Strictly Business [Stud Service 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) (7 page)

She approached him and hoped he would know where her bags were. “Excuse me, but my bags didn’t make it. Do you know where they might be?”

“Yes, man.” She bit her tongue to keep from correcting him. His voice was clipped English but in that Caribbean surf dialect that called everyone a man. “You need to go file a claim form at the customer-service booth.” He pointed to the far side of the lobby.

“Thanks,” she said before lifting her backpack higher on her shoulders.

“Hey, Susannah, isn’t it?” She turned around to see him.

Six feet of manly goodness stared back at her. Instantly, she felt that good, warm feeling rise up from within her and a creamy reminder between her legs of what they shared.

They exchanged numbers on the plane and he made some promises to get together while she was here in town, but she expected him to leave as soon as the plane landed. He said he had pressing appointments to attend to.

“Yeah. What’s up?” She felt the heat on her cheeks and tried not to let her excitement show in her voice. She couldn’t forget his name. Not easily. Colt Vance would be driving her dreams for many nights to come, and it would be his face she pictured to any of those late night scenes where she brought herself to climax.

“Is something wrong?”

He caught her in mid daydream.

“No. I was just finishing up here. I, uh—guess they lost my luggage.” She blinked, feeling kind of stupid in his presence. Normally she just did what needed to be done, but her brain was going all mushy now.
How do you fix brain-melt?

“Well, I was going to suggest we share a ride to your hotel, but it can wait.”

“If you want, we can still do that, but I don’t know what I am going to do with no clothes.”

She cringed after saying that. She left herself wide open for a sexual comeback.

Colt’s intense gaze reminded her of a cat that was about to catch his prey. “I could think of something.”

He looked like a man with sex on his mind, which was giving her naughty ideas as well.

“Not for a whole week!” She gave him what was meant to be a scolding look, but she couldn’t help the smile tugging at her lips.

“I can tell that you haven’t had any really good lovers lately, because a week wouldn’t be enough for me.” Colt’s smoldering look left her feeling breathless. “Let me take care of this for you. I’ll have my assistant follow up with the luggage, but first let me help you get something to hold you over for the next few days.”

“Colt, you really don’t have to—” He put his fingers to her lips, stopping her from protesting further.

“I know I don’t have to, but I want to. I’ll consider buying you something to get you through until your clothes arrive.” His chocolate-brown eyes twinkled merrily. She imagined he didn’t have anything practical on the list as far as clothing went. He’d want to buy things that encouraged his sexual fantasies. “You can consider it my good deed for the month.”

“Okay, but only the bare necessities.” She was not going to become his little mistress, subject to his every whim, and she didn’t need a new wardrobe just yet. She just needed to last a few days without clothes. A package of underwear and a toothbrush and she would call it good. “And I’ll pay my own way. Thank you.”

“Fair enough.” He took the backpack from her shoulders and tossed it over his shoulder to carry for her. Then he tucked her arm under his, keeping her effectively at his side. “We’ll make the decision of who pays when we get there.”

Colt was obviously a man used to getting his way.

“Colt!” Hands on her hips, she protested.

“Sometimes it helps when you let a man just be nice to you.” He gave her that stupid grin that just made her want to give in and let him have whatever he wanted. The man was far too handsome for his own good. She couldn’t imagine many women saying no to Colt Vance.

“Okay, but you don’t have to carry my stuff. It really isn’t necessary.”

“Consider me old fashioned. When I am with a lady I like to open doors, hold out her chair, and carry her bags.”

“You are a true gentleman, cowboy.”

“Cowboys are always gentlemen.”

He was leading to the doors marked with a bright red exit sign.

“Where’s your luggage?” she asked, suddenly realizing his arms were empty except for her backpack. He should have his own set of luggage to carry. She cast him a sideways glance. “Don’t tell me they lost yours, too?”

“No. My driver already loaded it into the car.”

She frowned, realizing he had probably come back just for her. Flattered, she flashed a dazzling smile up at him. “Oh, I pictured you as a sports-car type of guy. I figured with your money you’d be behind the wheel of something red—with a racing stripe.”

“Don’t get me wrong—I love to drive, but it seems impractical to leave a car on the island to rust out when I only come around a couple of times a year.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “I just use the hotel’s car and driver when I need to go anywhere. Back home I have a sweet ride.”

“I bet it’s nice.” She smiled sweetly, knowing how dear most men held their cars. She never thought she’d feel the same way, but her Veyron held a special place in her heart.

“She is, but I have a nicer ride right here.” He tugged her close enough to him to smell his aftershave.

A shiver ran up her spine.

“Well, aren’t you a smooth talker?” she whispered back to him. She pulled closer, sliding the palms of her hands down his hard chest. “Are you ready for round two?”

He bumped his groin against her, and she was shocked by the hard evidence. Her quick intake of breath pulled a smile out of his lips. She had all the proof she needed that he was ready for another round.

She giggled. She couldn’t help it. Here she was so attracted to this guy she was ready to jump him in the middle of an airport. She wanted to have him in broad daylight, and it didn’t matter they were in a very public place. Once was not going to be enough, and it didn’t matter that she already had her way with him in the lavatory of the airplane.

What would her sisters say? She felt a heat flush her face. They would probably be cheering her on. What would her parents think? Her mother would probably be thrilled that she was interested in anyone male—this would make her that much closer to getting grandchildren after all, but this kind of behavior was completely out of character for her. Her sisters would be shocked she acted this fast, and they hadn’t even made it to the bedroom yet.

“You are going to be the end of me, Mr. Vance.” She just met the man and all she could think about was the fact she wanted to sneak away to fuck him. Again. Heat flushed her face. “If there was a bed anywhere nearby I’d be racing you to it.”

“Who needs a bed? We can be creative.”

“And still have privacy?” she questioned.

“Trust me.” Funny thing was that she already did trust him. He had this power surrounding him that made her want to believe him and follow him anywhere.

* * * *

“It was nice of you to help me shop and replace some of the necessities, but really you don’t have to come in every store with me.” Most men were exhausted after a few stores and usually waited outside in a chair with the bags, but not Colt. He had stayed tirelessly by her side, store by store, rack by rack, and even made recommendations for her body type. Evidently he was an experienced shopper, but if he didn’t feel comfortable, she wanted to give him the opportunity to bow out gracefully.

Colt didn’t seem to mind tagging along in the slightest and didn’t make a move to leave now that she was willing to let him off the hook.

The selection was sparse by Susannah’s standards. The outdoor mall wasn’t really a mall, but lots of little shacks thrown together. Most of them catered to the tourists and provided knickknacks and colorfully painted shirts with brightly colored tropical flowers, but finding sundries like toothpaste and a hairbrush was proving next to impossible.

Finally after hours of walking the back alleys, they seemed to find the one store that might suit her needs.

This was the one shop that didn’t have a homemade look to it. It actually had a New York chic kind of look, made of brick and a brownstone-looking facade.

“I don’t mind shopping with you.” His eyes strayed toward the attractive associate lingering near the open door.

Susannah frowned at the petite woman. If she was male, she wouldn’t mind either, but the woman was moving in on her territory, and she didn’t like it.

“Can I help you find anything you need?” The buxom, young associate chose exactly that moment to interrupt them. It irritated Susannah the way she chose to make eye contact only with Colt. She was completely ignoring her, and he couldn’t possibly be missing the fact the clerk was making goo-goo eyes at him. Why didn’t Colt give her the cold shoulder?

Instead he gave the clerk one dazzling smile and motioned to Susannah. “Yes, I think my friend here needs a few things to tide her over. It should be a week before the rest of her luggage arrives, so I would say at least seven outfits and at least one nice evening gown.”

“Colt! I thought we talked about this,” she whispered harshly, hoping only he would hear. She didn’t like arguing in front of the woman she didn’t know.

“We did and I disagreed,” he told her in that I-don’t-want-any-argument tone.

Susannah grunted her disapproval. She hated arguing, but Colt was being too bullheaded to listen to her.

The clerk rolled her eyes over Susannah’s slim figure and then curled her nose up in disgust. She gave her exactly the same look Susannah got when she went inside a shop on Rodeo Drive while wearing a pair of jeans and a tank top and no makeup with her hair tied back in a simple ponytail. Susannah prickled under the judgmental eyes of the clerk. Susannah had the money to pay for everything in the tiny little shop by writing a single check, but she didn’t have to prove it to her by buying anything.

It made Susannah sick the way some people made an immediate decision about the person because of the way they looked.

“I suppose we could do something to help her look a little more…presentable.”

Susannah’s mouth dropped open in shock.

“Presentable?” She moved forward for a confrontation, and Colt restrained her with two strong hands on her shoulders.

“Sounds good to me,” he answered for her.

“Absolutely, what are you, a size ten? Of course, you couldn’t be anything smaller. We’ll start there.” The woman didn’t wait for Susannah’s reply, leaving their immediate presence, and began gathering clothes from the racks and throwing them over her shoulder.

“I can’t stand her,” Susannah muttered.

“Don’t let her get under your skin. This is one of the only decent shops on the island. You’ve seen what we’ve had to work with.”

“You must go shopping a lot.”

“Not really just when I have to. I let my personal assistant do most the shopping for me. This looks promising, how about this one?” He held up a very short, lightly flowered dress for her perusal.

“I’ve never been into flowers much.” Susannah squished up her nose. “It seems like something my grandmother would wear.”

“Just one difference. Your grandma wouldn’t look as half as good as you would in this.”

“Thanks, but that is just half a dress.” She took the hanger from his hands and put it back on the rack.

“That’s why you would look good in it.”

“I told you I don’t need much. Just the bare necessities and maybe a swimsuit.”

“And the bare necessities should include a change of clothes. Unless you want to begin stinking on your third day after wearing the same outfit every day.”

“Okay, maybe one outfit, but what am I going to need an evening dress for? In a week’s time I will be on a boat and probably won’t see land too often. It’s not like me and the sharks will be going out for cocktails.”

“No, but we might.”

“Colt! I can’t be your mistress, ready to jump at your beck and call.”

“Why not? You said so yourself, it’s not like you have anything else going on for the next week.”

“People will talk.”

“Let them talk. They won’t be having near as much fun as we are.”

Susannah shook her head knowing arguing with him was pointless. “You might be used to being in the gossip rags every week, but I’m not. My parents would be shocked if they found out I was considering doing this.”

“Does it really matter what your parents think?” His tone was quiet but serious. He did have a point.

“I guess not, but I do still care,” she answered.

“I found out a long time ago it was useless fighting rumors. If you don’t give the people something to talk about, they make up their own juicy lies, not that it will be an issue this time. My hotel is safe from the paparazzi. They don’t have access, and they never get to see what goes on behind closed doors.”

“Uh-huh, right.” Susannah wasn’t convinced. The paparazzi were everywhere and lived off this kind of stuff. She managed to keep her name out of the tabloids for most of her life, but dating someone as rich and powerful as Colt Vance was certain to attract attention.