by Lexy Timms
A thrill raced down her spine, exploding deep inside of her as her eyes closed automatically and she returned his kiss. He came back with more hunger, slipping his tongue inside her mouth. He tasted like gin, trail mix, and heaven.
She wanted more.
Then panic set in.
What was she doing? How could she betray Michael? She sat back and ran her tongue over her lips, lapping up the taste of Conrad. There was nothing wrong with kissing him. This was normal. Except, when was the last time she had kissed a man? She didn’t want just sex. She wanted someone to take away the empty. Hold her hand, fill her mouth, fill all of her.
She suddenly felt like she was on a precipice—on the edge of the scariest place in the world.
Chapter 10
When Leslie opened her eyes, she was certain last night had been a dream. There was no way she had spent the night laughing and joking with Conrad Dane. Or that he had kissed her. In fact, she was certain someone had slipped her something at the Mexican restaurant and she’d hallucinated the entire evening. Or she’d just drunk too much gin. Who would invite Conrad Dane back to their room and not have sex with them?
It definitely had to have been a dream.
Rolling over, her foot kicked over something kind of heavy and the sound of spilling forced her to open her eyes. Trail mix lay tipping over the side of the bed. Blinking her eyes, she looked out the window and saw that the world beyond the hotel was still dark with a light line of purple and blue on the horizon. The sun was coming up, telling her that it was going to be the most beautiful sunrise she would ever see.
She needed to get up, get out there, and experience this place like it was supposed to be experienced. If she had learned anything from the dream, it was that it was time to start meeting people. Letting out a long sigh, she checked her watch and saw that it was five in the morning. Maybe ten more minutes of sleep. She rolled over and her arm landed on a warm body.
Conrad.
He grunted and sat up almost immediately, blinking and looking around in confusion. He flinched and smiled when he saw Leslie. He laid back down, stretching as he lay on top of the covers, while she had crawled under them at some point throughout the night.
“Morning, Les,” he said with a grin on his face.
It was good to see that grin again. No dream. All truth. She’d taken the hot Conrad Dane back to her room and not had sex with him. She’d slept with him… in a sense. At least they’d kissed. And then what? She couldn’t remember. They had enjoyed a fantastic night together while they were drunkenly passing the time, trying their hardest to put the pain of the world behind them.
“Morning, Conrad,” she said with a sweet smile, and then froze. At some point in the night she’d taken off her dress. She lay under the sheets in just her bra and panties. She clutched the blanket and looked at him nervously. “I’m not dressed,” she said cautiously. She could feel her cheeks burning.
“What?” Conrad asked, still completely clothed from the night before. He looked at her and his gaze trailed down her body covered with the blanket. It left a trail of heat in its wake. Slowly his eyes drifted back upwards. He shot her a look of horror. “Leslie, how scandalous!” Using his leg, he kicked her discarded dress across the room, away from her.
“Whatever,” Leslie growled, throwing off the covers, suddenly not caring if he got a glimpse of her near- naked body, breasts and all. Let him see what he had missed out on. She put her hands on her hips. “Be a gentleman.”
“Absolutely!” Conrad said, but not before taking a moment to stare. When she cleared her throat, he quickly stood up, almost jumping before the hangover hit him like a sledgehammer and nearly knocked him over.
Leslie laughed. She couldn’t help it. It had been years since she’d experienced a hangover. It was just something she never actually went through. She was an enduring sort of woman who could withstand the harshness of alcohol. Tiny and tough, Michael had always told her. The prospect that she might be able to be a truly successful, high functioning alcoholic freaked her out.
“Damn, I drank too much,” Conrad said with a groan.
Leslie didn’t have the heart to tease him. She smiled and quickly dressed, pulling on a tank top and quickly pulling up her shorts. She needed to shower, but she’d do it later. Right now, all she was going to do was brush her teeth so that her stale breath didn’t kill everyone in the resort. “I just need a bathroom break.”
Conrad sat back down on the bed, holding his head. “Take your time.” He waved lamely with one hand.
She hurried in the bathroom, thankful for the mouthwash included with the toiletries. She ran a brush quickly through her hair and splashed some cold water on her face before returning to the bedroom. She felt awkward, like they’d slept together and now didn’t know what to say or do.
“You don’t have to stick around,” Leslie said to him, not wanting to make him feel like he needed to linger around his lost puppy of a companion.
“Oh, do you have plans?” Conrad checked his watch. “It’s just after five. In the friggin’ morning!” He tried to laugh and winced. He was trying hard to look calm and cool. “I mean, I was thinking that maybe we could…”
“Get breakfast?” Leslie asked with a smile on her lips, more than willing to hang out with him. He clearly wasn’t interested in her sexually. He’s going through a terrible divorce. She’d heard stories about the dreaded friendship zone, but she would gladly take it over the possibility of spending the rest of this vacation alone and miserable. It would be nice to have someone around her who wasn’t nearly as happy as she was to be here, but was willing to spend time with her. Better than standing alone.
It would also make Josie and Amber less inclined to have to suffer around her. They could have a good holiday. She’d done what she set out to do: get out of the apartment. Baby steps.
“Yeah,” Conrad smiled at her, his face a twisted grimace of discomfort and pain.
The hangover was getting the best of him; she could see it in his eyes. It was the pain that she’d experienced only a few times. She looked at him and smiled at his pain.
“I’ve got to change, though,” he said to her. “I don’t want to wear this.”
“Well, clearly I’m classing it up,” Leslie said to him, heading for the door. “I’m starving, though.”
“Me, too,” Conrad sighed as he headed for the doorway, and the two of them walked down the hall into the living room. Thankfully, Josie, Amber, and Amber’s date were still asleep.
They headed down the empty hallway while Conrad fished out his platinum card from his pocket and led the way toward his suite. She smiled when he looked over his shoulder at her and shot her a grin that practically melted her heart. There was something potent in that smile.
When they reached his door, he swiped his card and headed over the threshold and into a slightly smaller suite than the one that she was staying in. It was still lavish and beautiful by anyone’s standards. While she walked into the common area, he headed for the bedroom, already unbuttoning his shirt.
“Just give me a sec to change,” Conrad said.
She walked to the kitchenette and grabbed a bottle of water that was far more expensive than it should have been. “Wait, you’re going to need one of these.” Before he passed over the threshold to his room, she threw the bottle at him.
He tried to catch it, fumbled it and then recovered, not letting it fall, though his shirt fell in the process. He straightened… his tanned, toned chest rippling as he moved his arm. The perfect lines of his muscular abs showed a six-pack that hinted at more just below his waistband.
Leslie let her gaze trail from his collarbone down over expanse of his chest, and down his sexy stomach. She felt her mouth drop open slightly, and a small moan escaped her lips. Damn, he was hot.
“You little punk,” Conrad said to her, shaking his head and laughing with her.
“Cry baby,” Leslie shot back. She tried her hardest not to stare at his bare b
ack as he turned around. It was perfectly defined. The kind of back you saw on statues and on the silver screen. When he kicked off his pants and headed for his bathroom, she thought that she was about to burst into flames.
She forced herself to look out the window at a completely different view and wondered what the sunset would look like in this room. It would be spectacular and she hoped that she got the chance to watch it with him. Did that sound too needy? Just friends, Leslie. Just friends.
When he returned, he was wearing a pair of shorts and a T-shirt that almost matched the kind of casual style that Leslie had set the tone with. He stopped to put on his shoes and grabbed his sunglasses. “Do you know where you want to go?”
“No clue,” she said, shaking her head. “I’ve been here less than twenty-four hours.”
“That’s it? Seems like you’ve been here forever.” Conrad grinned. “Well then, I guess it’s my choice.”
It was the way he said it, with such bravado and cocky personality that it was hard for her not to shake her head and laugh at him. She wanted to punch him—playfully, of course. She was crazily attracted to him and it took physical effort to resist the urge to reach out and touch him. There was a line in the sand and she knew that it was going to get harder and harder for her to respect it and not cross it. The more time she spent with him, the more she knew she wouldn’t want to leave that boundary in place. She was dying to see what it was like to hold his hand and feel his fingers against hers.
“Let’s go. Lead the way.” She pushed the door open and held it for him.
The restaurant he chose was a tiny little café built out on the water where you could hear the surf rolling under the planks of the little building. The tiny building gave off a close and intimate feeling, but with the perfect sort of distance between customers who sat scattered around the small bungalow. She liked it. Ordering a hazelnut mocha and the breakfast special, she watched Conrad struggle against the light. His hangover was still getting the better of him. She felt bad, but it also put her in a giggly mood.
“You’re a bugger. How can you not be hung over?” Conrad had his hand over his eyes, his sunglasses on as well. They sat, waiting for the coffee to arrive.
“Lucky, I guess. I don’t usually get hangovers. Though I think you probably had a bigger head start than I did. The coffee and food will hopefully help.”
“It’d better.” He slugged back the ice water in front of him. “We should do something today.”
“Like what?” Leslie’s heart raced. He was just offering to hang out; why did she have to get so excited?
“I don’t know,” Conrad said after a moment, shrugging. “What do you want to do?”
Leslie wondered briefly if he was trying to find out whether or not she was actually interested. After a moment, she realized he was watching her intently. “What?” she asked, smiling.
“I think you’re pretty cool.” Conrad reached for her glass of water now that his was empty. “Thanks for picking me up last night.”
She blinked in surprise as he straightened.
“Wait. I didn’t mean picking me up, like hitting on me. I meant boosting my spirits. Making me realize I didn’t need to be so friggin’ bummed.” He rolled his eyes. “Damn. I can’t seem to say anything right these days. I just mean… thanks. You’re easy-going. No pressure, no expectations. That’s cool.”
Her heart sank a little. He was referring to her as a friend. That’s all she wanted anyway, right? “Yeah?” Leslie smiled at him, hoping it didn’t look forced.
“Yeah,” Conrad said to her, smiling sheepishly. He still looked incredibly hot—hungover, embarrassed, and still freakin’ hot.
A thought crossed her mind. If she didn’t push for it, Conrad wouldn’t attempt to kiss her again or touch her. There was a spark between them; she couldn’t deny it and she was sure he felt it too. However, because of his situation, he was going to be cautious. She couldn’t blame him. However, she wasn’t looking for friendship or a relationship. She’d come here for one thing. And it wasn’t going to happen between her and Conrad unless she initiated it. The realization made her nervous. They’d listened to Amber have crazy sex last night and she’d been basically ready to throw herself at Conrad, and he hadn’t done anything but kiss her. That, too, had probably come out of a sense of obligation. He was pretty drunk last night. He could have used that as his excuse in the morning, but nothing had happened.
She began twitching her knee, bouncing it up and down. The intimacy of the coffee shop suddenly felt too much. Conrad’s intense blue eyes wouldn’t leave her face as he watched her. She could see them from behind his sunglasses.
Thankfully their coffee and food arrived. The waitress set their plates out and quietly moved away. Leslie grabbed her fork and dug in to her scrambled eyes. “I’m starving.” She took a bite and savored the delicious taste. She glanced across the table and noticed Conrad hadn’t picked up his fork.
He was still watching her.
“Is something wrong?” She wiped at her mouth. “Is there food on my face or something?”
“Sorry,” Conrad took his glasses off. “I was staring at you.”
“Kind of.” Leslie nodded, a little paranoid to take another bite. Conrad seemed oddly intense. She set her fork down. “What’s up, Conrad?” she asked quietly.
“I think I’m pretty crazy about you,” Conrad said after a moment. Before she could even figure out what to say, he shook his head and leaned back in his chair. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable or anything. I’m just saying. I guess I’ve been caught up in everything that was going on with me and didn’t really pay attention to anyone else. You’re just… what I wasn’t expecting.”
Leslie smiled. “You’re not what I was expecting either.”
Conrad grinned back at her and picked up his fork. “Can we maybe just leave it at that for now?”
“Yup.”
They ate their food in comfortable silence and then spent the rest of the day exploring the island. She knew she was falling for him. She didn’t know how or why, but it was happening and she didn’t know how to stop it. She blamed it on the beauty of the island, sure that when she left and returned home everything would return to normal. He was rich and famous. She was… well, rich, but she wasn’t famous; her pen name, Evelyn Frock, was.
In truth, his money meant nothing to her. His fame was hardly recognizable on the island. Sure, while they were walking around, there were one or two people who stopped and took long stares at him, watching for a second just to see if they were actually seeing the hunky guy from the TV show that he was so popular for. Leslie was certain that if she shouted out that she was Evelyn Frock, more people would recognize her name than Conrad Dane’s. It didn’t matter.
For the rest of the day they migrated from spot to spot, talking and laughing as he recovered from his hangover and decided that it was time again to get another one. Leslie didn’t argue.
She had just arrived yesterday for her week-long stay. How long was Conrad staying? She was too nervous to ask when he was going home. She wanted to spend her entire vacation with him. She wanted to explore the entire island with the man who had brought her out of the darkness and the depression she had cocooned herself in.
She was scared. One, because she didn’t know when he was leaving and two, she was terrified that he would make her forget about Michael.
“How long are you here?” Leslie asked him finally, unable to contain the suspense of it all any longer. She had to know what his plans were, so she could mentally prepare herself for good-bye—at least that was her excuse.
“However long I want.” Conrad leaned back, absorbing the last rays of sun. “Why? How long are you staying?”
“The rest of the week.” She couldn’t hide the relief from her voice.
“Mind if I keep taking up more of your time?” Conrad turned his face toward the sun, but she could see him watching her from the corner of his eye.
&nb
sp; “Sure,” Leslie sipped at her drink, watching the perfect sunset she’d known would be absolutely spectacular on the island. “I mean, if you don’t get bored of me.”
“I think the only time I’ve spent alone today was when I was in the bathroom.” Conrad laughed at the thought of how much time they had actually spent with one another.
It was a little ridiculous, but she didn’t regret a single bit of it. She was obsessed with him and thought it might be a little unhealthy, but she wasn’t making any apologies. She liked everything that he said and all of his thoughts and all of his unique opinions on things. She loved how he saw the world and the way he conjured up conversations so easily.
“Even when I have been alone,” Conrad said with a goofy smile, almost blushing. “I’m having trouble not thinking about you.”
“Yeah?” Leslie felt a warmth blossoming inside of her, but she refused to let it show. She refused to let him see that she was getting all giddy and excited inside like some sort of love-struck teenager. She was an adult and a widow. She needed to retain some form of decency. “It’s been fun today.”
“Really good,” Conrad laughed. “What about your roommates?”
“Oh shoot!” Leslie covered her mouth. “I sorta forgot about them.”
“I’m sure they’re surviving fine without you.”
Leslie chuckled. “I’m sure Amber is.”
They finished their drinks as the sun set, and continued walking.
Josie and Amber were sitting at the bar and called out when they saw her.
“Just going for a walk,” Leslie called back. “Enjoy your dinner.”
Conrad elbowed her. “You ditching your friends again?”
“There’s this cute guy I’m chasing. They’ll understand.” When Conrad wasn’t looking, she waved again at her friends, planning on winking at them. She hesitated when she noticed Josie looked upset, while Amber was laughing. Josie probably felt like Leslie was betraying them. She was funny that way. It wouldn’t be envy or anything like that. She hated it when Amber left her at a bar. She complained about it regularly back home.
