body stiffened at the sight of his boss. He explained his dilemma quickly and efficiently. “She never made reservations with us, sir.”
Not true! Not true! I made reservations months ago. This entire event frustrated her, and the fact of the matter was she still didn’t have a room…
“Well, we’ll have to fix that, won’t we?” He turned to Susannah and asked her, “I have a cottage on my personal property I use for guests. Would you like to stay there? There is a garden separating it from the rest of the hotel, but you would still have access to all the amenities and the pool.”
Relief swept through her body. She would have slept on his couch if she had to, but the cottage would be ideal. It would give her room to spread out after her daily research.
Hell, if he’d asked her, she would have slept in his bed. The thought of coming home to him was not an unwelcome one. In all practicality it would solve her problems of finding a father to her child.
Why he didn’t offer that when they had slept together already? Was there a girlfriend already? Was Susannah becoming a third wheel unknowingly? The thought was not a welcome one.
“Brandon, please make sure our guest feels welcome and have a bellboy bring her things to her room for her.”
“Yes, sir. Right away, sir.” Brandon pressed a button under the counter, and not twenty seconds later, a young man dressed in a uniform appeared.
“Please take our guest’s bags to the Mr. Vance’s personal cottage, Michael, and make sure she has everything she needs.”
“Thank you.” Susannah reluctantly handed over her backpack.
“Is that all, Miss?”
“Yeah.” Susannah felt a little nervous under all this male attention. She hated to think of what the hotel employees thought of her since they found out she had no luggage and her credit cards were declined. Now that Colt bailed her out, she must look like she was his personal hooker. She offered the excuse with a shrug of her shoulders, feeling rather lame even if it was the truth. “The airport lost my luggage.”