“It’s beautiful,” I whisper in awe, eyes riveted on the twinkling lights as I try to pinpoint what is what below. I think I can see the Griffith Observatory from here, but I can’t be too sure.
“Yeah,” he says, prompting me to look at him. I startle when I realize he’s been watching me. I blush furiously under the heat of his gaze.
“So Mr. King”—I clear my throat—“is this where you bring all the ladies?”
He laughs, taking a sip from his tumbler. “Sometimes,” he answers. I try to ignore the twinge in my chest. It’s not as though I expected to be the special one who he allows up here. But I guess that insecure part of me still secretly wanted to hear he doesn’t usually bring girls up here. That I’m the first. I don’t think any woman likes to think about the hordes of other women who have slept with a man. Least of all, not me.
“Interesting.”
“Is it?” he asks.
Turning to him, I search his face, trying to figure out how often he does this. “Very. It’s romantic, so I’ll give you that. I’m sure the girls fall all over themselves while they’re up here with you. Personally? I think it’s a bit cliché.”
He cocks his head to the side while he scrutinizes me. I see something in his eyes, and it looks a whole lot like a knowing glint. As if he understands why I’m saying what I’m saying. For a second, I worry he can see right through the shield I’ve worked so hard to build over the years. To guard me against my insecurities and any more hurtful words. I dart my gaze away, cutting off the connection, so he can’t see what’s happening inside my head any longer.
“I guess I wouldn’t really know,” he says.
Glancing back at him, I raise my brows, not following. He shrugs noncommittally and looks out beyond the fire.
“I don’t pay much attention. If I enjoy someone’s company, I enjoy it. But relationships aren’t my thing. The women I sleep with know that.”
I force a fake smile, recognizing what he’s getting at. He wants me to understand that this was just a quick romp in the hay. No strings.
I get it. Hell, I even want the same thing, but it doesn’t keep me from feeling like I’m her again—the previous Mackenzie. I’m left feeling unwanted again—the odd one out. The old me is like a whole other entity I can’t seem to get rid of. I suck in a sharp breath and wince at the sensation of razor blades slicing into my lungs.
“You know you don’t have to beat around the bush, right? I get it.”
I expect my answer to appease him, but it doesn’t. If I’m not mistaken, his demeanor changes. Something passes over his features at my answer, and his eyes darken a few shades. I don’t know if the fire is playing tricks on me or not, but he changes the subject before I can seem to figure it out.
“So you said you write?”
“Yeah, I mainly take on freelance projects.”
“Is that what you want?”
My brows dip. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Freelance, is that the goal? That’s what you’ve always dreamed of?”
I’m about to respond but pause with my mouth gaping. His tone wasn’t condescending, not in the least, but it wasn’t completely supportive either. It’s sad that even this stranger thinks I can do something more with myself.
I lift my shoulder in a halfhearted shrug and look back out at the twinkling lights. “No. Not really. When I was younger, I had higher aspirations, but as the years passed, those ambitions got lost. So, no”—I sigh—“freelance isn’t my dream job. But it does pay the bills.”
Baz takes a sip from his tumbler. I feel his gaze burning into the side of my face, incinerating me. “You still didn’t answer my question. What do you want?”
“I know,” I respond quietly. I don’t normally drink hard liquor, but his questions have me taking large gulps from the glass. Anything to avoid him and his penetrating gaze. “How did you get into the … hotel business?” I ask him, trying to steer the topic clear of me.
He laughs as if he knows better. “Simple really. My family comes from money, but my success … I wanted something that was mine. I dabble in a few other business ventures, but I’ve put everything into these chains.”
I glance around and smile as I take in the sleek look and feel of the resort. He really did put his all into this resort, and it shows. Without thought, I place my hand over his. “You’ve done amazing. I haven’t been to any of the other resorts, but from what I’ve seen here”—I glance around for emphasis—“this place is incredible.”
Something flashes across his face, but it passes so quickly I can’t tell what it is. He almost seems uncomfortable with the praise for a few seconds, but then he switches to a different tactic. Anything to get the topic off him.
Two people who don’t like talking about themselves. Not very promising.
“You know what’s incredible?” he says, voice husky as all hell.
I gulp. “What?”
“You,” he whispers. Leaning in, he slides his hand around my neck and kisses me senseless. I feel it all the way down to my toes, traveling up my spine, then swirling in my belly. It’s addicting. Baz King is addicting. Want to know how I know? I’ve known this man not even one day, just a few hours, and I’m completely and utterly infatuated with him.
“What the hell do you mean you got caught up? We had dinner plans.” I can hear Vera’s pout through the phone, and I can’t help but roll my eyes. “And don’t you dare roll those damn eyes at me,” she says, making me pull the phone away from my ear and glance down at it.
God, am I really that predictable?
Absentmindedly, I stroke my fingers through my hair while I try to come up with something believable. “There was just a lot happening here at the resort. I started getting ready, but then I felt too tired to go out, so I decided to stay.”
Vera’s silent for a moment. “All right. Well, next time, a call would be helpful. Are you at least coming out with us tonight?”
I refrain from saying, “duh.” Vera doesn’t know just how much tonight means to me. She doesn’t realize that tonight is step one into embedding myself into the lives of the men who possibly took my sister from me. She doesn’t have a single clue, so she certainly doesn’t deserve my snark.
“Yeah, I’ll be down in a few. Kat said we’re meeting here, right?”
“Right. And try not to bail on us this time. Talk later, babe.”
After hanging up, I rest my cell back on the bathroom counter and blow out a deep breath. I knew the girls would give me shit for not showing up to dinner last night, but it still didn’t stop me from enjoying the reprieve from day-to-day life I found in the form of the elusive and handsome Baz King.
I shift on my feet as memories from last night resurface. A hot flush covers my skin, and I fidget. The need to fan myself is all-consuming. The ache between my thighs is ever present and more than welcome. Sex with Baz was incredible, and that’s putting it lightly. I’ve never had such a raw, primal, chemistry-driven sexual experience with someone.
I lost my virginity in college to a guy who didn’t deserve any part of me or my time, but I settled anyway because I was just learning how to be my own person. I was trying to navigate life without my twin, my other half, and I never realized how hard that would be until she was gone. I wanted that validation that sex would give me. I wanted to feel beautiful, desired, and sexy. Those were all things I went most of my life not feeling as I lived in the shadow of my sister. And after she was gone, those were the first things I sought out.