He glanced back at Ruby, trailing a couple steps behind him. Her sweater was around her waist, leaving her in tight red leggings that showed the shape of her legs and a white tank top that showed plenty of sun-vulnerable skin. Which he definitely wasn’t going to stare at. The red, wide-brimmed sun hat and large sunglasses hid a good portion of her face, but she seemed to be looking around at the scenery...with only a rolling carry-on bag? Did she forget the rest of her bags back on the plane?
Cristina and James were long gone, off to whatever secret hideout they were headed for this week. Adrian frowned. Irresponsibility was a personal pet peeve. Ruby was very organized at work, but maybe in the rest of her life she was a mess...
He cleared his throat. “I think you forgot your luggage back on the plane.”
She stopped, looked at the tiny rolling suitcase she was pulling, then back at him. “Right here.”
He let out an exasperated sigh. “I mean the rest of your luggage.”
“This is it,” she said, gesturing with her hands like she was presenting a game show prize. He narrowed his eyes, and she smiled. “I’m spending a week on the beaches of Hawaii. Bikini, sunscreen, beach wrap, sandals...did I miss anything?”
“One carry-on for a week in Hawaii? Are you sure?” They both looked at her little rolling bag, then at the full-size suitcase and rolling carry-on he was juggling. “I thought that women—”
“Stop.” She held up her hand. “I need to plug my ears before you say that stereotype aloud.” And then...she really did plug her ears. “Go ahead.”
She smiled at him, waiting. He just stared at her, completely at a loss, as she continued to watch him.
“Done?”
He didn’t know how the hell to respond to this little show, but there was no way he was going to stand there like a gaping idiot. Quick comebacks had never been his strength, which was why he’d always leaned heavily on his repertoire of scowls and glares. But both those approaches were significantly less effective from behind his “disguise”—sunglasses that Cristina and James had suggested—leaving him scrambling to find a way to dig himself out of this.
“We’re supposed to be discreet,” he said. “We’re disguising ourselves as Cristina and James. Walking around in a bikini and flip-flops might make that difficult.”
She shrugged. “I am discreet.”
“Red leggings?” He gestured to her outfit with a flick of his hand.
“If someone sees a person in a floppy hat, sunglasses and red leggings, they’re thinking about her style, not the specific person who’s wearing it. And this is the kind of thing that Cristina would wear. So yes, this outfit is discreet, even if it’s not subtle.”
She said this all with that sweet smile, one that he had long ago mistaken as naive. Wrong. She gestured to his suit, which wasn’t at its best after a full day on the plane. “You, on the other hand, are wearing the kind of thing that makes people ask who the hell is wearing a suit and sunglasses on a Saturday in ninety-degree heat? Which calls attention to you.”
He glared uselessly at her through his sunglasses. So much for digging himself out of this hole.
She sighed. “We should go. You’re probably dying to get out of that suit.”
Adrian was aware he was still staring at her, but he hadn’t come up with a single retort. The temperature and the plane ride and everything else about the last twenty-four hours was getting to his head because for the first time in weeks, he had the urge to laugh. He covered his mouth, trying to hide any traitorous signs of a smile.
“But a free packing tip for next time,” she continued, giving him that cheery smile. “If you leave the office wear at home, you won’t need that extra suitcase.”
A little chuckle escape from his mouth, and he turned away before another came.
“Ready when you are,” she said, heading for the car, but he caught a hint of satisfaction in her expression.
They found their car, and the driver loaded their luggage while they settled in for the ride to the northeastern side of the Big Island. Adrian kept his gaze out the window, trying to forget that Ruby was in the seat next to him.
It was impossible. Even when he shut his eyes, that faint coconut scent found its way across the car to him. He’d spent the torturously long plane ride trying not to think about it. The scent was from her hair. He’d confirmed that in a moment of weakness when she’d dozed off and tipped her head toward him. Ruby had fallen asleep immediately after takeoff and slept almost the entire plane ride in a way that seemed incredibly unfair, considering he’d only nodded off a couple times. Plus, it meant he’d had to actively ignore her thigh, resting against his a few times, and once, the way her shirt rode up, exposing a little portion of the soft-looking skin of her stomach. Which he definitely hadn’t stared at.
As the car started through the barren lava landscape, Ruby took off her hat and sunglasses and turned to face him.
“We need to talk about the week,” she said, giving his crumpled suit a skeptical glance. “I have some ideas.”
He, on the other hand, had been trying hard not to think about spending a week in an enclosed space with her. “Go ahead.”
“Most obviously, we’ll keep close to the cabin as much as possible. I brought along a project to work on, and I’m sure you have lots of work to do.”
He actually hadn’t brought any work, a first in a long time, but he nodded anyway.
“The social media plan I created for Cristina included posts three times per day. We’ll need to start right away with the photos.”
He suppressed a groan. “That’s your area. You make the plan and let me know what I’m supposed to do.”
“Perfect.”
Well, at least they agreed on something. At least this time he had resisted the biting sarcasm he used when she offered to help him develop his “personal brand” a few years ago. No one was ever going to see photos of what he ate for breakfast or what he was wearing, and absolutely no one’s life was worse for it. Social media felt like an elaborate project in deception, and besides, he already had a personal brand of sorts.
Blunt was the term his family favored, though asshole was probably used more often at work, which was perfectly fine with him. Ruby almost probably had used it. Which he definitely didn’t care about one way or another.
“Cristina and I planned to post one photo a day emphasizing the luxury, one fun or adventurous activity, and one post focusing on intimacy.” Ruby listed them on her fingers in that upbeat voice she used in meetings, like the idea of intimacy was just another part of her job.
His heart thumped harder in his chest, and he swallowed, trying to ignore it. He could get through this.
“The photos should be aspirational,” she added.
“They will be, considering that we’re photographing a fake vacation.”
“They won’t be aspirational if we’re arguing or glaring at each other, for example...” She gave him a pointed look. “That also applies to pulling off our roles as decoys. Acting like an unhappy couple will get people to take note of us, which we’re looking to avoid. And as the person who’s fixed more than one public mistake, my experience says it’s always the whiff of drama that gets the word out.”
He blew out a breath. Ruby was probably right. “So act like a couple in public. Got it.”
When he glanced over at her, he caught the challenge in her gaze. “Can you handle that?” she asked.
“Of course I can,” he grumbled.
She smirked but didn’t comment.
Of course, they were going to act like a couple. What that absolutely didn’t mean was provoking her by putting his hand on her thigh right now, just to see if that challenging look would turn into something else. He wasn’t even going to think about that.
“So what do you think Cristina and James are up to this week?” she asked after a w
hile.
He shrugged. “No idea.”
Ruby raised an eyebrow.
“Seriously. James said nothing.”
“Huh.” She wrinkled her brow. “You don’t think they’re going to do something drastic with NY Creatives Media, do you? Like sell the company and move to Nepal?”
He crossed his arms. “Over Christmas? Without telling me, the CFO?”
“Good point.” She tapped her chin. “Do you think Cristina is pregnant again?”
The question stunned him, draining all inappropriate thoughts about Ruby and reawakening memories better left buried.
The year before, the couple had miscarried well into their pregnancy, long after they’d picked names and redecorated their spare bedroom. Long after they’d announced the due date publicly. The experience had wrecked James for months and had reawakened Adrian’s own memories of loss, still so sharp. Though he’d never say this aloud, the truth was he hoped that Cristina wasn’t pregnant—not if it meant the possibility of all that suffering again.
This was the last thing on earth he wanted to think about right now, so to distract himself he focused on Ruby, the lesser of the two evils. She was lovely, really, and he hoped she had no idea about loss like that.
Adrian shrugged a little of the tension out of his shoulders. “Last I heard, babies took nine months, so I’m not sure where they’d need to go for a week over Christmas. And if it’s just about getting pregnant, they could have done the job in the bedroom of a Hawaiian resort.”
“I suppose you’re right,” she said, leaning back in the seat of the car.
Of course he was. The truth was that he had spent a good portion of last night trying to figure out the answer to this same question. It was surprising that James had been completely tight-lipped about where he and Cristina were going and why it was so secretive. Something significant was going on, and Adrian didn’t even know where to start guessing. Something that required disappearing for a week, without anyone’s knowledge?
Adrian took the quality-over-quantity perspective on friendships, and he cared deeply about the friends he had. He had to trust that James had a good reason for the secrecy and try not to take it personally.
But what could that be? As the CFO, he would have certainly heard about large potential business mergers or partnerships. James wouldn’t hide something like that from him...would he? And why the secretive visit at this time of the year? Though...there were plenty of companies that didn’t close down for Christmas.
Adrian scrubbed his hands over his face. He’d had a long, boring flight to think this through, and he hadn’t gotten any further in figuring out what the hell was going on. The pained look on James’s face yesterday was enough to stop Adrian from asking him again. So he was letting it be for now. And concentrating on ignoring Ruby as much as possible for the next week.
* * *
Adrian held the door to the cabin open. He had that look on his face that Ruby had seen more than once since they left New York, like he was trying his best to be polite but still wasn’t sure if she deserved it. To be fair, he looked at everyone like that, but not everyone was rooming with him for a week. And presumably, not everyone had sex dreams about him either. He was also particularly good at getting under her skin, so the best solution, though possibly not the most mature one, was to get under his.
He had taken off his suit jacket, leaving the button-down shirt that showed off his wide shoulders and biceps. Ruby was trying hard to ignore that, in her dreams, he looked pretty much like this, his hair a little tousled and the sleeves of his shirt rolled up, like he was ready for a different kind of work. She swallowed.
“After you.” He gestured into the entryway.
“Thank you,” she said, ignoring the hint of irony in his voice.
She stepped through the door, tugging her suitcase behind her. The place was gorgeous, with low furniture, white walls and exposed wooden beams that spanned the high ceiling. In the corner was a palm tree in a tall, white pot, decorated with tiny white lights and red ribbons. There were a few other festive hints of Christmas in the room: red flowers on a woven red linen on the glass coffee table and red candles on the entryway table. She could see straight through the main room to where the private pool shimmered, just beyond the shade of their lanai. Beyond that was the bright blue of the Pacific Ocean, which stretched as far as she could see.
She glanced over her shoulder at Adrian. “I guess Christmas is—”
She stopped midsentence when she caught sight of Adrian’s expression. He was staring right above her head with a look that could only be described as abject horror. Quickly, she looked up, ready for some mammoth spider to fall on her head. But there was no spider. Instead, dangling from the exposed beam above was a generous bouquet of mistletoe.
Her heart jumped in her chest, and she glanced back at Adrian, but the panic she had seen on his face was gone. It had been there, she was sure of it. This was definitely interesting.
“You’re scared of me,” she said, fighting a smile.
Adrian frowned. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“You totally are,” she said, letting a smug smile curve her lips. “What’s the matter? Are you scared of finding yourself under the mistletoe with me?”
He didn’t answer, but his jaw tightened, giving her all the answers she needed. This was dangerous territory. Though he wasn’t her boss, he was still part of the executive team. Did that make him off-limits according to HR rules? Maybe. Did she want to know for sure? Not really, especially considering this whole week was a secret. Which meant what happened in Hawaii stayed in Hawaii. Plus, the fact that she was getting under his skin...this was too fun to stop now.
“It’s true,” she said, her voice bubbling with glee. “You’re scared of kissing me. Have you never kissed a woman, just for fun?”
She was one-hundred percent sure that was not true, but it was clear the comment hit the mark anyway. His jaw was clenched, and his eyes were hot with simmering frustration, but he didn’t answer. This was definitely not business-appropriate, but she just couldn’t help herself. After all the scowls and the disapproval she and everyone else had endured from this man, she had finally found a little chink in that impenetrable armor. And she wasn’t going to ignore it. He deserved a little goading, didn’t he? They were spending the week together, and this was a perfect opportunity to level out the playing field a little more.
“Don’t worry. It’s just a peck,” she said sweetly. “I can make your first time good for you.”
His expression turned stormy, but he still said nothing. Now she was far too drawn into this game to give it up. What would it be like to brush her lips against the mouth of this unfairly hot man for real? Would it be one more thing he’d approach with cool detachment, like numbers and schedules, or was there another side of him that she’d see? Time to find out...if he took her bait.
Slowly, she untied her sweater from her waist and dropped it on the floor. Next came her hat and her sunglasses. Her tank top was tight, and the neckline dropped low, revealing the tops of her breasts. His eyes darted down, and the fear was back.
“Don’t be scared. Many men like...”
Her voice trailed off as Adrian dropped his bag and headed straight for her. She stared as he stopped right in front of her. His gray eyes were filled with the raw sexual hunger she had seen glimpses of, but he was making no effort to hide it this time. A rush of heat coursed through her as they both stood under the mistletoe, so close. There was no way in hell she was backing down now. Looking up into his eyes, backing down was the last thing she wanted.
“Experience isn’t the problem,” he gritted out.
“Oh, sorry. Is it skill level? I won’t judge, I promise.”
She could barely contain her laughter. All this taunting was also distracting her from just how badly she wanted to touch him, but it was a losing batt
le. Her body was alive with the electric spark that jumped and sizzled between them. Holy hell, this might really happen.
“It’s been a long day,” he whispered. “You. Are. Pushing me.”
“And it’s so much fun.” She stepped closer, so their bodies just barely touched. Tension was pouring off him, mixed with the sultry midday temperature. It didn’t look like a peck was what he had in mind. Not even close. If he gave in, he was going to kiss her the way he did everything else—to win. Ruby wasn’t sure what was at stake anymore, but she was definitely going to come out on top.
“You should walk away now,” he growled. “You’re getting in over your head.”
Ruby laughed softly. “Are you sure we’re not talking about you?”
His pulse was jumping at the base of his throat. He was so close to giving in, and she was, too. He lowered his head, so his lips were almost touching hers. “You are way, way too young for me to kiss.”
Her breath hitched in the back of her throat. Those words shouldn’t be a turn-on, but they were. Her defenses were crumbling fast, and she had to end this standoff.
“And you’re way too old for me to have a sex dream about,” she whispered, her lips almost brushing over his. “But here we are.”
A deep groan rumbled in his chest, and then his mouth descended on hers, hot and hard, like he was making a point. A very sexy one. She opened her mouth to his and answered each stroke of his tongue with her own, gently biting his lip, inviting him for more. Another groan came, this one lower, and his lips softened. Then they were kissing, really kissing, and she could feel pent-up hunger simmering just below the surface. Her hand was in his hair, pulling him closer, and his body was a hard wall against hers.
You are way, way too young for me...
Oh, those words. They fueled each slow grind of her body as she moved against his growing cock. This was going to end with them naked, and she didn’t even care—
Pure Satisfaction--A Hot Holiday Romance Page 3