Chapter 7
Sleep had been a joke.
The entire night I dreamed of Garrett’s mouth on mine, waking up more times than I could count with a sweet burning where his lips had been. Tracing my fingers over where he’d branded me with his touch, I wondered how he knew Jason’s name.
I’d never told anyone, yet Garrett knew.
Rolling out of bed, I walked to the French doors that led outside and pulled back the sheer curtain. Pressing my forehead against the glass, I squeezed my eyes closed.
Consequences…that kiss came with consequences, and it meant my mother was going to suffer. Her financial situation depended on my job, and his toxic kiss had made me forget that.
I pinched the bridge of my nose in disbelief. It had to have been the alcohol. He’d kissed me because of the alcohol, and I’d lost focus because of one too many martinis. Hell, he could have any woman he wanted. Maybe he’d let me go back to marketing and move on to the next pair of long legs in high heels.
In the dawning of daylight, several dolphins swam around in the water. I wondered which one I had to thank for splashing us the night before and breaking the spellbinding kiss. If we hadn’t stopped, how far would I have let things go?
I shuddered at the thought of his hardness pressing against my belly, of him being aroused by me. My eyes followed one of the majestic creatures as it came closer to the deck, and I whispered a thank you before it disappeared underneath the surface.
The sound of a door opening came from the next room, making me flinch. How am I going to face him? Should I pretend nothing happened? I’d told him that was what we were going to do, but how? I couldn’t even ask him how he knew about Jason for fear he would bring it up.
After showering, I styled my hair in loose chunky curls and dressed in a blush knit dress. I stared in awe; it had been a long time since I’d worn anything but long pencil skirts. The material hugged my curves, and the nude heels made my legs look longer than normal.
Shaking my finger at my reflection, I commanded myself, “No. Talking. About. That. Kiss.”
Even if he brought it up, it was something that had never happened, something not to be discussed.
End of story.
Garrett stood with his back against the railing, phone to his ear.
“I’ll be there. Wouldn’t miss it for the world, Avery. Yeah? Well tell Stone to mind his own business. Give Savannah a kiss for me.” He ended the call, his intense eyes starting at my face then traveling down my body and back up again as I walked toward him.
He made me nervous, but I’d gotten what subconsciously I wanted—him looking at me. I wanted him to want me. I wanted him to know I had curves and owned something other than boring work clothes.
His chest rose and fell, his eyes partially hooded. His gaze took me in from head to toe then landed on my mouth.
I swallowed the dryness in my throat and kept my head high.
I knew what desire looked like in a man’s eyes, and it was staring right back at me.
“Good morning, Garrett,” I said as if nothing bothered me, drawing his attention from my mouth.
“Morning.” He cleared his throat. “I crossed the line last night.”
“We made a deal not to talk about it.”
“It has to be dealt with.”
“As far as I’m concerned, nothing happened. We have a job to do that’s more important than something that didn’t meant anything.” I’m a liar—that kiss blew me away.
When I waltzed past him, I felt his gaze burning into my back as I forged forward. The sound of his feet behind me made me sigh in relief.
Chemistry zinged between us. I’d felt the electrical jolts just being near him, ever since the first time we were in Cordelia’s office.
You need to get laid before you attack your own boss!
We walked the pathway in an awkward silence, meeting Salvatore in the hotel lobby. He ran his appraising eyes over me and kissed my hand again in a charming gentlemanly manner. I welcomed his chivalry, giving him a wide smile in return.
Could I sleep with Salvatore? Could he put out the fire Garrett had lit? I took in his broad shoulders, dimpled smile, and lips that didn’t give me the slightest increase in heart rate. He squeezed my hand, looking at me as if reading my mind and accepting the offer I hadn’t quite made.
“Good morning to the beautiful Brooke Sheridan.”
“Salvatore,” Garrett said in a clipped tone.
“Ah yes, Garrett. I see you’re ready to get started.” Salvatore met his glare with needling amusement.
“We’re on a tight schedule. Something has come up and we’ll be leaving later this afternoon. I trust that’s not a problem.” Garrett scowled at me while he spoke.
The fact that we were leaving early took me by surprise. We were supposed to go to Bella Vista the next day. I whirled around, facing Garrett with a phony smile on my face.
“Should I have Greta make arrangements for a limo to pick us up at DFW?”
“It’s covered.” He dismissed me, turning his attention to Salvatore. “Let’s get started.”
“Of course. We’ll start inside and work our way to the outdoor amenities.”
The tour took all day and we worked through lunch, covering every square inch of the resort. My feet burned inside the ridiculous shoes, and I cursed myself for passing up the matching ballerina flats.
“Too bad you’re leaving Ms. Sheridan—I would have loved to give you a private tour along the beach at night. It’s quite magnificent.” He tipped his head to Garrett. “Save travels, sir. I’ll have my secretary send the final documents and we’ll plan on closing within two weeks.”
“I’ll be expecting option dates for closing by Monday afternoon.” His tone sliced the air.
“Consider it done.” A gleam flickered in Salvatore’s eyes. His commission on the deal would probably be more than twice my yearly salary.
After bidding him farewell, Garrett gave me another death stare.
“What’s with the all the dirty looks?”
He rolled his eyes. “Would you have fucked him?”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“That’s not really any of your business. You’re my boss, not my dating supervisor.” I marched past him toward the exit leading to the bungalow.
“We’re leaving in half an hour. Be ready,” he called out before spinning around and heading in the opposite direction.
Salvatore being suave and flirty had gotten to him. I knew he felt the same chemistry between us that I did, and he knew it was wrong as much as I did.
Alone in the bungalow, I shucked the heels off and moaned in relief. It didn’t take long for me to change into white capris and an aqua tank. My throbbing feet welcomed the sandals, and I hurriedly packed the clothes from the closet, including a black sequined cocktail dress I hadn’t had the opportunity to wear. The trip had been anything but paradise.
“You can kiss my ass, Garrett Mitchell. I won’t let you get under my damned skin! Who I choose to sleep with is none of your fucking business!” I whispered, packing the last of my toiletries. A moment later, a knock sounded on the main door.
Dumbass must have forgotten his key.
A young male dressed in the hotel uniform smiled and waved through the glass.
“I’m here to pick up Mr. Mitchell’s things and escort you to the car, ma’am.”
I blinked. Of course he didn’t pack his own crap.
He retrieved the handle from my hand and loaded it on a cart I hadn’t noticed sitting outside on the deck. While waiting, I walked to the edge of the water and phoned my mom.
“Hey Brookie. How beautiful is it?”
“Gorgeous. When we hang up, I’ll text you some pictures. How are you feeling?”
“I’m doing good. You stop worrying about me and tell me if you’re getting along with your boss.”
“Yesterday, yes. Today, no. He has a whiplash personality and can’t decide if he has a stick shoved up his ass or not, but that’s enough about him. What have you and Aunt Jilly been doing?”
“Oh no, I smell smoke.”
“Where’s it coming from?” My heart sped within my chest.
“No dear, I smell smoke between you and your boss.”
“Not hardly.”
“I hear it in your tone Brookie. You’ve never been able to hide a thing from me.”
“You must have gotten into the gin last night. Listen, I need to go. We’re going to a small island a couple of hours from here. He’s looking to buy another smaller resort. If I have phone service, I’ll call you again later, otherwise I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
Ten minutes later, I found Garrett leaning against the wall while carrying on a conversation with a tall brunette under the valet awning. She sipped from a fluted glass containing something sparkling, giving him her full attention with big doe eyes.
Across the way, I leaned against the stucco wall. He handed her a business card and she lifted her chin. Holding my breath, I waited for him to dip down and plant one on her. How dare he ask if I was going to fuck Salvatore when he looked as though he was about to have a quickie right there against the wall before we left?
Instead Garrett glanced over his shoulder as if he knew I’d been standing there all along, and then he sauntered my way. God can that man walk.
A lime green cab pulled alongside the curb, and my mouth gaped open when the attendant carrying our things started loading them inside the trunk. Narrowing my eyes, I wrinkled my nose.
“Thank you, Reggie.” Garrett handed the smiling attendant some cash. “I appreciate you taking care of my packing and accompanying Ms. Sheridan.”
He opened the door for me, and as I clicked the seatbelt in place, he climbed in on the other side.
“No limo? I’m shocked.”
“I don’t always book limos, Brooke. Sometimes I’m an ordinary guy.”
“I guess next you’ll tell me you ride a bike to work.”
“I do have a bike—a black Harley. I don’t ride it to work, but I do like the wind in my face, the vibration of power between my legs.”
“I meant a bike you pedal.”
He laughed. “I know what you meant, and yes, I have a bicycle.”
“You pedal? Or is one of those where you sit in a cart and paid staff do all the work?”
“I pedal. It’s great exercise. See? Ordinary guy.”
“But not so ordinary that you pack your own bags and roll them to a regular ol’ cab yourself.”
He eyed me carefully, his jaw flexing. “I thought it better to keep my distance from you.”
“And why is that?”
“Because you’re my employee, I kissed you, and I liked it more than I should have. Also, I didn’t like the way you looked at Salvatore in the least. It pissed me off, and I can’t tell you why it pissed me off.”
“Garrett, this is all the more reason I need to go back to George. It’s all wrong and has been since day one. I can’t keep working for you.”
“As soon as we get back, I’ll make the exception to standard policy and sign your transfer. It will be effective immediately, and you can resend your resignation. Jennings will draw up a waiver to protect me from a lawsuit. It’ll be classified, so HR will never see it.”
“Thank you. For the record, you have my word that I would never file anything with HR or in court, but that’s fine, have Jennings draw it up.”
He loosened his tie and unbuttoned his top button. His large hands caused me to lose my train of thought, remembering how they’d felt against my skin as he cupped my face…how he had kissed me into oblivion…
“After taking a tour of Bella Vista, we’ll fly back to St. Thomas tonight. The chartered plane will be waiting for our return.” His voice was flat.
My heart pounded. He was finally giving in, and it was as if all the aggravation, anger, and animosity vanished into thin air and dread took its place. I’d expected to be ecstatic about leaving the danger zone; instead I felt a craving to stay.
I smiled at him, almost afraid to speak, like he might hear the trepidation in my voice. “Thank you. You should give Greta a chance. She wants the job and is more qualified than me. She already knows you’re an…she knows your temperament.”
He laughed. “Say it like it is: she knows I’m an ass.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You almost did, and you did think it, so you might as well have said it.”
I rolled my eyes and almost laughed. Garrett had a shadow of a grin teasing his lips but kept it to himself. As we approached the tarmac, a plane sat on the runway underneath the orange sky.
“The sunset is beautiful.”
“Wait until you’re in the sky.”
“I’ve never flown anything other than commercial.” I left out the fact that I never booked night flights—there was something comforting about being able to see the land below while in the air.
“Are you nervous?”
I drew in a deep breath, releasing it nice and slow. “No, I’m good. I plan on getting lost in my book. Just don’t give me a reason to regret this or I may end up hating you.”
Garrett threw his head back in laughter. “A lot of women hate me, but for totally different reasons.”
“Why is that, Romeo?”
He laughed. “They all wanted more than I was willing to give. I’ve never lied or misled any of them.”
A guy dressed in khaki shorts, a tropical print shirt, and a backward baseball cap met us on the tarmac. “Mr. Mitchell, we had to take the plane we promised out of service and only have this six-passenger available. It’s one of our finer options, and of course we won’t charge extra for the upgrade.” He grabbed our bags from the trunk and transferred them to the small aircraft.
I climbed inside and buckled my seatbelt, fascinated by all the gadgets and buttons. When Garrett climbed in, he flipped a few switches and adjusted his seatbelt like it was second nature.
“Ready?”
“Yes, but hurry before I change my mind.”
He let out a chuckle before we started moving.
Takeoff was smooth, and Garrett had been so wrong—‘beautiful’ didn’t come close to describing the breathtaking oranges, purples, and yellows painting the sky. It was beyond magnificent and stirred my heart, sending goose bumps across my flesh.
“We’ll be there in a little over two hours. You doing okay?”
“This is better than okay. Oh my God, Garrett…look at this.”
He smiled wide. “Up here, you’ll never get the same view twice, and they’re all spectacular.”
More than an hour passed and amidst the darkness, millions of stars surrounded us. I stared through the glass, letting my mind unfold. His smile burned into my thoughts, and I wondered why he didn’t do it more often. It was as if he intentionally hid it from the world. I brought my finger to my lips, and I knew as long as I lived, no other man would kiss me so deliciously.
The plane suddenly lurched, and before I could look at him, it jolted harder. Garrett’s eyes were trained on the controls, and I didn’t have to ask—we were in trouble.
He flipped a few switches and reached for the radio.
Big trouble.
I saw the deep flicker of concern in his eyes and in his movements.
“The communication system is out. Everything is failing.”
Gripping the belt secured tightly around me, I squeezed my eyes closed.
“Listen to me: we’re going to go down. If I can’t make it to one of the small islands, we’re going to land on water. The plane is designed to land on water or on land, so hopefully we’ll be near a beach. If not, there’s a raft in the back. I can get us down in one piece, Brooke. The problem is after we land.”
“Oh my God. Can’t you do anything?”
“Listen to me. If you want to live, do everything I tell you to do.” His tone was harsh and stern.
Though the window, it was as if death stared back at us. A dark spot in the expanse was getting bigger and bigger as we approached. “I think that’s land.”
“It is. Brace yourself, Brooke. We’re going down.”