He stroked his fingers over her thigh, nudging the robe out of the way. She made a face and flicked his fingers. Another inch and she’d forget her talking points. “Start talking.”
He sighed. “You were perfect.”
“Right.” He looked serious...she’d give him that.
He tugged on the end of her sash. “Did you hear me complaining?”
“I’m not asking for complaints. I’m asking for feedback.” Complaints were personal, him blowing off frustration or unhappiness, while feedback was actionable. Something she could fix or improve on.
“Uh-huh.” He parted the front of her robe and trailed a hand over her waist, clearly not interested in a vocabulary lesson.
“I want to know.” She was the best doctor in the ER chute, and she’d managed that by studying hard and learning from her mistakes. Failure wasn’t an option. Why shouldn’t sex be the same?
“Why do you care if I have the best time of my life in bed with you, as long as you enjoy the hell out of it?” Genuine curiosity replaced amusement in his voice.
She pointed to his groin. “Biology requires a certain level of participation from you.”
“It still doesn’t have to be the best hard-on of my life.”
“Can you tell the difference between erections?” That had to be a safe topic.
He gave her a look. “Can you tell a difference between your orgasms?”
Absolutely. Maybe they needed to forget this whole conversation, however, because she had no intention of telling him that tonight’s orgasm had been hands down the best of her life. He didn’t need to know just how much he affected her, did he?
“Come here.” He tugged her sash again.
“I have the munchies. No more sex until I’ve been fed. Do you want room service?”
He quirked a brow. “Do you want the entire resort to know I’m here?”
Right. She didn’t think he’d hide in the bathroom while the room service guy delivered. She couldn’t tell from his expression if he’d mind everyone knowing about them or not. How many of the island’s employees hooked up with the guests? Some, but not enough, she decided. Chances were, he didn’t want to advertise their hookup.
She shrugged and headed for the tiny fridge. “I’m voting for instant gratification. Let’s hit up the minibar.”
“That’s not a meal.”
She looked over her shoulder and grinned at him. “How do you know what I’ve got in my minibar?”
“Are you hiding a steak in there? Because a meal definitely includes protein.”
She made a face, even though she knew he couldn’t see it. What was it with men and beef? “Prepare for disappointment.”
The bed creaked as he resettled himself. Apparently, he wasn’t of the bang-her-and-leave school of thought. She sighed. He was too tempting. Maybe it would be better if he hightailed it for the door.
“Nothing about you could disappoint.”
His words were the cherry on a really great Gray sundae. She was tempted to turn around so she could see his face, but maybe it had been a throwaway line. So looking would be a mistake and wouldn’t be cool. To keep herself busy and her mind off sexy compliments, she opened the fridge and rifled through its overpriced contents. No steak, but she did have two mini bottles of champagne. She turned around, waving her prizes.
“Woo-hoo! We win.”
He eyed the tiny bottles in her hand. “I’m not much of a drinking man.”
She hadn’t pegged him for a health-kick guy, but whatever. “That must come with the spa job.”
He snorted. “That comes with childhood territory. I’ve seen too many people turn into idiots once they’d pounded a few beers.”
No alcohol. Check. She grabbed him a bottled water instead, the sparkling kind with an Italian name and fancy glass bottle. That probably wasn’t his thing, either, but the minibar had limited options.
“No steak,” she said with a smirk. She’d brought her own stuff and shoved it inside the minibar on top of the resort’s overpriced offerings. She needed healthy snacks in her life, thank you very much. She’d brought a Japanese trail mix with seaweed, nuts and dried fish. Since dried fish wasn’t everybody’s thing, she grabbed a handful of more mainstream offerings, went back to the bed and dropped the impromptu picnic onto the duvet. “Dig in.”
He eyed Snack Mountain with some doubt, prodding her Japanese mix dubiously. “Is that even edible?”
She dropped onto the bed beside him. “It has omegas. Omegas are good for you.”
He shuddered. “Give me chocolate any day. Dried fish is the kind of shit you eat after the apocalypse hit and the survivors have looted all the good stuff from the gas station.”
“Cheerful.” She popped another handful into her mouth.
Reaching over, he grabbed the Snickers bar from her stash. “This, on the other hand, is a snack. A good one.”
“If you say so.” Too much sugar for her.
“Are you sure you’re a girl?” He eyed her suspiciously as he peeled back the wrapper and proceeded to devour her candy.
“You would know.”
“True.” He polished off the candy bar and reached for a second one.
Picnicking on the bed was strangely intimate and almost as much fun as the sex. Well, not really, but it added a side of sweet to her savory. Gray was good company. He asked her about working as a trauma surgeon and what it was like living in San Francisco. She couldn’t help but notice, though, that he didn’t volunteer any information about himself. Granted, she hadn’t asked for his résumé before she’d jumped his bones, but there had to be a story that brought this man to this place. Whatever it was, he wasn’t in a sharing mood.
“Are you done eating?” He set his bottled water on the bedside table.
Deflection? Or deliciously horny intentions? Because she could be done with the right incentive.
She looked at her champagne bottle. Definitely empty. So...yes? She set it down.
“Why? What did you have in mind?”
She landed on her back. Damn, she hadn’t even heard him move, but she saw him now as he swung himself over her.
“Because I’m not done with you yet,” he said, his hands coming down on the bed on either side of her face, his thumbs stroking over her cheeks like he couldn’t get enough of her. And...just like that, she lost interest in snacks. “I’m a fast learner. Want to see what else I think you’d like?”
Yeah, she absolutely did. Thank God she’d stocked up on condoms, because it appeared her fantasy night wasn’t over yet.
8
FANTASY ISLAND HAD one restaurant, a fancy seaside bistro perched on wooden piers over the calm lagoon. The establishment had a palapa roof, but was otherwise open to take advantage of the sea air and breezes. Since the staff baited the waters regularly, it also came with a couple of lazy sharks and schools of brightly colored tropical fish waiting for their next handout. The wildlife was good, although the white tablecloths and four-hundred-piece tableware setting were definitely out of Laney’s league. She was more of a spork kind of gal. She survived on sandwiches and coffee from the hospital vending machine, or carnitas from the taco truck if it was Friday.
Had survived, she reminded herself. That job was gone.
Ashley high-fived her as soon as she sat down at the table. “You got some.”
Maddie made a face. Her nose was peeling from a recent sunburn. “That has to be one of the crudest phrases ever.”
The waiter slid a tray of appetizers in front of them. All-inclusive, she reminded herself. Prepaid. She should live it up before she had to go back to the real world and microwaved Lean Cuisine meals. Not that there was anything wrong with frozen dinners, but the extra five thousand calories in the stuffed mushrooms staring up at her begged her to indulge. And it wasn’t willpower week.
Ashley didn’t look concerned about her word choice as she forked up a large mouthful of salad greens. “Look at her face and tell me I’m wrong. She’s rocking the post-coital glow look. Do you want me to dress it up?”
What was she supposed to say? Because right now what she felt was a combination of awkward and excited. Holy smokes, she’d actually done it. She’d picked a fantasy and made it come true with a hot stranger. Just remembering last night, she wanted to run back to the massage cabanas or employee housing, find Gray and do it all over again. Which she could. If she wanted to.
Right?
The deal hadn’t necessarily been for one night only. Seeing Gray again, both naked and fully clothed, wasn’t off the table. She wanted to kiss him, touch him, learn what had brought him to this island.
Okay. She also wanted to have sex with him. Lots and lots of sex, followed by the rest of the night curled up in bed. Gray had stayed the night, not slipping out until the sun was about to come up, and it turned out the man was as good at snuggling as he was at sex.
Maddie pointed a fork at her. “Crappy phrasing aside, was he any good?”
Thank God for the champagne that had magically materialized in her glass. “Yes.”
Ashley bit into a mushroom with a groan of pleasure. “On a scale of one to ten, rate him. Would you do him again?”
Wait. Why was that even a question?
“The blush says it all,” Ashley observed, then stared down at her empty plate. “I would kill for a drive-through burger and fries.”