Chapter Six
Nessa knew the exact moment Jace fell asleep. Already relaxed, his whole body went limp, his breathing slowing even further. Smiling, she stayed cuddled up to him for a little while, until her stomach rumbled loudly. So loudly, she feared she might wake him up.
Grinning, Nessa eased out from Jace’s arm and climbed off the bed. Picking her dress up off the floor, she put it back on and headed for the kitchen to see if she could rescue the pizzas. They weren’t fully cooked, so she took them out of the oven and switched it back on again before retrieving the glass of wine she’d abandoned. It was too good to waste. Sipping it as she waited for the oven to heat back up, she looked around the open-plan area with interest. The furniture was minimalist, glass and chrome, but looked expensive. The couch was white leather and a painting hanging above it looked vaguely familiar. Narrowing her eyes, Nessa stared at it for a long moment. It looked like a Georgia O’Keeffe. And she had a sneaking suspicion it was an original.
Well, the house had very clearly been built with no expense spared. The kitchen appliances were top of the line and she was pretty sure the gleaming tiles on the floor were Carrara marble. An O’Keeffe original just fit with everything else. Obviously Jace moved in some pretty exclusive circles.
Sipping her wine and walking around, Nessa peeked through an open door to see a lavishly equipped office, with three computer monitors on one desk. Stock market feeds scrolled silently across the screens.
She’d never asked what Jace actually did, she realized, but a stockbroker made total sense, all things considered. Some sort of commodities trader, maybe. He’d certainly have wealthy friends in that world and be accustomed to the finer things in life, like expensive wine. No wonder he hadn’t blinked at opening a $500 bottle of Grange. He probably drank pricier wine every night in New York.
A photograph on the far wall caught her attention. She glanced around, feeling a little like an intruder, before taking a step into the office to look more closely. The door was open, she justified to herself.
The photograph was of a woman, slim and fair-haired, smiling into the camera. A baby was held in her arms, as fair and smiling as she was. From the fashion of the woman’s clothes and the quality of the image, Nessa thought the picture was maybe thirty years old, but not much more than that. It was taken in Sydney, that much was clear; the distinctive shape of the Opera House was visible in the distance over the woman’s left shoulder.
A ping from the kitchen startled her and she hurried back to find the oven was ready. The pizzas would only take a few minutes to finish off, so she figured she should wake Jace. He was tired, but he needed to eat to refill his energy reserves.
“Hey.” Sitting on the bed beside him, she shook his shoulder gently. “Wake up, sleepyhead.”
“No,” he grumbled, an arm snaking around her waist to pull her back down beside him. “Don’t wanna.”
Laughing, she wiggled to get free, digging her fingertips into his ribs to tickle him. “Come on! Food’s ready and now I’m really starving.”
He groaned and let her up after stealing a kiss. “Alright, I’m coming!” Yawning, he stumbled after her into the kitchen and found himself pressed to sit down at the dining table while she dished up the food. “Hey, this isn’t right. I invited you to dinner, why are you doing the work?”
“Because you fell asleep on me.” She brushed a kiss against his temple before sitting down beside him and reaching for the salad she’d quickly thrown together.
Jace looked guilty. “Sorry about that…”
“I’m not offended.” Nessa smiled at him to show him she meant it. “It’s obvious you’re not quite up to peak condition yet, Jace. I’d probably have fallen asleep myself after that spectacular sex, except my stomach was rumbling too loudly to let me!”
“You thought it was spectacular?” He looked almost shy, like he was desperate for her approval.
Putting down her fork, Nessa leaned over to kiss him, slow and sensual. “Damn right, and once we’ve eaten I’m fully planning to take you back to bed and find out just how good it can get.”
“I am very much on board with that plan.” Jace smiled at her as she pulled back and picked up her fork again.
“Eat up your vegetables like a good boy then, and I shall think of a suitable treat to give you afterward.”
Shoving a deliberately large mouthful of salad into his mouth, he grinned around it as she laughed at him.
* * *
Nessa woke in the morning light, stretching luxuriantly. Every muscle in her body ached, but in the best possible way. Jace lay sprawled on his back beside her, the sheet tangled around his lean hips. A beam of sunlight slipped past the blinds to cross his chest, turning the brown hairs there to burnished gold. Fast asleep, stubble beginning to sprout on his cheeks, he was easily the most beautiful sight Nessa had ever awakened to.
Honestly, she’d like nothing more than to wake him up and carry on where they’d left off late last night, but the angle of the sun told her she’d already slept long past the time she needed to be up and moving. Slipping quietly from the bed without waking Jace, she found her clothes and pulled them on with a wrinkle of her nose; she’d have to move quickly to get back to her room and have a shower before she needed to get to work. Bending down, she brushed a light kiss over Jace’s cheek, but he never even stirred. She crept out with a fond smile back at him. No doubt he’d stop by the bar later. Maybe she’d let him take her out to dinner this time.
* * *
The pool bar was busy that morning; a large group of new resort guests had arrived the previous day and set up camp. It was a wedding party, Nessa soon discovered, almost thirty young people who were close friends of the bride and groom. They kept her busy serving beer and cocktails from shortly after she opened the bar, too busy to dwell much on the events of the previous day other than feeling the pleasurable ache in her thighs and groin whenever she moved.
It was about two o’clock which she spied Jace arriving; he raised his eyebrows at the crowd around the bar, but found himself a stool at the far end in the shade and waited until she had a moment for him.
“Hey.” Nessa dropped a coaster in front of him and smiled. “Sleep well?”
“Better than I have in a long while.” Snagging her hand, he dropped a quick kiss on the back of it. “I can see you’re busy, angel. Don’t worry about me.”
“’Kay. Get you a drink?”
“I wouldn’t say no to a mojito.”
She smiled and reached for the fresh mint stored in the cool box below the bar. “Coming right up.”
Nessa had served Jace his drink and was busy making a pitcher of margaritas for the bride and her friends when, from the corner of her eye, she spied Luke walking up to the bar. She wasn’t worried about the resort manager dropping by; Luke was a hands-on type and regularly did a walk-around of all the different facilities. She usually saw him at least once a week, and indeed when she was really busy he wasn’t averse to rolling up his sleeves and helping serve drinks. He cocked an inquiring brow at her now.
“Need a hand?”
“I’m good, thanks.” She gave him a cheerful smile, handing off the pitcher to the drinks waiter. “Get you anything?”
“I could go for a ginger ale,” Luke grinned back at her, turning to survey the happy, noisy crowd around the pool as Nessa scooped ice into a glass and topped it off with the amber fluid and a lime wedge.
“Your wish is my command. Hey, I think we need another keg of Carlton Dry; could you do me a favour and have main stores send one down? I’ve been flat out since opening and I’m worried this one’s about tapped out.”
“I’ll sort it for you.” Luke pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped in a message before picking up his drink and toasting her. “Cheers.” His gaze slid past her, and a broad grin spread across his face. “Hey, Jace!”
Surprised, Nessa turned to watch as Luke rounded the bar to greet the other man. The expression on Jace’s face was oddly panicked.
“I didn’t know you knew Luke,” she said.
“This guy?” Luke jerked his thumb at Jace’s chest. “I hope you’ve been taking good care of him, Ness. One word from him and even I would be out of a job.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Jace said weakly.
“Sure, sure, you know you’d never find anyone as good as me to run this place for you. Trust me, you’ll never find a better bartender than Nessa, but since you’re drinking one of her creations, I guess you already figured that out.” Luke chuckled, placing a friendly hand on Jace’s shoulder.
Nessa’s jaw had tightened, her lips thinning as she clamped them together. Obviously not trusting herself to speak, she turned away with a curt nod to pour more drinks as her server returned.
“Fuck.” Jace shut his eyes and groaned.
“Why do I have the feeling that I just completely put my foot in it?” Luke asked, glancing from Jace to Nessa’s turned back and the tightness of her shoulders. “She didn’t know who you were?”
“No…”
“And that’s a problem because…”
“We’ve kind of been seeing each other.”
“Shit, Jace.” Luke blew out his cheeks, shaking his head. “I’m sorry.”
Jace shook his head too. “No, it’s okay. I should have told her who I was. I knew no good was gonna come of keeping the secret, but it was hard to know what to say.”
“Yeah, because ‘I’m a billionaire and my family owns this whole island’ is kind of a big thing to hit people with right off the bat.” Luke’s mouth twisted. “I really am sorry. Nessa–well, clearly you’ve already clued in that she’s special. Would you like me to speak to her?”
“Oh hell no! I clean up my own messes, Luke. It wasn’t your fault, you had no way to know I’d been misrepresenting myself. No hard feelings.” Jace smiled to show Luke he meant it, but he never took his eyes off Nessa’s turned back, her tightly controlled movements which spoke of her tension and upset. “I think I’d better give her some space.”
“That’s probably a good idea unless you want to get brained with a vodka bottle. Want to come for a walk with me?”
“Also probably a good idea.” Getting up, Jace cast one more look at Nessa’s turned back before following Luke. “So, where are we going?”
“Marine biology labs. They’ve got a rescued dolphin in the big pool and have been treating cuts on her fins after she tangled with the props on a fishing boat.”
Jace couldn’t help but think of the day before and Nessa telling him she’d like to take him to meet the marine biologists and view the facilities. It was more than possible that would never happen now.
“Sure,” he said finally. “Lead the way.”