Deceptively Yours (Wanton Weston Women, Book Two) (11 page)

She pulled on a robe and headed to the bathroom to wash up. Her body felt stretched and a little sore, but in all the right ways. She turned the shower on and stepped inside.

It hit her that she’d have to give her sister’s speech this afternoon. Her stomach instantly knotted. She worked her shampoo into a lather and her thoughts returned to memories of making love with Guy. Being with him had given her a dose of confidence, but not enough to face one of her greatest fears.

After breakfast she planned to study the notecards Suzanne had made up for her but she needed something to relax her. She remembered Suzanne had paid for a massage and a facial at the hotel spa. That ought to help.

She finished up in the bathroom then started out the door when she crashed into Guy wearing nothing but a sexy grin. His broad shoulders and six-pack abs reminded her of the passion they’d shared. But it couldn’t happen again. She was leaving tomorrow morning and she’d never see him again.

Regret tugged at her gut. She’d only allowed herself the one night so she wouldn’t develop any feelings for him. Problem was, he’d already left an imprint on her heart.

She pulled in a breath and detected the faint remnants of his cologne along with the musky scent of their union.

“Good morning, gorgeous.” He kissed her cheek then brushed past her into the bathroom.

She grabbed on to the doorjamb to steady herself. How was she supposed to say goodbye to him when just his mere presence weakened her knees? She straightened, tightened the belt around her robe then headed to the kitchen.

After she’d made an appointment for a facial and a massage, she ordered breakfast of juice, coffee, fresh fruit and muffins. Then she climbed onto a barstool and as soon as she heard the shower start, she began reading her index cards for the speech aloud. There was no way she’d have it all memorized by this afternoon but as long as she had the notes she’d be okay.

Guy came into the room wearing only pants and Laura’s pulse instantly leapt. He picked up the shirt he’d left on the sofa and pulled it over his head. “Practicing, huh? You sound great. I’m sure you’ll nail your speech.”

She doubted that.

“Just imagine the audience in their underwear,” he said.

“Where have I heard that before?”

Someone knocked at the door and Guy’s demeanor tensed. “Expecting someone?”

She got off the stool and strode toward the door. “Mm hmm. Breakfast.”

He hooked her arm and dragged her to a stop. “Let me get it.” He gave her a quick but incredibly steamy kiss that made her woozy.

What was it about him that rendered her a puddle of a woman? How could someone she’d known less than a day turn her on as if they’d been lovers for years? The mind-blowing sex they’d had last night must have been a weird fluke.

She watched him take a tray from the porter and every cell in her body shifted into high-arousal gear. Somehow she’d have to get him out of her system so she could move on with her day—and her life. He wasn’t even her type. She’d always gone for bookish nerds, not the jocks. Besides, from what she’d learned of hedonists, they were mostly self-centered people.

He set the tray on the table, poured them each a cup of coffee then held out her chair. No regular guy was this perfect. Maybe he was a prince or a billionaire in disguise rather than the headhunter he professed to be. Hadn’t she read dozens of romances like that?

Curiosity niggled at her as she sat down. “Does breakfast meet with your approval?”

He sat opposite her and threw her a wink. “It’s perfect.”

Perfect like him
.

She took a banana from the fruit bowl and started peeling it. “Some people are used to fancy meals. Not me. My background is pretty humble. What about you?”

He chuckled. “My roots
aspire
to be humble.” He spread butter on a blueberry muffin then took a bite.

Maybe he was trying to throw her off track. She bit into her banana and eyed him.

“I like the way you handle that thing. Kind of reminds me of how you handled something last night.”

Heat rushed to her face as she recalled the taste of his cock. She cleared her throat and tried to refocus. He’d said he was from Baltimore but not much else about himself. “Tell me about your family.” Not that he would if he wanted to keep his pedigree a secret.

Lines fanned out from his eyes and his lips flattened to a thin line. “There’s nothing to tell,” he finally said. “I have no family.”

She tried to imagine life without her three sisters and her mother. They were so close, such a huge part of her world. “None at all?”

“My mother was murdered when I was five. I never knew my father.”

The sadness in his eyes broke her heart. “I’m so sorry. I never would have asked if I thought…”

He covered her hand with his. “It’s okay. It was a long time ago.”

But she knew from experience that thinking and talking about those early traumas never really got any easier. She wondered who’d raised him but she’d be prying if she asked.

“What about you?” He sipped his coffee and stared at her expectantly.

“My parents divorced when I was a kid. My sisters and I stayed with our mother.” She dropped his gaze. He didn’t need to know that her father had been abusive although she sensed if she wanted to, she could tell him about it and he wouldn’t judge her. Too bad she had to say goodbye to him today…unless she indulged for one more night.

He’d said he was going to be there for her speech so why not make her last night of vacation count? The sex couldn’t possibly continue to be so amazing. Sleeping with him again was the only way to prove to herself that the fire between them had merely been a fluke.

She downed the last of her coffee. “You will be at the keynote banquet tonight, right?”

His throat twitched with a swallow and something unreadable settled in his expression for a moment. Then he gave her a warm smile. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

For some reason the notion that he’d be there took away a measure of her fear. “Good. I have an appointment at the salon in an hour, so I’d better get dressed.”

Guy shoved the rest of his muffin in his mouth and washed it down with coffee. “I have a few things on my agenda too.” He got up from the table when she did and pulled her into a comforting hug. Lifting her chin, he captured her stare. “You’ll do fine, okay? I have lots of faith in you.”

“Really? Why?”

He brushed his lips over hers, reigniting the passion that had carried her through the most blissful night of her life. “Because you’re wonderful and I heard part of the speech as I was getting dressed. It’s good.
You’re
good.”

Bolstered by his confidence in her, she smiled. Maybe she’d do okay after all. As long as she saw his handsome face in the audience, she’d be fine.

* * * * *

After a relaxing couple of hours at the hotel spa, Laura returned to her villa to shower and get ready for her speech. She checked her watch. Two and a half hours until the golf cart arrived to take her to the banquet hall, which gave her plenty of time to take a nap since she hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before.

Although she was tempted to stretch out by the pool, she didn’t want to risk a sunburn, not tonight. She set the alarm clock then climbed into her bed, and Guy’s scent invaded her senses.

“Don’t get too used to it,” she said in her empty bedroom. She’d have to say goodbye to him in the morning. Shutting her eyes, she pictured his handsome face and chiseled body. Her insides ached for his touch.

The buzz of the alarm clock roused her out of a deliciously sinful dream. She giggled as she thought about all the naughty things she’d dreamed Guy did to her, things she might ask him to try tonight.

She opened her eyes but something was keeping them closed. Reaching for the clock, she managed to shut off the alarm.

What the hell?

She attempted to blink but her lids had nowhere to go. Gingerly she touched her eyes and gasped. The skin was puffy and tender.

No, no, no. This couldn’t be happening. Not now.

Grabbing her glasses from the night table, she sat up. She must still be dreaming, a nightmare. But when she felt her way to the bathroom and tried to see her reflection in the mirror she knew she was having a waking nightmare.

She peeled her eyes open and came face-to-face with a cartoon caricature of herself in all shades of red. Now what?

Stumbling her way back to the bedroom, she called the hotel spa and asked to speak to Maya, the woman who did her facial.

“I don’t know what could have happened,” Maya said after Laura explained how her face looked.

Laura held back tears with great effort, knowing more swelling was the last thing she needed. “What did you use on me?”

“Our products are all a hundred percent organic with the finest ingredients. This has never happened before. Let’s see. Our products contain only pure olive oil, yogurt, lemon juice and royal jelly.”

“What’s royal jelly?”

“It’s something bees make.”

“Oh God.” She sank onto the bed. “I’m allergic to bee stings. Obviously I shouldn’t go near any bee products.”

“I’m so sorry, ma’am.”

She got off the phone then frantically searched for her allergy medicine. If she could get the swelling down and make herself presentable before the banquet it would be a miracle.

* * * * *

Guy set his coffee cup on an end table in the lobby then checked his watch. Passengers from the afternoon flight would be arriving any minute. He stood up, stretched, then headed to a display of travel brochures close to the reception desk and pretended to read one.

The group trickled inside and lined up to register. No one resembled Harry in the least.

“Charlie chartered a boat for the six of us for tomorrow,” a middle-aged woman with a Brooklyn accent said to her friend. “He says they can take us to some of the other islands in the area if we want.”

Guy picked up a brochure for a local charter service. The inside was a map of four nearby islands connected by dotted lines. What if Harry had come to Pleasure Cove Island by sea instead of by air? He could have flown to one of the neighboring islands then chartered a boat.

He gritted his teeth as he rushed to the desk and cut in front of a woman in line. “I’m sorry, it’s an emergency,” he told her. He waved over one of the clerks, a man in his thirties who looked as if he’d just smelled something really nasty.

“Excuse me,” Guy said. “Can you tell me if any guests arrived or will be arriving by boat today? The clerk puckered his mouth and shook his head. “We don’t give out that information.”

“Look, I think my girlfriend is planning to surprise me but I have a ring for her. I want to be there to propose if she comes.”

The man’s expression softened but not much. He glanced at the clock on the wall. “There’s a chartered yacht due in about ten minutes.”

His heart pounded. “How do I get to the marina from here?”

“It’s on the harbor side of the island. Turn right when you exit the lobby to the north path. Follow the signs to the marina.”

“Thank you.” He brushed past the woman whose turn he’d taken and gave her an apologetic wave. “Thanks for your patience.” Then he raced out the door and headed to the marina.

It was farther than he’d anticipated and by time he got there, he found one small yacht moored among the sailboats.

The vessel’s captain stood on the deck, polishing the fancy wooden railing.

Guy caught his breath then fished the booking photo of Harry out of his wallet. “How you doing?”

The gray-haired man shrugged but said nothing.

Guy came closer but didn’t board the boat. “Can you tell me if you transported this man?”

The captain wouldn’t look at the picture.

Guy peeled a fifty from his wallet. “Maybe this’ll help.” He offered the man the folded bill.

Scratching his head, the captain came toward him, took the money, then studied the photo for a moment. “Can’t really say. Both men were wearing hats and sunglasses.”

Guy put away the picture. “So there were two men? Anyone else?”

“Sure. A woman, blonde and quite a looker.” He winked at Guy.

“Did you happen to get their names?”

The captain crossed the deck to retrieve a clipboard. “Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Smith and John White.”

Guy clenched his jaw. It had to be Harry and his companions. “Did they say where they were headed?”

The man chortled. “Well there ain’t but a few places they could have gone. Pleasure Cove Island ain’t New York City, you know.”

Guy thanked him then started across the island to the villas. He called Rick on the way to let him know what he’d learned. Then he checked his watch.

Damn it.

Laura would be giving her speech in less than twenty minutes. He wanted to be there for her but he had no choice. Finding Harry took precedence, but there’d be hell to pay with his woman.

* * * * *

Laura gulped down her wine and prayed for a tiny natural disaster—small enough that no one actually got hurt but big enough to call for evacuating the banquet hall before she gave her speech. With trembling hands she refilled her glass from the carafe in the middle of the table, hoping the liquid courage would hurry up and do its thing.

Fat chance.

She fanned herself with her index cards as she waited for the master of ceremonies to introduce her. The allergy medicine she’d taken an hour and a half ago had brought the swelling down a little, but not enough. In her sunglasses her puffy red eyes weren’t so obvious but in the dimly lit room it was difficult to see.

As if I didn’t have enough strikes against me before.

She glanced around the room again, searching for Guy, but after the second row of tables, the rest of the hall was a blur. She set the cards down and threaded her fingers together on the table to keep them from shaking. A wave of sleepiness caught her and she yawned.

No more wine for me or I might nod off in the middle of my speech.