Chapter 9
The next day startedout as magical. The ending was pretty good too. In between...
Nico took the morning off to take me snorkeling. I watch the iridescent fish swim through the sea plants, their colors as bright and varied as the fish.
We ate at a restaurant on the beach, then headed back to our suite for a nap. That was the idea, instead he made love to me so gently I almost cried. For a moment I could believe this was real. Afterward I buried my face into the crook of his neck and took a siesta.
The knock on the door barely penetrated my sleep. In fact, I incorporated it into my dream, and ignored it. But the knocking didn’t stop. I sat up, the sheet pooling around my waist. Nico hadn’t stirred, still passed out on his stomach, his face buried in the crook of his arm. He looked so peaceful, it was a shame to disturb him.
The thumping at the door started again.
“Okay, okay,” I grumbled. “Coming.”
I’d certainly done that, over and over.
I flung on my robe, fastened it, and opened the door a fraction. I should have engaged my brain sooner. The last time I answered a knock at the door, I agreed to let a stranger stay for a night.
This time...
“You took your time,” Mick grumbled, glowering at me.
My ex-fiancé stood in front of me, his girlfriend by his side. Not a stranger, but not someone I wanted to ever see again.
I stared at them both. He had the grace to look uncomfortable, although that could be the long-sleeved T-shirt and cargo pants he wore. He had to be roasting. Unlike my ex, Jewel looked a million dollars. She wore a light summer dress which barely covered her butt and strappy Jimmy Choos. Her glossy black hair looked as if she’d come from the salon, and she wore a slick of pale pink lip balm. Jewel looked like the Instagram influencer she was. What was she doing with a hick like Mick? Then she smirked at me as if to rub in the fact she had my man and I remembered that I hated her. She could keep him and his hemorrhoids.
But for once, I didn’t feel inadequate against her perfection. After a few days of being mostly nude, I rocked an allover tan to die for. Between the tan, and the way the sun had streaked my blonde hair, I’d never looked better.
I ignored her and turned to my ex. “Mick? What are you doing here?”
He ignored my question. “Why are you undressed? It’s the middle of the day.”
I willed my cheeks not to flush but from the way his eyes narrowed, it was a losing battle. Instead, I went on the offensive.
“It’s none of your business. What are you doing here?”
Mick drew Jewel in close to him. Five days ago, that simple gesture would have devastated me. Now I couldn’t care less.
“It’s my vacation too. We booked the first flights we could. You can pay me back for those later.”
My mouth dropped open. “You’ve got to be joking. I’m not paying for your flights.”
“It was our vacation,’ he snapped. “Jewel and I arranged our vacation days to come here. There’s still a week left. The suite has two rooms and it’s not fair that we can’t share. You can have the small room. We’ll take the large one.”
“It was our honeymoon,” I pointed out, my voice cracking. I hated to show my vulnerability, but he had tipped my world upside down and now he expected me to share our not-honeymoon with his new squeeze. Hell no. “You dumped me for her and left me with the debt for the wedding.”
“Don’t be so dramatic,” he sneered. “It’s a hotel room. You’ve had it for five days. Now it’s our turn.”
“No.” I folded my arms across my chest. “This is my room. I paid for it. I changed the booking.”
“You’re so selfish,” Jewel burst out. “It’s Mickey’s hotel room too. You can share. I want to show this for my business.”
“No, I can’t. The suite is full.”
“There’s only you in here,” he snapped.
I shook my head. “There’s someone using the small room.”
“Who?” he demanded, like it was any of his business. He really was an ass.
How had I spent so long with him? Miriam and my mom warned me about him, but I’d thought I was in love.
“Me.”
I let out a deep breath as Nico’s hard body pressed against my back and he wrapped his arm possessively around me. Just his touch made me feel better, and it was so hot. I also realized he wore nothing but a towel around his waist.
Jewel’s eyes widened and she licked her lips. “Who are you?” she breathed out.
I couldn’t help the petty satisfaction at knowing I had the ten. Mick was a seven at the most.
I saw the fury in Mick’s face. He knew it too.
“Who are you?” he demanded. “And what are you doing in my room?”
“My room,” I pointed out.
Mick didn’t take his eyes off Nico. “This is my room.”
I took a deep breath. I was seriously going to lose it if he said that one more time. But Nico held me closer, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. I got the message.
“Nico Milaras.”
Mick’s eyes narrowed. “Milaras? As in Hotel Milaras?”
“My family owns the resort and this hotel. So technically, this is my room, and if you haven’t paid for a package here, you are trespassing.”
Oh. Wow.
I held back a squeak. That assured domination was so hot.
Mick turned to me, fury in his expression. “It’s been three weeks since we split and you’re fucking him already?”
“Don’t you dare talk to me like I’m a whore.” I was so done. “At least I’m not a two-timing cheater!”
“And I’m doing the fucking,” Nico pointed out.
I tipped my head back to gaze at him. “Really?”
He twitched his lips, pressing into me again and I realized he was getting hard. Someone liked the power play. I should have been embarrassed or annoyed at his crudeness. Instead, I leaned back into his embrace. I needed that possessiveness right now. I needed him to show Mick I was desirable despite the fact he threw me away.
Most people would have backed down, apologized, negotiated, come to some arrangement to get a room. Not Mick, he went full steam ahead.
“What are you doing with my fiancée?” He bellowed the question at top volume. They probably heard him across the resort.
“I’m not your fiancée,” I said icily. “I should have been your wife, but you dumped me.”
Jewel turned on Mick, her expression angry and mortified, but I don’t think he even noticed what he’d just said. He was solely focused on Nico.
“Ex-fiancée,” Nico pointed out, his voice so calm yet conveying his contempt. “Cassie is single now. That was your choice, am I right?”
“Well...I...but...” Mick blustered.
“Go away, Mick,” I said, weary of this confrontation. I wanted to forget he ever existed. “Take your girlfriend and get out of my sight.”
Nico held me tenderly, but his voice was anything but. It could have cut through steel. “Get out of my resort. You’re not welcome here. Security is waiting for you downstairs.”
“But—”
Jewel’s eyes narrowed speculatively. “Mr. Milaras, I’m an influencer and—”
Nico shut the door on her sales pitch. “Let’s go back to bed.”
He guided me back to the bed, stripped off my robe and his towel, and rolled me onto my back. Then he straddled me and bent, his arms framing my head, his lips close to mine.
“You really need to choose better boyfriends, Cassie.”
I snorted out a laugh. “Have you been talking to my mom or my best friend?”
“He’s an arse.”
I loved the way he rolled the word. And I couldn’t disagree with him.
“I knew that before we split,” I admitted. “I was relieved when he broke up with me, as humiliating as it was.”
He nodded. “It’s hard to change things, even for the better.”
“You know Jewel’s gonna roast you online.”
“Like I care,” he said indifferently.
“It won’t affect your business?” I asked, concerned. I’d seen Jewel roast businesses before. She was vicious.
“We work with serious promotors. Not the girlfriend of your cheating ex.”
“You know who she is?”
His lips twitched. “I checked them out.”
Huh, I hadn’t even thought of that. “You checked me out?”
“I did. Although you’re not on social media that much.”
“I never have been,” I admitted. A thought occurred to me. “You said security was waiting for Mick and Jewel.”
“I messaged them before I joined you. They’ll handle them now.”
“But they didn’t do anything wrong.”
His dark brows knit together. “They’re trespassing. They shouldn’t have been allowed up here. I’ll be talking to reception about that.”
Nico was not as calm as he’d made out. One of his staff had screwed up and was going to get reamed out. Maybe I could calm him down. I wrapped my arms around his neck and drew him down for a kiss.
He groaned as our lips touched and claimed my mouth with an intense possessiveness that made my pussy ache to have him inside me again.
“I’m not going to let you go,” he murmured.
He was talking with his dick, I knew that. But I didn’t want to think about going home or the future without Nico in it. I didn’t even know when he was going home. I kissed him again, needing his mouth on mine, his tongue dueling with mine, but it wasn’t enough.
“I need you inside me,” I begged, taking his engorged cock in my hands, squeezing the shaft as I reached the base. He groaned with aching need, pushing into my hands as I jacked him slowly.
“You’re a tease,” he moaned.
“I hope so.”
Then I was on my back again and he pressed inside me, filling me just as I needed.
“Thank you for having my back,” I whispered, before I reclaimed his mouth.
His bright smile was all I needed. “I’ll always have it, if you’ll let me.”
“You mean...?”
He dropped a kiss on my lips. “I do.”
* * *
“What about a swim beforewe go out for dinner?” Nico asked as he watched me shower in the bathroom. I was covered in sweat and cum. I’d banned him from joining me, knowing we’d only start again. He pouted adorably, but he stayed outside the shower.
I smiled at him. “That sounds like a great idea.”
My gaze raked over his muscled body. I bit the inside of my lip, then threw caution to the wind.
“Come here,” I ordered.
He blinked. “In the shower?”
“Yes.”
Nico stepped into the stall. I cupped his neck and dragged him down for a kiss.
“I thought we were going for a swim,” he teased when we pulled back, needing air. I turned to leave, and he reeled me back against him. “Later,” he muttered and pushed me to my knees.
“Later,” I agreed and took him in my mouth.
* * *
But before we did anythingelse, I had a phone call to make. I sat naked on the bed because it was too hot to get dressed before it was strictly necessary, Nico wrapped around me, and pressed contact.
“Why haven’t you called me? Are you all right? You can’t come home yet,” Miriam barked. “It’s too soon. You need to get laid first.”
I blushed, knowing Nico had to have heard that. He pressed a chuckle into my shoulder.
“About that...”
“That’s taken care of,” he said into the phone. “I promise you Cassie has gotten laid, many times.” He didn’t bother to hide the smugness.
But he yelped as I elbowed him. Sweet Jesus, there were lines and lines. He did not need to be telling my best friend that. She’d want to know all the gory details.
Silence on the other end of the line, only broken by the muted sound of Manhattan traffic.
It went on for so long, I started to get worried. “Miriam?”
“Who is that man with the gorgeous voice and how did you meet him?” She sounded almost breathy. “Does he have a brother?”
“It’s a long story, but this is Nico. And you don’t even like men.”
“You met a man?” She ignored my last crack.
“On the first day.”
“Way to go, Cassie. You got your summer fling.”
“No,” Nico said firmly into the phone.
“No?” Now Miriam sounded confused. “You two are fucking like bunnies but this isn’t a fling?”
I swallowed hard, my mouth dry. I wanted to know the answer to the question too.
Nico took the phone from me. “This isn’t a summer fling, Miriam. If Cassie will have me, this is forever.”
* * *
Sue’s website
www.suebrownstories.com
* * *
Newsletter
http://bit.ly/SueBrownNews