Page 29 of Caught Up In You (Indigo Royal Resort)
He made a sneaky, knowing face at her as he asked her the question. Suddenly she got all paranoid that Dalton knew something about last night. How he would know she had no idea, but she really couldn't have it be known that she had been inappropriate like that with a guest, even if he’d started it.
“Why? What did you hear?” she asked, trying to be casual.
“Oh shit, you did!” he said, not even trying to hide his laughter.
Her phone dinged with a text message right as he was responding, and she was thankful for the excuse to look away from him. When she saw it was from her mother, she hoped that everything had gone okay during the pickup this afternoon. Since she didn’t have her car, she wasn’t able to make it over there, although even if her car had been returned to her, she would have found an excuse not to go face Cullen right now.
Mama: Had quite the talk with CC while picking up J. Short version: more camp next week.
Leona couldn’t believe what she was reading. Josef was going back to camp? The only way they were going to be able to afford that is if he got another scholarship or…
Her fingers moved furiously across her screen as she replied.
Leona: You're not letting him pay, are you? We don’t need his handout, Mama…
Mama: Go talk to him yourself. Maybe you’ll learn something.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” she muttered. Anger sparked inside her. What had he said to her mother?
“What?” Dalton asked.
Learn something? What could she possibly have to learn from talking to Cullen Cruz? Everything she had been feeling earlier was tossed aside as anger continued to rise through her. She knew better than to let him get to her like this, and she hated that he got under her skin the way he did. However, this was more than just being annoyed because he requested expensive bubble bath and a certain thread count. This was him inserting himself into her life in ways she was not okay with. He was not going to get away with providing things for her family in exchange for feeling her up. She got to her feet and stormed out of her office, leaving Dalton just sitting there on the couch wondering what the hell just happened.
Chapter Fourteen
Normally professionalism was something Leona prided herself on, but in that moment, she couldn’t care just how unprofessional she was being. What she cared about was making sure that Cullen Cruz knew exactly how she felt and that she was not someone who could be bought.
Without knocking or announcing herself in any way, she punched in her code for La Isla Bonita and threw open the door, letting it slam on the wall behind it as it opened. Cullen came running out of the bathroom in just a pair of low-slung gym shorts that were leaving nothing to the imagination. As much as she wanted to drink him in with all his yummy muscles and tattoos, right now she wouldn’t let herself get distracted.
“What in the actual fuck, Cruz?” she spat out, slamming the door as she entered the bungalow.
“Menina, how good to see you. Please, come on in,” he said, waving a hand to indicate she should make herself at home.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“Well,” he looked down at himself, before turning slightly and pointing over his shoulder with his thumb into the bathroom, where she could hear the water running. “I was about to take a shower.”
“Stop being cute,” she scoffed. “You talked to my mother.”
“You think I’m cute, huh?” he smirked, slowly walking toward her and closing the gap. “And yes, I spoke with your mother. She picked Josef up today and we chatted for a bit.”
“You had no right,” she ground out, taking a stand as he stalked toward her. She could see every movement of his muscles as he did so and it threatened her resolve.
“No right? To talk to the parent of one of my participants?”
“You know what I mean. You had no right to offer to pay for Josef to attend another week.”
“It’s my camp, Menina. If I choose to let someone attend at no charge, that’s my prerogative,” he explained. He was half a step away from her now, so close she could easily reach out and touch him. She wanted to run her hands up those well-defined pecs like she wanted her next breath but stopped herself. “Like I told your mother, I see a lot of myself in him and I want to help.”
“I…we…cannot be bought. Don't throw your money at my family just so I’ll sleep with you.”
“I don’t need to pay for that, Menina,” he said slowly, in a low husky voice.
“Really, I recall you treating me like a hooker before—seemed like you were used to it then,” she snarked. She hadn’t intended to be so crass about it, but now that it was out, she had no intention of taking it back.
“That’s low, Menina,” he said, looking down at her and right into her eyes. “But I won’t say I don’t deserve it. I have not always been a gentleman where you are concerned.”
“That’s one hell of an understatement,” she scoffed.
