"What do I do?" she finally asked.
I pulled her to me, needing to comfort her, needing to touch her. Needing to wrap my arms around her, and show her that even though she felt as though her world was spiraling, I was still there for her. "Let’s just pretend we know nothing, have a good time at this wedding, and tomorrow you can have a long talk with your folks."
"Okay. That’s probably for the best."
I kissed her softly and then said, trying to lighten the mood, "Don’t think I forgot you’re not wearing any panties, baby."
Ashleigh snorted. "I haven’t forgotten, but I still think you’re not going to do anything about it."
I grabbed her hand again, and we started back toward the reception. "That’s where you’re wrong. I know the perfect time to get you off."
Ashleigh was quiet as we sat at the table with her parents. If I’d been in her shoes, I would have been dying to find out what was going on too. We ate, we drank a little bit, and we watched as people gave toasts—even Ashleigh’s father.
"I’m not a man of many words, so I’ll keep this short and sweet." He turned and faced Everleigh at her table. "Twenty-five years ago, two of the most precious gifts a father could ask for came into this world. Since that day, I’ve wanted nothing except the best for them. I wished that they would find someone to protect them, provide for them, and love them like I tried since that first day. I thank God that Everleigh has found that man, and I’m happy to welcome you to our family, Douglas. Thank you for taking care of my little girl, and I wish nothing but the best for both of you."
My blood boiled at the speech. Most people had to know the circumstances of how Everleigh and Dougie met, and Ashleigh’s own father acted as if he was oblivious to it all despite my conversation with him.
What the fuck was wrong with these people?
I leaned over and kissed Ashleigh’s temple to show her that I knew what her father’s words had done to her. He might not know that the entire thing was a sham, but he had to know that his words would hurt Ashleigh. Was it only Everleigh and Dougie who knew about the agreement, or did the people it affected (the bride and groom and Ashleigh's parents) know as well?
After the toasts were made, Everleigh and Dougie danced, and from the outside looking in, they really did appear as though they were in love. If I hadn't seen the fight, I would have thought nothing was wrong. It was ironic that I was with Ashleigh under false pretenses, and Everleigh and Dougie weren't really a couple either.
People had moved to the dance floor after the couple finished their dance. I stood and held out my hand for Ashleigh. "Dance with me?"
"Sure." She smiled, but it didn't light up her eyes as I had seen in the past, and I had to change that. Her smile was too beautiful to be hidden by sadness about things she couldn't change.
We joined the other guests out on the dance floor. Song after song, Ashleigh and I laughed, we kissed, and we sang, forgetting all the bullshit and just enjoying the paradise we were in. When the DJ switched to a slow song, I brought her against me and swayed to the beat. I'd never heard the song before—it was country, and country music wasn't my thing—but I got lost in the words under the stars and the ball lanterns as the singer sang about getting lost in her eyes. I felt as though we were the only two out on the dance floor, and everything he was saying was exactly how I was feeling.
"I love this song," Ashleigh admitted.
"I've never heard it before. What's it called?"
"'Here Tonight' by Brett Young."
"I like it."
"It's so romantic."
The beat picked up slightly, and when he sang about lingering kisses, I took that opportunity to do just that. My lips brushed against Ashleigh's, lingering in the most sensual kiss I'd ever had. I wasn't sure if it was the words of the song, the moon shining down on us as we danced in Fiji, or if I was really getting wrapped up in her, but I did forget about everything and everyone around us. I wanted to stay there in that moment forever with her in my arms, and lose all track of time like the guy sang about. He sang about being all in, and even though the words terrified me, maybe I was? I knew there was something special about Ashleigh, and even though I wanted to prove my friends wrong, maybe I was falling for her?
I didn't know what was happening.
One minute, Nick and I were dancing and laughing, and the next, I felt as though something had shifted in the air. Like all the stars above were aligning and everything was falling into place. Granted, it could have been because the words of the song were about falling in love, but it also could have been because I was falling in love with Nick.
How could I be so stupid? How could I think that the feelings would be reciprocated? How could I let my emotions get the best of me?
I stayed in his arms until the song was over.
He cleared his throat, almost as though he was feeling something too. "Want to grab another drink?"
I nodded, and he grabbed my hand to lead me to the bar. Instead of ordering his usual, Nick ordered a double shot of vodka.
"Changing it up?" I teased.
"Yeah. You want to do shots?"
"Are you wanting to get me drunk to take advantage of me?" I joked some more.
Nick laughed and fingered the hem of my dress. "I don't think I need to get you drunk to fuck you, baby."
"This is true."
"So, you want to go back to our room?"
I smirked. "I do."
I did. I was over being at the fake wedding. Whatever was happening with my family wouldn't get resolved tonight because Nick was right. I needed to pretend I didn't know anything. In the morning, I would go to my parents and ask them what was going on. Until then, I wanted to forget everything except the way Nick could use my body.
Despite the way I was starting to feel, I was still paying him and might as well continue to enjoy the benefits while I could because, once we left paradise, I knew it would come to an end. Even with Douglas paying for the room like Nick had conned him into doing, I wouldn't be able to keep paying to date Nick.
We didn't say goodbye to anyone as Nick grabbed my hand and led me toward our bure. I didn't care at that moment because everything was a sham anyway. In the morning, I would get my answers, but for now, I was going to enjoy one of my last nights with Nick.
"You still didn't do anything about me being pantyless," I stated just before we got to our steps.
He stopped walking. "You're right. I’d planned on making you come on the dance floor."
"What happened?"
He stared at me, and I could tell he was choosing his words wisely because of his hesitation. "Just didn't feel right."
I suppose it didn't. Even if we had been in our own dancing bubble, my parents were still around as well as people I knew. Nick took a step, but I stopped him. "Before we get all hot and heavy again, I just want to thank you for everything."
"What do you mean?"
"When I hired you, I thought you'd be this bad boy who would come here and be a jerk to everyone and just be the total opposite of what people would assume I wanted in a boyfriend. But you've surprised me by sticking by my side and having my back through all of this. And I never would have imagined that there was more to the story than my sister marrying my ex-boyfriend."
He shrugged. "I was just in the right place at the right time."
"Yeah, but you didn't have to tell me. You could have pretended you didn't know, and after tomorrow when we leave here, you could have just gone on pretending you never knew anything."
He cupped my cheek. "I like you, baby. I want the best for you, and I know how much this entire situation has been eating at you. If I were in your shoes, I would be the same way, so I'm only doing what should be done."
I smiled warmly at him. "And I'm thanking you for that."
"You're welcome."
Nick kissed me softly, and then before I knew it, one of us had deepened the kiss and we were clawing at each other under the Fiji moonlight. I was once again
lost in this man—so lost that I didn't realize he was moving me backward until my heel hit the bottom step of our porch.
"I'm gonna fuck you now," Nick said against my lips, and then we were moving again, both of us stumbling up the few steps. He dug into his pocket, not breaking our lips as he fished for the room key. He got the door open, and once inside, he kicked it closed, never once removing his lips from mine.
I tried not to think about how my life would return to going to bed alone, waking up alone, and not having this strong, tatted man beside me. He said that after all of this, he was going to set me up with one of his friends, but I didn't want to be with one of his friends. I wanted to be with him.
Falling in love with the male escort I’d hired was never supposed to happen.
My back hit one of the chairs, and Nick spun me. He bent me over the back and ran his hand up my bare leg and under my dress, going straight for my heat. "I knew there was a good reason why you were pantyless."
I couldn't respond as he sank his fingers into me, causing my back to arch. He grabbed a fistful of my long brown hair and tilted my head backward. "I think you like not wearing panties, baby. You were already dripping for me."
I could only moan my reply as his fingers worked me, his thumb rubbing my clit rapidly and already bringing me close to the edge.
"When your fingers are deep inside of you, are you going to be thinking about me, baby?"
"Yes," I breathed, and it was the truth. I would think of him every time I got myself off.
"What about when you're fucking another man. Are you going to wish it were me?"
"Yes," I responded, not hesitating.
"Yeah, you are. You're going to wish it were me, that it was my fingers, my dick, getting you off."
"It could be yours," I moaned.
He leaned forward and whispered into my ear, "You're right. It's gonna be all me, baby."
I didn't know what that meant, and I didn't have time to think about it before I came around his fingers, my body shaking. Nick used his free arm to hold me up so I didn't turn into a puddle of mush at his feet.
I still didn't respond as I tried to come down while Nick walked to his side of the bed and grabbed a condom. Without taking off his pants, he sheathed himself and then came back, keeping me bent over the chair and driving into me.
He fucked me.
He fucked me hard.
He fucked me all night long.
I woke to a god-awful alarm. Outside, air sirens were going off, making it sound as though we were under attack. I sat up, the sheet pooling around my naked torso. "What the hell is that?"
"I don't know," Nick stated as he sat up.
Our cell phones started to go off with alerts, and I grabbed mine off of the nightstand.
Event Type: SEAQUAKE Magnitude 9.2
SMS TSUNAMI WARNING
WARNING — EARTHQUAKE/TSUNAMI ALERT
I didn't finish reading the alert on my phone. Instead, I turned to Nick and said, "It's a tsunami warning."
Ashleigh and I quickly got dressed. We didn't know how much time we had, and when we looked out the window at our ocean view, it looked like any other morning that we had seen the water. There wasn't some giant wave forming or anything alarming, and I wasn't sure what that meant.
We packed as much as we could in two minutes, grabbed our cell phones, and when we opened the door to go outside, people were frantically running around. Some with luggage, some without. Some were carrying their kids, and some were alone. Neither Ashleigh nor I knew exactly what to do. We both lived in the fucking desert, but the only thing we could think of was that we needed to get to higher ground. We followed the people as we made our way toward the lobby, which was inland.
"What about my parents? What about my sister?" she asked as we got closer to the building.
"I'm sure they're going to the lobby too."
"Right."
When we got into the main part of the hotel, staff members were waving people to the front door. "Get to higher ground," they were saying.
I stopped by one of them and asked, "How do we get to higher ground if we don't have a car?"
"The hotel shuttles or find a ride," he replied. "But try not to worry. We have a lot of tsunami warnings."
That didn't really put me at ease because everyone was running around as though it wasn't normal. I turned to Ashleigh, who was looking around for her family. "Do any of our people have cars?"
She shrugged. "I don't know."
I didn't like what I needed to say next because I couldn't imagine if it were my family that we were waiting for. "I don't know how long we can wait for them."
"We can't leave them."
I placed my hands on her arms and looked directly into her chocolate eyes. "I know they're your family, but we can't outrun a fucking tidal wave, baby."
"I just don't understand how they aren't here already."
"Maybe they had a car and they're already on their way to higher ground," I suggested.
Ashleigh nodded slowly as though she was processing my words. "Yeah, maybe."
It wouldn't surprise me if they did leave without thinking about her. I fucking hated thinking that, but based on the way they had treated her in the past, I wouldn't put it past them.
"We can fit two more," a staffer called out.
"Go with Filipe," the other staffer said.
I raised my hand to let the driver know we were coming. "We gotta go."
Ashleigh took my hand. "I fuckin' hate this."
"Me, too."
We got into the shuttle and took our seats in the very back, our luggage in our laps. Her family wasn't on the shuttle, and I hoped to myself that they did leave her behind. It would cause more drama between everyone again, but at least everyone would be safe.
"Where are we going?" someone asked as the small bus pulled out of the parking lot.
"Just up," the driver responded. He pulled out his cell phone. "It's me. We're evacuating the hotel right now. If a wave hits, there's no telling what it's going to look like tomorrow. No, listen to me. I have the guests with me right now. I need you to meet us at Zone D."
Was this guy leaving his family members to find safety on their own? I couldn't imagine having to keep a level head and help anyone but Ashleigh and myself. I supposed that was why my friends thought I was the prick in our group. All of them—even Vinny since he was a teacher—had some sort of hero complex.
And then there was me.
Before Ashleigh, I did only think about myself. I had no one else to worry about. Of course, I cared for my friends and family, and when shit went down with my friends, I had worried about them. Fuck, when Brad got shot, I was the first one to get to the hospital besides Gabe, who was only there first because Mark had called him right away. I let them think what they wanted to think, but I did have a heart.
"Oh my God," someone gasped, and everyone turned around to look behind us.
When I did, the ocean that had previously seemed calm was no longer. The water was starting to pull away from the shore, and as we continued to watch, a giant fucking wave formed. A wave that I wasn't sure we would outrun because it looked as though the entire Pacific Ocean was forming a wall and would crash into the main island of Fiji.
The driver stepped on the gas. I grabbed Ashleigh's hand, clenching it as we continued to watch the devastation that would more than likely wipe out the paradise where we had just spent the last four days.
A destruction that was bound to kill.
I had no idea where we were except up by the time the shuttle stopped. We watched the wave break, taking out palm trees and buildings as we continued to climb. I didn't know if it had been at our hotel or somewhere else because the farther up we got, the more I didn't know where we were. I'd never seen anything like it before. I almost felt as though I was in a daze, that none of it was real and at any moment I would wake up.
But it was real.
"What if they didn't make it out?" Ashleigh asked a
s we waited for the others to get off the shuttle.
"We can't think about that."
"It's all I can think about."
I wrapped her in my arms. "I know, but let's think positive. Maybe they are here too."
"We don't even know where here is."
I looked out the window to see that we were on the side of the road and not at a building or hotel or anything of the sort. In fact, I couldn't see anything except trees and bushes.
"What are we doing here?" I asked as I got off the shuttle.
"We're waiting to see what happens," the driver stated.
"What happens with what?" I questioned and looked out at the water in the distance. The massive wave had risen the ocean, and it appeared that everything that was on the coast was now underwater.
This wasn't how I wanted to spend my last day in paradise, that was for damn sure.
"If another wave is coming," he replied.
There were gasps, and my eyes widened, looking at Ashleigh. "There could be more?" she asked.
I shook my head and sighed. I had no fucking clue how tsunamis worked other than it was a large wave from the ocean, and we had witnessed that shit already.
"It's possible," the driver said. "I'll be back."
"You'll be back?" most of us questioned at the same time.
"I need to go check on my family. We live on this side of the island."
"You're just going to leave us on the side of the fucking road?" I argued.
"There's nowhere else to go. You'll be safe up here."
"When will you be back?" a woman asked.
"Soon." He got onto the bus, closed the door, and then drove away with our luggage.
"What if he doesn't come back?" Ashleigh wondered.
"We could walk to another part of the island," someone said.
"What if there's a tsunami on that side?" another person questioned.
Paradise & Vodka (Saddles & Racks Book 6) Page 8