Episode 205
HOT STUFF
Heather
June doesn’t know me—not on the inside. But she sees too much.
I first thought fooling around with her would be harmless. And damn, the girl can lick pussy like she lives for it.
But now…
The way she looks at me—and it’s not like she’s dying to jump back in the sack. Besides, I can be bi when men aren’t around, but we’re on an island full of billionaires—not to mention sexy-as-fuck staff members. I kind of let my horniness get the best of me.
“You think he’d do it?” June asks.
I jerk at her question. What were we talking about again?
Right. Ariel’s send-off. Marc, the delectable sous chef.
“Don’t know,” I reply. “Doesn’t hurt to ask.”
“Alex would probably pay him,” Darby says. “I mean, I don’t know him and Ariel very well yet, obviously, but the man is worth billions, and he wants his lady to be happy.”
June scoffs. “And it will make him happy for her to watch another man take off his clothes?”
“This isn’t about Alex,” I say. “It’s about Ariel. And no, we’re not going to ask Alex for anything. Certainly not to pay a stripper. This is on us.”
June gives me a look that I can’t quite read.
There she goes again. She doesn’t ask direct questions. Not yet. But I can feel her circling. The way her voice tilts when she asks me about my business, my clients. The way her eyes linger a second too long as I answer, like she’s waiting for something to slip out.
She’s careful. Friendly, even. But there’s weight behind her curiosity. A quiet calculation.
I know that look. I’ve worn it myself.
I brush it off, but inside, everything locks down.
I keep my voice light, my smile practiced. But the back of my mind is already running damage control. How much could she know? How far would she go?
Secrets have a scent, and she’s already caught it.
But I’ve covered my tracks well, and June may be a gorgeous supermodel, but she doesn’t have any huge connections. All she could possibly have are hunches.
The men, on the other hand…
But they’re not interested in dredging up the past of a hairstylist from Pasadena. They’re only interested in fucking her. Maybe marrying her, if I get lucky.
Which means it’s time to quit fucking around with June. I’ve got to get my claws back into Sebastian Tate. He and I had wicked chemistry in the sack.
“Speak of the gorgeous devil.” June spreads on a smile when Marc appears on the deck.
“Enjoying your lunch, ladies?” he queries, his dark blue eyes sparkling.
“It’s sublime,” June says. “Simply perfect.”
I hold back a huff. All she ate was kale and a lilliputian bite of shrimp.
I turn to Marc, give him my best seductive smile. “The shrimp skewers were fab. Were they your creation?”
“As a matter of fact, they were.” He smiles back. “I’m glad you liked them.”
“What did you marinate them in?” I ask. “I tasted the lime, of course, but there was something else—something warmer.”
His eyes flicker with amusement. “So you were paying attention.”
“To the food?” I arch a brow. “Always.”
He leans in slightly, just enough to make the air between us hum. “A touch of honey, smoked paprika, and a splash of mezcal. Just enough to leave a burn.”
I stay silent a moment. Then, “Well, it worked. I’m still thinking about them.”
He tilts his head, smile deepening. “The shrimp? Or the burn?”
I don’t answer. I just sip my drink, attempting to ignore the heat on my flesh, and hold his gaze for a second longer, until—
“We”—I gesture to Darby and June—“were wondering if you might do us a favor tonight.”
“I’m cooking tonight,” he says. “Big celebration dinner for Alex and Ariel.”
“Right.” I nod. “I’m talking about later.”
“There’s a strict no-fraternizing rule,” he says, but his eyes say otherwise as he leans closer. “But what did you have in mind?”
“We’re putting together a bachelorette party for Ariel, and we need a stripper.”
Marc’s eyes go wide. “Uh…I’m not sure I’d be the best choice.”
“Why not?” From Darby. “I mean, have you looked in a mirror lately?”
June is studying Marc intently, the way I sometimes catch her studying me.
“It’s not that,” Marc says. “I just don’t think she’d be comfortable—”
“I’ll be damned,” June hisses in a whisper. “He’s done it with Ariel!”
Marc’s cheeks go red.
Marc? And Ariel? Sweet little Southern belle Ariel?
Respect.
“Does that matter?” I ask.
“It matters to me,” Marc says.
I sigh. “All right. Who’s another hot staffer we could ask?” I look around. The bartender on the deck is a woman, but… “There’s the bartender who worked the first night. God, he was hot. He’s been working every day since. He has golden brown skin, a gorgeous smile, and luscious lips.”
“Zion,” Marc says, his lips in a straight line.
“What a great name,” Darby says. “It just flows off my tongue. Zion.”
“Zion, yeah,” I say. “Do you think he’d do it?”
Marc clears his throat. “Probably not the best choice either.”
June’s eyes go wide as saucers. “That little minx! Then again, I know firsthand that she’s not averse to threesomes.”
Darby about falls out of her chair. “Okay…I’m a little freaked here.”
Seriously? What did she think she’d encounter when she came to an island where women were competing for men? There was going to be sex, and a lot of it. Maybe she didn’t think threesomes were on the table.
“Shocked?” I ask, feigning innocence.
Though I have to say I didn’t expect it from Ariel. And one of her alleged threesomes apparently included June.
“Who can we ask then?” I say to the women.
I don’t expect Marc to answer, but he does. “Why not ask the groom?”
June bursts out laughing. “What fun would that be? This is Ariel’s last hurrah. What about that massage therapist, Jared? He’s hot.”
“I’m assuming Evangeline will be at this party?” Marc says.
“Probably—” I stop. “Oh. Right. No fraternizing.”
“There is someone,” June says, her smile devious. “Someone who’s here. Someone I’ve seen, and he’s just as delicious as his four friends. He’s hot stuff.”
“He won’t do it,” I say. “He just got here.”
June rises. She’s still wearing that damned towel. “You just leave that to me.”