Page 31 of Caught Up In You (Indigo Royal Resort)
He pulled away slightly, resting his forehead against hers, both of them panting, trying to catch their breath. “Come out on the boat with me tomorrow,” he murmured.
“I have to work,” she answered, without even thinking. It was true, though. It was Saturday, which was always a weird, wild day with the changeover. Pair that with everything else she’d let slip this week, and it was going to be a long, long day for her.
“It’s Saturday, I don’t have camp. And I talked to Vaughn, you have the day off.”
“Saturday is our busiest day, I can’t just take it off,” she protested.
“Well, boss man says you can.”
“You’re not kidding, are you? You actually asked him,” she said in disbelief.
“Yes, the subject came up and I asked if you could join,” he answered her, not understanding her concern.
“Oh my God! Cullen…shit…what did he say? I could get fired!”
“You’re not going to get fired. It was my request.”
“And he didn’t question why you were asking for me? If he thinks we’re…” she trailed off, motioning with her hand toward the shower, indicating what they’d just done. “It’s against resort policy!”
“I think by now he realizes that there is something between us, Menina. He’s not an idiot,” he said, smirking. “And you haven’t been fired yet.”
“So what did you tell him?”
“I was talking with the Quinlans as I grabbed breakfast this morning about what to do with my days off between camp sessions, and Grayson suggested a boat excursion. I asked if it would be weird with just me, so he said that he could arrange for it to be led by his niece and her boyfriend, with some of the other staff. So I asked that you be included in that,” he said, shrugging, as if his request hadn’t been a big deal. Maybe to him it wasn’t. But Leona worried that her boss now thought she was providing extra services to the guests.
“Vaughn said the only one of your duties he couldn’t reassign was the care of my rooms, and I told him it was fine if the bed didn’t get made—that I would prefer you join us on the boat. So, you are joining us on the boat,” he said, sounding playful even though he was giving her an order. He kissed her again, softly, like it was the most simple and common thing in the world for their lips to meet like that.
“But I’m already so behind on paperwork,” she insisted, pulling back and looking at him. “And what if something goes wrong? It’s changeover day—you never know what is going to happen!”
“Don’t make me beg, Menina,” he said. “Not to mention, we both would have some explaining to do since your boss isn’t expecting to see you.”
The man had a point. A very good point. Leona also couldn’t remember the last time she went out on one of the boats, other than the brief run they did when Kyle first bought the Brown Eyed Girl a couple of months ago. Being out on the water for a day would be great. Seeing Cullen in a swimsuit, all wet and sticky from the salt water, wouldn’t be a hardship either. She simply nodded again, not quite able to voice an agreement. The smile that spread over his face had a wicked glint to it and it was starting to have more of an effect on her than she wanted to admit.
Chapter Fifteen
The sun was just starting to peek up over the horizon, catching the reflection of the ocean just right, making it sparkle. Making her way down the marina to the Brown Eyed Girl, the newest catamaran in the Indigo Royal fleet, Leona stopped for a moment to take it in. While she was usually up fairly early, it was rare that she was anywhere near the water to see the sun come up over it. She still couldn’t believe she allowed herself to be talked into this, but Cullen and his kisses had been so damn convincing last night.
“Mornin’, darlin’,” Dalton drawled, coming up behind, taking her gaze off the sunrise and turning her mind back to the day ahead. “You disappeared on us last night.”
“Sorry, something came up,” she offered.
“I’m sure it did,” he smirked knowingly.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, irked by his tone, turning to face him so he could see her annoyance head-on.
“Lee, I know you about as well as anyone at this resort, other than maybe Drea, and yet, more intimately,” he winked. “So I know when something is up. You ran out on me last night, you never showed up after dinner, didn’t answer Drea’s texts, and now we’re about to get on a boat and spend the day with a man who, for all the years I’ve known you, you’ve claimed to hate. So, what don’t I know here?”
“Nothing,” she answered, brushing him off. Trying to walk away, she turned and headed toward the boat, but he caught her around the waist and pulled her back to where he was standing.
“No, not nothing,” he corrected her, shaking his head. “Something happen between the two of you?”
“No…yes…no. Sorta, I guess,” she started. She wasn’t sure just how much she wanted to admit to him. “He felt me up the other night. But Dalton, if you tell anyone, I will end you!” She stood on her tiptoes, pointing her index finger in his face.
“Your secret is safe with me, darlin’. But why do I get the impression that it was more than just a nice little boob squeeze?”
Leona just glared at him. “I’m not going to give you a play-by-play.”
“That’s not what I meant, Lee. I told you, I know yo
