by Low, JA
“Of course, I did. But it most definitely woke me up for the day.”
“Good.” I can picture her smile.
“What’s your plan for the rest of the weekend?”
“I have so much work to catch up on. So probably going to be stuck inside in front of my laptop. The weather is shit, so not really in the mood to go anywhere,” she grumbles.
“Guess you don’t want to know how nice it is here, then?”
“Fuck you, Nate,” she cusses down the line, making me laugh.
My phone beeps moments later.
“Sent you something,” she tells me.
Pulling the phone away from my ear, I open up messages and see a picture of just her finger flipping me the bird in front of her rain-soaked window. This has me roaring with laughter. I quickly take the same shot, but point my camera toward the beach, where there’s nothing but white sand and blue ocean in the background and send it to her.
“Fuck you, Nate,” she screams, to which I can’t stop laughing.
“Hope you have a great day, Camryn,” I tell her through my laughter.
“Hope you choke on a dick, Nate,” she adds.
“I’d rather suffocate under a pussy instead.”
She groans at my lame joke. “Of course, you would. I better go. Hope you have a great day, too.”
“Thanks for my wake-up call. After the initial heart attack, it worked out great.”
She chuckles. “Bye, Nate.”
“See ya, Camryn.”
* * *
I haven’t physically spoken to Camryn in weeks which, if I’m honest, I’m a little disappointed. We’ve both been really flat out, but honestly, I wouldn’t mind hearing her voice even if it’s just once.
What is wrong with me?
“The place is looking amazing.” Sam Rose, my best friend and silent partner in this venture, greets me outside his beachfront villa. He flew in today to check on things for a couple of days. “It has come along so much since I saw it a couple of months ago. It is beyond anything I could have ever dreamed of, Nate.” He slaps me on the back. “This truly looks like paradise, man.” He’s grinning from ear to ear, and it’s contagious.
“I’m guessing you enjoyed the delights Willow had to offer?”
“She sure knows how to get the knots out of me.” Wiggling his eyebrows, we jump into the golf buggy and head to the overwater restaurant for dinner and a catch-up.
We’re shown to our private table on arrival just as the sun is setting over the ocean. I don’t ever get tired of this view.
“This is truly beautiful,” Sam says in awe, which is a high compliment as his family owns hotels in some of the most beautiful places in the world. “I see the feedback from guests who have stayed there, and it’s always excellent.” Most guests haven’t found anything major to complain about, which for a soft opening is fantastic, but there are, of course, improvements still to be made.
“People are enjoying it, which is what we wanted.” Sipping my beer, I relax into my oversized chair while watching the sunset. My phone beeps letting me know a message has come through. Picking it up off the table, I look down, and it’s from Camryn. It’s a picture of her flipping me off from the gym. Since our last phone call where she sent the original picture, every day we’ve been trading insults with each other. She’s texted me photographs of her flipping me off in the snow, in Central Park, from her desk, on the subway, eating pizza, and they always make me smile. I, of course, have sent her back numerous photographs of me flipping her off all over the island.
“Never thought I’d see the day that Nate Lewis would smile like that over a text message,” Sam tells me.
Forgetting who I’m sitting with, I still. Oh shit! Sam is close friends with Camryn, and we both agreed we wouldn’t let them know.
“Was just a funny meme my brother sent me.” I am trying to cover my tracks, but I know it’s unsuccessful.
“Bullshit,” Sam states. “That look on your face is not the one you have when you get something from your sibling. It’s the one you get when someone you like sends you something,” Sam notes.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“It’s no one, honestly.”
Sam’s eyes narrow in on me. “What are you hiding?”
Shit! I can’t hide this stuff from my closest friend, he knows me too well.
“I’m not hiding anything.” Placing my phone upside down on the table, I take a sip of my beer.
Sam swipes my phone and hightails it away from me. Fuck. Running after him, I think, Are we in fucking high school? Sam stops and turns slowly, his eyes wide, he even looks a little angry.
Dammit! He knows.
My shoulders slump.
“It’s not what you think, Sam.”
“You and Cam?” he questions, waving my phone in his hand.
“We’re just friends.” Grabbing the phone from him, Sam’s eyes narrow on me. “You like her.”
“Of course, I do. She’s great. But not like that.”
Sam pushes past me and slumps back in his chair. He grabs his beer and finishes it, then signals the waitress for another. Sitting back in my chair, Sam’s silence is concerning.
“How long has this been going on?” he questions me.
“Nothing’s going on.”
He turns, glaring at me.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“Is that why Jackson is in New York updating the security at Starr and Skye Events?”
Not answering, I simply stare out over the ocean, wishing it would swallow me up, so I don’t have to answer his questions.
“You want them safe, after all the stuff with Harris, don’t you?”
“Of course, I do,” he answers, but his tone is curt.
“That’s all it is.”
“Bullshit, Nate.” He’s angry. “Why are you lying to me? I can see it written on your fucking face.”
“What do you want me to say?” I throw my hands up in the air giving in.
“The goddamn truth.” His blue eyes boring into me.
“The truth? You want to know the truth about Camryn and me?” He nods his head. “I’ve never wanted someone more than I want her.” Sam’s sapphire eyes widen in shock with my honesty. “She is the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”
“I had no idea.”
Rubbing my hands over my face, I continue, “How can someone like me…” thumping my chest, “… have a normal relationship?” Sam frowns at me. “Look around you, I’m surrounded by temptation.”
“This is your job, Nate. It’s doesn’t define you.”
“What happens if I’m too weak to say no to something or someone here?” Waving my hands around the paradise that surrounds us.
“I guess that’s something you would discuss with your partner,” Sam states slowly.
“I can’t do that to her, Sam.”
My best friend looks over at me, really looks at me. “You have actually fallen for Camryn, haven’t you?” I don’t answer him. “I’ve never heard you speak like this before. You’ve never cared about cheating on any of your other partners, but now, thinking about the possibility that you might on Camryn hurts you to your very core.”
He knows me too well, the fucking bastard.
“How does Camryn, feel about this?”
“She doesn’t want a relationship.”
Sam seems surprised. “That’s what she said?”
I nod my head in agreement.
“Do you want one?”
“I don’t have time for one.”
“That’s not what I asked, man,” Sam pushes. “Would you want a fully monogamous relationship with Camryn Starr?”
“Yes.” The word is out of my mouth before I have a chance to realize what I’ve just said.
“Holy fucking shit, man.” Sam runs his fingers through his hair. “This is fucking awesome. You two will be great together.”
“Hold on...” I push my hand up to stop him, “… it’s never going to happen. Maybe in
some fantasy world it would be nice, but here in reality, I have so much going on with The Paradise Club. We have so many plans. I’m never going to be in New York. Her life is there. Her business is there.” Sam frowns at me. “Why start something you know is going to end?”
“That’s a little pessimistic, don’t you think?”
“What about you and Kimberly, then?” I throw back at him.
“There’s nothing going on between us,” he answers quickly.
“But you want something?”
“When the fuck did we turn into women clucking about our relationships at a fucking sex resort,” Sam states, annoyed at my line of question.
Exactly, man.
You want someone you can’t have, and you know how much it sucks, so you bury it deep down inside of you, pretending you’re happy with your fucking life. When, in fact, you’re miserable because the one person you can’t fucking stop thinking about doesn’t want you like you want them.
“Not so fun when it’s about you, is it?”
Sam glares at me while finishing off his beer.
34
Camryn
“Miss Starr, there’s a gentleman waiting downstairs for you,” my porter, Barry, tells me. “He says his name is Nathaniel Lewis. I’ve checked his ID, it is him.”
“Barry, send him up and add him to my list of approved people. Thanks.”
What the hell is Nate doing back in New York?
I thought he was in London.
Why the hell is he here surprising me?
It’s been a couple of months since we’ve physically seen each other, and our talking has been sporadic at best. I’ve organized Vanessa’s baby shower one weekend in LA. Vanessa and Christian have been in town while Ness trains Harper up on everything Dirty Texas. I’ve just got back from the shitshow that was Olivia’s wedding. We all knew that wasn’t going to happen, but thankfully everything worked out in the end. We have the Grand Opening of The Paradise Club next month, not to mention the start of the New York charity season, which means most weekends we’re booked for some kind of event through the Summer. The New York charity season kicks off with the Rose Gala, which is Sam and Harper’s parents’ annual charity event. We’ve been looking after this for the last couple of years, and thanks to them and the success of their event, they really elevated us into that upper tier of event planners.
I look a mess in my yoga pants, crop top, no makeup, hair pulled up in a messy bun. Quickly sniffing under my arms—yeah, that’s not good—I race around my apartment like a madwoman.
There’s a knock at the door, and it instantly makes the butterflies take flight in my stomach. Taking in a deep centering breath, I open the door.
Damn, he looks fine, dressed in jeans, a white button-down shirt, and navy blazer. His chocolate hair is messily tousled. He’s holding the largest bouquet of flowers in one hand and a bottle of champagne in the other.
Are we celebrating something?
“Camryn.” His handsome face lights up in a gorgeous smile, and I lose it.
Rushing to him, I grab his face and kiss him. I haven’t been with anyone since Nate, I just haven’t had the time, and it’s not that I haven’t wanted to.
He wraps his arms around me as much as he can with his hands full. “Missed me, huh?” He gives me a cocky smile.
“Yeah, I have.” And it’s the truth.
“May I come in?” he asks.
“Yes. Shit! Yes, of course,” I welcome him into my home. I’m very proud of my gorgeous apartment. It’s in a great location, just one block from Central Park, and one block over from Billionaire’s Row. I’m near great shopping, amazing restaurants, with the subway close by. I even have a terrace which is hard to come by in Manhattan. It cost me a lot, but it’s all mine.
“Wow! Your place is amazing?” Nate’s eyes widen as he takes in my apartment. “Is this the penthouse?”
It is a small penthouse compared to a typical penthouse in New York. Plus, this one was only a couple of million versus the tens of millions if I moved over one block.
“Yeah, it is,” feeling very proud of myself, I reply.
“Look at your windows, there’s so much light.” One side of my apartment is floor-to-ceiling glass windows that look out over my terrace, which has stunning views of the buildings surrounding it.
“I have a full kitchen outside, too. In summer, I host the best parties out there, especially in the jacuzzi.”
Nate’s sapphire blue eyes sparkle with desire.
“There’s another terrace off my bedroom that wraps around the other side of the apartment. Nate nods his head taking in my words. “Let me take these from you.” Grabbing the flowers from his hand, I walk them into the kitchen.
“I love your apartment, Camryn.”
“Thanks. It was my first big purchase when things started to take off for us. I’m pretty proud that I did it on my own.” Nate’s head is nodding as he looks around taking in everything. “There are glasses in the bar cupboard in the living room if you want to pour us some of that…” I point to the bottle of champagne he’s still holding in his hand as I place the gorgeous flowers in a vase.
Nate walks off, and moments later, I hear the pop of the cork on the bottle. I place the vase in the center of my dining table and walk into the living room to take the glass from his hand.
“What are we celebrating?”
“We just finalized the purchase of another island.”
My eyes widen. Holy hell, that’s fantastic. Nate’s really steaming ahead in his business pursuits.
“Congrats.” We clink our glasses together. “Cheers! That’s incredible news.”
“I’m meeting Sam tomorrow to celebrate. He has no idea I’m here.” His admission surprises me because those two are so close. “I wanted to see you first.”
I smile at him. “Now, I know why Sam’s called us all to his place for dinner.”
Nate’s eyes widen, I’m guessing he didn’t know that was happening. “Guess we’re both going to have to act surprised, then?”
I take a seat in front of the fire, and Nate joins me. He grabs my legs and lays them across his, which turns my body to him. We sip our champagne in comfortable silence for a moment.
“I’ve missed you, Camryn.” Nate gives me one of his gorgeous smiles.
“I’ve missed you, too.” Placing my glass on the coffee table, I maneuver myself so that I’m straddling him.
“I’ve noticed you haven’t been to the club,” Nate tells me.
Has he been checking up on me?
“Haven’t had time,” I tell him.
“Then who’s been looking after you?” he questions.
“Me…” I leave it open, and he raises a brow. “I haven’t been with anyone since you, Nate.” I lean forward and kiss him.
“I haven’t either since that wake-up call you left me,” he murmurs against my lips.
Sitting back, I look at him in surprise.
“I’ve been busy.” He shrugs his shoulders.
“I’m surprised, that’s all,” I tell him honestly.
“My business maybe sex, but it doesn’t mean I need it all the time. I’m a normal guy with normal needs.” He grins at me, and for the first time, I see Nate Lewis, the man behind the mask of Nate Lewis, sex club owner.
Leaning in, I kiss him slowly. Nate follows my lead and savors me. We’re not in any kind of hurry—we have all night. It’s just the two of us again in our bubble. I didn’t realize how much I missed his touch until now. The way his hand moves from the base of my neck, down my spine, to my ass. Those thick fingers digging in. Need pulses through my body uncontrollably while Nate keeps the same steady kissing tempo.
“I’ve missed you so much,” he whispers into my ear as his lips find my neck. “I don’t want anyone else, Camryn.” His teeth sink into my skin, sending shockwaves over my body.
What did he just say?
“No one does it for me.” Nate sighs heavily against my skin.
<
br /> “Nate…” His words are like a potent elixir swirling through my body.
“Don’t say anything, Camryn. Just feel.” His lips capture mine again while his fingers tangle in my hair as he pours his feelings into every swipe of his tongue against mine and every press of his lips against me. Next thing I know, he’s lifting me from the sofa and asking, “Where’s your bedroom?” His voice is husky with need.
“Down the hall, to your right.”
Nate looks over my shoulder and begins to make his way down the hall with me wrapped around his body. He doesn’t falter with his kisses as he moves swiftly. I’ve never felt more adored than I do in this moment.
Eventually, he finds my bedroom, making his way to my bed where he lays me down gently against the soft duvet cover. He throws off his blazer without breaking our kiss, next is the thump of his shoes, the jingle of his belt as they hit the floor. Nate then moves me into the middle of the bed and hovers above me. He glances down, and the look that he’s giving me, reaches deep inside my core and clamps around my damaged, frayed heart.
This wasn’t what I was expecting. I wasn’t looking for anything, but there’s something in the way he’s looking at me tonight that’s changing the way I feel about him.
“How did I get so lucky that you’ve allowed me into your bed, Camryn.” His large palm caresses my face in a loving manner.
“I think I might be the lucky one, Nate.”
His face softens at my compliment.
Things are changing between us, and I don’t think either one of us has the power to stop it.
Nate leans down and softly kisses me again, my hands begin to unbutton his white shirt until it slides off him. My hands run over the strong plains of his body. Nate pushes my top up and throws it to the side exposing me to him.
“So fucking perfect,” he mumbles as he takes a nipple between his lips.
Closing my eyes, I enjoy the sensation of Nate’s warm breath across my chest, his wet lips wrapped around my nipples, his sharp teeth teasing me, his strong hands caressing me.
My hands find the button of his trousers and urgently try to get them off. He helps by kicking them off, along with his boxer briefs. His hands roll down my leggings and underwear in one fell swoop.
