by Ana Huang
“I did not agree to share a room with him!” The thought alone made me want to jump right back on the private jet to Valesca, Hawaii be damned.
“Yeah, I like I really want to share a room with you either!” Roman snapped. “You snore!”
I gasped. “I do not!”
“How do you know she snores?” Adriana asked curiously.
“I do not snore!” Then her question sunk in, and Roman and I gazed at each other, horrified, while the others eyed us with a mixture of suspicion, amusement, and cluelessness (the last one would be on Zack’s part).
“I guessed,” Roman muttered. “She looks like a snorer.”
“No, I don’t!” I stomped my foot childishly. I do not snore! Do I?
Carlo cleared his throat. “Well, once you’re both done acting like you’re on a kid’s playground, can we get back to the problem at hand?”
“I thought you already told us the problem. I—“ I jabbed a finger at myself. “Have to share a room with him.” Now I pointed at Roman.
“That was planned beforehand,” Carlo said dismissively. “I mean, it just makes sense. Parker and Adri are obviously together, Venice doesn’t want to room with anyone for some reason, and trust me, you do not want to room with Zack.” He didn’t mention the fact that he and Roman were still acting cool towards each other, which meant they wouldn’t be rooming together. “Anyway, you two are in the Orchid Suite. However, I thought that there would be more than one bedroom, but it turns out there, er, isn’t.”
The color slowly drained from my face while Venice burst into a fit of giggles beside me. I glared at her, shutting her up. While I was glad Venice was here, I am not happy about the fun she was having at my expense.
“I’m not sharing a bedroom with her,” Roman declared pompously.
“No, correction, I’m not sharing a bedroom with him.”
“You’re right, you’re sharing a bedroom together,” Carlo cut in calmly. “Sorry, I didn’t know.” He looked apologetic.
I was about to cry. “Carlo! You can’t! Why don’t we switch it around? I can trade places with Zack and stay with you instead!”
I wouldn’t mind. I knew Carlo wouldn’t do anything, and I’m always comfortable around him.
“Yeah, I bet you’d like that,” Roman sneered.
I ignored him. “Please?” I begged, nearly hyperventilating at the thought of sharing close quarters—or any quarters—with Roman.
Carlo scratched the back of his neck. “You have to ask Zack.”
I swiveled my head towards the blond, a pleading expression on my face.
“Sorry, My-My.” Zack looked guilty. “I can’t share a room with Roman, he gets really violent when he’s tired.”
“And so you’d rather I be there instead?” I near-yelled, drawing scandalized glances from the people around me.
“But you’re a girl, he can’t hit you,” Zack said cheerfully. “I’m a guy, he can hit me. Besides, it’s only for two nights!”
“That’s true, it won’t be that bad, honeybee,” Parker assured me.
I shook my head frantically. “V? Can I share with you?”
She didn’t meet my eyes. “I mean, you could, but I don’t know if there’s enough space. Besides, I don’t think you can sleep if you shared with me.”
Oh right. I may not snore, but Venice did. Loudly. Very loudly. The one time we attempted a sleepover I had to sneak into the guest room next door, and even then I could hear her through the walls.
“Parker? Adri?” I gazed at my two last remaining hopes with my best puppy-dog expression.
“Sorry, no can do. We have plans.” Adriana smirked, and the rest of us made gagging noises.
I don’t even want to know.
“Ok, guess that’s figured out. We’ll all get freshened up then meet for dinner before hitting the club,” Carlo announced. The Perrys’ birthday wasn’t until tomorrow, so tonight we were just relaxing until the festivities really started.
A low snarl erupted from Roman’s lips before he stomped off towards the elevator, the others staying a safe distance away.
“Carlo! How can you do this to me?” I hissed once they were out of earshot. “You know why I can’t stay in a room with him!”
Carlo smirked. “Au contraire, my friend, I know why you should stay in a room with him. We need to activate Phase One of Operation Revenge.”
My jaw dropped. “You did this on purpose!” I accused. “I bet you even told Zack to feed me that bull—“
“Regardless, it’ll be…eye-opening,” Carlo interrupted, smiling cheekily. “Shall I brief you on Phase One?”
“I didn’t even know there was a Phase One,” I groused. “Or an operation, period.”
“Don’t you remember our conversation from last week?”
“I thought you were joking!"
“I wasn’t. Anyway, Phase One is seduction.”
Now I was sure I heard wrong. “Excuse me?”
“Seduction,” Carlo repeated. “Although I suppose that’s not quite right, since seduction implies you will go through with the deed. I suppose you should just—tease him a little?”
“Carlo Tevasco!” My face was bright red by this point, whether from anger or embarrassment, I couldn’t tell. Probably a mixture of both. “I am not seducing him! Or teasing him! In fact, I am not talking to him, period.”
“It’s a bit hard to get revenge that way. You do want revenge, don’t you?”
“Well, I—you—it’s just—“ I closed my eyes, drawing in a deep, calming breath. “I’m sure there’s another way.”
“Listen, Maya, this is the perfect weekend to do that. I have it all planned out. When have I ever led you astray?”
“That time you made me eat an Almond Joy?”
“You need to get over that. I promise it will work.”
I bit my lip nervously. “How do you even know I can seduce—“
“Tease.”
“Fine. How do you even know I can tease him? I’m sure he’s not attracted to me that way. He hates me.”
Carlo shook his head slowly, like he was disappointed in me. I found that a bit unfair. If anything, I should be disappointed in him for setting me up like this.
“Maya, you sell yourself short. It doesn’t matter whether he likes you or not, he’s a guy. And trust me, he’ll be attracted to you once he sees you in your lingerie.”
I was horrified. “What lingerie? I didn’t pack lingerie!”
“The lingerie you bought with Adri all those weeks ago,” Carlo answered simply. “Might as well put it to good use. Don’t worry, I put it in your suitcase at the last minute.”
I turned even redder at the thought that Carlo had seen all the silky, lacy scraps of material Adriana practically forced on me.
“Oh, and don’t do anything until you get back to your suite after dinner and you’re ready to go to bed.”
I sighed, a headache setting in. “But I don’t know how to se—how to tease people.”
Carlo smiled smugly, obviously knowing he’d won. “Don’t worry. That’s what I’m here for.”
* * *
I couldn’t believe I’d let Carlo talk me into this. This was a very, very bad idea. The worst idea in the history of bad ideas. In fact, I think sunbathing topless in Moscow during the middle of winter would be a better idea than this.
“Maya! What’s taking you so damn long!” Roman pounded furiously on the door. “You’ve been in there forever!”
I forced myself to steady my voice before answering. “I’m a girl! Deal with it!”
I heard him utter a string of profanities but at least he stopped bothering me. I shouldn’t be feeling like this. After all, I was currently in what is possible the most beautiful bathroom in the world, complete with a steam shower, therapy pool (I’m not sure what that means, but I need to use it after dealing with Roman all night), a plunge tub, and views of the hotel gardens.
Dinner had been fine, once I got over my horror at
not only having to share a bedroom but a bed with Roman (since both of us absolutely refused to sleep on the couch).
The problem started after dinner, ergo fifteen minutes ago, when I put on the darned lingerie (Carlo decided I should go for black).
I gulped, staring at myself in the mirror. I couldn’t believe people actually wore this stuff. The “lingerie” looked more like a very, very tiny dress or a long top, with a tied satin ribbon at the bust. Its straps were dental-floss-thin, and the front dipped low to reveal an unnerving amount of cleavage, pushed up by the dress/top’s built-in bra. The bra area itself and the “skirt,” which is just a little ruffled flounce of material that barely covered my decent parts, were made of soft tulle. The rest of the lingerie was sheer.
Yep, that’s right. As in see-through, for the most part. To make matters worse, the back dipped so low as to be indecent, which meant I was barely getting any coverage no matter how you looked at it.
In my opinion, I looked totally slutty.
I gulped, lunging towards my makeup bag and frantically dialing Carlo’s phone. He answered on the first ring.
“You have to go through with it,” he said before I had a chance to speak.
I glowered at my cell. “I didn’t even say anything.” My shoulders slumped. “Seriously, I can’t do this. I look like a hooker!”
“You are not a hooker, you’re a…seductress.”
“Who looks like a hooker.”
“Come on, remember what I taught you earlier? Breathe, be confident, you’ll do fine.” He paused. “How long have you been in the bathroom?”
I blushed. “None of your business. Can we put this off for another night?”
“No. I have another plan for tomorrow night.”
I groaned, seriously regretting confiding in him. Who knew Carlo could be so diabolical?
After ten more minutes, he finally convinced me to finish Phase One. At least, I hoped I could finish it. Taking a deep breath, I wiped my sweaty palms on a guest towel and covered myself with a short black satin robe.
I slowly turned the doorknob and stepped out into the bedroom, rearranging my face into what I hoped was a seductive expression.
Roman wasn’t there.
I frowned. Crap. Now what? Maybe he was in the outer suite. When I went to check though, he wasn’t there either.
Great. I pouted, going back into the bedroom. Even though I wasn’t all that happy about this part of the plan, I was upset I’d psyched myself up for nothing. I didn’t even know if he’d be coming back tonight.
Slightly disappointed at the thought, I sighed, running a hand through my hair. I’d curled it before dinner, but the curls had loosened into big, natural waves after a few hours.
Well, since Roman wasn’t here, Carlo couldn’t blame me for not trying. At least now, I could get out of my not-so-comfortable lingerie.
I slipped out of my robe and hung it on its hook in the bathroom, then re-entered the bedroom and bent over to fish some PJs out of the bottom drawer.
“What are you doing?”
I froze. The voice was so familiar. I knew it was him. After all, who else could it be? But he sounded different, more…hoarse? I’m not even sure.
Gulping audibly, I slowly turned around, my heart pounding so hard it felt like it was going to batter its way straight out my chest.
Roman was standing in the doorway, wearing a pair of low-slung jeans and a soft, well-worn gray T-shirt.
I gulped again, trying not to drool over his muscular arms and broad shoulders. This was the first time and hopefully last time I see him in an outfit like that, because if this turns into a regular occurrence, I might go into cardiac arrest.
It should be illegal for someone to look that good, especially if their insides didn’t match.
“What do you mean?” My voice high-pitched and squeaky, not a seductress’ voice at all. I quickly tried to compose myself. “I was just changing, that’s all.” I nudged the drawer closed with my leg. I guess I was stuck in this outfit for the rest of the night.
Roman’s gaze swept over me, making my skin tingle as warmth raced through me. Every area his eyes rested on burned pleasantly. There was a strange expression on his face as he took me in.
“You’re going to sleep in that?”
Be cool. Be confident. “Of course.” I ran my hand through my hair the way they did in movies—at least, I hoped I did it like that—tousling it a bit, and walked slowly over to him.
I saw his breath hitch a little as I neared, giving me the confidence booster I needed. “Will that be a problem?” I peered up at him through my lashes in my best attempt at a smoldering look.
Apparently it worked, because when I trailed a finger down his chest, I could feel his heart beating wildly. I hid a smirk. I was beginning to enjoy this.
“What are you doing?”
Wow, he sounds like a broken record.
“I’m just talking to you,” I said innocently, trailing my hand lower until it rested on his rock-hard abs. Yeah, I was definitely enjoying this too much.
Who knew abs could cause a girl’s mood to do a total one-eighty in two minutes?
Roman’s hand immediately snapped up to grip my wrist before it could go any lower, not that I’d been planning on going any lower. A girl had to draw the line somewhere.
“You know, a few hours ago you couldn’t stand me. And now you’re…trying to seduce me?” His voice was suspicious.
Oh, darn it. Why did he have to turn smart all of a sudden? Ok, time to improvise.
I closed the distance between us, until we were pressed up against each other, trying to ignore the explosion of tingles that went off in my own body. “Is it working?” I breathed, running my hands up his arms. My mouth dried at the feel of smooth skin covering rock-hard muscles.
Holy crap, he had a good body. I mean, I always knew he did, but it was one thing to see it and quite another to feel it.
Ugh, now I feel like the biggest perv on the planet, albeit a happy one.
Roman’s eyes darkened, but it wasn’t from anger, I soon realized. It was from lust. I gulped for the third time tonight. The look on his face scared me a little—I was so not used to guys lusting after me, and no, Parker’s perverted jokes don’t count—but it also excited me a bit.
To be honest, the idea that I could do that to someone like Roman gave me a heady rush, but I hoped I wasn’t in over my head. Carlo had told me to use my judgment as to when to stop, assuring me that Roman wouldn’t push me into doing anything I didn’t want.
Judging from the way he was looking at me right now, though, I wouldn’t be too sure about that. He was eyeing me the way a starving man would eye a juicy steak.
“Oh, it’s definitely working,” he growled, lowering his head until we were mere inches apart.
I gasped as he gripped my hips and pressed me even closer. He was right. It was working. I could, um, feel it.
My face turned bright red, and I started to sweat nervously. I go back to my earlier point. This was a bad idea. What the hell am I supposed to do now?
“Was this the lingerie you bought earlier?” Roman whispered, toying with one of the straps. They were so thin and he was so strong I was afraid it would snap at any moment.
As if he heard my inner panic, he let go of the strap, but I barely had time to breathe a sigh of relief before he started caressing the bare skin on my shoulders, sending my heart into overdrive. I was glad he was holding me, because I would’ve collapsed right then and there.
Screw the operation. I needed to get away from him. Now.
The only problem being, my feet didn’t exactly want to move.
“What’s wrong?” Roman moved his head so it hovered just above the sensitive spot behind my ear. I instinctively grasped his shoulder, my nails digging into his skin. He didn’t seem to notice. “You’re usually not so quiet.” When he spoke, he lips brushed my skin, so gently I could barely feel it, only I did, and it was causing some very strange and u
nwanted reactions in me.
I needed to take back control.
Closing my eyes, I tried to focus, sifting through Carlo’s advice until I found a suitable one.
“Well,” I murmured, pulling away and taking several slow steps back while keeping my eyes trained on his. I stopped when I felt the bed hit the backs of my thighs, and I sat down, leaning back so I was propped up on my elbows. I made sure to keep my legs crossed. Flashing him was not part of the plan. “Talking isn’t high on my list of things to do right now.”
