The Heartbreak Hotel (Sandy Springs #1)

Chapter Eight

Riley

Riley sat on the bottom step, looking out over the ocean as the sun beat down on her, but her mind kept replaying the same thought. What are you doing?

She’d done the complete opposite of staying away from Ella, and now the redhead was in her cabin. Her cabin! What if she went through her things? What if someone saw them together?

Riley, what are you doing?

Her heart thumped hard in her ribcage, and she plucked the amethyst necklace hanging past her sternum to rub it between her fingers. Sucking in a deep breath, she imagined the air reaching the ends of her fingers and the tips of her toes. Panic pushed back, and she closed her eyes, trying to bring her heartrate down.

She couldn’t help it. Seeing Ella upset triggered a protective urge in her. She just wanted to help; that was all. She’d sprinted over after spotting her with hands covering her face and soft sobs leaving her lips. The absence of her bubbly personality and fierce laughter had caught Riley off-guard. The vulnerability she’d shown her—intentionally or not—made all her reservations take a back seat. She didn’t know why the reaction was so strong, but now Ella was in her home… What was she supposed to do?

Ella’s voice cut through the cries of the birds, followed by laughter, and she grinned. She’s feeling better.

Okay, so that worked. As soon as Ella finished her phone call, she’d leave, and everything would be fine. There was no need to panic. Nobody needed to know.

Riley couldn’t help but wonder who Ella wanted to call. An ex? A friend? She chided herself; it was none of her business. She shouldn’t care—she didn’t.

The murmur of Ella’s voice faded away, but when she didn’t appear, the fear flared up in Riley’s stomach again. What if she looked at her paintings? The photo album of her and Elodie? Oh god. My sex toys under the bed?

She hopped up the steps, dodging a fuzzy bee as it flew across her path, and hovered outside the cabin, straining to hear any conversation. Hearing nothing, she lightly tapped on the wooden door and entered.

Ella lay awkwardly across the yellow sofa, her legs bent at an unnatural angle. A soft bundle of fluff curled up in her lap, her fingers combing through Ziggy’s fur. She looked up when Riley appeared, her eyes wide.

“I was afraid to move,” she said in a hushed tone, as though Ziggy were a sleeping infant. “I didn’t want to disturb him.”

Thick, gooey warmth spread through Riley’s belly. She tried to mask it, but the feeling amplified when Ziggy purred, and Ella shot her a delighted grin.

“Oh my god,” she whispered. “I think he likes me.”

Riley took a seat on the arm of the sofa, peering at her traitorous little baby in Ella’s arms. She couldn’t find herself to be annoyed that Ziggy’s loyalty had jumped at the first pretty woman to walk in here, but she couldn’t get used to the happy feeling swelling in her chest, either.

She glanced down at the floorboards instead. “So, uh, everything go alright? With your phone calls?”

“Yes. Thank you.” Ella spoke so softly, Riley struggled to hear her. “Thank you so much for letting me use your phone.”

Riley chuckled. “You’re welcome, but you really don’t need to be quiet around him. He’ll sleep through anythin’. Even Bernardo’s crows.”

“Ugh! I hate that cockerel.” Ella’s vehement grunt, combined with the whispering tone, made Riley laugh more.

“Really. Ziggy’ll be fine. You don’t need to whisper.”

“Ziggy,” Ella cooed, threading her fingers through his ginger hair. “That name suits you perfectly, doesn’t it?” She gazed at him, batting her thick black lashes.

Okay, now I am a little bit jealous.

“He’s so gorgeous. Is he yours?” she asked.

“He is, but don’t let that pretty face fool you. He’s smashed his share of plant pots when he gets late-night zoomies, and he thinks my surfboard is his personal scratching-post. Not to mention my childhood teddy bear that he did unspeakable things to. I’ve never been able to look at Mr Buttons the same again.”

“Mr Buttons?” Ella cackled, and eliciting that response coated Riley head-to-toe like sunshine.

“You seem to be feeling better,” she noted.

Ella dampened at that, breaking eye contact. She circled Ziggy’s belly a few times before she spoke. “Yeah…thank you for being so kind to me. I’m sorry you had to see that before.”

“You don’t need to apologise for anything.”

She met Riley’s eyes then looked away again. “That’s sweet of you to say, but I don’t want to be a burden. I’m sure you’re busy.”

Riley frowned. “Ella, you’re not a burden. No one is perfect all the time.”

“I bet you are.” Her words hung in the air between them. Her hand stilled on Ziggy’s tummy, her cheeks reddening to match her hair. “But I should go. I just…” She glanced at Ziggy and smirked. “…Can’t move.”

Riley’s mind hitched on Ella’s words. Perfect? Memories of her drunken stupor the other night flashed before her eyes. Riley was far from perfect; Ziggy would attest to that if he could speak. After he’d demanded he be fed, of course. “You want me to take him?” she asked.

When Ella nodded, Riley scooped the fluffball into her arms and carried him to the bed. Lazy green eyes blinked back at her before he rolled onto his back with a stretch of his legs.

“Your place is really cool,” Ella said. “I guess your favourite colour is blue, huh?”

Riley turned back to face her, surprised to see she’d taken a few steps and was now standing inside her “bedroom”. Riley adored the open-plan design of her cabin, but now that Ella could see everything in her space, she wished she could close the doors and hide some of it away.

“Erm…yeah.” She scratched at her neck. “Thank you.” She followed Ella’s gaze to the paintings hanging on the walls, hoping she wouldn’t ask about them.

“Did you paint these?”

“Some.”

When she didn’t offer anything else, Ella turned to her, raising an eyebrow. “Are you not going to tell me which ones?”

Heat tickled the back of Riley’s neck, and she scratched at it again. “I don’t really share my work with people.”

Perhaps sensing her unease, Ella let it go. Her attention wandered over the frames and canvases, lingering on a watercolour of the olive trees that Riley had painted in her first month on the island.

“Well, whoever painted these is really talented.” Ella threw a smile over her shoulder.

The compliment landed right in the centre of Riley’s chest, and she couldn’t stop the feeling from spreading into her heart. Maybe Ella was just being polite, but the way she continued to admire the small details on the canvas made the compliment resonate even more.

Her focus drifted over Ella’s body, her wide hips and round bum, thick thighs hugged tight in her denim shorts. Someone like Ella was probably never short of dates. Riley’s love life was laughable in comparison.

But there was no harm in just looking, right?

Ella’s voice made Riley’s eyes snap upwards.

“I guess I should get going, but thank you again for letting me use your phone…and pet your cat.” Ella lifted her shoulders, exhaled, and then leaned down to give Ziggy’s belly a tickle. He chirped, and she jumped back, startled.

God . She’s cute.

Riley tucked her hands into her pockets, biting back a grin. “You’re welcome.”

They held eye contact until little tingles rippled along Riley’s arms, making the hair stand on end. Ella’s irises swirled like golden honey in the sunlight, and the way they bore into Riley, confident and alluring, set her heart racing.

Her focus dropped to Ella’s full lips as she wet them with a flick of her tongue, sending a ping of arousal between Riley’s legs. Jesus. She shuffled her bare feet against the cool flooring, looking anywhere but at Ella’s gorgeous pillowy mouth.

How long had it been since she last kissed a woman? She could hardly count the mouth-to-mouth with Ella on the beach. Her spluttering into Riley’s mouth was hardly the stuff of romance novels.

She breathed in Ella’s sweet perfume, mixed with an air of cocoa body butter.

How long had it been since Riley had even held another woman? She’d given up on the idea of relationships a long time ago. They were too fragile, too easily broken. All she could do was focus on the present; the future held no promises and offered no certainties. She couldn’t think about it at all. Her memories of Elodie tried to pull at her, but she couldn’t let them.

She blinked, coming face to face with Ella once again. Ella readjusted the straps of her top, revealing sore red skin underneath.

“Are you sunburnt?” Riley reached for her but thought better of it, her hand hovering awkwardly then dropping by her side.

“It’s nothing.” Ella tried to cover herself but winced in the process.

“Here. Let me help.” Riley moved to root in the kitchen drawer, pulled out some scissors, then snipped a stem off the aloe vera plant sitting on the counter. She split it open with her hands, and the cool juice glistened under the light pouring through the windows.

Ella eyed her warily. “I’m not eating that.”

Riley laughed and shook her head. “I don’t want you to eat it. Rub it on your skin, and it helps ease the pain. Nature’s own anti-inflammatory.”

“Really?” She didn’t seem convinced, but when Riley nodded, she shrugged. “Go on then. It can’t make it worse.”

She turned her back and scooped her hair into a bun on top of her head, exposing her delicate neck, then hooked her fingers under the straps of her top and bra and lowered it off her shoulders.

Riley swallowed. Ella wanted her to apply it? Before her brain jumped in and made her say something stupid and refuse, she gently squeezed the gel out of the stem and onto Ella’s skin.

Ella hissed at the contact, and Riley’s stomach rolled. She shouldn’t be getting turned on by this…but she couldn’t find it in her to stop. Easing out more aloe vera juice, she let her fingers rub soft circles across Ella’s shoulders, taking extra care on the sore spot on her neck.

“It feels nice,” Ella said in a breathy whisper.

Heat pooled between Riley’s thighs. Ella’s voice triggered an instinct inside her that she hadn’t felt for a long time, and she started to pulse. Her hands longed to explore the contours of Ella’s body, to hear more of her breathless tone and see what other responses she could pull from her lovely mouth. She swallowed, realising her fingers had stilled on Ella’s shoulders, and continued her massage. When Ella’s red skin was completely coated, silky and smooth, she blew out an unsteady breath.

“Okay. That’s all done.” The words came out softer than she’d intended. Where had her voice gone?

Ella turned to face her slowly, and Riley’s eyes were drawn to her bare chest. White bikini lines hooped around her neck, leaving the rest of her skin tender and pink.

“What about the front?” Ella asked, her voice low in her throat.

Jesus. Riley’s neck flushed, creeping up and into her cheeks. She didn’t know where to look. Not at Ella’s thick lips, which were just inches away from hers—and definitely not at her full cleavage, which was hovering gloriously below Riley’s face.

“I…uh–I think you should do those–er, that part.” She managed to meet Ella’s gaze briefly before glancing away.

“I don’t want to get my hands all slimy. Please…if you don’t mind.”

Riley cleared her throat, trying not to focus on the desire pooling in her underwear or the way her whole body hummed at the feel of Ella’s body underneath her fingertips. “Alright.”

Carefully, she squeezed the plant, biting her lip as the gel coated Ella’s chest.

Good god, Jesus almighty .

Her fingers worked in slow circles as the sound of their breathing filled the room. She took extra care at the base of Ella’s neck and across her clavicles, feeling her gaze on her. The air thickened, pushing them closer together. Riley tried her best not to look down Ella’s top, but the very thought of caressing her breasts and pushing her onto her bed spread a deep ache through her pelvis.

With an awkward pat, she finished rubbing in the gel and took a step back. “There you go.”

Ella looked up, locking Riley with those big eyes. “Thanks.”

Riley glanced away. “I’ll, er, cut some more for you to take with you.” She forced herself to move, her head and heart warring over how this was simultaneously stupid and brilliant. Her unsteady fingers snipped another stem from the aloe plant, and she handed it to Ella. “Just apply it whenever you need it.”

Ella nodded but looked like she wanted to say something else. Then she gave her a small, genuine smile. “Really, Riley, thank you.”

Her heart fluttered. “No problem.”

Ella glanced around the room, lingering on Ziggy. “Anyway, I’ll head off. I imagine you have a busy afternoon.”

Riley checked her watch. “I actually have a surfing class soon, so I should make my way to the beach.”

They watched each other for a moment, and Riley’s heart thundered louder with each passing beat. Ella’s attention dropped to Riley’s mouth, and for a few agonising seconds, she begged that she’d kiss her.

Riley, what are you doing?

“Do you want to walk down together?” Ella asked.

Riley couldn’t think of a reason not to. She could hardly get in trouble for walking with a client. Massaging their chest and shoulders, perhaps. “Alright. Sure.” When Ella didn’t move, Riley indicated behind her. “I, uh, just need to get changed.”

“Oh, yeah, of course. I’ll just—” Ella hurried out the door, taking her bag with her, leaving Riley breathing heavily in her bedroom.

This was fine, wasn’t it? The adrenaline firing through her veins, combined with the wet sensation between her legs, made it hard to tell. She’d bent more than broken the rules at this point, but at least there was no chance of getting Ella pregnant and creating a scandal, right?

Ugh. Stop making excuses.

She changed out of her bra and damp boxer briefs and swapped them for her swimming costume. She preferred the tight fit to a bikini when surfing. She had small breasts and found bikinis that suited her tall and lean frame hard to come by—less chance of accidental nipple slips while surfing, too.

After giving Ziggy some love and a kiss on his head, she grabbed her surfboard and joined Ella outside. The hot sun warmed her skin immediately, and she slipped on her shades before leading them down the path. Their footsteps slapped against the stone .

“You really do have a beautiful place here,” Ella said from behind her.

“Thank you.” Riley spun, almost knocking Ella’s head with the end of her surfboard. Luckily, she ducked out of the way.

“Seriously, am I cursed?” Ella tightened the scrunchie holding her hair in place. “Maybe Duarte put a spell on me when I boarded his boat. Or Pauline.”

They laughed, and Riley gestured for Ella to walk in front. Her voice had vanished, her body still throbbing in inappropriate areas.

“Have you lived here a long time?” Ella asked, as they joined the dusty path leading down the hillside.

“Four years.”

“Wow.” She held back the bush branches to let Riley past, then slipped back in front of her. “Do you think you’ll stay forever?”

That question hit her square in the face. She hadn’t really thought much about it. Thoughts of the future didn’t come easy to her, not when her previous plans had been ripped away so easily. All she could do was focus on the present moment and take it day by day.

She adjusted her board under her arm. “I’m not sure, to be honest.”

“Would you go back home?”

Riley couldn’t stop the snort from leaving her lips. “No.”

They reached the bottom of the path and started walking side by side to Ella’s cabin, even though it was in the opposite direction to where Riley needed to go.

“How come?” Ella asked, holding up her hand to shield her eyes from the overhead sun.

“Ireland isn’t my home.” It sounded harsh, but it was true. Ireland hadn’t been her home for a long time.

Her mind dwelt on the wooden plaque that used to hang above their front door, reading ‘ Home is where the waves are’ in slanted script. Riley never understood it when she was a kid. How could anyone live in the sea? Wouldn’t the water be cold and unwelcoming? Wouldn’t the dark be frightening?

It wasn’t until she was twelve, coming home to find her dad’s eyes vacant and glazed, still tapping ashes into an overflowing tray, that she really understood. Being outside and riding the ocean waves, feeling their energy wrap her in their protective arms for a while, felt much safer than the four walls of their house.

Riley wasn’t used to having so much focus on her; it was normally the other way around, with her tending to clients’ needs and questions, so she shifted the conversation, feeling more in control now her clit had stopped aching. “What about you?” she asked. “Have you thought more about your path?”

Ella let out a soft laugh, kicking a loose stone with her sandal. “Yeah… I guess I’m still finding my way or whatever.”

“Beautifully put,” she teased.

Ella glanced at her, and Riley grinned, her pulse quickening again at the look in her eyes. Teasing Ella came naturally to her, despite Senhor Arenoso’s rules, which should’ve kept those parts of Riley tucked away. She couldn’t help it.

“I thought I heard traces of an accent,” Ella said, a curious lilt to her voice.

A little ball of dread lodged in Riley’s throat. She didn’t want to talk about her family. Or lack thereof. Thankfully, they’d just arrived at Ella’s cabin.

“You ever tried surfing?” she asked instead, pretty sure she knew the answer.

Ella shook her head as someone on a bike rang their bell, and they hurried off the path. The bike peddled past, pulling a cart full of oranges, and a teenage boy called out “ Obrigado ”, a “thank you” in Portuguese.

“You should try it sometime,” Riley said. “Surfing.” She wanted to blame her invitation on her reluctance to talk about herself, but it wasn’t entirely true. She wanted to see more of Ella, but as soon as the words were out, she wanted them back.

She shouldn’t entertain this. She knew that. But the excited feeling swirling in her stomach overrode her brain’s sensibilities.

Ella eyed her, the corners of her mouth curling in a way that made her lips utterly kissable. “Mmm. I’m not sure,” she said. “I’d hate to have to be rescued again.”

“I wouldn’t mind.” Riley’s face warmed, but she held Ella’s gaze. The afternoon sunshine illuminated the gloss across her collarbone, neck, and chest. A fire blazed inside Riley, remembering the feel of Ella’s skin beneath her fingertips. The tree with the creepy fingers seemed to lean towards them, eager to eavesdrop on their conversation. Bustling voices carried up from the courtyard below.

“That’s good to know.” Ella’s attention dropped to Riley’s mouth before bouncing back to her eyes. “But for now, sesta is calling me.”

“Alright.” Riley swallowed. It was definitely hot out here today, and her dry throat had nothing to do with the fiery stare and the attractive woman wielding it. “ Boa noite , Ella.”

Something flashed over Ella’s features, and she lingered a moment too long before uttering an adorably clumsy “ tchau ” and disappearing into her cabin.

Ella’s absence pulled a plug, sucking all the energy from around Riley. She missed her as soon as the door closed.

She pressed her forehead against her board and blew out a breath. Boy, am I in trouble.