So she thought I cared if Tori had a man? I shrugged, then briefly glanced around the room to find Deidra so I could scowl at her like Des was scowling at me. “Dei needs to mind her damn business, first of all. Tori and I were having a private conversation. Anyway, she’s grown, right? If she wants me to leave her alone, she knows how to say that.”
Des let out an exasperated sigh. “I’m serious, Avery. Drew and I are about to do these last little reception things, and then we’re leaving, and Deidra already snuck off somewhere with Wes. I need you to put on your ‘big brother’ hat and make sure Tori makes it back to her room okay.”
“So you want me babysit her?”
“No. Well…. yes. Yes, I want you to think of her like you would me or Dei, and look after her.”
I couldn’t do anything but laugh at that suggestion. “Not gonna happen, sis. I’ve already imagined my hands in too many inappropriate places on her body to ever think of her as a sister.”
“Ugh, Avery! Come on, I need you to do this for me. Please?”
Shit.
“Okay, Des. Fine, I’ll make sure your friend gets back to her room.”
Des smiled, then gave me peck on the cheek. “Thank you Avery.”
“Whatever Des.”
I watched Des and Drew deliver their toasts, but didn’t bother with the garter toss. Tori apparently had the same idea about the throwing of the bouquet, because while two of Drew’s cousins were fighting over it, I found her tucked into a quiet balcony, looking at the last rays of the sun reflected over the water.
“You know… this view is better from my villa,” I said as I approached, stopping to stand beside her at the railing.
She looked up at me with a smile, even though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “You’re not staying in one of those,” she said skeptically, tossing a handful of hair over her shoulder.
I leaned close, speaking right into her ear. “Or am I?”
She laughed, then cocked her head to the side, as if she were contemplating it. “The ones right by the water, in the glades?”
“From the deck to the water, twenty feet. Thirty tops.”
I wasn’t lying— the view from the beachside villa I’d reserved for my stay was spectacular— but if I took her there, I was hoping to show her quite a bit more than the view. I didn’t give a damn about her ‘man’, especially if he was stressing her out. That only increased the likelihood I could get a sample of what she held between those supple, honey-colored thighs. Besides, what man with any sense would let a woman who looked like that come to the freaking Maldives alone?
“Private beach?” she asked, leaning back onto the railing as she turned to face me. I nodded, then watched the ripple of her throat as she took the last sip of champagne from her glass. She had this sultry look in her eyes that was diverting the blood flow from my brain, and sending it to my groin at a rapid pace. Sliding her hand into mine, she gave me an expectant smile that nearly knocked me off my feet. “Show it to me.”
I hadn’t expected her to be nearly this willing, but even with the possibility in mind that this was some sort of setup, I glanced around the reception to make sure both my sister and cousin were gone, then I led her out of the main building of the resort and down the lighted path to the villas, which were set into the glades.