I push my dark thoughts aside when the cab halts at a massive wrought-iron gate with a CC emblem at its center.
Once we’re allowed to pass, the cab pulls over before an Architectural Digest-worthy Mediterranean mansion that consists of a pristine white building plus ten villas spread across the beach. Every villa is facing the waves and sand. Callan greets us when we arrive, hair mussed and sexy as only he and his gang of playboy friends can look. His date is a petite brunette—Sandy—who’s trying to prove to the elusive billionaire how good a hostess she is by offering drinks every couple of minutes to anyone who crosses her path.
She shows us to our room and I fall in love instantly with the simple, sophisticated décor. Everything is done in neutral tones with the exception of colorful pillows strewn on the bed and patterned art deco curtains on the massive glass doors that lead to the terrace. The terrace has an outdoor shower and a private pool.
Trent and I get settled in record time then meet up with everybody at the main pool. Drinks and conversation flow as Rachel, Wynn, and I lie on deep orange chaise lounges and the men sip drinks in the pool. Saint playfully leaps out of the pool to join Rachel? stroking his hand up and down her tiny, nearly four-month-pregnant belly. The adoration in his eyes is heartwarming and I can’t help but feel a flood of happiness for them, for my best friend.
But as the hours pass and the sky starts casting a pink-orange glow across the horizon, I realize I’m not having as much fun as I expected as I would.
Maybe because I can’t help but notice that everyone is here…
Everyone but Tahoe.
*
Even after a full day at the pool and a tray full of margaritas, I can’t sleep that night. I find myself wandering out onto the terrace. I’m wearing a flimsy camisole and shorts and I’m enjoying the way the warm spring Florida night feels on my skin. I take one of the terrace lounge chairs and stare out at the waves. The sky is pitch black with only a sliver of moon, one of the few lights I can see.
My eyes are drawn to the only other light nearby, flooding out of the villa next door.
Its windows are open, and the gauzy drapes billow softly with the wind.
The villa was vacant, as far as I knew, because I heard it was supposed to be Tahoe’s. Did he finally arrive? I expect to hear moans and groans at any moment now.
Instead there’s movement, and as my eyes adjust to the shadows, I realize there’s a man sitting outside too. His blue eyes glimmer in the dark, and there’s a light smile curving his lips as he lifts his fingers in a peace sign.
My stomach, my heart, my whole body seems to clutch and spasm in reaction.
Tahoe is sitting alone. How long had he been watching me?
His chest is bare. But he’s wearing some sort of drawstring pajama pants that are light in color and possibly linen. He looks like a god in the moonlight. And the sudden thought of a woman being inside that villa with him causes a dull thud of jealousy right in my center.
I’m suddenly too aware of how flimsy my camisole is, and how very much my nipples are poking into the material as the wind presses it against my skin.
I know Tahoe notices.
He’s too observant a man not to notice, too perceptive.
He must be wondering why I’m not in my room, in my boyfriend’s arms.
I wonder why too.
Behind me, my boyfriend is warm, asleep in bed, but my mind is stuck on Tahoe and how he makes me feel. Why does it feel like my life is moving, but I’m stuck at a standstill, just waiting for glimpses of him?
Him and that slowly curving smile appearing now.
Soon I find myself smiling back at him.
I’m really happy to see him.
I CANNOT TAKE MY EYES OFF HIM
I wake up late and alone the next morning, a little disoriented. When the fog clears, I remember that I’m at the beach, in the loveliest villa I could imagine, with my boyfriend and friends, and a smile lights my face.
I get up, brush my teeth, fix my face, and notice on the pillow next to mine a note from Trent. It says he’s having breakfast at the main house with everyone and that he’ll meet me at the beach.
I change into my one-piece black swimsuit, wrap a pareo around my waist, and slip into my sandals. I’m heading down the beach path toward the main house when I hear the sound of running water coming from Tahoe’s villa.
I stop to peer through the palm trees. My jaw drops as I stare at the most primal thing I’ve ever seen. Tahoe stands alone in the outdoor shower, muscles glistening with water and sunlight. His head cast up to the shower spray.
He’s pumping his hips, his thick erection in his fist.
He is such a beautiful man I could probably come by just staring at his body. Just by staring at him like this. Oh god. He’s ripped, and cut. As for his beautifully proportionate cock…
He’s uncut. And he’s fully extended. Raw, glorious. My throat feels thick, I have trouble swallowing.
Tahoe Roth.
My guy friend. And THE SEXIEST THING ON THE PLANET.