“And if someone doesn’t quite get into the swing of things?” asked Clarice, before she winced. “Pun intended, I guess.”
The bellhop laughed. “Then there is plenty else to do—this is a five-star resort in paradise! The island is full of activities and cultural sights. There’s surfing and wakeboarding and boating. You can even go fishing or take a nature hike. We can find you something you like, miss.”
“Hmm,” said Clarice. She closed the room service book, wanting to still be upset at Trudy and the girls for their deception, but she just didn’t have the energy. This place didn’t actually sound half-bad, and it really seemed like people would leave her be if she decided she didn’t want to join the more adventurous activities the resort offered. “Well, I suppose it will do. Thanks for your help.” She slipped him another bill and the young man nodded.
“Oh, hey, one more question,” she said. “As staff, do you… you know… get involved?”
The bellhop stared at her for just a moment, until Clarice let out a laugh and put her hand up. “Sorry, this is still not a perverted come-on. I didn’t mean you specifically. I’m a curious person, I just wondered if you guys got in trouble if you gave into this, well… pretty enormous temptation you must constantly work under. You must lead interesting lives.”
The bellhop gave her a half-smile that actually did make her want to try a perverted come-on. “People don’t really apply to work here without specifically wanting that perk, if you know what I mean. I’m sure it’s against the rules somewhere, but you wouldn’t know it from practice. I’ve never had any trouble for it. As long as you’re off duty, anyway.”
Clarice nodded. “You’re really living the dream, aren’t you?”
“You can say that again,” he tipped his head at her and pulled his cart out the door. “Have a good trip, miss.”
Clarice quickly passed out after the bellhop left her room. In fact, she didn’t even take off her shoes or change clothes. She crashed hard on top of the plush queen bed in her room as the sea breeze wafted warm across her skin, and when she woke up, it was with a clear head and a happy heart. Sunlight had crept its way into the room and warmed her legs that were stretched out across the bed. She checked her wristwatch and saw she still had a few hours until dinner with the girls.
After a long, hot bath in the claw-foot tub, she lingered around the bright bathroom, slowly getting dressed to the faraway sounds of happy people enjoying the beach. She threw a few of her nicer dresses up in the wardrobe to get them un-wrinkled, and stepped into a fun yellow sundress she had bought just for the trip. Twirling before the full-length mirror, Clarice almost didn’t recognize herself. She hadn’t been in much of a twirling mood in a while.
Lingering on her reflection and remembering the days before everything fell apart left her feeling a little sad, again. That Clarice had been a carefree, stupidly happy woman. She stayed out late and still showed up to work the next morning because she loved doing both, and had the energy to do it.
But the last two years were the complete opposite. In contrast, they felt like a slow decline into a dark hole, where all she did was work, go home and occasionally see her girls on the rare occasion that they managed to coax her out of her funk for the night. She didn’t go to movies or approach men anymore. It was like all the joy had been sucked out of her life.
Standing there in the tropical sunshine, enveloped in the bright yellow dress, all of that felt so far away. Clarice smiled and took a deep breath. She shook off the sadness that was threatening her again. It was time for new beginnings, and she couldn’t think of a better place than this to make that happen.
With hours till dinner, now was the perfect time to take a tour around the place and see how she felt about all this sex party stuff. She applied a bit of makeup, fastened her gold gladiator sandals to her calves, tossed her necessities into a tiny black clutch, and left the suite to explore.
The resort was enormous and winding, spanning several buildings and a whole lot of open space. There were five different pools, and two of them included swim-up bars for people who, apparently, wanted to do the most amazing multi-tasking Clarice had ever heard of. The facilities were extensive and included a spa, lots of sports activities, even an enormous traditional ballroom for gala-type events. There were inclusive boutiques on the far side of the resort, and the walk between the stores and hotel was a perfectly manicured garden trail that was lit up with the colors of tropical flowers and the visiting birds and insects that flitted among them.
She wandered aimlessly, enjoying and searching, oblivious, at first, to the fact that she was getting ogled left and right by passing people of both genders.
When she finally noticed, the sensation was unusual for reasons she couldn’t quite put her finger on at first. It wasn’t like she, like every poor woman in every city, didn’t get her share of unwelcome stares and catcalls as she went about her day. Being here, though, in a place meant for sex, it didn’t feel as oppressive, and Clarice found herself growing bolder and more excited as she realized how many people were showing open and obvious desire for her. It was hard not to get an ego boost from something like that, even if she was too shy to follow through.
She scoffed at her own thoughts. Too shy to follow through. What was wrong with her? Trudy was right, she was a woman in the prime of her life, and she was a hottie, too. Why shouldn’t she get hers, and have some fun with a hot, random dude while she was here?
The defiant thoughts lit a fire in her. She held her head high, took steps with more boldness, and she even felt the sway in her hips as she walked get a little saucier. She took a left turn and decided to wander outside, following the signs that led to a place called the Water Gardens.
She wasn’t disappointed. It was a beautiful Arabic-inspired courtyard surrounded by high, shining white walls, and filled with neatly manicured flora, including chest-high hedges that formed a bit of a tiny labyrinth. A circular stone fountain stood in the middle, bubbling clear water that filled up its basin and spilled through decorative spouts. The spouts filled up long, gorgeous stone troughs that ran through the gardens next to the hedges, filling the whole space with the sound and smell of constantly running fresh water. It was paradise within paradise.
She sighed heavily and looked around. A few people milled about, including an older couple who held hands sweetly and stopped to identify every single bloom with a tiny guidebook. Clarice wandered a path around the hedges and, at the opposite end, she spotted a gorgeous man who seemed lost in thought, until he saw her. Immediately, he held her gaze, and gave her a lazy, seductive smile as he straightened his posture.
Clarice wanted to look away from the heavy scrutiny of his gaze, but she refused to let herself.
I want Adventure Clarice back, goddammit!
Butterflies whirled around her stomach with every step closer she took, but not only did she hold his gaze, but she also gave him a tiny smile. Although it was admittedly more in an attempt to hide signs of her nervousness than anything else. Still, she continued approaching him down the hedge path with barely a faltered step.
His body was incredible, a picturesque vision of lean, toned muscle. He wasn’t very tall, only an inch or two taller than herself. His square jawline could have cut diamonds, and his light green eyes stormed with lust as he closed the gap between them.
“Hi there,” he said with a smile. “I’m Kyle.”
“Clarice,” she replied. “Hi.”
Kyle’s eyes wandered up and down her body with zero shame or subtlety, and he bit his lip with a hard groan. “You are fucking gorgeous,” he said.
Instantly Clarice flushed red. “You’re not too bad looking yourself…” She ran her gaze over his defined abs, and that flat little piece of skin just above his waistband that teased to the hidden goodies below. He was only wearing board shorts on his slender frame, and already Clarice could see the outline of his erection pushing against the fabric.
Kyle stepped closer. “I’m
glad you think so,” he said. “I was just hanging out here in the gardens, trying to decide if I liked this place, and here you walk in… I knew I had to kiss you when I saw you.”
Clarice’s head was swimming. After years of dude-drought, this was all happening so fast, she could barely believe she wasn’t having some crazy dream. This place made it almost too easy to find a man. “Oh, did you?”
Kyle nodded, taking another step. He was staring at her plush lips, licking his own. “Would that be something you’d like?”
Clarice nodded back before she could stop herself, taking a deep breath as the flood gates of her arousal finally opened. Kyle wrapped himself tightly against her and smashed his lips to hers, moaning and grunting as he hungrily devoured her. Clarice’s skin was fire under his touch. Her palms raced across his tan, smooth skin and taut muscles, his skin warm and inviting.
Like teenagers, they pawed at each other and made out furiously, Kyle pushing Clarice back up against the wall of the garden. His mouth pulled away from hers only to run down the skin of her jaw and neck, licking his way up her collarbone towards her ear. The sensation was electric and Clarice gasped in surprised delight, her eyes closed and hands wriggling through Kyle’s bronze hair.
As one of the gorgeous man’s palms slid up her thigh and under her dress, Clarice suddenly hit a wall of fear that pulled her completely out of the erotic moment. Her eyes flew open and, though there was no one in sight, she felt like a thousand people were watching them. The heat inside her capped quickly, like hot lava violently cooled by the sea.
“Stop, stop,” she said, pulling Kyle’s hands off her body.
Kyle obeyed immediately, meeting her eyes with a concerned face. “Oh, fuck, I’m sorry, did I do something you didn’t like? I’m still getting used to this place.”
Clarice shook her head, embarrassed, unable to look back up into his gorgeous face. Half of her was ablaze with arousal and wanted nothing more than to push Kyle down on the cobblestones and ride him right then and there. But that half wasn’t winning this moment. “No, it’s not you, I’m sorry. I just got here… I’m a little jet-lagged, I guess,” she lied.
Kyle nodded. “I get it. Can I get you some water or something? We could go grab a bite to eat if you want.”
“No, thanks, I think I just need to go lie down.” Clarice stepped away from the wall and he moved out of her path. She stopped first and said, “Don’t… don’t take it personally, okay? You’re really hot. I promise it’s not you.”
Kyle let out a little laugh. “Thanks, so are you. Come find me when you feel better, Clarice.” He lifted her hand and gave it a gentle kiss.
Clarice smiled at him tightly and picked up her clutch from where she had dropped it on the ground. She made quick steps out of the water gardens and back towards the hotel, praying she wouldn’t run into any of the girls on her way back to the room. She felt utterly humiliated and suddenly wanted nothing more than to just go back to New York. She’d have to settle for her room for now.
But the place was a bit of a maze, and she found herself in hallways with décor she didn’t recognize. In fact, there was little décor at all; it was terribly sterile compared to the halls she had been wandering. She figured she had accidentally found her way into the staff areas somehow, the boring places guests didn’t go and so didn’t need decorating. Looking around for a sign or a map, instead she found something better when someone she recognized emerged from behind a closed door.
Clarice stared a moment. It was that tall, dashingly handsome British man who had come up to the desk when they were checking in and asked to speak to the clerk. Even from here, Clarice could see the brightness of his blue eyes, all the more striking thanks to the raven-dark hair on his head — two traits, she realized, they shared. With his broad shoulders, cut body, and gorgeous facial structure, he could have been a supermodel. He had a little bit of five o’clock scruff coming in along his jawline, and even though his face looked tired, his eyes didn’t. He was blazingly handsome, so much so that she almost lost her nerve to speak to him for a moment.
But the man spotted her first, anyway, and a smile spread over his face. A charming smile; one that said he liked what he saw. Clarice felt her arousal building again.
Putting his hands in the pocket of his shorts, he approached her casually. “Don’t I recognize you? Have we met?”
She felt so cliché about the way his accent made her want to listen to him talk forever. “Yes,” said Clarice, and then immediately winced at herself. “No, I mean… we haven’t met… but yes, you recognize me. Obviously. You just said you did.” She sighed and shook her head. “Okay, let me start this over.”
The man seemed very amused, but not in a mean way. His eyes sparkled as he chuckled at her. “You look like you’ve had one too many unsolicited dicks offered your way. Is someone bothering you here?”
“No, no, it’s not that at all,” said Clarice with a heaving sigh. “I’m just a little jet-lagged, I think. And, I wasn’t… really ready for this place.” The last sentence slipped out before she could stop it.
“The front desk,” he said.
“What?”
“That’s where I recognize you from. You arrived this morning with your friends. You were at the desk when I popped in to speak with Bruce.”
Clarice nodded, “Yes, that’s what I was trying to say.”
He looked her up and down in a way that made Clarice’s knees weak, then offered her one of his strong looking hands. “I’m Harrison.”
Clarice accepted the greeting. His touch was tender, practiced. “Hi, I’m Clarice. Nice to meet you.”
“Now then, is there something we can do to make your day a little less rough?” he asked. “Having such an attractive woman feeling miserable at my resort is a personal insult to me. It’s also bad for business, but that’s beside the point.”
“Your resort?” Clarice’s eyes went wide.
Harrison gave a little half-shrug and folded his arms. “Mine to run at the moment, and eventually mine to own, yes.”
“That’s… wow, I had no idea who I was talking to.”
“That’s my fault. Usually I walk around here with a big gold crown on my head, but it’s being polished right now. Now, tell me what I can do to make you feel better, Clarice.”
She giggled at him. Even though it was his job to ask, the question threw her off guard in a way she didn’t expect. When was the last time a man — any man — had asked her what he can do to help her? “Oh, I… I was just trying to get back to my room for a nap, and I got turned around. I must have come through a wrong door out of the water gardens.”
“That’s my kind of problem to solve: an easy one,” said Harrison, sticking his elbow out towards her. “May I escort you?”
Clarice hesitated. She wasn’t too proud to admit that this handsome, successful man was throwing her off her confidence game just a bit. “Are you sure I’m not keeping you from work? I don’t want to waste your time; I’m sure running a place like this isn’t easy.”
“My guests are my top priority,” said Harrison immediately. “This is exactly where I want to be.”
Clarice blushed a little, but sighed and took his offered arm. Harrison smiled down at her and led her through the winding hallways, somehow keeping pace with her despite him being a good foot taller.
“What brings you to Bali?” asked Harrison as they walked.
“My girlfriends kidnapped me and brought me on a surprise vacation.”
Harrison laughed. “Ah, that never gets old. Got some wonderful friends, it sounds like.”
“They are truly amazing,” said Clarice. “They put up with a lot of grief from me.”
“Why grief?”
Clarice realized she had stumbled into very personal territory with this handsome stranger, and paused uncomfortably. “Oh, uh… I just… I’ve had one of those years. When it rains, it pours. You know, sometimes it makes you not very fun to deal with or be around.”
Harrison nodded slowly, but didn’t look down at her. “Oh, I’m familiar with that.” The tone in his voice said it was true.
As they approached the main lobby, traffic in the halls increased, and Clarice was suddenly aware of the looks she and Harrison were getting as they passed by. The looks from the employees made sense; of course they would acknowledge their boss as he walked by, especially one as high up the totem pole as Harrison. But even some of the guests were staring like they couldn’t help themselves. She didn’t fully understand it, but part of her felt a little bit of a rush at the attention.
Harrison noticed it, too. “I get the feeling we must make a very attractive couple.”
Clarice turned red. “What?”
“The way everyone’s staring at us,” Harrison smiled down at her. “Like we’re Richard Burton and Liz Taylor heading to our trailers.”
She let out a nervous laugh and blushed, suddenly very interested in studying the floor. Feeling exposed, she cleared her throat and decided to make some small talk to change the subject. “So, are you sick of living in paradise yet?”
Harrison gave her playful grin. “Oh, yeah, I’m definitely hopping the first flight out back to beautiful dull, dreary, gray, freezing, boring England.”
“Yeah, I knew that was a dumb question before I asked it,” said Clarice.
“You don’t have to take my word for it,” said Harrison. He leaned down close to her and pointed discreetly at two employees talking near the lobby coffee service. “Those two, Molly and Corey, they came here as guests once and decided never to leave.”
Clarice giggled. “Seriously?”
“And Bruce, the lad who checked your party in this morning? You didn’t think that was a Balinese accent he had, did you?” Harrison cleared his throat and imitated Bruce’s surfer-dude voice. “No way, bro. He packed up his blunts and board shorts, left the States, and never looked back.”
Clarice laughed. “Just for reference on your future impressions of Bruce, Americans don’t call it the States.”
PRIDE: A Bad Boy and Amish Girl Romance (The Brody Bunch#1) Page 38
