The look he gave the rest of the room was less than impressed.
I laughed. “It’s not like the place is a dump.”
Unconvinced, he wrinkled his nose. “You don’t even have a stove.”
“Microwave.” I flicked a finger toward the black appliance on top of the mini-fridge. “It works great. I have all the mac ‘n cheese I could want.”
As he glared at the basic setup like it’d personally offended him, he tilted his head when he spotted the small glass pineapple plugged into the electrical socket.
“What’s that?”
Embarrassed, I dropped my gaze to the floor. “A nightlight.”
“Well, that’s something I don’t have in my room,” he commented.
“That’s because you have to request it from the resort,” I muttered, scraping my foot over the carpet.
“Are you afraid of the dark, Corrie?” I could hear amusement in Aiden’s voice and when I glanced up, I saw the grin to match his tone, dimple and all.
“You don’t have to make fun.” I pouted. “It’s called nyctophobia.”
Placing his finger under my chin—one of the spots that wasn’t burnt—he lifted my face until our eyes locked. “I’m smiling because I think it’s cute.”
“Really?”
“Yep. Now get your cute ass on the bed.” He stabbed a finger toward the mattress. “If you won’t let a medic take care of you, I’m going to do it.”
My grin fell. “Fine, fine.”
Clutching the towel, I made sure it stayed in place as I eased onto my butt and tried to figure out the least painful and most modest way to lie down.
I don’t know why I was being so shy now. After what we did in the water yesterday, you’d think I’d have been willing to let Aiden see me nude, but I was feeling extra vulnerable. I’d already exposed my all inner weaknesses, and he was about to find out how much of a baby I was on the outside, too.
Deciding it was best to let him tend to my back first, I swung my legs up and rolled onto my stomach while holding in a whimper.
Oh-so-gentle fingers swept my hair out of the way and in my peripheral vision, I watched Aiden break off an aloe leaf. He squeezed the goo onto his hands, then began spreading it between my shoulder blades. It was slimy, but not unpleasant.
Lowering his head, Aiden’s lush lips formed an ‘O’ as he blew on the wet patch, creating a cool burst on the hot area.
Startled by how good it felt, I let out a moan of contentment.
The circular motions of his fingers paused. “Am I hurting you?”
“No,” I sighed. “It’s nice, actually.”
Carefully tugging the towel lower, he resumed doctoring me all the way down my spine, leaving no spot untreated. I hissed a couple times when he got too close to the worst areas on my shoulder blades, but he quickly soothed it with puffs of air.
He was achingly soft in the way he handled me with feather-light touches, and the concern and tenderness in his expression couldn’t be faked.
Any lingering doubts I had about his sincerity vanished. He was serious about us.
And I was falling for him.
Sinking, all the way to the bottom.
Much like the peace I found at the deep end of the pool, Aiden had been—and still was—my safe place.
It was both funny and frightening how easy it was to pick up where we left off.
Although the past three days were still in the too-good-to-be-true category, I’d regained the security I lost so long ago.
I’ll be your courage if you’ll be my contentment.
Aiden was offering me everything I ever wanted—a mutually beneficial relationship where bank accounts and paychecks didn’t matter because we were giving each other something priceless.
When he was done with my upper half, his hand went to my legs. Fingertips brushed my calves.
“You’re not red back here.”
“Nope. But the tops of my feet and the front of my thighs are pretty bad. I’ll do the feet, though,” I added, remembering what he’d said about the body part.
Gripping my waist, Aiden urged me to turn over. A groan escaped when I made it onto my back.
“Are you okay?” Aiden’s hands froze mid-air.
Inhale. Exhale.
“Yeah,” I said, lying through my gritted teeth.
Aiden narrowed his eyes skeptically before reluctantly getting to work on my face, and I studied him while he concentrated on coating my cheeks, nose, and forehead.
The dark scruff on his face was a little thicker than yesterday. I liked it, but if it got too much longer, it would hide his dimple—and that would be a damn shame.
His fingertips traced my lips, spreading the aloe there, and my breath hitched as I became hot and bothered for a completely different reason.
The moment was almost surreal.
Aiden Legend was hovering over me. On a bed. In a tropical paradise.
Our faces were less than a foot apart, and my lips tingled with the need for a kiss. My nipples puckered underneath the fabric covering my breasts and heat pulsed between my thighs.
All concern for modesty fled, but Aiden seemed oblivious to my increasing arousal. Eyebrows furrowed with concentration, he wasn’t the least bit affected by our position.
What would happen if I had a wardrobe malfunction? If I wiggled around just right, and the towel fell away?
Maybe flashing some nip would get his attention.
I was snapped out of my perverted thoughts when pain on my shoulder made me yelp.
“Ow.” Like a petulant child, I batted Aiden’s hands away. “You can skip that part.”
He gave me a seriously sexy glare. “You have blisters.”
“Exactly. You probably shouldn’t touch them. They could become infected and I don’t want to lose an arm to gangrene or some kind of flesh-eating bacteria.”
“You’re only further convincing me to call a medic,” Aiden stated. “This isn’t negotiable.”
So freaking bossy.
I pouted. “Fine. Talk to me. Say something to distract me from how much it hurts.” His thumb swiped over the area and I whined, “Owww.”
He promptly blew on it, taking away the sting and causing goose bumps to scatter across my entire body.
“Remember the journal we used to pass back and forth?” he asked.
Of all things, why did he have to bring that up? Of course I remembered. We used to write notes to each other every day. Silly Jokes. Ridiculous questions. All the pages were filled with flirty banter, and it used to be one of my most treasured possessions.
It got incinerated along with the rest of my Aiden memorabilia.
“Yeah,” I replied, sucking in a breath as he went to the other shoulder.
“Do you still have it?”
“No.” I paused. “It caught on fire.”
Alarmed, his eyes bounced to mine. “What? How?”
“Uhh, lighter fluid and a match?” I answered sheepishly.
“You burned it?” His fingers ghosted over my collarbone and moved down to my chest.
“I was pissed, okay? I thought I was never going to see you again. I had no reason to keep it.”
Sadness flickered over his features before a determined look set in. “Well, it’s a good thing I got a new one.”
My heart skipped a beat. “You did?”
“Uh-huh. Bought it from the gift shop. I hope you don’t have a fear of dolphins. I tried to find one without animals on it, but it was either that or parrots.” He smirked. “I figured they were included in the winged demon category.”
“They are.” I chuckled. “And dolphins are great.”
Slick fingertips slid down between my breasts, dipping into the towel.
Aiden’s breath caught, and a tremble worked its way through his hand. When he blew on my cleavage, the air came out in uneven puffs.
Maybe he wasn’t so unaffected after all.
Shaking his head, he schooled his features, adopting an
expressionless poker face. He snapped off another aloe leaf and quickly applied the sticky goo to my thighs, his touch lingering at the bottom of the towel. Determined to treat every injured inch of my body, he swallowed hard, then slipped his hands underneath.
I bit my lip to stop the whimper of need from escaping when I felt him brush against the crease where my thigh met my hip.
So close.
If he moved just a couple inches over, his thick fingers could be inside me.
I hadn’t touched myself in a long time. Truth be told, every time I orgasmed, I couldn’t stop myself from picturing Aiden between my legs, and I got tired of wanting what I couldn’t have.
But I had him now.
Aiden scooted backward on the mattress and sat on the end of the bed. Then he lifted my right foot and placed it in his lap, curiously inspecting the reddened areas.
I squirmed as he examined the body part he claimed to dislike.
It wasn’t like my feet were gross. I’d just gotten a pedicure before coming to the island and I wasn’t one of those crazy people who chewed their toenails, thank God for that. Yeah, my fingernails were a mess, my feet were in pristine condition—freshly exfoliated and complete with purple nail polish to match my hair.
I tried to pull my leg away, but Aiden tightened his grip on my heel. “Your toes are cute.”
“Really?” I asked, flattered by how he didn’t show any sign of squeamishness as he tended to the burns with the aloe.
“I’m serious,” he insisted. “I’d even go as far as to say they’re sexy.”
“You’re not going to develop a fetish on me, are you?” I teased.
“I dunno. I’m not ruling it out.” Cradling my foot in his palm, he poked the arch.
Then he ran his thumb along the inner part until he reached my ankle. He zeroed in on the white, inch-long scar from the chihuahua attack.
Fascinated, I watched with wide eyes as he bent down and placed a kiss there. I thought that would be the end of it, but he didn’t stop. Traveling upward, he continued the unexpected affection, planting his lips on my calf with quick pecks.
When he almost made it to my knee, I whispered, “What are you doing?”
He glanced up. “I promised you two hundred kisses a day. That’s twenty.”
“Oh,” I breathed out, another heatwave pummeling me.
Dipping his head, he went back to delivering on his promise. Smooching in counts of ten, he alternated between each leg as he went higher. And higher.
I giggled when his scruff tickled my inner thighs.
He grinned against the unburned skin. “One hundred and eighty.”
The assault continued, and my legs fell open wider as I wiggled and laughed. The towel rode up, coming dangerously close to exposing a part of me that Aiden had felt but definitely hadn’t seen.
“Two hundred,” he announced proudly, lifting his head.
But the humor of the moment got zapped in an instant when he realized his face was mere inches away from my aching core, the only barrier separating us a thin scrap of cloth.
Aiden cleared his throat. “So, I just became very aware of how naked you are.”
Darkened eyes flitted to mine, and the desire I saw mirrored back at me was staggering.
Shiver. Sizzle.
Flames licked over my skin and it had nothing to do with the sunburn.
My clit throbbed, my heartbeat hammered, and in that moment I completely forgot about the pain I was in.
“How do you feel about exceeding today’s quota?” His voice cracked.
I gulped and rasped, “I feel good about that.”
Licking his lips, he pinched the bottom of the towel and slowly pushed it up.
Suddenly, his phone dinged, startling both of us.
“Fuck.” Looking pissed as hell, Aiden leaned back to pull the device out of his pocket. He glowered at it as he checked his texts. “Damn it. Fuck.”
I had to cover my mouth with the back of my hand to hold in the giggle bubbling up.
It was just so funny to see Aiden’s polite demeanor unravel. And kind of flattering, too. I did that to him. I made him curse like a sailor, all because he didn’t get to go down on me.
He sent me a regretful glance. “It’s Theo. I have to go. Rehearsal for the sing-off is in five minutes.”
“Okay.” I sat up, trying not to let the disappointment weigh me down. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow at the contest then.”
A muscle in his jaw jumped and he shook his head. “You’re staying in my room tonight.”
The statement came out like it was a fact we both already knew.
“I am?”
“I don’t like the thought of you being here.” He gave the room another disdainful once-over. “You deserve better.”
I snickered. “Don’t be a snob. This is one of the nicest hotel rooms I’ve ever stayed in.”
“And… I want to sleep with you.”
My mouth popped open, shocked at his boldness.
Nudging my calf, he chuckled. “Pervert. I meant just sleep.”
What a tempting offer. Or demand. Whatever.
Now the question was, should I take him up on it? To be honest, I hated being away from Aiden last night. Knowing he was out partying with everyone had caused my green-eyed monster to rear its ugly head.
I hadn’t meant to spy, but when I’d cracked the sliding glass door, hoping for a distraction from the sunburn, I could hear the festivities happening below. The laughter. Splashing in the pool. Singing to 90s boy bands.
Okay, so my spying had been totally intentional. When I’d peeked over the concrete wall on my balcony, I’d seen Aiden chatting with Theo by the poolside bar. Several of the contestants had come up to talk to him, and while he’d been polite, he wasn’t flirtatious in the least.
I was happy about that—giddy about everything, really—but one of us had to be rational.
“We’re moving kind of fast, don’t you think?” I asked.
“We’ve got a lot of catching up to do, don’t you think?” he countered.
“I have to mix your song tonight. I thought I could sneak down to the basement when no one is there.”
“Yeah. But after that.” Like a protective parent, he began fussing over me again, breaking off three aloe leaves at once and hastily applying a second coat to my body. “Repeat this every two hours, alternating with the ointment in your care pack. Take Advil. Drink lots of water. Then when you’re done working, come to my room—ten o’clock is good. You shouldn’t be working later than that.”
“You can’t order me around when I’m incapacitated,” I said sternly. However, my firm tone disintegrated when he bent down and kissed the top of each foot. “Or when you’re being all sexy and cute. It’s not fair.”
He stood. “I don’t care about fair. I care about you.”
Well, shit.
How could I argue with that?
“I’ll see you tonight,” I said with a resigned sigh.
And the last shred of resistance I had crumbled when his dimple appeared and he responded, “That’s my girl.”
“YOU HAVE SHITTY TIMING.” I sidled up next to Theo in the conference room, speaking over the black grand piano Jordan was idly playing. Twila was sitting next to him on the bench, mesmerized by the quick work of his fingers on the keys.
My brother just grinned at me. “Well, hello to you, too.”
“How much did I miss?”
“Just started.” He whistled at the pair on the stage to get their attention. “Let’s do a run through, then Aiden will have suggestions for you.”
Jordan and Twila both sent hopeful, pleading glances my way. Like I was the answer to all their prayers. Their desperation, their desire for this dream—It was palpable.
And I felt like the biggest imposter. I was supposed to coach these people? Help them win? I wasn’t an expert. I didn’t know much more about the industry than they did.
I hated to admit it, but some of them w
ere more talented than me. Looked like I was all they had, though. According to the text Theo sent, the execs from Rodeo Records weren’t coming back until the contest tomorrow, so I’d just have to do my best.
The crew was sparse this afternoon. Only one cameraman stood inconspicuously off to the side along with a mic technician, and Trisha was parked in the same spot Corrie was the first night. Her laptop was open, ready to play the background music for the duets.
When she saw me eyeing her equipment, she smirked and held up a hand. “Before you ask, I swear I know what I’m doing. Just say when you want me to start.”
“Actually,” Jordan cut in, “we’re doing piano only.”
Going over to the chairs set out for Theo and me in front of the small stage, I parked myself front and center. “All right. Let’s hear it.”
Twila looked at Jordan, and he gave her a nod. Then he began playing the opening chords of “Poison and Wine” by The Civil Wars.
His ambition to provide their music was a bold move. I was impressed but also concerned that their decision to keep it simple might take away from their performance. But this business was all about taking risks, and it could help them win if it worked.
And it did work.
Jordan was definitely familiar with the instrument, and when the pair got to the harmony, the perfect merging of their voices along with the simplicity of the music actually gave me goose bumps.
“Damn,” Theo commented, rubbing the standing hairs on his arms. “I don’t know a lot about singing, but that’s some good shit. They sound great together.”
I nodded. “They really do.”
Didn’t take a professional to see raw talent, and Jordan and Twila had it. In fact, hearing them together was almost better than when they were apart. If they were this good tomorrow night, they’d be sticking around for a while.
Throughout the song, I paid close attention to pitch and noticed a few times when Twila needed to breathe. During the middle there was a part where it wouldn’t hurt to slow it down, but all in all, it was a great performance.
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