Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
TRISTAN
That was a layered mindfuck if ever there was one.
The feel of Lexi’s body against mine is still hot on my skin, her sweet scent freshly stamped in my memory.
When she said, “We’re not even a twosome,” I wanted to tease, “We’re working on that.
” But then I froze, because what am I doing?
I’ve been out of control since this morning, but I still know this fake engagement of ours has never included that plan.
But I’m fooling nobody here. Plans change.
Plus, I let that wand of hers run out of battery and calmly packed it away in her bedside drawer.
Then that skunk came up to us. This guy arrives on this island and thinks the women are here for his taking?
Jesus Christ, it never crossed my mind that a guest would so callously suggest a threesome.
My mind short-circuits at the idea. Sharing Lexi?
Watching someone else touch her? I fist my hands as my stomach takes a plunge like I just dropped forty stories in an elevator.
I can’t afford to be more riled up by the situation than I already am, but I’m sticking around until that jerk is back from his cruise. I drag my hands through my hair and go scout around for guests to make sure everybody is happy. That’s what Lexi would do at this hour.
I head out to the beach, where the ocean breeze is cooling off the early evening and ensuring that the bugs keep inland.
Staff has set up inviting circles of bean bags and short-legged tables with snacks where couples can sit and enjoy the sunset, drinks in hand.
They do pull out all the stops here. I walk past a few couples, and one guy, who has been diving every day, motions for me to join them.
We talk diving and sightings for a full hour, until the boat returns with the other guests.
I excuse myself and walk up to where that blond dickhead is wading out of the shallow water.
It’s almost dark, but I can see he recognizes me. “That was a nice cruise,” he says pleasantly.
“Yeah? Good. What’s your name?” I ask as I step with him out of earshot of other guests.
“Matthias de Foch.”
He has a slight Dutch accent, and his tone suggests I should have known his name. “Foch?” I repeat. “That’s two letters away from fuck.”
Matthias laughs. “Never thought of it like that.”
“Yeah, what De Fuck?” I smile back, but it’s a snarl. “Here’s the thing, De Foch. If you so much as fuck with Lexi or any of the other staff here, female or male, in single format or multiples, whatever, rest assured that a diving accident will come your way.”
His smile turns like a jug of milk: sour. “And who do you think you are?”
“I’m the guy who’s going to make sure you get off this island in one piece, in a body bag or in a seat on that floatplane. Your choice.”
Matthias gives an incredulous chuckle. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“You’d be too dead to be surprised,” I counter.
He shakes his head with a smirk. “This is a first.”
You’re telling me. Has nobody ever said no to this guy? “I don’t like repeating myself, so don’t make it necessary to prove a point.”
Matthias stuffs his fists in his shorts’ pockets, still smiling as if we have this type of conversation every day. “I wonder what Nathan Beaumont will say when he hears about this?”
“He’s a friend of yours, is he?”
Matthias shrugs. That gesture could mean anything. It could be a shot in the dark, but I grew up in lawyer families and am used to people twisting words and tossing names around with the aim of intimidating others.
“Nathan Beaumont will blacklist you from his hotels,” I inform him, not taking the bait. “So do feel free to entertain him with the details of our conversation.”
When Matthias doesn’t respond, but only grinds his jaw, I give him the same dismissive pat on the arm he gave me earlier. “Rejection sucks, but you’ll get over it.” And with that, I walk off to greet some other guests who’ve been trying to catch my attention.
Once the guests are having dinner and I can officially call it a night, I return to the office to check my email.
I’m on a hard-negotiated sabbatical from Miami University, but there are still emails from my research colleagues, and I send them quick responses.
I’m halfway through the list when I still.
An email from the junior lawyer at Dad’s firm has arrived in my inbox.
I’ve been copied, along with Evan, but the email is addressed to Lexi.
I glance through it once, speed reading, then slow down and read it again to decipher all the legalese.
Bottom line: Mia Reed won’t be paying off the hackers, and they are free to do what they want with the video footage.
I cover my face with my hands and groan.
I haven’t seen the video, so for me this is all unreal.
For Lexi it’s very real, and it pains me to think that something so obscene featuring her will go out into the world.
The last thing she wants is to have her name and face connected with a scandal.
I need to be with her, next to her, right there to comfort her and tell her it’s going to be okay.
We’ll weather this storm together, and hopefully it will be only in a teacup.
I send a reply, asking the lawyer if they know when the hackers will release the content and if we have any other legal recourse to take.
Then I log out and lock up the office for the night.
I head to the canteen to see if Lexi has eaten dinner, and when it’s a no from the sous-chef, I take two prepared poké bowls for us and return to our cottage.
It’s not that late, and I bet she’s still awake.
“Lexi?” I call as I kick off my flip-flops and dip my feet in the foot basin.
The windows are shut with their rolls of woven grass mats, and the door is closed.
This is the first time I’ve seen our place like this, and it’s considerably more private than having everything open for the breeze.
I elbow the door open and smile as I see her sitting on the bed, reading.
“Hey.” She closes her book and tosses it aside. “Oh, nice. You brought dinner. I thought I’d missed it.”
“Can’t let you go hungry, and it’s still early. Come eat in the living room?”
She hops off the bed and goes to the minibar. “We’ve haven’t had a breather since we got here. I can’t believe this small island hotel can produce so much work.” She holds out a bottle of chilled white wine. “You want some?”
“Sure.” I put the bowls with our cling-wrapped food on the coffee table and take the wine from her.
She hands me the corkscrew and turns to reach for the glasses.
I need my hands busy so I can keep my eyes on something other than her legs.
She’s wearing those shorty shorts and a tank top, like she did in Miami, and my heart melts a little, my fingers itching to touch her skin, right there where her thigh curves into butt. “You feeling any better?”
“Yep,” she says, her back to me. “Thanks for standing in for me.”
“Any time.” I pop the cork, and she holds out two glasses.
“At least I managed to have a chat with Tessa. I had to talk her off the ledge.”
“Why?” I ask as I pour. “Filming has started, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah, but she’s not feeling it as much as she thought she would. I think it’s just nerves. She’s worked so hard to get there and now…the moment’s too big.”
“She’ll be all right. It’s always at its worst when you start out.”
Lexi sighs as she holds the other glass out for me. “The next couple of days are going be crazy with the wedding. I’m glad I got a little break.”
“Good.” I pour and feel her gaze on me. I look up, catching her in the act. Instead of looking away, she keeps staring, blue eyes wide, a soft smile on her lips. If she knew what that does to my heart, she wouldn’t do it.
“So…” She pauses to lick her bottom lip. “Were you able to do anything about Matthias de Foch?”
I put the bottle of wine down and reach for one of the filled glasses. Our fingers brush against each other, and she doesn’t let go immediately. We’re caught in a few sensual seconds where my need to stand between her and the rest of the world only deepens.
“I told him he’d have an unfortunate diving accident if he so much as looks at you—or any other staff member here—during his stay.”
Lexi bursts out laughing. “You did not!”
I reach for her hand and guide her to the sofa, where we both sit down. She doesn’t pull away, and it seems like a small victory to have our fingers intertwined and resting on the seat between us. “I did. Let’s see if he comes diving while he’s here.”
“Thank you,” Lexi says with a squeeze to my hand before she lets go. “I would have told him off, but coming from you… I bet he won’t push me now. If it were me, he would have kept trying his luck until the day he left, or even worse, moved on to the other women on the staff.”
“Asshole.”
“Yep. Maybe there’ll be a bridesmaid to mend his lonely heart.
” Lexi puts her wine down and pulls the cling wrap off our bowls.
She hands me mine, and we dig in. I’m ravenous, having done three dives today—two with the guests and then a longer session with Roger.
It was only a walk-in dive to assess his skills, but starting tomorrow, we’re going to take a structured approach to his training.
“I had an interesting conversation with Deshni today,” Lexi says between bites.
“Yes?”
“She and Sarika want to make changes at the spa, and I had a look at their proposal. It’s a solid plan, but for some reason they’ve never had a chance to push it with management.”
I take a sip of wine, the gears in my head shifting. “It’s the same for Roger. He’s stuck and wants more from life, but it seems hard to get ahead here.”
“How weird,” Lexi says. “You’d think Beaumont would encourage their staff to grow.”