Chapter Nine
Room for Fun
S urrounded by luxury, staying in a suite whose king bed was literally—as promised by a certain redhead—only a couple of steps from the beach and ocean, Liam found himself unable to focus on any of that. For this very moment, while Avril jogged back to her shared bure, he could only look at the tall, dark-haired, and intense woman he’d be sharing the space with.
Was she pleased by this development, annoyed, completely ambivalent? He. Didn’t. Know.
So, he asked.
“Are you alright with this?”
“Concerning how Avril makes decisions for all of us, knowing we’ll have to go along with her ridiculousness once she deems fit to reveal it, no. Concerning how stunning this suite is, how isolated it is, and that I can just look up when reading in bed to see the ocean if the doors are left open, yes.”
That… sort of answered his question. But not as fully as he’d have liked.
Victoria noticed how he lingered on the deck, which wrapped around three sides of the bure, including this western, ocean-facing one. He stood only a step away from entering the lavish honeymoon suite through a pair of currently opened sliding doors, thus allowing the aforementioned reading-in-bed opportunity. The room she stood in served as both bedroom and dining room, with the latter separated from the former by a half-wall to the north. It also sat lower into the ground; you needed to climb down a few steps to reach the small dining area, which gave the suite a sort of sectional but open feel.
From the dining room, you could walk to a more proper front door—one that led to pathways circulating through the bures and all leading back to the resort proper. If you went south from the bedroom, you reached a gargantuan trapezoidal bathroom, abundant with towels and potted plants, and possessing a large shower Liam hoped Victoria would never use. Because there was a tree growing out of their deck. White and without any leaves, it nestled itself into the corner of the southern part of the expansive deck. It was a pretty sight, but that wasn’t why Liam was so invested in this area. It was because of what came out of the tree. Midway up the narrow trunk, a showerhead emerged from the bark.
This was the place he hoped Victoria would choose to shower each day. Two massive wooden panels rose higher than the railing around it, meaning that only someone inside the bure or directly adjacent to it—and peering through the plants like a peeping tom—could see the person using it.
There was even more luxury on the deck. Not even counting the hammock, chairs, and tables on the ocean-facing side, the northern part of the deck had a small pool sitting in it. Although it wasn’t too big, it was certainly private. For two honeymooners, it would be enough. Not for swimming but to sit within, share a toast, then consider making some romantic waves.
Above the main rooms, the thatched roof was supported by crisscrossing black beams, contrasting with the sparkling white floor tiles. Overall, it fit the promise made on the resort’s website. Modern yet Fijian inspired. It wasn’t that enormous of a place, yet it felt like it was brimming with open space. The vast deck and its ample opportunities definitely helped.
“Are you going to come in?” she asked.
Feeling foolish, Liam finally crossed the threshold, bringing his luggage along with him. Victoria spent another moment or two examining him before taking her bags of produce down to the dining area. There was a minifridge tucked away in a nondescript location, only visible if you were actually in the area. As she began putting away the items that needed refrigeration, Liam meandered over to the half-wall, looking down at her.
She looked up. She raised a hand, and he gingerly handed over the bag of fruit he’d purchased at the market. After putting everything away, she headed toward the front door, then called out to say she’d found a closet.
“There’s one in the bathroom too,” Liam said, going in the opposite direction.
“How large?” Victoria asked, climbing to the second step between the dining room and bedroom.
“Pretty big, why?”
“Mine has cleaning supplies, so I imagine it’s for the staff to use. We can put the things we want out of the way in the bathroom closet.”
So, they did. All the while, Liam was left scratching his brain. Right now, things all seemed pretty ho-hum. There wasn’t the electricity in the air he would have expected had someone else in their group been rooming with him, but Victoria didn’t seem perturbed by the fact that they’d be sharing a bed—unless she sent him out to the hammock or one of the lounging chairs—tonight. A very large bed, but still. After the interruption earlier in the day, they hadn’t had a good chance to address what had nearly happened in the hot spring.
Alongside placing some of the dry fruits on the dining room table, Victoria also got out her chess set, then took it out to the deck. Rather than continuing to agonize over what Victoria’s nonchalance meant, Liam used the alone time to “hide” one item in his luggage.
A glass jar. A glass jar filled with fortune cookies. The brainchild of a devious redhead, each fortune cookie within a promise from said deviant. Most of them were sensual or sexual in nature, though one of the green ones—the other options being red, which usually involved a photo or video gift, or blue, which were sexual activities—had led to him, Anna, and Avril just… sledding.
While Victoria was away, Liam opened the drawstring of the small bag he’d been lugging around for far too long, then hastily hid it behind the highest rack of towels—a little too high for anyone to ever go for them first. Even if Victoria did grab one from that set, she’d need to grab at least a couple before seeing the odd shape in the back of their closet.
Afterward, he spread out his hygiene items near the sink, grabbed his laptop and all needed chargers, and generally made the space his own. Once she was back inside, Victoria did the same. He let her decide which side of the bed she wanted, waiting for her to put her phone charge on the bed’s left nightstand before he did the same for the right one.
“We’ll have a lovely sight later tonight,” Victoria noted, looking through one of the many windows—all with large wooden slats, all currently open for their arrival—around the bedroom and dining room. The palm trees, other leafy plants, and their distance from anyone else were clearly intended to be their primary form of privacy, so he doubted they’d ever shut their windows. What honeymooning couple would want to cut themselves off from all those beautiful sights?
“You’re right,” Liam said, spying the sun. It was beginning to come down in its arc, maybe leaving a couple of hours until sunset began.
“We can all watch it together later.”
“That sounds like a great idea,” he said.
Growing quiet again for a second, Victoria returned to the dining room. Glancing at her, he saw her pick up a thick-looking binder. The dark-haired professor spent a quiet minute looking through it.
“We can call in for room service from the phone on the nightstand,” she said. “Or go to the restaurant. We can also request any non-alcoholic drink at our leisure; they’ll even come stock the minifridge if we wish. Alcoholic ones aren’t free.” She flipped to another page. “And they offer a beachside massage, right on the water.” Victoria’s shiver-inducing blue eyes rose. “Do you think the massage you’ve promised me can be as good?”
“I invite you to make the comparison,” he answered.
“A diplomatic answer.”
“If they’re better, bring back some advice. Maybe I’ll get one, too, so I can be on the receiving side of things. That could help me improve.”
“All worth consideration,” Victoria said, setting down the binder. “Also, we apparently have no Wi-Fi or TV in our suite. We’ll have to go to the resort area to get it.”
Liam frowned. “Why would they do that?”
“So that honeymooning couples aren’t distracted by the outside world, according to the brochure.” Victoria climbed back to the higher level. “I think it’s a novel enough idea. I’m willing to see how it feels.”
How could he argue with that? With those eyes, that body? It probably was for the best, anyway. Yeah, he wasn’t paying the thousands of dollars he knew each night must cost, but he only had so much time to enjoy being so isolated from the rest of the world. So isolated with so many beautiful women. The last place his eyes needed to be during this trip was a screen.
“So, what do we do now? Go back to the others?”
“If you want.”
He did, but he also didn’t.
“Maybe we can play a game or two, then see if they swing by to our suite? I assume you put the chessboard out there to bait me.”
“What about my massage?”
Liam nearly facepalmed. How had he forgotten about that?!
“We could do that too.”
Victoria glanced toward the open doorway leading to the deck. Curiously, she then shook her head.
“No, I’ll ask for it tomorrow morning. When it’s less likely we’ll be interrupted. I'm sure someone will be coming our way in a few minutes. We can play chess.”
Compared to how annoyed he’d felt about the delay in getting to the mud bath earlier, this one didn’t attract a single wince. Instead, aware of the possible meaning behind her decision, it brought butterflies.
“Will that be when you start showing me all those new bikinis you brought for the trip?” he asked.
Victoria slid her gaze back to him. “Yes. As promised.”