He’d been avoiding me.
The facts were staring me in the face. I was confident, but I wasn’t stupid. I didn’t just blindly think that he was under my spell now. He had come to Tybee to avoid me, and I realized that it wasn’t that he wanted us to be a casual thing as he’d said—no. He’d said that to throw me off the scent, to placate me so that he could then run away and hide.
I would’ve been angry, if I wasn’t painfully aware that he wanted to do the right thing. Keith was noble to a fault and probably thought that this was what was best for both of us.
Well, I would have to make him see that this wasn’t going away by avoiding me. I’d figure out some way to convince him.
In fact, it looked like I had already partially succeeded, because Keith was tugging me back into his arms. Triumph and elation surged through me. Being held by him felt so right. Like this was what I’d been made for.
I snuggled into him, dared to press myself more up against him, and Keith just wrapped his arms around me like it was nothing—almost, in fact, like he was relieved.
I didn’t know what to do with myself. On the one hand I was so happy, so satisfied, but on the other hand I wasn’t sure what this meant for us. Where did we stand?
Don’t bother worrying about it right now, I told myself. I needed to enjoy this, and I was damn well going to. Falling asleep in Keith’s arms felt like where I was meant to be, and I slept amazingly. I hadn’t felt this rested in ages.
With a big smile on my face, I woke up, ready to roll over and wake Keith up with some… fun activities…
Except he wasn’t there.
Huh.
The bed wasn’t too cold, which meant he hadn’t left it all that long ago. But when I got up, I found he wasn’t anywhere in the cottage. Okay. No need to panic or get upset. There were plenty of reasons why he might have had to step out.
In the meantime, I still had evidence from last night’s fun all over me, so I decided to step into the shower and get clean. I fired off a few texts to make sure everything went well with the band, checking up on them. I couldn’t neglect my duties just because of my romantic life. Especially if I wanted to show Keith how mature and responsible I was. Turning around and failing at my career because I wanted to sleep with him wouldn’t help me convince him that I was at the same level he was, and that we should be together.
The shower felt amazing, and I lingered under the spray. Maybe Keith would come back and join me in here. Ooh, that would be delightful. I shivered at the thought—and then shivered again, this time unpleasantly so.
My stomach heaved, and I barely made it out of the shower in time to hit the toilet.
Never before had I tried to be quiet while I threw up, but here I was. This felt like the worst kind of spy mission ever. Was morning sickness this bad for everyone? I would have to do some research.
I would also have to figure out what to do. If I kept being sick, it was only a matter of time until Keith would notice. And who knew what other symptoms I would have? I wracked my brain, trying to remember everything I knew about pregnancy. To be honest, I didn’t know a lot. But Keith would, he was a doctor, surely he’d notice.
Before that time came, I would have to come up with a solution. And convince him that we were meant to be together.
Hmm.
A plan formed in my mind as I left the shower running to cover up the flushing toilet. I brushed my teeth, gargled some water, and rinsed myself off under the spray again. No way could Keith suspect I was pregnant until I had convinced him to commit to us as a couple. That was just how it was going to have to be.
Drying myself off, I walked out of the bathroom completely naked—only to find an entire breakfast buffet laid out on the table in the dining area.
That must’ve been why he’d left—to order food. I was glad that I hadn’t walked out while any service workers were still setting it up. That would’ve been embarrassing.
I walked over to the buffet, still naked. After all, I didn’t have anything to hide from Keith, and it wasn’t too cold for me. Mm, this food looked delicious. There was a huge platter of fruit, a pile of pancakes, eggs done three different ways, bacon and sausage, pastries including cinnamon rolls… a whole feast just for the two of us.
Keith had gone and gotten this for us? For me? That was so sweet of him. I couldn’t help but smile as I surveyed all the food, wondering how on earth I was going to reward him for such kindness… I giggled to myself, already coming up with some fun ideas.
There was a sound behind me, and I turned to see Keith standing there, a coffee cup in hand.
“Good morning,” I said, putting my hands on my hips.
The heat in Keith’s eyes was obvious as he stared at me, sipping at his coffee. I could see he was contemplating what to do—not like he was wondering if he should fuck me or not, more like he was trying to decide how to fuck me.
The thought had heat sliding through me. This man could turn me on so easily, with nothing but a look. It was addicting. I truly didn’t ever want to be with anyone besides him.
I picked up a strawberry and wiggled it between my fingertips. I was teasing him, and I knew it, but I couldn’t help it. Teasing Keith was second nature to me, and I was pretty sure that he actually liked it. “Would you like something sweet?” I asked, pouting at him and staring up at him through my lashes.
Keith gave a low growl and walked over to me. “I think I want something else sweet instead.”
“Suit yourself.” I took a bite of the strawberry, my eyes never leaving his.
Keith set the coffee down and swept me into his arms, his arm coming around my waist to hold me against him as he plundered my mouth. He groaned and I was sure he could taste the strawberry that I had just eaten on my tongue.
He held me against him and kissed me until I was dizzy, until I couldn’t breathe, and then picked me up almost without a pause, giving me only enough time to suck in a quick breath before he resumed kissing me and carried me over to the bed.
When he’d said that he wanted something else sweet, clearly he hadn’t intended to stop with my mouth. He ran his sinful tongue and lips over my breasts until I was squirming for him, then at last dove between my legs to lick at my soaking pussy.
He brought me to completion so quickly that my head spun. I could tell that he was a man on a mission, trying to make up for the teasing I had just done to him. The message was clear: if I was going to tease him like that and present myself to him completely naked, then he was going to be just as ruthless in return.
Well, if he thought that was going to deter me from doing something like this again, he was sorely mistaken. This was only going to make me tease him more.
I came hard against his mouth, and then he was crawling up me and oh no, he wasn’t going to have all the fun in this. I flipped us over and rode him, bouncing up and down on his cock, gasping with pleasure as he hit every spot inside of me that lit me up. He was so big, I felt like I was being speared open, and I adored it.
We collapsed together afterwards, his hot seed still sliding out of me, and I smiled to myself, pleased. This was just the start of the day. Who knew what wonderful times were in store for the two of us together? I was getting to spend days with the man that I loved. I couldn’t wait.
17
Keith
Having Holly was truly an addiction. I’d seen her bold as anything, naked and standing in front of that buffet like she was the main course, and I’d lost my damn mind. I’d had to have her, right that second.
Afterwards, Holly put on a robe—clearly, she was aware that I was going to be distracted if she stayed naked and I doubted she wanted to wear her party dress from the night before. God, she was so tasty. I couldn’t stop fucking her. I wanted to tie her to the bed and have her all weekend long, two days straight of just passionate sex, drawing pleasure from her body until she was unable to give me anything more and was just a quivering wreck.
But that wasn’t possible right
now. We had to talk about what was going on between us, and for that, I needed to focus, not get wrapped up in her body again.
We had a proper breakfast, to start with. All of that sex had me starving, and I figured that it was the least I could do to roll out the red carpet for Holly a little. She hadn’t said anything, but she was a smart girl. She had to have figured out why I was here, and that it wasn’t for work.
Besides, I… I wanted to spoil her. I wanted to gift her good things. Holly was used to the best, and she demanded nothing but the best from others. I could appreciate that. Someone who wanted nothing, but the best was someone with confidence and someone who knew what they deserved, and I certainly wanted to give Holly what she deserved.
Even if I couldn’t give her the relationship she wanted… I could give her little things like a nice breakfast. Spoil her a little bit.
I watched her as she ate, unable to stop myself. I felt like we were magnets, drawn to each other, unable to stop it, our attraction beyond our control. It was clear that I could no longer expect this to just go away with some distance. I would have to hope for a different sort of miracle.
“You were avoiding me,” Holly said, finishing up her breakfast. “There was no business in New York.”
“No, there wasn’t,” I acknowledged. “And somehow, you found me anyway.”
“Fate is on my side.” Holly winked at me.
I had to admit she had a point. “I’d hoped that some distance would take away the attraction, that we’d both be able to move on.”
“Ah, yes, and that worked out wonderfully.”
I snorted in acknowledgment. And a bit of amusement. “Perhaps we need to try another tactic.”
“I agree.” Holly sat up straighter. “I think that we should make the most of our time here. I’m going to be on Tybee Island for five more days. How long will you be here?”
I had a feeling I knew where she was going with this, and I was curious—and interested. “I was supposed to head home at the end of the week.”
In other words, I was going to be on the island for the same amount of time as Holly was.
Holly clapped her hands together, a huge smile on her face. “It’s fate!”
I was about to protest that I wasn’t sure about that, but then I supposed… maybe she was right. Maybe fate had given this to us so that we could get through this and figure it out.
“What do you mean?” I opted to ask instead.
“I mean that we should have a fling,” Holly said.
It was a good thing that I wasn’t drinking anything, or I might’ve choked on it.
“Think about it,” Holly said. “We’re not in danger of being caught by anyone here. Nobody here knows us, and I’ll make sure I stay away from the members of the band when we’re out. They don’t want me babysitting them all the time anyway, I only need to be there for them when they’re setting up and performing.
“We can be perfectly anonymous here. We can do whatever we want! We can interact freely, and then, when it’s time to leave and we’ve had our fill of one another… this will end.”
Hmm. I had to admit, that was very appealing. I’d been lonely, missing her, and it was clear that the attraction wasn’t going away just because we were separated. Why not see if our attraction would fade if we indulged in it? What if it was only getting so bad because I was fighting it and trying to ignore it? And maybe—if I got into it and let it happen—I could purge her and get it out of my system.
If we were here, we could just be two regular people. We could pretend that there wasn’t anything taboo between us. And maybe taking away the forbidden aspect of it would then make it less hot for us, less sexy, and everything would fizzle out.
This could be the solution to all of our problems.
You’re grasping at straws, a part of my mind whispered. You’re desperate and this lets you have her.
I ignored that part of my mind. Maybe it was indulging myself and taking whatever excuse to have Holly—so what? Denying myself hadn’t worked out so well either. I should at least go with the option that made me happy, gave me the chance to have fun with this gorgeous, alluring young woman.
“Where are you staying?” I asked.
“I’m at the hotel connected to the bar you met me in last night,” Holly replied. “Our rooms have been comped in exchange for the band playing for them every night while they stay there.”
Made sense. “After we finish eating, we can go over, and we’ll grab your things.”
Holly stared at me with wide, warm eyes. Almost as if she had thought that, even after all this, I would say no to her and deny her again. I felt a surge of protectiveness towards her. I didn’t want anyone to make her feel small or disappoint her, and here I was doing exactly that. I had made her think that I would reject her, and somehow, that hurt me to know.
“Are you sure?” she asked me.
I nodded, then took up her hand and kissed her knuckles. “I’m definitely sure.”
Holly’s smile was like sunshine.
I drove her back to the hotel and got up to her room, while I waited for her to pack. “I’m sorry I have so many things,” Holly said, running around and putting her things in order. “I wouldn’t normally pack quite so much for a place like this since I’d be out on the beach all day in the water, but I needed to pack stuff for any professional meetings and for being at the bar at night with the band.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it. There’s no rush. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Could you turn in my room key in the lobby for me, actually?” Holly asked, pulling out her room key and handing it over.
“Yeah, no problem.” I took the room keys from her and headed on down to the lobby.
As I left the hotel room, I nearly bumped, literally, right into Simon.
Ah, yes, the lead singer of the band that Holly managed. I had to stifle an instinctive glare at him. It was stupid of me to still feel jealous when I had Holly openly wanting to have a fling with me, wasn’t it?
Unless she also wanted to have a fling with Simon. She never said that we would be exclusive, after all, and if we held to the idea of this thing ending when we left the island, there was nothing stopping her from going to be with Simon after that.
I stifled the growl in my throat and kept a neutral face, nodding at him as I passed him. Simon, to my surprise, gave me a smug look.
What was that supposed to mean?
…was there something going on between Holly and Simon?
18
Holly
A knock came at the hotel room door and I smiled, figuring it was Keith. He must’ve forgotten something, he couldn’t have possibly turned the hotel room keys in that quickly.
But when I opened it, instead I found Simon standing there. He had an impish look on his face. “I passed the grandpa on my way up,” he said, teasing.
I frowned. “He’s not that old.”
Honestly, even though he wasn’t a grandfather, technically he was only barely old enough to be one—I knew of a few people from college who’d gotten married right away and planned on having kids, and maybe one or two who’d already had one either in college or skipping that higher education altogether, but it was no longer the norm to be a grandparent by age fifty. And he didn’t look that old, either. That was part of why I found Keith so attractive. He wasn’t all exhausted with gray hair and deep wrinkles. He still looked in the prime of his life.
Simon was just being mean, and I didn’t appreciate it.
“Whatever.” Simon shrugged. “We’re going down to the beach, you want to join us?”
“I’m going to spend some time with Keith.”
“Did he bring his wheelchair along?”
I leveled a glare at him. “I didn’t tell you about what was going on so that you could take potshots like an asshole. Cut it out.”
Or I’ll make you regret it. I didn’t say that out loud. I wasn’t going to threaten Simon professionally over som
ething personal, especially something that wasn’t a big deal at the end of the day. But I also wasn’t going to spend my time and hard work promoting someone who wouldn’t show me respect and courtesy. There were dozens of other talented bands out there—I’d find one that had decent people in it and manage them instead.
“I’m sorry,” Simon said, adopting a more serious tone. “But it’s clear what’s going on here, Holly. I’m not stupid. A rich old guy like him and a pretty young girl like you? It’s a tale as old as time.”
“You’ve got it wrong,” I replied. “It’s not like that.”
“Maybe so.” Simon shrugged. “I guess only time will tell, huh?”
I glared at him as he walked away, closing the door behind him. Ugh. I wanted to read him the riot act, but at least he’d apologized for his comments. Hopefully he knew not to tease me about it again.
He’s not the last person who’ll judge you, a voice at the back of my head pointed out. It was true. People were going to make judgments, about both Keith and me, and they were going to disapprove of us. I had to get used to it.
Keith’s worth it, I told myself, and I meant it. He was worth it.
I channeled my frustration into packing quickly, so that I was all finished by the time Keith came back. We dropped my things off at his villa, but then I suggested we hit the beach. I’d already kind of had that idea in mind—why else would we be on Tybee Island, after all—but after Simon had said he and the band were going to the beach it made me want to do it all the more. Not that I wanted them to see us, I wasn’t going to rub it in their faces. Especially if one of them gossiped and the news got back to Dawn. But being on the beach having fun with Keith instead of them? It did feel like a kind of triumph, yeah.
My Best Friend's Daddy (Forbidden Temptations) Page 10
