Last Kiss (20 page)

Needing to be reminded of who I was, I turned my head toward Amber and back to him. “You can’t have both of us.” And according to his uncle, he couldn’t save both of us either.

“I don’t want both of you.”

No. I couldn’t hear that. I wouldn’t. “She’s the only one you can have.”

He sat stoic for five seconds. Then he bolted out of his seat and leaned his hands on either side of me in my chair. “You don’t get to decide that, Emily.” His chest rose and fell heavily. “That’s not how this works between us.”

He held his stance for a moment, his jaw ticking, his body tense. Then he pushed off the armrests and disappeared into the bedroom cabin behind me.

I curled up in my chair and pretended I didn’t miss him too.

Even though we stopped in LA to refuel, we still had most of the day ahead of us when we arrived on the island because of the five-hour time difference. I’d moved over to a window and watched as we approached, the tiny speck of land growing larger and larger, but still small enough that I glimpsed the opposite shore before we touched ground.

The airport consisted of a runway and a hangar with restrooms and a vending machine. Two cars pulled up alongside the plane as we landed, and the driver of one got out and met us at the bottom of the stairs.

“Filip!” I exclaimed, recognizing him as Reeve’s driver from LA.

He smiled cordially as he helped me down the stairs. “Welcome to Oinopa.” His accent, though Mediterranean, somehow seemed fitting in the Pacific setting. “Alex and I will get all the bags. Please take a seat in my car.”

Amber and I climbed in the backseat while the plane was unloaded. A few minutes later, one of the security guards got in the front seat along with Filip. Reeve joined us in the back. This time, I was in the middle, and even though I kept my body as small as possible, the length of his leg pressed against mine as we rode, sending bolts of electricity through me.

To distract myself from his nearness, I kept my eyes out the window in front of me and asked questions about the island. “What does Oinopa mean?”

“Wine-dark.” I swear Reeve pressed even tighter against me. “It’s how Homer described the ocean in
The Odyssey.
My father thought it made a good sound bite for the marketing brochures. ‘Experience your own odyssey on the island of Oinopa.’” He proclaimed the last sentence like a television announcer. “It loses its effect when I try it.”

Amber let out a laugh, and I recognized it as the one she used when she was flirting. “I think you sounded sexy.”

“Nah. I’ll leave the voice-over work to Emily.” The glint in his eyes said he wanted to add something about me being sexy.

I pursed my lips, praying he’d read my mind and keep his comment to himself.

He got the hint, but other than a soft sigh, he didn’t show any other signs of disappointment. He spent the rest of the thirty-minute drive giving an overview of Oinopa, pointing out the resort as we passed by, specifically where the spa was and the shopping mall, and explained where each of the side roads led when we came upon them.

“That’s the hillside trail,” he said. “It’s a nice run from the house. The view at the top is amazing. On a clear day, you can see from one coast to the other.”

I didn’t think it was an accident the way his arm grazed against my breast as he leaned across me to point it out. I held my breath, pissed at how aroused I was and how he had to know by the way my nipples stood up, reaching for the brush of his limb. And if I hadn’t been sure before, I was certain now that we might be in paradise, but being here with Reeve, whose touch was torturous and hot – was the closest thing to hell I’d ever known.

Reeve’s private compound wasn’t beachfront property as I’d imagined it would be. Instead, it was on the mountain, inaccessible except through a secured gate and a tree-lined driveway that wound up the cliffside. At the top, the canopy broke into a clearing with the house on one side of us, and on the other side, a view so spectacular I couldn’t believe that there were any more incredible on the island.

The positioning of the house was brilliant as well. It had been built on an outcrop of land so the ocean could be seen on three sides. It was grander than Reeve’s Los Angeles home, but still simple and clean in its design. The sprawling one-level with its various courtyards throughout was the safest layout, according to Reeve, and I had a feeling he meant safe from more than just hurricanes. Either way, it was easy to see why he considered this his most secure property.

As soon as we were out of the car, Reeve became preoccupied with business and, I suspected, news from Anatolios regarding measures he was taking with Michelis. He disappeared into his office and so Filip offered to show Amber and me to our rooms.

“That’s not necessary,” Amber said in the typical upper-crust manner she used with servants. “I’m guessing Reeve is putting us in the east suites?”

“He is,” Filip said, his head bowed in deference to her. “I’ll make sure your bags are brought immediately.”

I thanked Filip as I passed him, since Amber didn’t, then followed her through the front doors.

“This is the main living space,” she said, gesturing to the area in front of the entryway. “And behind it is the kitchen. The entire perimeter of the house is surrounded by these open walkways.”

The open walks referred to were basically hallways missing an outer wall. I trailed behind her as she followed the hall to the left. “There are three main parts of the house with courtyards in between. Here’s the first.”

The inner wall of the walk continued here, but it was lower, and in the area behind was an additional dining room and entertainment area that extended from the first building.

The next building we passed wasn’t open like the first, and I couldn’t see what rooms were contained inside.

“This is the office and master bedroom. There’s a mini-kitchen on the opposite side. Basically this is Reeve’s area.”

I tried to ignore the prick of awareness I had, knowing that he was just on the opposite side of the wall. “There aren’t any windows. I’d think the master would have the best view in the house.”

“Right? But it’s the most secure area on the compound so it’s supposedly surrounded by thick, impenetrable walls. It’s practically a safe room. But the outer wall here on the office can be raised like a garage door. Reeve almost always keeps it closed, though. You know him – he likes to be all secretive and shit.”

Yes, I did know him. I hated that she did as well.

The walls opened again and this time we turned into the courtyard. “This pool is heated and there’s the hot tub off the master.” She gestured to the last building. “And these are the guest quarters.”

There were two doorways leading into this part of the house. Between them was a bank of showers and, I guessed, dressing rooms behind them. She took us through the closest door, and, after we got inside past the back wall of the pool changing area, the building opened up to a large common space.

“These are all bedrooms,” she said, pointing to the doors that surrounded the main area. “Except that area on the back wall, which, you can see, is the exercise area. And we’ll have the two suites on either side. The best rooms in the house.”

She opened the door to one of them, and I gasped. The entire back wall was open to the outside, giving a breathtaking view of the ocean. Outside the bedroom was yet another patio area. A second pool ran the length of the building and spilled over the cliff beyond.

I walked in further and surveyed the scene. “This is… amazing,” I said, unable to find appropriate words for the spectacular setting.

Amber joined me as I walked out onto the covered lanai. “These walls close, too, like the office. In case you want to shut them at night for privacy. That room on the opposite end will be mine. We’re practically neighbors.”

I had to swallow past the ball suddenly lodged in the back of my throat before I could speak. “Just like old times.”

Once upon a time, I fantasized that she and I could live like this forever. Together in a luxurious location, both of us taken care of, nothing lacking.

“Yes.” The breeze blew in and lifted her peroxide-blond hair off her cheek, revealing the entirety of the grin that lit up her face. She turned from the view to face me. “Well, not
just like
.”

Because this time only one of us would get the guy. For half a minute I’d forgotten.

“No, I guess not,” I agreed, and I managed to keep beaming despite the sinking feeling in my chest. A slow sinking, as though a paper airplane had been tied to my heart or my hope or the ball of optimism that I kept trying to nourish and sustain inside, and now had been tossed out into the wind. Little by little, it made its descent, carrying everything wonderful between us with it.

Behind us, footsteps could be heard across the stone tile of the common area. “Filip,” Amber said. “I’ll tell him whose bags are whose.” She turned to go.

“For what it’s worth,” I called after her, “I think the parts that
are
like old times are really nice.”

“Me, too.” She disappeared into the hallway and I reminded myself that, while there was beauty in this fall, paper airplanes never stayed in flight for long. Eventually, I’d hit the ground.

We spent the rest of the day settling in. Reeve was absent for both lunch and dinner, but with the four security guards, Filip, Alex, and two women house servants, the house didn’t feel lonely. While everyone else dined inside, Amber and I took our supper on the lanai off the kitchen, and, when the sweet Polynesian girl left the bottle after pouring my glass of merlot, I passed it to Amber.

“You’re very naughty,” she said with a wink. She dumped the water from her glass on the stone ground and replaced it with wine. “Reeve would not approve.”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t.” I knew she assumed that my disregard for his rules meant that she still held the highest position of authority over me, and I let her believe that.

In truth, I wasn’t sure what my motive was. It might have had more to do with Reeve than with Amber. There was a stab of satisfaction at the idea of riling him up, even if he didn’t ever find out.

After dinner, we hung out in Amber’s room like old girlfriends at a sleepover. I’d commandeered a second bottle of wine from the kitchen and by the time we’d finished it off, I was feeling more tired than tipsy.

Seeming to sense that I was fading, she stood up from her bed where we’d been lounging and stretched. “I think I’m going to take a bath.”

“Okay.”

“Or I can soak in the hot tub instead, if you want to join me.”

I stifled a yawn. “I’ll take a rain check. I didn’t sleep on the plane like someone else I know, and this time difference is killing me.”

“You’re going to call it a night then?”

“Just as soon as I can work up the energy to get off this bed.”

She pulled a pair of panties out of a drawer and a slinky nightie out of another, and I tried not to think about the reason she’d picked out something so blatantly sexy in her online shopping spree.

Don’t think about it,
I told myself. So she was planning to seduce Reeve. I’d have to get used to her sleeping in his bed sooner or later.

“No rush,” she said. “You’re welcome in my bed as long as you want. Make yourself at home.”

Yeah, because she probably isn’t expecting to sleep in here herself.
 

At the door, she paused. “But if you aren’t here when I get out, I love you and sweet dreams.”

Her declaration of affection caressed and scratched, like a beloved fleece blanket that had lost its softness from one too many times in the wash. I knew she loved me, and hearing her say the words warmed me, but they felt uncomfortable at the same time, and I didn’t know what to do with them or how to react.

She lingered, and after a few seconds I realized she wanted me to return the endearment.

The best I could manage was, “Same here.”

Fortunately, it was enough. She grinned then disappeared into her bathroom, and a minute later I heard the sound of water filling the tub.

With a weary groan, I pushed myself up to a sitting position then froze, my eye catching on an item sticking out of the travel bag open on the dresser.

I’d generally been one to respect Amber’s privacy, even when she didn’t always return the favor. But curiosity and concern overruled that consideration, and before I could think twice, I’d crossed to the bag and pulled out the object that had attracted my attention – a full prescription bottle. Two bottles, actually, one hiding under the other. Without removing the caps, I recognized the round, white pills inside as oxycodone.

Goddammit,
I swore quietly.

And if I wondered where she’d gotten them, one look at the labels told me. Both had been prescribed to Bud Greenwood –
Buddy
. He hadn’t just given her cigarettes; he’d loaded her up with drugs.

I counted the seconds by the tick of the wall clock as I debated what to do about my discovery. One hundred twenty ticks passed before I decided that I’d thought about it for two minutes too long. Two bottles of oxy was serious. This wasn’t the same as secretly sharing two bottles of wine.

With both containers in hand, I took off in search of Reeve.

I crossed the courtyard between the east wing of the house and the center building. Seeing that the office light was off, I traipsed through the open door of the master bedroom, already making my announcement as I entered. “You won’t believe what I just found in Amber’s room.”

The words were out before I realized that the room was empty.

And then it wasn’t empty. Reeve stepped out of his bathroom, his hair wet, wearing nothing but a towel around his hips. “What was that?”

“Oh.” My eyes slid down, across the sculpted planes of his chest, to the deep creases at his waist that angled and disappeared under the white terry cloth. Inches and inches of bare skin before me, wet and glistening, begging for my tongue to dart along his dips and bends.

My fingers tingled as though from muscle memory. I could practically feel his toned body beneath them.

Except my hands weren’t holding him – they were holding plastic bottles full of narcotics found in the bedroom of the woman who really should be holding him.

I turned, averting my eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were in the shower. I’ll come back.”

“I’m not in the shower now.” His smirk was apparent without looking at him.

“It’s fine. This can wait until tomorrow.” I started toward the open door, my feet seeming to move through molasses. Had the distance doubled since I’d walked in?

I’d barely made it three steps when he said the word I both dreaded and longed for – “Stay.”

I shook my head, but my feet were planted. “I need to leave.”