That One Summer: A Collection of Steamy Contemporary Romance

Chapter 8

I woke to feel a lineof kisses pressed across my shoulder blade, then a trail down my spine. I stretched and mumbled, “Mornin’.”

“Morning, sweetheart,” Nico whispered in my ear, his sleep-warmed body pressed against my side.

“Too early,” I moaned.

I wasn’t ready for it to be another morning. I felt like I just gone to sleep. The slammed-by-a-truck jetlag feeling was improving steadily, but I still woke each morning with my head and body protesting it was the middle of the night. I’d just about catch up with the time zones and then it would be time to go home.

I turned my head, and he kissed my mouth, then rolled away from me.

“I’m sorry, I’ve got to work this morning,” Nico said, sounding as reluctant as I felt to let him go. “Those pipes won’t mend themselves.”

I moaned my disapproval, and he brushed a kiss across my cheek.

“I’ll get breakfast. Be back soon.”

I sighed as he left. Nico had his work head on. No fun this morning. I rolled over and stared up at the ceiling. I was awake now. I staggered out of bed and headed straight for the pool, gasping as the cool water pushed away the lingering sleep. No doubt about it. I’d miss being able to swim naked when I went home. I tried not to think about going home yet.

Nico returned with pastries and fruit and coffee. We had breakfast on the balcony, then curled up on the sofa for a while, enjoying the early morning sunshine. It was nice, domestic even. I daydreamed for a moment what it would be like to do this all the time. In real life, I’d have been rushing out to work about now and barking at Mick to get out of bed or he’d be late, then he’d blame me for not getting him up on time.

“What are you thinking about?” Nico asked, then leaned forward to brush something from the corner of my mouth. “Crumbs,” he said, by way of explanation. “You looked so happy, then resigned.”

I smiled at him. “Nothing important. Just what my mornings are like at home.”

“Rushing around getting ready for work?”

“Something like that.”

He grimaced. “Most mornings I’m shoveling breakfast down my throat as I rush out the door. This is nice, relaxed.”

“Where do you live when you’re not traveling?” I asked, curious to know more about him.

“I have a flat in London but I’m hardly ever there. I’ve got a friend living there. He’s always surprised when I turn up. Like he’s forgotten I exist. Most of the time I live here so I can see Toni.”

Toni...oh, his cat, of course. I damped down the panic at the thought he was cheating on a girlfriend with me. I would not be the other woman.

“You didn’t think of leaving the cat with your roommate?” I asked.

He snorted. “I wouldn’t trust Steve to look after a houseplant. I love the man like my brother, but he lives in a world of his own. He designs games and when he’s absorbed, nothing else matters.” Nico looked at his watch. “I’m sorry, Cassie, I’ve got to go.”

He kissed my cheek and headed into his room.

“Do you know anything about burst pipes?” I curled up on the sofa, watching him dress for work.

“Not a thing,” Nico admitted cheerfully, “or I’d have mended them sooner. And our maintenance manager is on holiday.”

I drooled as his muscles flexed as he pulled on a T-shirt. Usually he wore a shirt and dress pants, but today it was a T-shirt and cut-off denim shorts so he could sort out the pipes. The shorts perfectly framed his gorgeous ass.

“I can see you ogling me,” he said as he emerged from the neck of the T-shirt.

“Is that a problem?”

“Nope, not a problem.”

“I thought you didn’t mend the pipes because you wanted to be with me,” I teased.

“Well, and that, but the plumbers are new to us, and I want to make sure they know what they’re doing. Our usual guy is still not well enough to work. I need to check on him later. See if he needs anything.”

He was too good to be true. A guy who made sure the plumber was okay? Why had no woman hooked this man?

Nico grinned at me. “What do you know about burst pipes?”

I smirked at him. “Not a thing.”

“Shame. Oh well, I’d better pretend I do. Otherwise, Dad will be over.”

“That’s a bad thing?”

‘He’s retired, and bored.” Nico rolled his eyes. “And just close enough to interfere if he finds out there’s a problem.”

I snorted. Despite the fact, or maybe because he had guests, Nico’s father rang him constantly, hoping for a reason to visit the hotel.

‘Why don’t you give him a project to deal with?” I suggested. “Something that will keep him occupied.”

Nico looked intrigued. “Like what?”

“What was he good at?”

“Everything,” he confessed. “He built this hotel from the ground up. He’s very practical.”

“Can he fix the pipes?”

“I don’t know,” Nico said.

“Did you ask him?”

“No.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, okay, what you’re saying is...?”

“Your Dad is bored, and you need help, dipshit. If he’s not up to mending pipes he could supervise the plumbers. Maybe look at other maintenance jobs that need doing across the resort. Use him as much as he wants.”

“And Mama will allow.”

I grinned at him. “And as much as your mama will allow.”

Nico sat down beside me and pulled out his phone. One phone call later, I smirked at him.

“Did Daddy ream you out for not asking sooner?”

“You heard?”

“It was hard to miss,” I assured him. Nico’s dad was...forceful. I never wanted to upset Mr. Milaras Senior. But he did end up telling his son he loved him and was always there for him and dear God, he needed a reason to get away from a houseful of Mama’s friends. “When’s he coming over?”

“Now.” Nico sighed. “Mama is going to kill me.”

I was sure she would, but she’d understand her son needed his dad. “How long will he take to get here?”

“About twenty minutes.”

“In which case...” I straddled Nico’s lap and stared into his beautiful eyes. “It’s time you gave me that early morning wake-up call I missed.”

He tugged my dress up and discovered what I was wearing underneath. Or nor wearing. “You were bare and didn’t show me.”

“I didn’t want to make you late for work,” I taunted.

“Lift up,” Nico ordered, ripping the dress over my head.

Between us, we both wriggled, and he pushed his shorts down. He was already half-hard. As I wrapped my hands around his dick, his eyes fluttered shut.

“Fifteen minutes,” he said, caressing my breasts.

“I don’t think it’ll take that long,” I said.

He hissed as I lowered myself onto his cock. “You’re so tight and wet.”

“You’re so thick. You fill me up.”

“Ride me hard.”

I held his shoulders and rode him until we were both gasping and yelling, then he grabbed my hips and thrust up into me, over and over until we climaxed, sending us both over the edge. I collapsed onto him, a satiated mess, content to stay there until his phone started ringing.

“That’s my dad,” Nico said without moving.

“I told you I could make it,” I mumbled.

“I’ve got to go, or he’ll be at the door.”

But he stayed where he was, just a few more minutes.

* * *

Nico left with a promiseof dinner and that his room would be fixed by the end of the day if he had to mend the pipes himself. I didn’t want him to go, but I knew he had a job to do, and he’d been focused on me for four days.

Unsure what to do with myself, I packed my beach bag and headed toward the beach. It was time to paddle in the blue water. When I’d booked the honeymoon, I’d told Mick we would go on lots of trips. Instead, I’d barely gotten out of the room. My pussy reminded me of the tall, dark, and handsome reason for that.

Still, I had no idea how long Nico would be around and he worked during the day. I needed to get out and find my own entertainment.

The hotel was so much quieter than when I arrived, and the guests seemed to be a mix of retired couples and a few younger couples with pre-school children.

I found a free umbrella on the beach, claiming it for my own and settled down for the afternoon. A waiter appeared almost immediately, and I ordered a drink. His eyes widened as I gave him the room number. I wondered what that was about and forgot about it as I settled back to my horror novel. Yet another woman had been killed running through the woods. So predictable.

As the sun dipped lower, I took a final stroll down to water’s edge, gasping as the waves lapped around my ankles. I needed to go swimming in the sea before I left. Maybe I could go snorkeling.

“Hi.”

I nearly shed my skin as one arm came around me, tugging me against his chest.

“Jesus, Nico, warn a girl next time.”

I leaned against him. He smelled of sweat and sunshine and he was fantasy all wrapped in a hard muscled body.

“Sorry.”

“That would be more sincere if you didn’t sound so smug. How did you know I was here?”

“My spies told me.”

“You have spies, Mr. Milaras?”

“I do.”

“I’m not sure how I feel about that.”

“I do own the resort,” he pointed out. “But if it makes you feel better, I also saw you on CCTV as you walked past.” He pointed up at the cameras.

I followed his gaze. “You have spies everywhere.”

“We also have thieves. The cameras make it a lot easier when our guests report something stolen.”

I hummed in agreement. “How did the plumbing go?”

“All repaired. It turned out my mama knows the owner of the new plumbers. She went to school with him or something. It was done by lunchtime. My dad made sure it was up to his standards. I don’t think the plumbers knew what hit them. Nor did I. I got a lecture for wearing a T-shirt and shorts instead of business attire. Are you laughing at me?”

I tilted my head to grin at him. “I think I like your dad.”

“Funny. He said the same about you. He approves of people with common sense. He wants to offer you a job.”

My jaw dropped. “What the...? What kind of job?” I mean it was ridiculous to even think about it, but I had to ask.

“He thinks I need a right-hand man...or woman in this case.” He smirked at me. “He thinks I’m so busy thinking of the bigger picture I’m going to let things fall through the cracks.”

“But he’s never met me.”

“I know. He’s like that though. He never misses an opportunity where business is concerned. And I gave you a very good reference.”

I swear if the man had dimples he’d be flashing them at me now. What an offer. I could hear inner Miriam yelling “Take it! Take it!” I grinned as I thought of Nico giving me a reference for my ‘personal skills’. I saw him watching me closely and I wondered, did Nico want me to accept the offer or was he more worried I would?

Nico sighed. “I need a shower and a swim, and the chance to relax before we do anything else.”

“Do you want to go back to the room?”

“In a while,” he said. “Let’s walk along the beach.”

He held out his hand and I entangled our fingers. That sounded perfect.