Chapter 6
JAXON
The woman stared at me like I was crazy.
Maybe I was, but I didn’t really care. Even though her face was stained with tears and her cheeks were mottled with red blotches, she was hot as hell.
Thick, jet-black hair was piled into a high ponytail at the back of her head and she gave me that look through the deepest, clearest blue eyes I’d ever seen.
Droplets still clung to the long lashes framing those eyes, but that didn’t detract from their beauty. In fact, all the tears really served to confirm was that she wasn’t wearing any makeup because nothing was smudging.
So she was naturally beautiful. I liked that. There was nothing worse than all those layers of warpaint so many women covered themselves in daily.
This woman wasn’t dressed to impress either, but considering what I already knew about her, that wasn’t surprising.
Her navy linen shorts and simple white tank top had been paired with brown leather sandals.
I had to give it to her. She looked good—especially if what I’d overheard her saying was true.
She definitely wasn’t trying to impress, but somehow, she still did.
A throat clearing behind us yanked my gaze away from her. It landed on a beefy man wearing a suit and a nametag that read, Bobby. “What can I help you with today?”
“Well, Bobby, it seems your lovely establishment has made a mistake. My wife and I have just arrived for our honeymoon and we’ve been told there’s no room available for us. There’s been a double booking.”
A defensive, arrogant gleam entered his dark eyes. “Yes, so I’ve been told. I’ve also been informed that you’ve been offered a voucher for a different hotel in order to correct the situation but that you’re refusing it.”
“Yeah, see, that’s because we booked here for a reason. This is supposed to be one of the nicest hotels around, and we’d really rather stay here.”
“We have no more rooms available for the week, as you’ve been told.” He folded his arms across his wide chest and lifted his chin, narrowing his eyes slightly on mine. “There is only a suite available here and it’s more expensive than the garden-view room you’ve paid for.”
“That’s a shame for you,” I replied, tugging the woman into my side and sliding my free hand under her chin to let her know I wanted her to look at me.
Staring into those expressive eyes that might as well have been screaming at me to tell her what the fuck I was doing, I fixed a dopey expression to my face and didn’t break eye contact with her as I addressed the manager.
“We’ll take the suite, but we’re not going to pay more for it than we already have. We will have a place to consummate our marriage tonight, and if we don’t get to those keys very soon, that place will be those couches at the entrance.”
Her nostrils flared, but she didn’t argue. She just took another deep breath, nodding at him before turning her face into my shoulder. Clearly, she wasn’t comfortable with my threat of public sex.
I would’ve laughed if I wasn’t trying to convince the rude ass-wipe that I was serious. Personally, if it were with a woman who looked like her, I wouldn’t have a problem getting it up even if there was a rather large audience gaping at us and the very real possibility of being arrested.
It would be so worth it.
But I was trying to convince him I was serious, so I leaned down and ran my nose along the length of hers, closing my eyes to breathe her in. “I’m not kidding, dude. Keys or couches. Your choice, but make it fast.”
I felt her shaking against me. When I opened my eyes, it became clear that she was laughing. That was why she was hiding her face, not because she was embarrassed. Or maybe it was a little bit of both.
Knowing she was laughing about it made it that much harder to keep myself from doing it. The manager sputtered a few times, but eventually, he made the right decision and held a key card out to me.
“Please enjoy your stay, sir.”
“We will.” I plucked the card from his hand between two fingers, slid it into the back pocket of my shorts, and tugged on her. “Come on, baby. Let’s go get this party started.”
We walked away with her still tucked under my arm, and I heard him whispering to the receptionist furiously about how tourists had no shame. Chuckling under my breath, I only let her go when we reached the elevators.
“Where is the suite?” she asked, taking a step away from me and angling her head back to look into my eyes. “My room was supposed to be on the third floor.”
I checked the card before returning it to my pocket. “Beachfront bungalow seven.”
Glancing at the map of the resort mounted on the wall next to the elevators, I jabbed the button to go down. “Seems it’s right on the beach. I’m Jaxon, by the way.”
“Lindsay.” She held out her hand to shake mine, but I enveloped her in a hug instead. We’d be fucked if that manager saw us shaking hands and exchanging names.
She tensed in my arms but let me hold her for a second before pushing me away. “Why did you do that?”
“I overheard you on the phone,” I admitted. A low ding signaled the arrival of our elevator. I ushered her in with a hand to her lower back. “Maybe this room will make it better for you.”
She turned away from me, but not before I saw the flush creeping up her cheeks.
Three walls of the elevator were made of glass, and she braced her hands against the copper railing inside, her gaze firmly fixed on the ocean beyond before we dipped beneath the greenery surrounding the main building of the hotel.
“I’m sorry you had to hear all that,” she said as the doors slid open again, depositing us on the ground level of the impressive resort.
I shrugged and held a hand in front of the doors to keep them open while she walked out first. “Don’t be sorry. I’m just glad we got the room. Sounds like you’ve had a rough go of things the last couple of days.”
She snorted in the most adorable way and rolled her eyes as she looked back at me over her shoulder.
“That’s one way of putting it. Another—and this is the one I prefer—is that it’s been a clusterfuck of epic proportions that not even the most sadistic of scriptwriters would’ve put the beloved characters of their movie through. ”
I barked out a laugh. “I like that description better too.”
Checking the room numbers and arrows on the wall, I pointed down toward a pathway that wound through the garden. “I’m pretty sure it’s that way.”
Adjusting the strap of my duffel bag on my shoulder, I stayed half a step behind her while navigating us in what I hoped was the direction of the bungalow. We’d only gone a few yards when the path opened up behind a cluster of palm trees.
A thin stretch of bright green grass separated a row of free-standing, reed-roofed bungalows from the beach. Hedges created the perimeter between the garden and the sand, but there was a walkway cut into each patch of greenery leading from the entrance of every bungalow.
Hammocks were strung between the trees in front of each room as well, giving the impression that everyone had their own private place to hang around and watch the sun set. I let out a low whistle and arched a brow at Lindsay.
“This is pretty awesome, huh?”
Her eyes were wide when she brought them back to mine. “It’s definitely better than a garden-view room on the third story.”
We located the number on our key and I swiped it in front of the reader before swinging the door open and motioning her in. She grinned until she noticed I wasn’t stepping back.
“What are you doing?” The grin morphed into a frown. “Why aren’t you leaving?”
“I couldn’t get a room here either, so maybe we can help each other out.”
Blinking rapidly, she lifted her hands and took a step back. “Oh. No. No. No. No. No. I’m not sleeping in the same room as some stranger. Look, thanks for your help, but no.”
“There’s a conference on the island,” I said. “All the hotels are fully booked for the next few days. You’re not going to leave me on the street, are you?”
“That’s exactly what I’m going to do.” She crossed her arms and moved into the doorway. “Thanks again for your help. I hope you find someplace to sleep.”
I peered over her shoulder and spotted a couch I was pretty sure rolled out into a bed. There were telltale bars visible at the bottom from this angle.
“I already have found a place to sleep.” I inclined my head and jerked a thumb toward the sofa. “Right there. You won’t even know I’m here.”
She turned slowly, eyeing my proposed sleeping quarters before moving farther into the bungalow. I let her have a look around but dropped the duffel at my feet. I had no intention of leaving there without a bed for the night.
Getting a flight hadn’t been a problem at all. Accommodations, however, was proving to be a challenge. I was perfectly happy to couch surf in shared spaces too, but not even that was available.
When Lindsay came back, her arms were crossed and she glared daggers at me. “There’s a door between the bedroom and the couch. The bathroom is accessible from both sides, but all the doors can lock. If I catch you fiddling with any of the doors when they’re locked, you’re out.”
“You got it. I only need a place to sleep anyway. I’ll grab a shower when you’re out. No worries.”
“No worries, he says,” she muttered, blue eyes dark with disbelief. “Trust me. I’m worried.”
She sighed and turned around without saying anything else. Taking it as my cue, I stepped into the room and stripped out of my sweat-soaked shirt immediately.
Her eyes narrowed again when she reached the door to the bedroom and turned to see me half naked. “What are you doing?”
“Getting comfortable.” I smirked. “It’s been a long-ass day, and have you felt how hot it is out there?”
Releasing another sigh, a heavier one this time, she shook her head and slammed the bedroom door behind her like she was aggravated with me. I couldn’t help chuckling and shaking my head right back at her.
She wouldn’t even have been in the suite if it wasn’t for me. I had no idea why she was acting so hostile and uptight all of a sudden, but I wasn’t letting her ruin this for me.
Fucking Fiji, baby. I’d actually done it. I was there.
One anxious roommate wasn’t going to fuck up my vacation. I’d been prepared to live with tons of roommates in hostels or someone sleeping on the couch next to mine. I could deal with one emotional woman in the next bedroom.
This suite was more than big enough for the both of us.