A Passionate Discovery (Self-Discovery Series) (19 page)

"Good
girl, because I was only half joking." He winked at her again, enjoying
seeing her flustered. She was his, he thought, a protective surge of jealousy
moving through him. The thought of any man taking what was his did not sit well
with him at all.

Carla
barely noticed the beautiful sea as they approached their destination; Jason
had a strange look on his face, and she could only wonder at what was going
through his mind. She couldn't believe he would actually think any other man
could hold her attention after him.

As he
struggled to understand his reluctance to share Carla, Jason gave careful
thought to one of the nights he had planned. The idea that she might desire
another man, let alone prefer another man over him, was an unpleasant one, and
he worried that the night he intended would backfire on him. Pushing such
thoughts from his mind he resolved to put a guard on his heart; he had no
desire to find himself pussy whipped, not when he had spent so many years
firmly in control of every aspect of his life.

They
disembarked when the boat docked and were met by the resort’s car. They could
have walked, but Jason wasn’t prepared to carry their luggage, not when there
was an alternative open to them.

Jason
found his thoughts growing darker with each passing moment, as the car carried
them the short distance to the resort. He needed to take some time away from Carla
for a while, that much was clear to him; he needed some space to work out what
his emotions were telling him.

Love was
not an emotion he had any time for. In his opinion it made a man weak, and
unable to take care of his woman. A woman needed a strong man to lead her, at
least any woman that wanted a part of his life.

Compromise
was not something he was good at; he avoided it wherever he could. It was
occasionally necessary in business, but he refused to do it in his personal
life; he wasn’t about to start now with Carla. He would give her the ten nights
they had agreed to, and at the end of them he would know what she was able to
deal with, and she would know what he could offer her. He was confident that
she would accept the proposal he had made to her.

When they
were checked in it was immediately apparent to Carla that Jason was a preferred
customer. The desk clerk, who looked decidedly nervous at the approach of an
obviously important guest, was nudged out of the way by the manager, who dealt
with them personally.

The
check-in process was concluded with a speed that was almost breathtaking and a
bellboy was summoned to take their things up to their rooms. He led them over
to the lift with the manager’s assurances that his staff were available, any
time of the day or night, to see to their needs ringing in their ears.

Carla
was floored by the way Jason was treated, not just by the manager, but by his
entire staff. She had never had such attention bestowed on her and it made her a
little uncomfortable, though not so uncomfortable as how Jason, Daniel and Scarlett
reacted to the manager’s behavior. All three of them acted as though they were
being treated in just the manner they expected.

Stepping
through the door behind Jason and the bellboy Carla came to an abrupt halt,
stunned. The room was unbelievable. Not only was it far bigger than any hotel
room she had seen, outside of a television show, but it was as luxurious as any
room in Jason’s house.

Everything
was so immaculate and expensive that Carla was afraid to touch anything.

“Carla,” Jason
called for her attention after tipping the bellboy. “Here is my credit card.”
He held out his black American Express card, keeping hold of it as she went to
take it from him. “I want you to buy yourself a sexy bathing suit. I want to
see you in something that shows off that gorgeous ass of yours. Think g-string,
and buy whatever else your little heart desires,” he told her, letting go of
the card. “I want you to have a great time today, but keep the iPhone with you,
I have no idea when Daniel and will be done with our meeting.”

“I promise
I won’t go crazy with it, Sir.” She smiled and put the card safely in her
purse.

“I want
you to go crazy, sweetheart, buy yourself whatever you want. Don’t even think
about what it costs, it’s only money.” He lowered his lips to her cheek and
kissed her quickly. “I’m going to freshen up and then I’ve got to get out of
here. You and Scarlett do whatever you want for lunch. Don’t expect us for
supper either; if something changes I’ll call you.”

She waited
until he walked into the bedroom before she allowed her face to show her
disappointment. She knew he was there for business but she’d hoped that they’d
be able to spend at least a bit of time together; it sounded as though he was
going to be busy almost constantly.

Walking
over to the huge glass doors that led outside Carla slid them open and stepped
out onto the balcony. The heat she had first noticed upon stepping off the
plane hit her like a blast from an oven as she left the air-conditioned room.

She sucked
in a breath at the sudden heat but quickly recovered and moved forward to lean
on the railing. How could anyone be upset when treated to such a view? She
couldn’t help wondering. The sight of the white sandy beach and blue-green sea
spread out before her brought a smile to her lips.

Inhaling
deeply she took in the salty sweet air, relaxing as her senses were assaulted
by the sight, sounds and smells of the paradise she found herself in.

Jason
hated to leave Carla; he would have loved to show her the island paradise he
had brought her to, but neither international law nor real estate development were
careers that cared about personal desires.

He was
working on one of his largest real estate deals ever, if it all went well he
would be adding a resort worth two billion dollars to his list of acquisitions.
While many people would have avoided such an ambitious purchase at a time when
the economy was in a slump, he considered it the perfect time to bail out the
current owner. He would get the resort at a bargain price, and he had the money
to keep it running until the economy turned around and he could make back his
investment.

Leaving
the bathroom Jason looked around for Carla, when he saw she was out on the
veranda he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Sweetheart,
when I make it back tonight I am going to make love to you right here, so
anyone walking by can see me make you scream,” he whispered the words sensuously
in her ear.

Just a few
days before, the thought would have shocked her, now his words turned her on.
“I’ll look forward to you doing just that, Sir.” She shivered in anticipation,
aching for him to take her there and then.

“Have fun,
my sweet girl.” He moved her hair to the side and kissed her neck tenderly
before stepping back and hurrying from the room. The temptation to take her was
overwhelming, but he knew he couldn’t afford the time; the people he was doing
business with wouldn’t appreciate the delay, especially for such a reason.

Scarlett
arrived a short while after Jason left and the two of them went out. They spent
a while exploring the resort, with Scarlett leading the way, describing the
delights she remembered from her previous visit.

Aside from
the swimming pool and tennis courts, which didn’t surprise Carla, there was a
gym, an on-call masseur, spa, sauna and a beauty salon that rivaled the best New
York could offer. They then reached the beach and the water sports center,
where they spent a while deciding what activities they would indulge in the
next day if they were left to their own devices again.

With the
exception of swimming Carla was a complete novice at all of the water sports
and activities on offer. Scarlett encouraged her to go for water skiing, if
they had the time, but advised against scuba diving since there wasn’t enough
time for her to complete the training and do any dives for fun.

Parasailing
was added to the list of activities for them to enjoy if they had the time; Scarlett
assured Carla she would love it.

Carla was
all for hiring a boat and spending an afternoon on the water, she thought that
sounded like a fantastic idea until Scarlett pointed out that neither of them
knew how to drive a boat. Seeing Carla’s disappointment Scarlett suggested they
see if their men were going to be free at any time, if they were they could
hire a boat then since both Jason and Daniel could operate boats.

Once they
had finished picking out the fun they were going to have on the water over the
next couple of days, Scarlett led her friend to the small avenue of shops that
catered to the resort’s guests. Along the way they were intercepted by the
resort pro as they skirted the beginning of the golf course.

It took a
few minutes for them to make it clear to the pro, who was full of enthusiasm,
that neither of them had any interest in golf, and didn’t care in the slightest
that the course was a splendid mix of challenges for the experienced golf,
while still being accessible to beginners.

They
reached the avenue a couple of minutes later and Carla was surprised to see a
clothing boutique, as exclusive as the one Jason had taken Carla to just a few
nights before, a jewelry shop and a sports equipment shop.

The sports
shop held no interest for either of them, but they did browse through the
jewelry shop. Carla was bemused by the lack of price tags and asked Scarlett
about it, who laughed and told her most top quality shops operated the same.
Anyone who had to ask the price of something couldn’t afford to buy it.

A number
of items caught Carla’s attention as they wandered around the shop, under the
watchful eye of the saleswoman, but despite Jason’s instructions to go crazy
and buy whatever she wanted, and Scarlett’s encouragement, she couldn’t bring
herself to buy any of them.

Knowing
that Scarlett was disappointed with her timidity, Carla left her friend to buy
the diamond pendant she was looking at and made her way into the clothing
boutique.

She spent
a short while just wandering around, admiring the fantastic selection of
outfits, until Scarlett rejoined her. Together they proceeded to spend more
money than Carla had thought it was possible to spend in one day.

Scarlett
spent the most money out of the two of them, but Carla allowed herself to be
talked into letting loose with Jason’s credit card. By the time they left Carla
felt as though she had bought herself an entirely new wardrobe of clothes,
certainly enough to replace all the clothes that Jason had bought her just a
few days before.

Under Scarlett’s
guidance Carla bought outfits to wear during the day, outfits for the evening,
whether they stayed in their rooms or were taken to a restaurant or a show, and
even items to tantalize her man in the bedroom. Carla doubted she would need
the night attire, and she certainly didn’t think Jason would allow her to wear
it for long, but she enjoyed knowing that she now possessed a couple of slinky
negligees.

Sexy
underwear was also added to the piles of clothes they bought, items that Carla
was sure would turn Jason on so much he would rip them from her body, an idea
that appealed to her greatly.

They had
such fun, once Carla overcame her shock at the bills they were running up, that
the sexy g-string bikini Jason had told her to buy was forgotten until they
were almost out the door. She quickly selected two, but when she tried them on
she was embarrassed to discover they were made up of just enough material to
cover her nipples and a thin strip that went between her legs.

“Wow,
babe, you look gorgeous,” Scarlett whistled when she joined her friend in the
changing room and saw her. “Jason is going to die when he sees you in that, not
to mention any other guy that sees you.”

“Oh God,
don’t say that Scarlett,” Carla moaned, doing her best to resist the urge to
cover herself up as she looked at herself in the mirror, disturbed by the
amount of skin she had on show. “It’ll be bad enough wearing this for Jason,
I’m not sure I could bring myself to wear it out in public.”

“You will
if Jason tells you to,” Scarlett observed, “and chances are he will, especially
if he’s with you.”

Carla
nodded, realizing her friend had spoken the truth. She didn’t like the idea of
wearing such a skimpy bikini around a lot of strange men, but she knew if Jason
told her to she would.

With the
bikinis bought the two of them left the boutique. Carla expected to have to
carry the clothes they’d bought back with them, and wondered how they were
going to manage that, but Scarlett assured her that their purchases would be
delivered to their rooms.

Amazed by
the treatment they received at the hands of every member of staff they
encountered, Carla was in a bit of a daze when they returned to the hotel.
Walking past the restaurant she was brought to her senses by the smells
emanating from it, which reminded both of them they hadn’t eaten lunch. The
excitement of the flight down and their exploration of the resort had pushed
food from their thoughts until then.

The moment
they made it to Carla’s suite, which was the nicer of the two they were
occupying, Scarlett got on the phone to room service. There was no menu that Carla
could see, and Scarlett made no reference to one as she ordered food for the
two of them.