Silence (Silence #1)

“No. Way!”


I nodded and walked up to the treatment board beside the reception desk. Two ridiculously beautiful women were sitting behind the desk, looking at the computer screen. Was being stunning a requirement of working here?

“You can’t be serious?” he asked, begging me with his eyes to leave. “Do you want my balls to drop off?”

I grinned wide and cocked my head to the side.

“Let’s just go, yeah?”

Couples massage, I read in my head. Couples. I really wanted to relax together, but was a couples massage jumping the gun a little? Would he see it as a hint? Gathering the courage, I pointed to the massage and waited for his reaction.

“Just that?” he asked with a small smile playing on his lips. Shaking my head, I also pointed to the face pack thing. “You can but there is no way I’m putting any of that shit on my face!”

I scowled at him.

“No. Just, no.” he said defiantly.

“Can I help you?” One of the women asked, grinning in amusement at our little exchange.

“Can we book the couples massage and the rejuvenating face thing for her?” he asked, nodding in my direction. I slapped his arm and decided to go with a different approach. I pouted and fluttered my eyelashes. Cole wasn’t budging.

“Not happening.”

The woman, who looked like she should be a model and not a receptionist, laughed.

“You want him to do both?” she asked me. Her English was slightly better than Carmella’s, but her Italian accent was thicker. I nodded and hoped she wouldn’t ask me anything else. I didn’t want to seem rude. That was always a problem with strangers, not being able to answer them made me look stuck up.

He groaned and turned to the supermodel. “OK. Both please.”

“Of course.” She booked us in for tomorrow afternoon and handed us our appointment card.

Cole tucked the appointment card in the pocket of his shorts and glared at me playfully.

“You owe me!” I raised my eyebrow. I owe him nothing; I’m diving tomorrow morning! He chuckled and casually threw his arm over my shoulder as we wandered back through the hotel.



After eating dinner with our families, we walked back along the beach for a while. It was so nice to just go out and do whatever we wanted to do. I loved it just being us. We were given a lot more freedom on holiday, as long as we were sensible and met them at least once a day for a meal. Our parents would be off doing their own thing anyway.

When I started yawning, Cole demanded we go back to the hotel. I wanted to stay longer and watch the nightlife, but there was plenty of time for that.

“Can I stay for a bit?” he asked nervously as we stopped at my room. I nodded, not wanting him to leave. “Sure? I don’t mind if you just want to go to sleep.”

Unlocking the door, I pointed inside the room and raised my eyebrows at him.

“Bossy,” he commented.

We both lay on my bed and stared at the smooth white ceiling.

“You asleep?” he whispered, his soft voice sent a shiver down my spine. I shook my head and rolled onto my side. He really was impossibly good-looking, and impossibly wonderful. I love you, I declared privately.

“You think I could stay here tonight? I could sneak out early in the morning.” Biting my lip, I considered it. I wanted him to stay. I would love to spend the night with him, but what if we were caught? My parents would go crazy, although we could just say we fell asleep.

Making my decision, not that it was hard very to make, I nodded my head. He smiled a gorgeous smile and sat up.

“Get ready for bed then!”

I flipped my suitcase open and pulled my shorts and tank top pyjamas out. Was he looking forward to the normality of being a couple going to bed together as much as I was? Although, we weren’t actually a couple. I frowned and went into the bathroom to change and brush my teeth.

Cole had taken his clothes off and was sitting in bed when I got back into the room. Heat flooded to my face. Was he completely naked? My face flamed.

I bit my tongue as I slipped into bed beside him. I was so nervous and a more than a little scared. I couldn’t see if he was wearing boxers. I shuffled down and pulled the cover up to my chin, being careful not to touch him. After a minute, he did the same.

“You look tired.” His breathing became heavier and he kissed me hard, completely taking me by surprise. Nothing mattered as our lips worked together. I didn’t care that I wasn’t good enough for him. I didn’t care that I shouldn’t want him. I loved him, and I wanted him.