The Billionaire's Island Romance (The Romero Brothers, Book 3.5) (6 page)

Arianna looked uncomfortable at first, but
then she melted into a grin.

“Why do you always think two people dating
will get married?” Shelly playfully rolled her eyes, smiling.

“Because they are more compatible than most
couples I see,” Toni finished, as if they were not standing there.

“What do you mean by that?” Christian
chimed in.

“You’re both into commercial real estate
for one thing.”

“So?” Christian offered up, smiling.
Everybody loved to humor Toni, just as he loved to humor
them
at times.

“Well, that’s one sign that it would work
out best. It’s not just chemistry, you know.”

“Oh, boy. Here we go again,” Christian
said, lifting his beer to his lips.

“No, seriously,” Toni continued. “Why do
you think movie stars marry each other, doctors usually marry other doctors and
artists marry artists? Usually.”

“Why?”

“Compatibility. Understanding.”

“Understanding?” Christian cocked a brow.

“Yes. You see, when you are in a stressful
industry, it’s hard to understand your loved one.
Let’s face
it
,
we’re all human
. Take Alonso there. He’s a
doctor who works twenty-four hour shifts at the hospital at times. It would be
awfully hard to have a stable relationship if your spouse works nine to five
and doesn’t understand the struggles of shift work. I do hope he meets another
doctor to marry or a nurse,” Toni continued, getting slightly off track.

“You know something?” Christian said
thoughtfully. “You’re on to something, Uncle. I think you have a good point.”

“Don’t think. Your dear old uncle might be
pushing up there in age, but trust me, I have years of wisdom. Not to mention
I’ve made a heck of a lot of mistakes. After my first wife died, I married four
times until I hit the jackpot, right, dear?” Toni patted his wife’s hand that
rested on the table. She smiled.

“And you know what they say? The more
mistakes you make, the wiser you become. I made all these mistakes, boys, so
you don’t have to. Trust me when I give advice.”

“You know, Gramps does have a point. He
hasn’t let us down yet. Though we don’t always agree with his methods,” Carl
said, laughing.

“Anyway, it’s so good to see you again,
Toni and everyone,” Arianna said. “I have to get ready for the themed party
tonight. We’re getting things set up and then I have to be present to introduce
our special guest band.”

“Oh?” Toni chimed in. “Themed party? That’s
sounds good. When is it? What is the theme?”

“Oh,” Arianna hesitated. “It’s…um…later
tonight and it’s…a pajama party.”

“Oh, that sounds fun.” Toni brought his
pina colada to his lips and placed it back down. “I’m game. Let’s all go.”

Arianna flushed.

Carl, and now Zack who had joined them with
Blue at his side, grinned. “Um, Granddad, I don’t think it’s something you
would want to go to.”

“And why not? Arianna said it was going to
be a pajama party, didn’t you, dear? I have my PJs.”

“Oh, um…well, it’s an adult pajama party,
Toni. It’s going to be adults in sexy nightwear, dancing…” she said, hunching
her shoulders. She’d turned the color of the red sunset.

“Oh, dear.” Toni looked embarrassed. Then
without a thought he opened his mouth again. “I guess you guys are too young to
join us then. Shelly and I will let you know how the party is.”

They all laughed.

“Yeah, right. Like that’s going to happen,”
Christian teased. He glanced over to Arianna. Man, he couldn’t wait until later
tonight to be with her.

Venus, who was seated near to Carl,
couldn’t help but chuckle. Like everybody else, she enjoyed Toni Romero’s wild
sense of humor. The family was so loving, so close-knit. She was thrilled to be
working for the Romeros. At least something was going good for her in her life.
That and her son, Tristan.
“Your grandfather is really
something.” She smiled, picking a cherry off her soda.

“Yeah, he’s a hoot,” Carl commented back.

“What about you? You don’t really speak
much about your family. You’ve been working for us for how long now? And you
hardly speak about them.”

She knew he was just making conversation,
but she really didn’t want to, or couldn’t, get into it with him. As much as
she admired Carl and all that he stood for. “Well, there’s not much to say
really.” She hunched her shoulders. “Like I said before, my family pretty much
died out.” She wanted to cross her fingers under the table. That was only half
the truth. “When I moved to Canada from Maryland, I decided we were going to
make a fresh new start. And by the way, I love your family. You guys
are so… loving
. You have so much fun together. You stick
together all the time.”

“That’s the way family should be, isn’t
it?”

“Yeah, I guess. But it doesn’t always turn
out that way.”

The music played in the background creating
a relaxing ambiance. Currently, James Ingram’s old tune “Forevermore” beamed
through the sound speakers.

“I love this place. Have you guys been here
before?”

“Yeah. The Duponte family is pretty cool.
Well, Giles Duponte, who owned this joint before his daughter took over, is a
cool dude. He did some good business transactions in the past with Granddad.”

“What about his wife? I heard no one hardly
sees her.”

“Ah, now that’s a mystery. I’ve met her
before. She seems like a nice lady, but she hardly makes eye contact. I hear
she has this phobia. Social phobia or something
like
that. Anyway, she stays indoors most of the time. She’s very shy. Soft spoken.”

“Wow. I don’t know what to say. It must be
awful for her husband and daughter to see her like that.”

“I guess people live with all sorts of issues.
We have to count our blessings when we can. I don’t know what I would do if I
didn’t want to go outside or around. It must be torture for her.”

“I know,” Venus said, running her finger
around the rim of her glass.

“So, are you coming with us?”

“Where to?”

“The pajama party.”

Venus grew nervous. Her inner thighs
tingled. Carl? Seeing her half naked, wearing nothing
but
 
silky
lingerie? She didn’t know
what she would do.

“Um. No. I’ll probably knock off early
tonight. Besides, Tristan loves when I sing him
Hush Little Baby
before he goes to sleep.”

Carl smiled. His gazed trapped hers and she
melted inside. “You know, you’re a good mother.”

“Thanks, I try to be.”

“Well, if you change your mind—after
you sing him to sleep, let me know.”

Venus smiled. Wishing she could be a part
of the Romero family but knowing full well, she could not. Not ever. Blue was
so lucky to be in love with Zack and now on the brink of becoming a part of
this wonderful, powerful family. Still, a girl could dream, right? “Sure. I
will,” she answered Carl, before lifting the glass to her lips to take another
sip of her drink.

The women were all dressed, or
underdressed, in sexy, elaborate lingerie that would make a Victoria Secret
model blush.
And the men?
Gorgeous, model-like with
nothing but shorts and vests or t-shirts showing off
their
bulging biceps. One of them was Christian.

Oh, God! Christian looked so hunky, it blew
Arianna’s mind. She was feeling possessive over him suddenly, watching other
girls ogle him as he walked by. The music was pumping through the base speakers
at the Duponte Resort Clubhouse Dance Hall as the first Sexy Pajama Party theme
night got underway.

“So this is your first time attending a pajama
party?” Christian turned to Arianna as they stepped inside the hall.

“Well, yes and no. I mean, at this hotel?
Yes. I thought it was a good idea when my event planner suggested we
incorporate a pajama party themed night at the Duponte since we have a massive
couples- only clientele that stay here. It’s popular at other resorts.”

“I see.” Christian grinned. “And of course,
you just had to try it out, huh?” he said, pinching his lips. His expression
was stone cold. She could tell whenever he was jealous. “I really don’t like
other men looking at you when you’re dressed…or I should say, undressed so
beautifully in your lingerie, Ari. I hate it.”

Arianna grinned. “It’s okay, Christian.
There are plenty of other girls for the men to eyeball. I can’t dress in my
Sunday best to an event like this.”

His eyes scanned appreciatively up and down
her body and she shivered with delight.

“I’m just here as a guest. I mean
,
I have to sell the benefits. How would I know what to
recommend to my guests if I don’t at least try it out?”

He smiled, capturing her figure with his
eyes as he held his glass of wine to his lips. “I’ve missed you,” he murmured,
leaning closer to her.

“I’ve missed you, too.” She couldn’t help
but gush. “Oh, wow, it’s one of our favorite songs playing.”

The speakers played the old hit song “Baby,
I Love Your Way” by the reggae group Blue Mountain. “I love it. Let’s dance!” He
pulled her to the dance floor after setting down his wine glass.

The disco multi-colored strobe lights sparkled
in the dark club as couples gyrated and danced closely with each other.
Everyone seemed to be having a blast. The warm island breeze blew inside from
one of the open doors. The rest of the Romero clan, minus Toni and Shelly,
seemed to be at the themed night tonight, also having fun. The place was
jam-packed with guests.

Arianna caught glimpses of women gazing in
Christian’s direction and a twinge of jealousy befell her. That was soon wiped
away by the thought that Christian was with her. He had his arms wrapped around
her waist from behind and snuggled up to her, nuzzling her neck as they danced
the night away. His sweet-scented cologne tantalized her senses. His firm,
manly hands held her strong as she swayed into his hips, feeling the hardness
of him rising. Oh, no. This was probably not the best place to be bumping and
grinding on the dance floor. She was dressed down, but some of the guests would
recognize her as part owner of the hotel.

Then, “Tonight, I Celebrate My Love for
You” by Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack came on.

“Oh, God. I’m so turned on, Ari,” Christian
moaned into her neck as he kissed her gently. Right there. Out in the open.

“Mmm.” Arianna turned to face him as they
slow danced. “This is our song, isn’t it?”

“It sure is,” he said in a low, throaty
voice. The part in the song about “tonight we will both discover how friends
turn into lovers,” really gripped her heart. She’d transitioned from being his
soul mate, girlfriend to lover one night long ago, when that romantic ballad
had played. It held such a significant, special meaning to them both, every
time they heard that song—their song.

Christian looked deeply into her eyes and
she felt weak and giddy in love. Her stomach
flip flopped
in her belly, bringing a light tingling feeling. Love.

“You’re very beautiful, Arianna,” he
breathed in a low, deep voice. “You mean the world to me, do you know that?”

Her arms were wrapped around his neck, as
he swayed into her. The man can sure move. “I…know I do, Christian. You mean
the world to me, too.”

“I want to make you happy, Ari. I want to
spend the rest of my life with you. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you,
girl. If only you knew.”

She tilted her head up to meet his lips and
they kissed softly. She was on the dance floor. She had to leave with Christian
now, or she would go crazy. She needed him, like now.

“Let’s go…to my room. It’s not far from
here.”

He grinned into her lips. And he kissed her
again.

“Oh, God, Ari. Don’t ever leave me again,”
he said in a hoarse voice, kissing her passionately on the sensitive part of
her neck, while she arched her back in his arms on the bed. They’d made their
way over to one of the suites she occupied at the Duponte near the office. She
breathed heavily as he touched her gently.

“I won’t, baby, oh,” she purred.

“God, I couldn’t wait to get you out of
your nightie tonight. I was going crazy on the dance floor.”

She knew that. A smile touched her lips.
She was going crazy inside, too.

He then moved his lips over to hers and
sucked on her lower lips causing electrical currents to shoot through her
heated body. She loved his touch. She loved the way he took her lips between
his soft tender lips and passionately caressed her.

Christian was such a gentle, passionate
lover and Arianna loved that about him. He always took his time pleasuring
every inch of her. He then moved his lips over to her earlobe and began sucking
on her skin again, while his hand slid inside her lace panties. He stroked and
teased her throbbing folds as she groaned with ecstasy, digging her fingers
into his muscular back.