Chapter 6
SIX
Tripp
I exit the black town car and step onto the curb, raising an eyebrow at the restaurant where I’m meeting Vida. Manny’s Mussel Pots.
Seriously?
There are two Michelin star restaurants at the resort and we’re meeting at this place?
The sign proclaiming Manny’s as the best mussels in Massachusetts is hanging by a thread and the front window has a crack in it.
Despite some mild irritation that Vida won’t let me bring her somewhere worthy of her, I can’t help but crack a smile.
Because while I already knew she wasn’t a gold digger, this is just another piece of evidence in her favor.
Wanting to rub it in Calder’s face, I snap a quick picture of the falling-down joint and send it to him, along with the middle finger emoji.
Before I even reach the door, the loud music playing within is shaking the cement beneath my feet.
I open the door and step into the lively darkness, my gaze sweeping over the red, hanging Christmas lights and the framed black-and-white photographs along the wall, depicting the fishing trade along the Massachusetts coastline.
Broken peanut shells decorate the worn floorboards.
The smell of garlic hangs heavy in the air.
And everyone in the crowded restaurant is staring at me.
Of course they are. I might as well be wearing a sign that says I’m not from around here.
I am. But it’s a much more affluent part of Massachusetts.
Most of the customers are still dressed for the day in whatever uniform they wear for work. Some of them I even vaguely recognize from the resort. Meanwhile, I’m in a pair of deck shoes that are probably worth more than this entire establishment.
But I’m used to being stared at. I was taught from an early age to keep a stiff upper lip in any situation and that’s exactly what I do now, taking off my shades and staring back at the curious onlookers with a bored expression.
One that I can’t maintain when I see Vida weaving through the crowd in my direction.
Jesus.
Fucking.
Christ.
This girl keeps getting hotter.
I was obsessed with her in the maid uniform.
Then, this afternoon, I had to go back to my room and jack off over those tight little cutoff shorts.
Tonight she’s in a yellow, strapless summer dress that is so snug around her tits, I don’t know how I’m going to keep my hands off them, especially because I know what they feel like.
Perfect. The hem is so high on her thighs, the dress had to be designed for torture.
Her hair is down and loose, her mouth shiny with gloss, leading to memories of our kiss that afternoon.
How the taste of her hit me like a slug to the stomach.
I have never been so affected by a kiss. I didn’t even know I could be.
For the second time, she almost had me popping off in my pants. It’s a wonder I didn’t when she tasted like honesty. Ripe, innocent arousal. Forbidden fruit.
The only fruit I want to eat.
Hers.
“Hey,” Vida says, bouncing to a stop in front of me. “I got us a table in the back.”
“Thanks, but that should be my job.”
“Are you forgetting? You don’t have any connections here, rich boy,” she says teasingly, snagging my hand and pulling me through the staring throng of people.
I only have eyes for Vida, though, and she’s clearly in her element here.
A lot more comfortable than she looked walking through the gym this morning with an armful of towels.
That contrast tells me she’s definitely not comfortable at the resort. I don’t like knowing that. “Here.”
She slides into a booth all the way in the back corner, and I join her, memorizing the way she gathers her dark hair to one side and leans down to study the menu.
God, she’s so beautiful, it hurts to breathe.
“You know, mussels are an aphrodisiac. They build testosterone and that’s about the last thing I need more of right now. Are you trying to kill me?”
She gives me a prim side glance. “Maybe I just like mussels.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I guess you could order the burger if you don’t think you can handle the extra zinc.”
“I can handle anything, angel.”
“Mmm.” That blush on her bare shoulders makes me wonder what she’s feeling on the inside. If she’s reacting to me the way I’m reacting to her. Like something serious is shifting inside me. Something unexpected and real. “What are your friends doing back at the resort tonight?”
“I couldn’t care less.”
“Do they know you’re with me?”
Slowly, I nod, not sure how she’s going to feel about it. “Yeah. They know.”
Her throat shifts with a swallow. “Oh.”
“Oh?”
She shrugs those graceful shoulders. “I guess I thought you’d keep it a secret.”
I’ve made it as long as I can without touching her. Sliding closer, I put my arm around her, tugging until her hip is locked against mine. And fuck, she smells so good. Like summer.
“Why would I want to keep you a secret, Vida? I’m proud to be out with you.
” She looks up at me with searching eyes, and I swim in them, helplessly.
Jesus, I’ve never, ever been this disarmed by anyone.
“Even if I did want to date you in secret, there aren’t really any secrets among my friends.
It’s kind of toxic, actually, the way everyone is in each other’s business.
But we’ve all been raised together. Vacationing together our whole lives. There’s no turning back now.”
“You’re stuck with each other.”
“Pretty much.”
“What do they think about you being out with me?”
I consider her question. I want to answer as honestly as I can, because I don’t relish the idea of lying to this girl. But I can’t exactly tell her the whole truth, can I? “It’s complicated.”
She tilts her head. “I don’t live in your world, but I observe a lot working at Reserve. I know people like you stick to a strict dating pool. I’m the furthest thing from that pool.”
“’People like me’?”
Her elbow digs into my ribs gently. “That’s what I said, Mr. Sterling.”
This teasing mood of hers is working me up.
If we weren’t in a packed restaurant, I’d have her on my lap by now.
“I can tell by the way you said Sterling that you’ve figured out who my family is.”
Slowly, she nods.
Something about the way Vida won’t let me spoil her only makes me want to do it more.
A lot more. “There’s a Sterling’s in Boston.
I can call a car to pick us up.” I lean down and plant a kiss on her smooth, sun-kissed shoulder.
“We could be there in an hour and you could pick out any fucking thing you want. Ten things. Twenty.”
Her eyes widen, like she can’t believe what I’m offering her—and it’s nothing. It’s only the tip of a very deep iceberg.
“We haven’t even ordered yet,” she whispers, shaking her head. “Anyway, I don’t need a shopping spree at Sterling’s. I need…”
“Me?” I prompt, holding my breath.
She bites her lip. “I think so. I don’t really…know what need feels like.”
I’m pretty sure that being so drawn to her inexperience makes me a bastard, but I can’t help it. I love that she’s learning about her body with me. Once again, I bring my open mouth to her shoulder, but this time I skate it up the side of her neck and feel her pulse go triple time against my lips.
“When you think about my cock inside you, what happens to your body?”
I hear her swift intake of breath over the loud music. “It gets hot. Everywhere.”
It’s a struggle not to reach down and shift the ache in my khakis. “And wet, isn’t that right, Vida? Your cunt gets wet for me.”
Blushing furiously, she nods.
I groan, deep in my throat. “That’s need, angel. I’ve got it for you, too.”
She lifts her head, her glazed eyes centered on my lips, and I have no choice but to plunder her ripe mouth right there at the table. Within seconds of playing with her tongue, I’m so stiff, it’s taking all my restraint not to throw her on the table and eat her out.
Someone clears their throat beside the table. “Can I take your order?”
Vida pulls away from me with a squeak, fumbling with the menu.
“Ummm…” Her lip gloss is smudged down her chin, and I reach over, using my thumb to wipe it off, laughing when she smacks my hand away. “We’ll do the bouillabaisse pot. Thank you!”
She covers her face with her hands as the waiter walks away, but she lets me drag her onto my lap, staying there the rest of the meal.
It’s fucking heaven.
Vida. Is. Heaven.