by Kaci Rose
Just before lunch, her phone rings.
"Sorry, it's Brynn. I need to take this," she says before she answers. She walks over to the window and looks out over the water as they talk.
I catch bits of the conversation "...restart it." A long pause then "...call IT?" Another pause with a sigh before she turns to walk over to me. "Okay, I'll be right there."
They hang up, and she looks at me with longing eyes before she speaks.
"The computer at the check-in desk is acting up. She can't get ahold of IT, so I'm going to go take a look. Normally, I can get it going again. I hope this is the push she needs to replace the darn thing."
She disappears into the bathroom, and when she comes out, she's ready to go help Brynn in her shorts and a T-shirt with her hair pulled up.
"I don't know how long I'll be, but maybe we can grab dinner at Sunset?" she asks, hesitating by the door.
"I'll be there," I assure her and walk her out to the lobby.
I watch her head over to the Sunset, and then I have an idea. I find the daytime security guy in the lobby.
"Afternoon, Mr. Markson," he says.
I stop and hold out my hand. "Sorry, I didn't catch your name."
He looks at my hand like it might bite him.
"Oh, that's just Dale. He's a germaphobe and doesn't like to shake hands," the housekeeper says as she walks by.
"Bertha, right?" I ask.
"Yes, sir," she says and stops next to us.
"Nice to meet you, Dale," I say and drop my hand.
"Nice to meet you too," he says with a large smile.
"Listen, I was wondering if you guys can help me with something. I want to surprise Lin as a thank you, but I'm not sure how to put my idea into action."
"If this is for Lin, we are all in. I can get my husband to help too. He is working on the landscaping outside. Lin is amazing and deserves a break every now and then," Bertha says, and Dale nods his head.
"Perfect. Here is what I'm thinking."
✽✽✽
Lin has been at Sunset all afternoon, and I hope she hasn't forgotten about our dinner date.
No, not a date. Our agreement to get dinner together.
The thought of it being a date doesn't scare me as it would have in the past. I didn't date. But none of them were Lin. The thought of dating Lin doesn't scare me. The fact that dating Lin doesn't scare me is what scares me.
I head to my usual table, and as I enter the dining room, Jasper is standing at the kitchen door. He looks at me with a blank look on his face for a moment before he nods and goes back to glancing over the dining room.
I sit down and check the time. I'm still a few minutes early, so I scroll emails on my phone, relieved when Lin sits down across from me a few minutes later. Only when I look up, it's not Lin. It's Brynn.
"Lin wanted me to tell you it will be a few more minutes, plus me sitting here will drive Jasper crazy, so win-win for me." She smirks, but her eyes follow Jasper.
I shake my head. "Do I need to worry about him spitting in my food?" I ask.
"Nope, I'll watch him, I promise," she says. Then she turns her eyes to me. "Listen, Lin tells me everything." She pins me with her stare that says she knows what happened this morning. "She hasn't had it easy, and she doesn't date at all, so don't play with her. She might think she can keep her feelings out of it with this fake dating, but I know her. The more intimate you get, the less she’ll be able to control her feelings. You have plans to go back to Hollywood, and she will be staying here. Don't break her heart, no matter what your agreement is."
In the back of my mind, I knew everything she was saying, but I just didn't want to admit it. But my heart is saying I have the chance to be hurt just as much, only I've always been the one to hurt the person.
"I promise not to hurt her intentionally." I give her the best I can, and she slowly nods.
"That's all I can ask." She stands up with a smile and takes the long route over to Jasper.
I'm watching Brynn so intently to see what her next move is that I miss Lin approaching the table.
Pushing my conversation with Brynn from my head, dinner flies by. Lin tells me about the issues with the system and that Brynn finally agreed to replace it, so they spent the rest of the afternoon researching new booking systems and finally ordering one. The only downside is that they can't get it here until the bridge is fixed, which they say will be another week. The state has fast-tracked it since it's our only way on and off the island.
After dinner, Lin walks back to Sunrise with me, and I stop her in the lobby.
"I had a little help from Bertha and Dale this afternoon to put together a surprise for you. You up for it?" I ask.
Her whole face lights up like a kid at Christmas.
"I love surprises! Brynn is horrible at them. She can't keep a secret from me! Oh, I'm so excited. Can I see it now?" Her enthusiasm is contagious because now I can't wait to show her.
I lead her to one of the event rooms and pause outside the door.
"Ready?" I ask and take a deep breath when she nods.
I open the door and show her the room that has been turned into a makeshift club. There is a little DJ station where I can hook my phone up to the playlist I made, and the lights are low. With a click of a button, the strobe lights start.
I lead Lin to the center of the dance floor as she looks around. Starting the music, I plug it into the speaker and make my way back to her.
"What is this?" she asks over the music.
"It's a club. You should experience a club at least once. I would take you, but I think my new PR manager would kick my ass and yours if we did." I smile.
"And then some." She laughs.
"Okay, so imagine the place is packed with people all around us. Can I get you a drink? Normally, anything goes but go easy on the bartender tonight." I wink at her.
"Rum and Coke," she says, following me to the bar.
After I make her drink and hand it to her, I lead her to the dance floor and start dancing. She's a little shy at first, but slowly loosens up. With her back pressed to my front and one hand on her hip, we slide and grind to song after song.
Our drinks are finished and long forgotten when she turns to face me. She wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me in for a kiss, and all rational thought leaves my head. I know there is a reason we shouldn't be doing this, but I can't remember what it is, and there is no way I want to stop.
My hands explore her body. I pull her closer until there is no more room between us. She grinds against me, and when she moans, I'm done for. I know right then and there this may not be real, but to me, it is. I'm treating it as such, and that means taking care of my girl.
I turn everything off and take her back to her room. Not a word is spoken as I lay her on the bed and start kissing her again.
"Let me take care of you, Goldie," I whisper in her ear. She nods her head and then gasps when I nip at the pulse point on her neck.
I kiss my way down her chest and belly over her clothes until I reach the waistband of her shorts. I pull her shirt up to below her breasts and pepper her stomach with kisses, paying extra attention to the area above where her shorts end.
Making eye contact with her, I watch for any sign of her changing her mind as I slowly unbutton her shorts. She lifts her hips and helps me as I pull them down, and I’m transfixed by the black silk thong she has on. Lying here in her bed, seeing her like this is a sight I know I never want to forget.
I rub my hands up her silky smooth legs until I reach her thong. As I run my finger over her thong and trace her slit, her eyes close as she moans in pleasure. In a quick move, I pull her thong down, and it joins the shorts on the floor. When Lin opens her eyes, she seems a bit unsure as she tries to close her legs to me.
"No, no, don't hide from me. You are beautiful," I tell her, and she relaxes.
Leaning down, I allow her scent to fill my lungs, and I'm instantly addicted. With the first lick of my tongue, she mo
ans a long-strained sound, and I know she is close. I latch on to her clit, running my tongue around it and sucking gently as I bring a finger up and thrust it into her.
Her hips buck, and she grabs my hair.
"Kade, Kade, Kade," she says in a whisper that sounds like a prayer.
I've never heard my name sound better in my life. Her legs start to shake, so I insert a second finger and suck a bit harder as she locks her toned thighs around my head.
"Cum for me, Goldie. I want to feel you grip my fingers so tight," I say, and a moment later, she falls apart for me. A gush of her honey coats my fingers, and I give her clit a final suck before moving down and licking up every drop of her, including the cream on my fingers.
I crawl up beside her, taking in the slight flush on her cheeks and the satisfied smile on her face. I pull the blanket up over us and pull her close to me so her head is on my chest.
My cock is hard and demanding attention, and she notices the tent it causes because she reaches down and starts to stroke me.
I place my hand over hers. Tonight was about her. As much as I want her and want relief, I want her to have no doubt all this was for her.
"Not tonight, Lin." I kiss the top of her head.
"That doesn't seem fair." She tries to stoke me again, but this time, I intertwine our fingers and bring her hand to rest on my chest.
"This was for you. We have plenty of time for more later. Get some sleep. I'm not going anywhere," I assure her.
I'm up long after she's asleep, wondering how true that statement really is.
Chapter 25
Linly
As we head into town, I can't help smiling as I remember yesterday.
I was up early, and even when I came out of the bathroom after getting ready, Kade was still asleep. I wanted to crawl back into bed with him, but I had to get payroll done, and I was sure I had a ton of emails since I haven't checked them in a few days.
I was lost in payroll when Kade walked in.
"I don't like waking up to an empty bed." He walks over and tilts my head up for a quick kiss.
"I'm sorry, but work calls." I tilt my head to the computer.
He took an interest in the inn and wanted me to show him what a typical day running the place was like. After I got over the shock, I had fun, and we worked really well together. He helped me answer some emails and update the website a bit.
Then we did a walkthrough of the property with John, our maintenance man and Bertha's husband. We made a list of what needs to be done before we open for the season at the end of next month. Bertha and her crew will do a deep clean once Kade leaves. In fact, I think she has started in some of the event rooms.
We walk each guest room, and Kade was great at catching little things like a light bulb being out or a screen needing repair. When we walked outside, other than some landscaping needing to be done, we were in pretty good shape. John had a list of other things to do each year, like kitchen maintenance, maintaining the air conditioners, etc.
We worked on a meal plan for breakfasts and snacks, then placed an order from our vendors for items like coffees, napkins, and other housekeeping supplies. After helping Bertha with some laundry, Kade even helped in the kitchen because two kitchen staff call in sick. We ended the day on the porch with a bottle of wine and back in bed for a repeat from the night before.
He still hasn't let me return the favor. He says watching me come for him is enough, and I've decided to let it go for now.
"I really enjoyed helping you with the inn yesterday," Kade says from beside me in the car. He's holding my hand. He took it the moment we got in and hasn't let it go, and I don't want him to. Any nerves I have about the upcoming interviews are gone.
"Yeah, we worked well together." I smile at him. "You have many talents above and beyond anything you’re doing in Hollywood."
He hasn't said it, but I can tell he's not completely happy there, but we haven't talked about his life outside of the reason he's here and the PR agent he kicked to the curb. I guess Wren handled some complaints from her, but it's been radio silence ever since.
We also have the two interviews today. Kade suggested meeting Ned at his office. Kade said he likes to leave if the interview goes too far off track, and you can't do that when they come to you.
I pull into the newspaper office, which is just a block off Main Street, and look up at the old brick building. The paper has been here for as long as I can remember, and I have made many trips here to deliver payment or ads on behalf of both inns.
As we step inside, the office hasn't changed a bit, and I'm assaulted by the memories of summer days watching the newspaper being made and staying as long as I could manage without getting in trouble.
We are ushered right to Ned's office, and he is ready and waiting for us. After I hand him lunch from the inn, we sit down.
"We are a simple town, Kade, so this may not be as fancy as some of these big city interviews you are used to," Ned starts. It makes me smile that Ned cares more about the fact than pulling up something and spinning it to make a story. It's why he's so popular with the locals. You know if it's printed in Ned's paper, it's the truth.
"Let's start with the basics. Name and age for both of you," he says as he hits play on his recorder. He runs through some basic facts of how Kade got into movies, verifying what he's already learned.
"Okay, let's talk about this last movie. There are rumors about you sleeping with your costar's wife, but you recently released a statement contradicting that. What took you so long to do so?" Ned asks.
I give Kade's hand a squeeze for reassurance.
"I was given some bad advice to let it go. Ignore it they said, and it will go away. Only it didn't go away. Matt and Cassie were using that as a catalyst for their divorce, and it started to cause issues with the studio. I decided to go against the advice given to me and release my own statement. My manager took it from there," Kade says, very calm and like he expected the question.
"Did his bad advice come from your former PR agent you are rumored to have fired?" Ned asked.
"It did, and no rumor necessary. I did fire her. It took Lin here to make me see she didn't have my best interests at heart." Kade smiles at me, and Ned scribbles on his notepad.
"Can I quote you on that?" he asks.
"Of course, we are on the record," Kade says.
"We do things a bit differently here, so I just wanted to check." Ned smiles.
"So how did you two meet?" Ned asks.
"Lin was waiting on me at check-in when I got here. I remember being late and frustrated because my manager ditched me for a flight attendant, and then I look up, and there she is," Kade says.
"Love at first sight?" Ned asks.
Kade thinks for a moment. "Maybe, but I didn't realize it at first. I asked her to dinner the first night, and she turned me down. That intrigued me. I expected her to fawn all over me like any other girl. But it wasn't until her ex showed up that I realized I thought of her as mine, so I made it happen." Kade chuckles.
"Travis showed up?" Ned asks.
