Chapter Seven
Holly couldn’t seem to wipe the grin from her face as she wove her way through the grass-lined path toward the private buffet where the staff was all to convene over a meal and hear today’s plan. A breeze blew her sundress, and she smoothed her hand over the hem, remembering when she’d flashed Josh. Was that just two days ago? It was, and that meant, including today, she had five more days in bed with Josh.
Muscles she didn’t know existed hurt as she walked, but the soreness was a sweet reminder of the things she and Josh had done last night. After sex in the shower, he bandaged her heel, and the second she felt his hands on her skin, she’d wanted him again, and again. She chuckled quietly. Honestly, they were lucky to get out of the room on time.
As she walked and reminisced about all the ways he touched her, and she him, she breathed in the warm scents of the island, lightly running her fingers over the palm leaves. Her phone chirped, and she reached into her purse. A quick swipe over the screen and she read the massage from Sam.
Did you do him?
She wasn’t one to kiss and tell, but dammit, she really wanted to spill to Sam, wanted to talk about this secret affair she was having with Josh. Although, she was afraid her friend would die on the spot if Holly told her she’d taken her dare and had the most mind-blowing sex of her life.
Do who? She texted back. Why not have a little fun and draw things out before giving Sam the deets?
OMG, you did. How was he?
Well, hell. So much for drawing things out. Sam was far too astute. You were right. I found a treasure underneath all those clothes.
So, he has a huge cock?
Holly couldn’t stop the laugh that rose from her throat. SAM! She texted back, then glanced around to make sure no one was watching.
Seriously you’d better tell me. I’ve been going through a dry spell and want to live vicariously through you.
Let me just say underneath it all, he had good bones.
There is only one bone I want to hear about, and it’s the one between his legs.
This time Holly laughed harder.
What did you say his name was again? Sam asked.
Why? Are you going to search him?
Yeah, I’m on Facebook now.
It’s Josh Steele.
Ooh, even his name sounds HARD.
There isn’t a soft thing about him.
Okay, now I just hate you. Doesn’t look like he’s on Facebook. Odd for a tech not to be connected. Let me check Twitter.
Holly waited for a second and caught sight of Josh off in the distance, exiting his villa and heading toward the restaurant. Her entire body warmed just at the sight of him. This morning he was dressed in loose board shorts and a baggy T-shirt, as usual. From her distance, she couldn’t tell what it said, but guessed it was something juvenile and silly. She shook her head. Josh Steele was all kinds of contradictions. Geeky tech guy by day, but hard, competent with his hands, and take-charge guy by night. It was like she had her very own Superman.
Nope, not on Twitter, either. I’ll check Instagram and Tinder later. Right now, I have to run to work.
Okay, I have to go, too. Bonding over breakfast. Go me.
Have fun. TTYL.
Holly tucked her phone into her purse. She startled a colorful bird as she turned to take the path that led to the restaurant.
“Hey, Holly, wait up.”
She looked to her right to find Colin coming her way, his long legs eating up the path as he quickly closed the distance. With his hair still wet and his scent soapy clean, he stepped up beside her. He was not quite as tall as Josh, but she still had to lift her head to see him. He smiled down at her and she returned it. Everyone looked so relaxed outside the office.
“Morning,” she said, noting he was dressed much the same as Josh this morning, but where Josh’s hair was longer, Colin’s was clean-cut and short around the ears. Very similar to the way her father’s security specialists wore theirs. That thought gave her pause. Could he be…?
Nah, no way. Colin had been working at Encore before she even came on board. Just a couple days before, but still.
“Did you get to bed right away?” he asked.
“What?” Good God, do I have sex written all over me?
He angled his head, dark eyes moving over her face. “When you left last night, you said you wanted to get a good night’s sleep.”
“Oh, right, yeah. It wasn’t long before I was in bed.” It wasn’t a lie, exactly.
He drove his hands into his pockets and longingly looked out over the ocean. “What do you think they have planned for us today?”
She followed his gaze and took in the waves. “Looks to me like there’s nowhere else you’d rather be than out there.”
He smiled. “There’s a coral reef not too far from shore. I’m hoping to go snorkeling before the week is over.”
They reached the breakfast area, and Colin pulled the door open for her. She slipped in and nearly faltered when she found Josh glaring at Colin. What the heck? What did he have against the guy?
Chairs were set around a big round table, and Holly took a seat. Colin settled himself beside her. Josh made his way toward her, but stopped to pull his pinging phone from his pocket. The muscles along his jaw clenched as he read the message. Who was he texting, and why did that person always make him so angry? Maybe she would ask. Then again, maybe it was best not to know too much about him. Once this week was over, things would be going back to normal, and hopefully she’d be stepping into the senior analyst position.
“Coffee?” one of the servers asked, pulling her attention back.
“Yes, please.” She turned her cup over, and the delicious scent of java reached her nostrils as the girl filled her mug then Colin’s.
Jeff stepped into the room, and the staff all seated themselves. Josh tucked his phone away and settled in next to Holly. The second she caught his warm scent, her entire body went into hyperdrive.
“Morning,” he said, and raked his hair from his face like it was an annoyance.
“Morning, Josh,” she returned, and took in his longish hair. Truthfully, it made him look sexy, a little rugged, hot as hell.
Beneath the white linen, his big thigh muscle pressed against hers. “How’s the heel after the walk here?”
“Good, actually. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been there to help me last night.”
His features softened even more, and his gaze moved over her face. He opened his mouth then shut it again. A frown creased his forehead, and he scrubbed the light dusting of beard on his face, a rasping sound reaching her ears. “Holly—” he began.
“Good morning, everyone,” Jeff said, dragging everyone’s attention to him. Josh pushed back in his chair, whatever he wanted to say cut off by their boss. “I hope you all had a good night’s sleep.”
Heads bobbed around the table, and Jeff pointed to the whiteboard behind him and continued, “I have a list of activities we can do as a group today.”
Holly narrowed her eyes and examined the list. Nothing really jumped out at her, but she did see snorkeling on there. Colin would be pleased.
Her phone pinged, and she winced. Shoot, she’d meant to turn that off. She reached into her purse, pulled it out, and was about to shut it down when she saw the text was from her father asking how she was.
I’m fine. If she didn’t answer him, he’d no doubt send a search party. Just working. Catch up with you later okay?
Holly we need to talk.
I can’t right now. Later, I promise. She powered her phone down and caught the curious way Josh was eyeing her.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, just, ah…just my dad. He’s what I’d call overprotective.” She made an unladylike sound as her gaze dropped to his T-shirt. Tech support: Control + Alt + Delete. “He can’t quite understand that I’m all grown up.”
Josh’s brow creased again as he folded his arms and turned his attention to the front of the room, but he seemed to be in deep thought about something else. Did it have to do with that text he’d received?
“Since Holly and Josh won the mixology contest,” Jeff said, “I’m going to let the choice be theirs.”
All eyes shot their way, and Holly turned to Josh. “What do you think?”
“Up to you. I’m game for anything.”
At the mention of games, and the ones they’d been playing, her internal temperature rose a few degrees. “Okay, how about catamaran and snorkeling.”
An odd look came over Josh’s face. “You like snorkeling?”
“Actually, I have no idea,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “It’s just that Colin told me there was a great coral reef, and I know he wants to go.”
Josh pushed his hair from his face, exposing a tight jawline. “So, you’re doing this for Colin?”
If she didn’t know better, she’d think he was jealous. But that meant he had feelings for her, and that just wasn’t the case here. What was between them was physical, and physical only.
She nudged him playfully. “Yes, but I know how much you like to sit on the bottom of the pool and think.” That pulled a smile from him.
“Fine, snorkeling it is,” he said out loud, and chatter erupted, most sounding pleased by their choice.
From beside her Colin leaned in. “Thanks, Holly. I owe you one.”
She smiled then felt Jeff’s eyes on her at the front of the room. She turned to him and said, “I’m all about being a team player.”
Jeff nodded. “Very good, Holly. Very good indeed.” He clapped his hands. “Okay, enjoy your breakfast, and we’ll meet at the dock in two hours. That will give you plenty of time.”
Plates of food were delivered, and she dug into her eggs with enthusiasm. She’d eaten so little over dinner last night, and after that, well, she’d worked up quite an appetite. Once the meals were finished, everyone excused themselves and made their way back to the villas to get changed.
Even though it felt weird to be wearing a bathing suit around her coworkers, and she hadn’t really planned to put it on even though she’d packed it, she slipped into her two-piece, applied a generous amount of sunscreen to her body, and threw a knitted, knee-length cover-up on over it. As she considered her shoes, not really wanting to walk barefoot on the beach again, a knock came on her door.
She tied her hair back as she padded across the room to look through the peephole. Her heart jumped and her body stirred to life when she found Josh standing there. If they were trying to keep this affair a secret, coming to her room in the middle of the day probably wasn’t the smartest idea.
“Hey,” she said, trying to remain casual as she opened the door for him, but when she caught him standing there in his swimsuit, it was all she could do to keep upright.
He held out a pair of water shoes. “I thought you might like these?”
“What…how?” she asked, taking a small step back. She’d received expensive jewelry and other various offerings in the past, but no man had ever given her such a thoughtful gift before. Was it possible that he really was one of the good guys? No secret agenda? “I’m…touched, Josh. Thank you.”
He shrugged like it was nothing. “No big deal.”
Maybe to him it wasn’t, but to her it meant more. She lifted her head, and he pointed to his feet. “Got myself a pair, too.”
“Where did you get them?”
“Gift shop. Size seven, right.”
She nodded. “Yeah, but how did you know that?”
He pushed his hair back and gave her a devilish, bad-boy grin that reminded her how well he knew his way around a woman’s body. “Would you believe me if I said Boy Scouts?”
“No.” She held one hand up, palm out. “And really, I don’t want to know how you know my size.”
He stepped up to her, his body crowding hers. “Why not?” he asked as he reached behind her head and tugged her ponytail, lifting her mouth to his. A thrill raced through her. Holy hell, that felt good.
Kiss me.
“This is just an affair, Josh. Who you’ve been with and how many women you’ve had in your bed is not my business.”
His gaze dropped to her mouth, and she automatically wet it. “You think that’s how I know your size? By the number of women I’ve been with?”
“How else?”
“Maybe it’s because I’ve touched every inch of you. Been inside you.”
“Oh, okay,” she squeaked out as sweet memories bombarded her. Her nipples tightened, poked through the thin material of her bathing suit. He lowered his gaze and blatantly looked. But what did he expect, when he talked like that? Well, it was just downright sexy.
“Or maybe it’s because I went back to the clinic to get your shoes.” He lifted his hand, her shoes dangling from his fingers. “You forgot them there.” He dropped them on the floor and the thud shook some sense back into her passion-drenched mind. She’d been so touched by his thoughtfulness and so overwhelmed by his mere presence she hadn’t even noticed that he was holding them.
He stepped closer, and as she soaked in his warmth, she felt color move into her cheeks. “Oh.”
“And for the record, I’ve not been with that many women,” he said, his voice dropping an octave.
“That’s hard to believe considering you’re so…”
“So what?”
“So hot.” Good God, what was this man doing to her? She’d never been so bold before. It had to be because they were playing a game and he had no idea who she was. It gave her a sense of freedom, allowed her inner vixen to come out to play.
He grinned. “You think I’m hot.”
“I think a lot of things.”
“Like what? How much you’d like to have my cock inside you again?”
A moan caught in her throat as he backed her up toward the unmade bed. “Yeah,” she admitted as heat raced through her. Good thing they were headed to the ocean and not back to the kitchen. She needed the cold water to tamp down the fever in her. Her knees hit the bed, and he brushed his thumb over her wet bottom lip. When he drew it to his mouth for a taste, her legs quivered.
“What about you, Holly? You’re hot. Have you been with many men?”
“No, not really.” She tried to look away, suddenly embarrassed by this conversation, but he cupped her chin and forced her eyes to his. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this.”
His gaze moved over her face. “You don’t have to hide anything from me.”
“I just don’t normally talk about myself much.”
“Why is that?”
“I just don’t.”
“Okay,” he said, and she was grateful that he didn’t press. He gave another tug on her hair, and her mouth opened again.
“We need to get one thing clear,” he said.
“What’s that?” she asked, just about ready to say anything he wanted so he’d kiss her already.
“This week, me and you only. Committed to each other until we leave here.”
Her head jerked back. Where was this coming from? “Yes,” she said. “I’m not interested in being with anyone else.”
His nostrils flared. “Good. Know this, I trust you, Holly. But I don’t trust Colin.”
This was about Colin. “He’s just a coworker. There is nothing between us.”
Josh shook his head and made a strange, strangled sound. “You have no idea, do you?”
She blinked up at him, feeling a little confused. “Idea about what?”
“You are so damn sexy.” His stepped back, his gaze moving over the knitted wrap covering her bathing suit. “As soon as you step out there in your suit, every guy in this place is going to want you. Colin already does.”
“I don’t think—”
“That’s because you keep your head down most of the time. Believe me, Holly. I’m a guy, and I know what I’m talking about.” He stepped back into her, one hand sliding around her waist as he put his mouth close to her ear. “Since this affair is a secret, I’m unable to beat the living hell out of him until he’s clear that you’re mine…” His tongue grazed the shell of her ear, and a fine shiver moved through her. “I guess I’ll just have to find another way to make it perfectly clear to everyone that you’re off-limits for the week.”
“But Colin is just—”
“Don’t say his name,” he bit out, his voice like a rough caress. He touched her cheek, brushing his thumb over her mouth. “Now, about these other ways…”
As he looked at her like he wanted to devour her again, a shiver of anticipation moved through her. He pressed his erection against her, his body conveying without words what he wanted. She moved against him, teasing, tormenting, wanting him in ways she’d never wanted another.
“What…what do you have in mind?” she asked.
“Oh, just that I plan to tie you to that bed and fuck you so long and hard that for the rest of this week, mine will be the only man’s name on your lips.”