Chapter Twenty-Two
Sinful was the posh, fine-dining restaurant located in the Palace Resort and Spa. It was a favorite of guests and island natives alike, and patrons were encouraged to make reservations ahead of time to ensure they got in. With its curved fish tank separating the room into intimate sections and black leather chairs with contemporary embellishments, Sinful was just that.
Sinfully elegant.
Maxwell had put on a bespoke blue suit with a crisp white shirt for their date tonight, and Trinity had removed her jacket once they left the meeting, leaving her toned arms and back bare. They made a striking couple, and dozens of heads had turned their way when they entered the restaurant. Because of Maxwell’s status, they had been seated right away even though there were plenty of people in the bar area waiting for a table.
While the restaurant was packed with people, Trinity and Maxwell sat at a secluded booth that gave them a semblance of privacy. Music played softly over the hidden speakers, adding to the ambiance but not distracting enough to interfere with intimate conversations.
They sipped icy champagne and enjoyed delicate scallop appetizers as they discussed the meeting that had taken place earlier upstairs in one of the conference rooms. Joseph Riviera, the owner of Riviera Construction, had come to the meeting with his son Eric, the acting president, and daughter, Pamela, their VP of finance. The family had been all apologies, furious themselves at the damage done to their reputation by this type of screwup.
Trinity suspected that Joseph was probably telling the truth. His company had been in business for over sixty years and had a good reputation and solid connections. A fuck up like this was enough to destroy all of that and it made no sense from a business perspective.
It had been obvious that the older and younger man had done their share of construction work over the years. Despite the suits and ties they wore, their hands had been those of men who worked hard. But something about the blonde ice princess had Trinity’s radar going off. She had immediately pegged her as a spoiled bitch as soon as she had walked into the room. And it wasn’t just because the skank had tried to make eyes with Maxwell.
The Rivieras had ensured Maxwell that they would do everything in their power to figure out what happened. They also promised to replace all the materials with what had originally been agreed upon, at their expense. Overall, the meeting was brief and to the point, but Trinity wasn’t satisfied.
“The daughter is involved somehow,” she said as she lifted her champagne flute to take a sip.
He smiled. “You’re just saying that because you didn’t like the way she was flirting with me. Are you always going to glare at the women I do business with?”
“It wasn’t all she wanted to do with you,” she muttered, making him chuckle. “And you’re one to talk. I seem to recall you growling at the son.”
“Because the fucker had the gall to ask you to dinner right in front of us,” he said, his voice filled with outrage.
“And I think you and Jackson made it perfectly clear that wasn’t going to happen. I would have said no. You just didn’t give me the chance.”
They paused as the waiter came to whisk their empty appetizer plates away, and another man set down their entrees with a flourish. She moaned as she took the first bite of her steak.
“Jesus, Kat. Watching you eat is like watching you have sex.”
She smiled. “Well, when you enjoy something you should show it, right? You know, speaking of sex…I’ve been thinking. Maybe this is a good opportunity to rethink the construction of the new building.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, they are going to have to redo a lot of the structure anyway. Why not change it up and do something different than another replica of what you have already? Maybe private villas or something.”
He seemed to consider it as he chewed. “It’s possible, but we can host more people in a larger structure.”
“Yeah, but do you really need that many more rooms? If you changed it up and made private villas, I bet you could hype them up as exclusive and charge more for them. And anyone having wild, crazy, monkey sex wouldn’t have to worry about the poor guy next door. You know what I mean.”
“Right. Villas it is. I had considered it before, but went with what was more cost-efficient. I have some concepts already drawn up. Maybe you’d like to take a look at them and see if you like any of the other plans.”
She set her fork down and studied him. “Really? Just like that?”
“I value your opinion, love. Seriously though, what makes you say the daughter is involved?”
“She was good at hiding it, but she wasn’t just pissed about what this was doing to her company’s reputation. She didn’t like being questioned, period. I got the vibe from her.”
“The vibe?”
She waved her fork in the air as she explained. “The vibe. It’s like when you know something is off. My take is the father is pissed because he is proud of the company he built. It’s there when he talks about it. The son is the same because the company is his now, but the daughter? She could give two shits about the company. It’s all about her. And she’s irritated that they had to come here and answer our questions. Even more so, she was furious when her brother said they were going to do an internal audit. I don’t think he informed her about that before.”
Maxwell thought back to what had happened during the meeting and had to agree. They continued to talk about the new construction as they finished eating. He really was interested in her ideas for changing the strategy for the build and decided to take a walk down to the construction site after their meal was done so he could visualize the new plans.
As they strolled down to the pathway leading to the beach, they passed several other couples enjoying the night air. Once they reached the sand, they paused to remove their shoes and he helped her put her jacket back on. Carrying their shoes, they headed toward the more secluded section of the beach. The simple pleasure of holding her hand was enough to make him happier than he’d been in years.
The cool breeze teased at the flowing skirt of her white dress making it flutter, giving him tantalizing glimpses of her long legs. He wanted to take her down to the sand and push the material up her legs for a better view, but he knew it wouldn’t stop there.
“You have a special place here, Max. It’s one of the nicest resorts I’ve ever seen.”
He squeezed her hand and pulled her to a stop, wrapping his arms around her from behind as they both studied the dark form of the partially constructed building. He had been planning on building the new resort near the western cliffs, making it as if the very structure was part of the land itself. It would have been interesting, but individual villas did have some perks.
Privacy being one of them.
“I think you’re right, though. If we made several private villas with a central structure to house the common areas like food services, a gym, and concierge staff to cater to the guests on this side, it could almost be like its own little resort.”
“It’s like renting a private home but still having access to all the amenities of a hotel. I think it will be awesome. Now, we just have to figure out why someone has been willing to kill me to cover up what’s been going on with the build,” she said lightly.
His arms tightened around her. Just thinking about anything happening to her had Maxwell feeling a fury the likes of which he had never felt before. This woman had become essential to his life in such a short amount of time. He couldn’t imagine living without her now. Turning her slowly, he pushed the hair back so he could see her face bathed in the moonlight.
She was absolutely stunning.
So breathtaking it was difficult to imagine she was really his.
“I can’t joke about that. Just thinking about something happening to you fills me with rage…and fear. I just found you. I can’t lose you now. Finding you has been like discovering a piece of me that I never even knew was missing.”
Her hands came up, stroking under his suit jacket over his back.
“I feel the same way, Max. I know this is soon, but I love you. I feel like I’ve been waiting for you my whole life.”
He breathed out slowly, resting his forehead on hers. “I love you so much it would kill me if something happened to you.”
“Don’t worry. I’m pretty hard to kill.”
He kissed her, sharing all the emotions he was feeling. Her tongue tangled with his in a sensual dance, giving and taking at once. She was utterly and completely intoxicating, rushing to his head faster than the champagne they’d had with dinner.
Sounds of laughter trailed on the wind coming from a group of people sitting near one of the cabanas on the beach, breaking through the sexual haze. Maxwell breathed out and rested his forehead against hers.
“Hell of a time to tell me this, love. All I want to do is rip your panties off and drag you down on the sand where I can make love to you.”
“I would have to be wearing panties for you to do that,” she whispered.
Maxwell groaned. “You mean to tell me that you went to the meeting and then dinner wearing nothing under this dress?”
A slow seductive smile had her lips turning up. “That’s exactly what I’m telling you. Watching you verbally bitch-slap the Rivieras in the meeting had me so hot I was afraid you’d see a wet spot on my dress when I got up.”
“I would have bent you over the damn table and taken you right there,” he swore.
“I know. But Jackson had to go to his poker game, and we had a date,” she said, a mischievous gleam shimmering in her eyes. “But we have time now.”
“Here?”
His first instinct was to refuse, but somehow being with her made him more adventurous. It made him free. He took her hand and pulled her toward one of the darkened cabanas, stopping next to a hammock that was tied between two large palm trees. They could hear the sounds of talking and laughter coming from the cabana several yards away, but the shadows surrounding their own cabana gave them enough privacy for what he wanted to do.
He dropped his shoes and took off his jacket. Taking her shoes from her hand, he dropped them to the ground next to his, then sat down in the hammock with his feet on the sand.
“Are you wet, Kat?”
“God, yes,” she replied quickly.
Staring into her eyes, he slowly undid his pants and pulled out his thick, hard cock, freeing it into the night air. “Come here and sit on my cock, love.”
She surprised him when she turned her back to him and raised her dress up slowly, revealing a holster attached to her left thigh.
“Armed and dangerous?”
She turned her head and grinned at him. “Just the way you like me.” She raised her dress higher, showing him her perfect ass and glistening pussy. “You want this, Max?”
“Bloody hell, yes. Sit on my cock, Kat.”
Trinity couldn’t wait any longer. She straddled his legs and slowly lowered herself down. Maxwell held onto his cock, positioning the thick stalk at her entrance so she slide down the length, taking him deep inside her as she sat all the way down. She smoothed her dress down in the front, so anyone walking by would think she was simply sitting on his lap and wouldn’t know he was fucking her.
“God, you feel so good inside me, Max.”
She trusted him to hold her as he leaned back, taking her body with him, lodging his cock deeper.
“Your pussy hugs my cock like it was made for me, love. Just lean back and relax. This is going to be nice and slow.”
He pushed off with his feet then lifted them as the hammock rocked him gently inside her. Her breath caught as the movement thrust him in and out of her pussy, in a slow, steady rhythm.
“You like that, Kat? You like me making love to you right here on the beach with people only a few yards away from us?” Maxwell whispered into her ear.
“Yes,” she breathed.
His mouth worked down her neck, licking and biting on the smooth skin lightly. His hands came up to cup her breasts, then moved down her body. Pushing his hands under the material of her skirt, he reached down and touched where they were joined. He began rubbing her clit in a slow, circular motion making her hips rock under his ministrations.
“Quiet now,” Maxwell crooned as she let out a loud moan. “We don’t want anyone coming over here, do we?”
Trinity’s breath caught at his warning. No, she didn’t want anyone seeing them like this. But there was something so erotic about making love with him when they could hear people close by. She was approaching her orgasm fast and wanted to make sure he was right there with her when she came. Using her inner muscles on his cock, she squeezed and released in time with his thrusts. She was awarded with a low growl from him as she began undulating her hips on him.
“Damn it, love. You’re going to milk the cum right out of me if you keep that up.”
“I want it. Give it to me. I’m so close, Max. Rub my clit a little harder and I’m going to soak your cock when I come.”
His fingers sped up as he did what she asked, rubbing her clit faster and faster until she was on the brink of ecstasy. He used his foot to give a big push and let their weight swing the hammock higher. The movement made her shatter around him, and she turned her head and bit down hard on the crook of his neck to still her scream as she came.
“Fuck,” he growled as his own release burst from his cock in violent spurts.
They lay together, breathing heavy with his arms wrapped around her holding her to him. Even after one of the most explosive orgasms he’d ever had, he was still hard inside her snug heat.
“We are totally getting a hammock at home,” she said after a few minutes of silence.
His chuckle turned into a groan as her body tightened around him, making his cock harden even more. He let out another curse as he heard his name being called. Both of them froze at the sound. Trinity smoothed her skirt down just in time as one of the hotel managers became visible on the beach holding a flashlight in her hand.
“Over here!” Trinity called out.
“What are you doing,” Maxwell hissed.
“She can’t see anything,” she said, hoping she was telling the truth. It felt incredibly naughty having someone see them while he was still inside her, even though they couldn’t see it.
“Mr. King!” the manager huffed, out of breath from having run around trying to look for them. “I’m terribly sorry to bother you, sir. I saw you heading this way earlier, and well, we have a problem. A body has been found in the water on the other side of the property.”
Fucking hell.
Their fun for the night was obviously over.