“Ha ha. I meant back there.” She pointed to the mountain.
“It would be nice. Unfortunately, that’s all national park, so we’ll have to deal with just a day here. My beach doesn’t look as nice after this, does it?”
“Nope.”
“Well, maybe…” He stopped. He was about to say, “Maybe in a few weeks we’ll rent a house on the beach for the weekend,” but then he remembered she’d be gone. He didn’t like thinking about her leaving. What was happening to him?
“You want to go swimming? Maybe check out those rocks over there?” He pointed down the shore.
“Absolutely.” She ran to where they had dropped their stuff. Right now just a bag with a few towels. The captain and his assistant would come ashore while they were swimming and set up an umbrella and chairs. Hayden followed her back, reluctant to step out of the water. It was too nice.
She pulled her dress over her head, and he froze. He’d seen her in a bikini, but something about her standing there with hardly any clothes on took his breath away. This one was black and almost too small for her. She had the strings tied in the front, and the back barely covered her ass.
He pulled her tight against him and whispered in her ear, “You know, this beach is private. We can do whatever you want. There is no one else here.”
She gave him a long kiss, then danced away from him. “Except the captain, who is coming ashore.”
He turned around, grateful at least one of them was thinking, but frustrated. He should’ve told the captain to stay aboard the boat. He didn’t want an audience, but he wouldn’t have bothered to check and see if anyone was watching.
The water was warm and clear. They spent most of the afternoon in it, with Una right there with them. They were out by the rocks checking out tide pools when the captain waved them in.
Hayden tugged at Anna’s hand. “I think it’s time to eat.”
“Aw.” She pouted. “I’m having fun.”
“Me too. But I’m hungry. Come on.”
Anna splashed in the water behind him, and he wished she were in front so he could enjoy the view.
Back on shore, she put a dress on over her swimsuit, and Hayden immediately missed all the bare skin. But he was distracted by the dinner the captain set up. It was a beautiful table with candlelight and more food than they could possibly eat. He’d thought it was just Ubon who cooked too much. Apparently it was the entire city of Phuket.
Dinner was quiet and comfortable. Anna rubbed her feet up against his. He wasn’t sure if she was doing it to drive him crazy or just to be affectionate. He guessed the latter because she didn’t seem overly turned on. He wanted to flip the table over, say “forget dinner,” and make love to her right there. But he had to restrain himself because the captain and his assistant were only a few feet away. Damn audience.
Anna should be tired, but she was keyed up by the time they arrived at Hayden’s house. Mostly because she was pretty sure she wouldn’t be sleeping in her own bed that night.
She stepped out of the car and froze when she saw a behemoth of a man sitting at the table, being fawned over by Ubon.
“Hayden, I think you have a guest.”
“What?” he asked, looking up. His face split into a grin, and he jogged over to the kitchen. Anna followed.
“Blake, man what are you doing here?”
“Found something you might find interesting,” Blake said with a grin.
Another man stepped out from inside the house.
“We could’ve called, but I’m never one to pass on a trip to Thailand,” the other man said.
“Plus, I wanted to use Adam’s jet,” Blake said.
“There is that.” Adam chuckled and then glanced up at Anna. “You have a guest. We should go.”
Hayden took her hand. “Don’t be silly. There’s more than enough room for you guys here. Anna, this is Blake and Adam. They’re two of my frat brothers and sometimes business partners.”
Adam stepped forward and took Anna’s hand and placed a light kiss on her knuckles. “Pleasure to meet you.” He was smooth and extremely handsome, like a Middle Eastern playboy. All he needed was a long white robe, and he’d look like he just stepped out of Dubai.
Una made a beeline for Blake. He knelt down, and she barreled into him. “Sorry, girl, I left Tria at home.”
Anna dropped her bag into a chair. “Who’s Tria?” she asked.
“My dog.” He stood and scratched the back of his neck. “It’s rare to meet a ‘friend’ of Hayden’s.”
Anna wondered about Hayden’s past.
Hayden sat down. “So what did you find?”
Blake looked sidelong at her. “It’s probably best if we talk privately. This is a game changer. Adam’s gonna front us the money.”
Hayden pulled out his phone and fired off a text. Ubon looked at her phone and escaped inside for a few moments and came out with a bottle of wine and four glasses.
“What’s with the dog names?” Anna asked.
“Una means one. Tria means three. Adam’s dog is Nona. Nine,” Blake said.
“I know. But why would you name your dogs after numbers?”
“You don’t know the story of the dogs?”
Anna shook her head.
“Well, mine should’ve been Dio, but that prick Lukas got there first.” Blake scowled.
Hayden snorted. “Still bitter? You love Tria.”
“Of course I do. But her name should be Dio.”
Anna took a sip of her wine. “I’m confused.”
Hayden waved toward Blake. “We got dogs when we all hit our first million. Their names are the order in which we hit the million. I was number one. Blake was number three.”
Anna nearly choked on her wine. They were talking about money that she couldn’t even begin to fathom. To be honest, she was surprised that Hayden was number one and Adam was nine because they’d been talking about Adam’s jet.
Finally she formed a question.
“Why do you think you should’ve been number two?” She fiddled with her glass.
“Because Hayden and I did it together. Created and sold a drug to a pharmaceutical company that landed us 1.5 big ones. But we had to split it, so I still had to come up with another 250k. It was easy for Hayden; he’d already had some smart investments. Took me another three months. By then Lukas had claimed his spot.”
“Wow. What was the drug?” She was seriously impressed.
“It helps chemo patients not get so sick during treatment. It’s still in clinical trials, but it looks promising.”
Things clicked together in her mind. “And tonight you’ve come to talk about another drug?”
Blake nodded. “Adam invests in a lot of our projects.”
Anna creased her eyebrows. “But didn’t you say that Adam’s dog was number nine.”
“Yes, but trust fund money didn’t count. It was difficult for me do it by myself.” Adam took a sip of his wine.
“He’s got more money than God. He funds all of our business ventures,” Blake said.
Adam held up his glass. “And you guys have never lost me a dime. They’re good investments. Speaking of, we need to discuss this new drug.”
Hayden gave her a sad smile. They wouldn’t be sleeping together tonight after all.
Anna stood. “Well then, I’m going to let you boys talk. I’m tired anyway.”
She leaned over and kissed Hayden lightly on the lips. “I had a great time today. Thank you.”
He squeezed her hand. “Me too. I have to work tomorrow, so if I don’t see you in the morning, don’t give Blake and Adam too much crap.”
She gave Blake a cheeky grin. “No promises.”
Anna woke in the middle of the night completely parched. She checked her phone. Two a.m. She stumbled into the living area. She opened the fridge door, grabbed a bottle of water, turned around, and screamed. Not five feet from her, a monstrous black snake raised his hooded head, nearly three feet off the ground. She dropped t
he bottle of water, left the fridge door open, and ran to her room, slamming and locking the door. Her fingers trembled as she scrolled through her contacts for Hayden’s number.
“Hello,” he answered groggily.
“There’s a cobra in my kitchen.” She nearly screamed the words. She paced back and forth and then the thought occurred to her that there could be more snakes. She jumped up on her bed.
“Are you okay?” he asked, sounding more awake.
“No! There is cobra in my house.” She knew she sounded hysterical, but really, there was a snake in the kitchen.
“Be there in a sec.”
Several minutes later, Anna heard her door open and crashing and banging. Then a knock at her door.
“You can come out now. It’s dead.”
She opened the door and peeked out. “You sure?”
“Yeah, I woke up one of the local boys. He beat it to death with a rake. He’s cleaning it up now. Come on, you’re sleeping with me tonight. I’ll have someone come in tomorrow and snake proof the house and yard. I don’t want you or Una getting hurt.”
“I’m not coming out until it’s gone.”
He chuckled. “Fair enough.”
She went into the bathroom and packed up her toothbrush and deodorant. She wasn’t sure what else to bring. She was wearing her pj’s—a tank top and short shorts. She could come back in the morning and change. On second thought, she wasn’t coming back in here until Hayden made sure it was completely snake proof. She pulled out her carry-on suitcase and threw in a couple of outfits and a bathing suit plus her bathroom bag. Her hands shook, and she had to sit down because she didn’t trust her legs to keep her up. How close had she come to being bit?
Hayden poked his head into the room. “They’re done. No more evidence of a snake. Are you moving in or something?” he asked, pointing to her suitcase.
“I’m not coming back in here until I know it’s safe. I want to make sure I’m prepared.”
He picked up her suitcase. “Fair enough. Come on.”
“Where are your friends?” Anna asked out on the patio.
“Asleep, I think.” He pointed to the bedrooms on the main floor.
“Do you think they’ll be okay? A snake could get into one of those rooms too.”
“I’m pretty sure if Blake and a cobra got into it, Blake would win. He’s milked his fair share of venomous snakes for drugs. And Adam’s invincible.”
Thousands of questions flashed through Anna’s mind. Milking snakes? What the hell was that? Anna creased her eyebrows. “What do they do, exactly?”
“Blake’s a chemistry nerd. Creates all kinds of concoctions for pharmaceutical companies. Gets paid a bazillion dollars when he makes something worth selling. Once every couple of years he creates something amazing. I consult with him quite a bit. Adam’s dad owns a lot of Las Vegas. I’m pretty sure his dad wants him to take over the family business, but Adam hasn’t taken the bait. Yet.” Hayden pointed to the stairs. “After you.”
She still hadn’t seen his bedroom. He’d never invited her up, and she didn’t want to intrude. She opened the door, and Una stuck her cold nose on Anna’s thigh. Anna pushed her away and took in the room. Una jumped on the large bed and wiggled her stubby tail.
Anna sat down next to her, and Una licked her ear.
Hayden dropped the suitcase and kicked the door closed. “Looks like there are two of us excited to have you in bed tonight.”
Anna raised her eyebrows at him. “Are you really excited? I got the impression that you were more than happy with me in my little house.” She was trying to diffuse her nervousness. Adrenaline still coursed through her veins from the snake, and she had butterflies in her stomach because of Hayden.
He towered over her, his eyes heated. “I didn’t know how to tell you to sleep upstairs with the guys out there. It would have been extremely awkward. Then when it came time to go to bed, I didn’t want to barge in. Trust me. You would’ve been spending the night up here tomorrow, even if this hadn’t happened.”
“Oh really?”
“Yeah. Now let’s see what I can do to help you forget about scary cobras.”
He pulled her up, captured her lips with his own, and sure enough, all the fear she felt earlier disappeared.
Chapter 18
Hayden woke up the next morning and found Anna fast asleep on his chest. It shouldn’t have taken a cobra to get her here. She should’ve never been downstairs to begin with. His heart swelled. He hadn’t felt this comfortable in a long time. It was rare that he fell asleep with a girl, and he’d never been happy to wake up with them. But he didn’t want Anna to ever leave. This was new and a little bit scary.
He shifted. She blinked her eyes open and smiled.
“Morning,” Hayden said.
She rolled off of him and stretched. Then she relaxed and curled into him. “I could stay here forever.”
“Maybe you should.”
She laughed. “Yeah, right. You’re only saying that because you know I’m leaving in a week. But Phuket is beautiful. I could live here. Seriously.”
“And I think you should stay. Right here with me.”
She shook her head at him and slid out of bed, heading for the bathroom. He didn’t know how to convince her that he wanted her to stay. He supposed he could let her go home, and then when she was missing him, fly her back. With a one-way ticket of course.
Mike stepped into Hayden’s office. “How was your weekend?”
“It was nice, thanks. How was yours?”
Mike shrugged. “I heard you have a houseguest.”
“Two actually” How’d he hear about Blake and Adam?
Mike waggled his eyebrows. “And I thought I was good. I had no idea you were such a ladies man. I underestimated you.”
“They’re friends from college, and they are both guys.”
“I thought Maria said her name was Anna.”
“Oh, yeah, Anna. She’s been here for a week.”
“I thought you were unattached.” Mike leaned against Hayden’s desk.
Hayden had to play this right. He didn’t want Anna to fall prey to the wives, and if he mentioned he was serious with her, it would get to Chloe, and that would be the end of his sweet, innocent Anna.
“I am. Anna’s my brother’s girlfriend.”
Mike busted out laughing. “That is the sorriest excuse I’ve ever heard for keeping a girl around for sex in exchange for an exotic vacation.”
“It’s true.”
“It is not. Do you pay her extra to entertain your buddies while you’re at work?”
His opinion of Mike plummeted. Who the hell did stuff like that? “Anna’s not entertaining them.”
“I see. You like to keep your girls to yourself. You’re bringing her on Friday, right?”
Hayden nodded absentmindedly while he glanced over the chart of his latest client. It was a typical nose job. Easy enough.
Anna watched Hayden leave, and Ubon plopped down next to her. “You sleep in Mr. Hayden’s bed now. See I told you. You pretty. You win.”
Anna laughed. “I guess I did, huh? What are we cooking today?”
“No cooking today. You keep Mr. Blake and Mr. Adam busy.”
“I don’t suppose you think I should sleep in their beds too?” She grinned to show she was joking.
“Only if you want to.” Ubon seemed unfazed by the remark.
Anna frowned. She’d barely met the guys, and now she was supposed to spend the day with them. She knew nothing about them. This was going to be so weird.
Anna sipped at her coffee and stared out at the waves. She wasn’t looking forward to going to Michigan where everything was cold and where she spent most of her time indoors. Eating out on the patio had become one of Anna’s favorite things. She’d laughed yesterday when she walked through the inside kitchen and realized there was no table. They couldn’t eat inside if they wanted to.
A few minutes later, Blake stumbled out of his room w
earing nothing but a pair of shorts.
He collapsed in the chair next to her. “Coffee,” he croaked, and Ubon jumped on it. Anna sent a quick text to Ubon.
Careful. Blake shouldn’t know you speak English.
I forget. Being around you too easy.
Anna smiled.
Blake laid his head on the table, and Anna studied his back. He was made of nothing but muscle. Big bulky muscles like you see in bodybuilding competitions. She preferred lean muscle like Hayden had. Adam joined them a few minutes later, fully dressed in a suit and tie. Not exactly beach wear.
“Anna, it’s good to see you this morning. I have go check out a few properties. I’ll be back this evening.” His speech was clipped, forced. He opened the gate. Blake hadn’t even acknowledged him.
Ubon set Blake’s coffee in front of him, and he sat up.
“Sorry. I’m not a morning person.” He took a sip. “Ah, nice and black. So I’m not much of a conversationalist before I finish my first cup.”
“Adam just left.”
“I know. I heard him go. His dad makes him work when he takes the jet.”
A jet? Who the hell has a jet?
“So, tell me, you and Hayden. I noticed you slept in a different room.”
Ubon snorted. Anna wasn’t sure how to answer that. “How do you know we slept in different rooms?”
“Because I saw you both go to bed.”
Anna smirked at him. “But you don’t know what happened after you went to bed.” She waited for his reaction. She was hoping for a smirk or snort or something, but instead he nodded. Hopefully he was more fun after his first cup of coffee, or today was going to be insanely dull. Maybe she’d invite Chloe over to keep him company, and she could read.
“True. So are you his girlfriend or something? Hayden hasn’t had a girlfriend since his residency.”
“I don’t know what I am.” This was true. She was definitely not his girlfriend. But she was surely more than a friend if last night was any indication.
“Where’d you guys meet?”
“At a bar in Michigan.”
Monkeys and Mayhem (Omega Mu Alpha Brothers Book 4) Page 11
