Chapter 7

The concierge was happy to give me a reservation for snorkeling at one p.m., so there will be time to have a little fun before we have to head down to the water. After that breakfast, I need to work off some of those pancakes, and what's better than some lunchtime sex?

While I'm waiting for her to get back, I reach for my phone without thinking. It's so ingrained in me to wile away the time looking at social media that I don't even consider that I'm on vacation, so what the hell do I need to look at what other people are doing with their boring lives?

Before I can toss the phone back into my bag, it begins to vibrate from a call coming in. Who the fuck thinks they should bother me now on a weekend? I told my brothers where I was going, so it couldn't be them. Anyone else I don't give a damn about.

I see Matthias's name come up on the screen, though. Jesus, what the hell does he want? I swear he lives to make me miserable. What about I'm going away and don't want to be bothered wasn't crystal clear to him?

As much as I don't want to talk about work with him, I swipe across my phone screen and angrily answer, "What the hell do you not understand about don't call me?"

Like always, he sighs, and all I can think is he's sitting in that cushy home office of his with his feet up on his desk thinking he's far too important to deal with idiots such as me. I'd be happy to never hear from him again, if that would work for him.

"This is serious, Kellen. I wouldn't be interrupting your trip if it wasn't," he says in that all-too-solemn big brother voice.

"What the fuck is so important that you have to bother me on a weekend, Matthias? I do get to enjoy days off, don't I? Or is that another one of the many rules of King Industries that I've broken?"

"God, Kellen. Stop acting like you're some oppressed man. This is serious."

The tension I always feel whenever I talk to him begins to manifest itself in a headache. "Jesus Christ, what is your problem? You know, it's not a crime to relax. You should try it sometime. Might as well get your jollies now because when that kid comes it's going to be nothing but no sleep, shitty diapers, and playdates with other parents you won't like."

Damnit! I was having a perfectly good vacation here, but of course, my oldest brother has to rain on my fucking parade.

"Thank you for your assessment of my future, but we need to focus on your present right now. As I speak, the nightmare I was afraid of is happening in real time. A woman who worked here quit yesterday, and she's all over the news talking shit about our company and you."

None of this interests me since I constantly have to deal with disgruntled employees, so I hum and say, "Okay. I'll handle it when I get back. It's the weekend, for God's sake. There's nothing I can do today."

Of course, that doesn't make him happy.

"How was your trip back to the fifties, Kellen? We work on weekends nowadays. It's called the internet. Big invention. Maybe you've heard of it?"

"Well, I don't work on weekends. I'll take care of everything when I get back. I promise. Can I go back to enjoying this beautiful villa and my snorkeling I have scheduled this afternoon?"

Another sigh from Matthias tells me the answer is no.

"Kellen, listen to me. This is a real problem. This woman claims you sexually harassed her. Her name is Gina Manchester. Does any of this ring a bell?"

His voice is a mixture of frustration and genuine concern. It doesn't happen often, but when he's like this, he reminds me of our father. Maybe I should give him a head's up about this whole Gina thing so he doesn't have to spend his entire weekend a worried mess.

"Relax, Matthias. I didn't sexually harass anyone. You know me. If someone isn't interested in me, I walk away and consider it their loss. Gina's texts were some I showed you. We slept together. No big deal. Everyone had fun. She knew what it was and what it wasn't. She's just pissed I didn't want forever."

My brother is silent for a long moment, which I can't deny is a good thing as far as I'm concerned, but he finally says, "I don't think that's going to help when she sues us. You need to get back here and clean up this mess."

Knowing he's not going to let this go, I relent. "Okay. I'll take care of things and you'll see it's nothing to get all bunched up about. Go back to your Saturday. I'm sure you have things to do, like wallpapering the nursery or covering all the outlets in the house with those little plastic protector things."

"Just handle this. For the record, nobody uses wallpaper anymore. I'm not sure where you're getting your information about what expectant parents do to get ready for a child, but maybe you should join us in the twenty-first century. In fact, you could try some time travel to the present when it comes to working and women."

He doesn't even bother saying goodbye before ending the call, but that's fine with me. I don't need to hear any more of his nonsense. The guy is a workaholic who has no appreciation for a good time.

I'll never understand why Ava chose him over Theo.

A knock at my door tears me out of my thoughts about my brothers, and I remember the reason I was so happy to begin with today. My mystery woman. The one person who I know is going to make me forget all the bullshit Matthias tried to dump in my lap this morning.

"Come in!"

The door opens, and she pokes her beautiful face into the room. "Everything okay? I knocked a few minutes ago, but there was no answer. I don't want to interrupt anything."

I know what she's thinking, so I quickly work to banish the idea that I'm with someone else from her mind. Waving her in, I smile and explain, "You aren't interrupting. I was on a call with someone from work. People have no respect for those of us who know how to have a good time. Speaking of that, I say we get back to doing just that."

She sets her luggage down near the door and walks over to me. It's oddly comfortable between us, but since I've never had this with a woman, I don't know how to act.

"Are you sure it's okay? You look…" For a moment, she stops but then says, "Uncomfortable."

I shake my head at how wrong she is. "I was actually just thinking that what we have here together is really comfortable, especially considering we're pretty much strangers who don't even know one another's names."

That makes her roll her eyes. "I don't think we can honestly call ourselves strangers anymore. Not after last night. And this morning. And everything in between."

I slip my arms around her and pull her to me. "Maybe not, but we don't know each other's names. Still sounds like strangers to me."

She runs her tongue across her lower lip and grins up at me. "Strangers who have great sex. I guess we could call ourselves by fake names. How does Jane and John sound?"

That sounds incredibly boring, but how important are names after all? For two people who enjoy one another, names mean nothing.

"Jane and John it is. Nice to meet you, Jane."

"Nice to meet you, John. Nice villa you have here. I bet the pool is incredible," she says with a chuckle.

"And the outdoor shower," I add, remembering how good she felt this morning.

Running her hands down over my chest, she asks, "Were you able to get us a reservation for snorkeling?"

"One o'clock."

She moves her hands a little further down to my waist and begins to unbutton my pants. With a twinkle in her eyes, she bites her lower lip and smiles. "Then I guess we have some time to do whatever we want."

"I like the way you think."

It doesn't take us long before we're naked and rolling around on that purgatorial sofa from last night. Somehow today, though, it doesn't feel too bad, but then again, I'm more focused on her climbing onto my lap and riding my cock this morning.

"Mmmm…that feels good," she moans as she takes all of me into that perfect cunt of hers.

I set my hands on her hips to keep her still, loving how good she feels. If this is how relationships are, I might have to change my opinion on them. They've always seemed like a huge pain in the ass, but this woman is making me think I was all wrong.

"Are we doing some tantric thing?"

The curiosity in her eyes tells me she isn't being a smartass, so I shake my head and answer, "No. I'm not even sure I know what that is. I just wanted to take things slowly this time."

Rolling her hips, she gives me a sinful smile. "Slow is good too."

I doubt I can keep this at such a slow pace once we get going. Something about this woman makes my body kick into overdrive so I don't want to take it easy.

For a few moments, I watch her ride me and wish our time together would never end. Christ, I've never thought that about anyone. Then again, sex has never been this good with any other woman before her.

It's not just the sex, though. I've never felt this way when I've been with anyone else. She makes me smile, and I've been genuinely happy nearly every moment since I met her.

"What's that dreamy look on your face about?" she asks with a smile, tearing me out of my thoughts.

I shake my head and shrug before lifting my hips off the sofa to thrust into her. "Nothing. Just enjoying the view."

"Mmmm…me too. I never imagined I'd be here with someone. I was just coming here for a mini break from life," she says before punctuating her statement with a sensual moan as she slides down the length of my cock and stops for a long moment.

Pulling her mouth to mine, I whisper against her lips, "Same. God, you feel so fucking good."

I kiss her long and deep before she moans again and says, "I can say the same about you."

Damnit, I really wish I could stay here forever with her. Sure, then we'd have to tell each other our real names and accept the reality that comes with both of us, but that could work, couldn't it? It seems to work for millions of couples in this world, so why couldn't it work for us?

She begins to ride my cock faster, and I sense she's close, so slide my hands up to her perfect breasts and squeeze her hard, pink nipples. A tiny cry escapes her lips, and a second later, her thighs begin to tremble against me as she comes. I swear she's the most beautiful creature I've ever seen in my life as I watch her get off from my cock.

It doesn't take long before I'm coming so fucking hard I feel like I'm going to black out. The two of us finally fall still, and she collapses against my chest. We're drenched in sweat and exhausted, but I've never felt this good in my life.

She lifts herself off me and smiles. "I think there might be something to that tantric stuff."

I chuckle and pull her mouth to mine to kiss her. "I'm not sure that was technically anything tantric since we didn't stay completely still the whole time. Whatever it was, it felt fucking incredible."

Tilting her head so she looks absolutely adorable, she looks down into my eyes and all I can think of is going again with her. She has other, more intelligent ideas considering what we have planned for later, though.

"We better rest up for our snorkeling time. I've only gone a few times, but I remember distinctly that it wasn't as effortless as it looks."

So much for another round of great sex. Oh well. Later will have to do.

* * *

I grab the bucket with a bottle of the resort's finest champagne courtesy of that butler who's so good at his job I want to steal him away to work for me. A noise that sounds like a buzzing catches my attention, and I follow it to my phone sitting in my bag.

Ten to one it's Matthias again sounding the alarm about something that really isn't that important. Jesus, he needs to get a life.

Grabbing my phone, I see dozens of messages from him about the Gina issue. Fuck. I knew the first time I was with her that it would come back to haunt me.

Since I don't seem to have any way to avoid him if I want this goddamned phone to stop, I answer it. "Dude, I told you I'd take care of it. Have you ever considered valium? I think it might work for someone like you because you seriously need to calm the fuck down."

"Enough!" he bellows into the phone. "I'm sending the company jet for you, so get your ass to the airport. You need to be back to handle damage control front and center."

I glance out the doors to the patio and see my mystery woman Jane laying out a towel for us on the beach. No fucking way am I going back to New York just to deal with crazy and desperate Gina and whatever bullshit she's pulling.

"Monday. I told you I'd be back then, and I will be. For now, I'm staying right here and enjoying the best vacation I've ever had. You should try it sometime. That and valium might make you a more pleasant person to deal with, big brother."

The phone's silent for so long after I finish speaking that I pull it away from my ear to check he's still there. Nope, he didn't end the call. So what's with the silent treatment? Does he need me to explain to him that only works when the other person actually wants you to speak to them?

My reprieve from my brother's anger lasts only for a short time before he snaps, "Get the fuck on that plane, or I swear to God I'm going to fly down there myself to get you! And before you say anything else that makes me want to kill you, just remember that in Dad's will, if any of us does anything that endangers King Industries, the others can have his money frozen. Let that sink in before you give me another smartass answer, Kellen."

Why my father ever put that damn stipulation into his will is beyond me. Not that I think Marius and Ronan will side with Matthias. They know he's just a hard ass.

"Go ahead. See if I care."

"Fine. I'll do you one better. If you don't get your ass back here today, you no longer work at King Industries. No more money, Kellen. Marius, Ronan, and I will call the attorney today, and you'll be cut out until you remember how to behave, and I'll stop your salary from the company. I'm guessing you have some money left from the initial payment from Dad's will and what you make at King Industries, but is it enough to live on for the rest of your life? It better be because you're not going to get another damn cent of King money if you don't get your ass back to the city now!"

My goddamned brothers are all in on this? Son of a bitch! Ronan in particular knows I don't have much cash on hand, so I need to get paid from my job. Bastard probably told Matthias about that too.

They've got me between a rock and a hard place. I have no choice. I have to go back to the city today.

"Fine. I'll be on the plane."

"Good. I'll see you when you get back. Come directly to the house. A car will be waiting for you at Teterboro."

He ends the call and the phone goes dead, leaving me with what to do about the woman who's been rocking my world for the past twenty-four hours. I could explain to her what's going on, but how can I do that and still not tell her anything about myself?

I walk over to the glass doors and look out at the beach. She's lying on the towel looking as gorgeous as can be just waiting for me to come back to her. Leave it to my goddamned brother to ruin this too.

As much as I know it's shitty, I won't be able to explain everything to her, so maybe it's just better to head out without saying a word. Best for her to remember the good times we had instead of some sad nonsense my life is quickly becoming.

Still, I'm going to miss her.