The Seduction of Destiny Rhode [The Seduction 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (19 page)

Ronan, of course, stepped back, looking completely in control as always.

“I…I can do that.” She barely choked the words out.

He kissed her temple. “That’s my good girl. I’ll assume you don’t want me coming by your suite, so you’ll come to mine?”

She nodded. Her vocal abilities had entirely left her at this point.

“Nine.”

She nodded in agreement once more.

A slow, sexy grin spread across his face, and she knew she’d pleased him, and even the thought of that made her wet and achy, and good Lord, she wanted him to touch her so badly she very nearly told him so.

He grazed her cheek. “Don’t fret. I’ll touch you plenty tonight, minx.”

As he walked away, she tried to find the connections between her brain and her legs so she could continue on her way too, and wondered for the millionth time how he always read her so damn well!

It was partly infuriating, but highly addictive.

When she was finally able to move again, she continued to the lobby and her small office behind the front desk. Aiden was pressuring her to hire a front desk manager, and when she did, she’d lose this space, but for now, even in all its glorious clutter, it worked great as a command center for her and Aiden.

She was still in a hazy mix of arousal and giddy anticipation for the night ahead when she walked into the office and stopped dead in her tracks.

“Oh my God, I’m
so
sorry!” She turned her back to the amorous couple she’d just walked in on mid-heated embrace.

“No, Destiny, God, my fault.” Aiden’s voice was tight.

“I’ll just go…um…go…um…
go.
I’ll just go!” She started to move back out of the office.

“No, Destiny please don’t. I’m so embarrassed.” Cassidy’s soft voice rang out.

“You can turn around, Des, we’re decent.”

She almost wondered if he had added the word
now
in his head. She slowly turned around, and her first thought was that she wondered whose blush was most profuse right then, hers or Cassidy’s.

“I’m so embarrassed. Did I say that already?” Cassidy ran her fingers across her lips.

“You did.” What else did a person say at a time like this? “You know, I really could leave and come back later.”

“No, please don’t. Actually, Destiny, I came down to talk to you, not Aiden.” She looked over her shoulder at her husband, giving him a rather scolding look.

“Me?” Now she was confused.

Aiden stepped out from behind the desk where he’d been only moments before undressing his wife and moved around to the door, kissing the top of Cassidy’s dark head as he went. “I’ll leave you two alone. I have to talk to Ronan about something anyway.”

“Avoid the pool in pod one. Mrs. Murphy’s down there.”

He laughed. “Thanks for the heads up!”

As Aiden left, Destiny felt a bit awkward. Though she quite liked Cassidy, her only real interactions with the woman had been over group dinners with her
and
Aiden. She had no idea what she could possibly want, but she felt her nerves kick in, and the back of her neck grew itchy as a result.

“What can I do for you, Cassidy?” She tried to sound normal as she scooted behind her own desk and pushed a few papers aside.

“It’s actually about what I was hoping to do for you, but first, can we talk…woman to woman?”

Destiny swallowed, but agreed. “Sure.”

Cassidy pulled up a chair to the opposite side of the desk and sat. She made Destiny nervous for so many reasons aside from the obvious that she’d slept with her husband…not that he
was
her husband at the time, but still, it was awkward. However, Cassidy just seemed to be one of those women that was always put together and not like her sister who flaunted everything she was. Cassidy had a quiet elegance that made her attractive and made you want to know her.

“I know, it’s a little weird having both slept with Aiden.”

Destiny choked, but quickly recovered.

“Well, I figure there isn’t any use to dancing around the elephant, you know?” She folded her hands and placed them on the desk. “I’m not good at that particular dance, and it doesn’t make any sense, but, Destiny, if it makes you feel any better, Aiden’s slept with a
lot
of women.”

Somehow that didn’t. Her stomach was turning now, and she felt a cold sweat starting to break across her hairline.

“I just mean, before he met me, he was…well sort of a ho.” She smiled so sweetly.

Destiny laughed, but tried to rein it in by pressing her lips between her teeth.

“Let’s face it, Destiny, he was your typical, really astonishing good-looking, rich, privileged guy. I’m okay with that, because that’s not who he is now. He loves me, and he’s the most amazing father to Bella.” She shook her head as if to keep from getting sucked into the memory of it all. “None of that’s the point, though. You were special to him, Destiny, and from what little I know about you, I can see why. You and I, we’re a lot alike, and I almost wonder if he didn’t give me a chance because in some way I reminded him of you.”

“No! Cassidy, oh God, no, it wasn’t like that!” She tried to get Aiden off the hook even while she became more and more confused about why Cassidy was there in the first place.

“Destiny, I know what it was and wasn’t, it’s okay. I’m not insecure in my marriage at all. I’m just very badly trying to say that I have no problem with what happened between the two of you, and I wanted to clear the air and make sure you were okay with everything and you were comfortable with me being here.”

This was the strangest thing she’d ever encountered. While of course it wasn’t Cassidy that she and Aiden had cheated on, the fact that she’d had sex with this woman’s husband was weird and uncomfortable. Although, she did like Cassidy a great deal and admired her.

“Of course you should be here! You belong by Aiden’s side. Never being able to be with my husband was the hardest part in our entire marriage. Oscar was on the road or in the air constantly, and he never seemed to give a rat’s ass that he wasn’t with me or our kids. That hurt. I would
never
wish it on another person. The fact Aiden brought you and Bella here is just one more reason why I adore him… Uh…in a completely nonsexual or romantic way, you understand!” She scratched her head and felt her cheeks start to burn.

Cassidy’s laughter was good-natured as always, and she reached out and touched Destiny’s hands softly.

“Destiny, it really is all right. I’m glad you and Aiden have had this chance to work out your past, and I’m especially glad you’ve let him help you. This resort is amazing, and I’ve been where you were, well, without the kids, and I would have given anything to have the chance he’s been able to give you. So please, don’t apologize for it, or feel guilty about it. Aiden loves that he’s been able to give this to you and so do I if I’m honest…
and,
to get back around to my real purpose for being here, I want to help.”

“Help?”

“Yes! I’m guessing Aiden’s never mentioned to you how we met?”

She suddenly felt rather guilty in a way because she and Aiden never spoke much about Cassidy and perhaps they should have. If Aiden were one of her girlfriends, she’d ask about their husbands.

“No, he never mentioned it, come to think of it.”

“I was working at one of his family hotels, the night shift at the front desk to be exact, and the night Aiden came by he caught me with my shoes off and I was snacking and reading at the desk. I mean there weren’t any guests and I was bored out of my mind, but he could have by all rights fired me. My manager at the time certainly wanted to!”

Cassidy blushed and looked away.

“Hmm, I guess I just sort of figured you were one of the wealthy types he must hang around with.”

“Not at all! And in fact, Aiden doesn’t do the society thing, thank God. He leaves that to his father and only puts in appearances to appease him. He was raised outside of the family, after all. Now he finds their life constricting, but anyway, back to my point. Destiny, I’ve worked at hotels for fifteen years, most of that in reservations or front desk. There’s so much I could do here to help out, and I really hoped you’d let me.”

Cassidy bit on her lower lip and waited quietly for a response, but it was all so surreal. This woman she’d somehow placed on an enormous pedestal from the moment she had heard of Aiden’s engagement was sitting there practically begging to help her. She felt contrite and humbled for never having given Cassidy a thought past her own guilt in the situation with Aiden.

“What about Bella?” It wasn’t that she didn’t want or need the help, she just needed a moment to digest this all, and deflection was her favorite tool.

“Bella’s well looked after! Between Aiden, her nanny, Mrs. Murphy, and quite honestly, your boys, I’m hardly needed at all! I practically have to make an appointment just to hold her for five minutes.” She laughed.

Her boys had mentioned Bella once or twice at the dinner table, but she hadn’t realized they’d taken such an interest.

“Well…” It wasn’t like she could say no. Besides, she
did
need the help. It just still felt somewhat awkward.

“Destiny, I can run reports, streamline check-in, take calls, whatever you need. I could even…if you don’t mind me being so bold, but I could organize the front office and get it running on a system that you could use when you finally find a front desk manager. Trust me, it will make things go so much smoother.”

What a strange thing to be sitting there in the position of knowing less about how to run her own hotel than Aiden’s wife did.

“I’d like that.” She wished the words had come out with more enthusiasm.

“I don’t want to intrude.” Cassidy shrugged. “If you’d rather not…” She let the words hang.

“Oh no, Cassidy, it’s not that. I just feel rather stupid having taken on something I know nothing about. I feel like I’m having to lean on people too much, and when I try to assert my independence and make the decisions myself, I second-guess myself to death and wonder why I don’t just let Aiden run the whole damn thing. Now you want to come in, and I
do
appreciate your offer, really I do, but even you know more than I do.”

She heard how the words sounded just a half beat too late to do anything about it.

“God, I just sounded like the worst bitch!” She covered her mouth with her hand.

Cassidy only laughed.

“I just feel so unnecessary.” As she voiced the words aloud for the first time, much to her horror, tears filled her eyes.

Cassidy stood up and went around behind her, wrapping her arms around her in a quick hug from behind.

“Aw, Destiny, without you none of this would even be happening. You are
so
necessary.” She stood back up.

Destiny looked up at her, trying to find that inner strength that always seemed so fleeting.

“It’s not a bad thing to be learning. Your desire to run this place and make it a success is amazing! And I believe you’ll get there, too. Aiden speaks so highly of you. He says you’re going to make a
wonderful
hotelier, and I believe almost everything my husband says.” She winked.

“Really?” Her voice cracked. “He said that?”

“He says it every night. We lay in bed and talk about everything that’s going on, and he’s so excited about it all. Destiny, I haven’t seen him this enthusiastic about a project in all the time I’ve known him. You may think Aiden’s gone out on a limb for you, but you’ve put a fire in his belly again, and that’s priceless!”

It was funny how things worked out sometimes. Here she thought she was being such a burden to Aiden, and now she had to at least examine the thought that perhaps she was being a gift to him instead.

“Cassidy, I’d really love your help. Anything you want to do, but could I ask one favor?”

“Of course! Anything.”

“Can you teach me how to run the front office? I may not ever have to do it on a full-time basis, but I think I should at least know
how
.”

Cassidy beamed. “I’d be so happy to!” She reached down and hugged her again.

This time it hadn’t taken her so off guard, and she actually appreciated the moment.

“And the cool thing is, since we’re staying here, I can come down at all hours of the night and put in some work.” She rolled her eyes. “Too many years on the night shift, my sleep schedule is still off-kilter.”

They both laughed, and Destiny felt a lightness seep into her bones. She had never even considered making friends with Cassidy. She honestly had thought herself beneath the woman Aiden married, but now she was seeing a different side to her, and becoming friends didn’t seem so far-fetched any longer. She even found herself hoping it would happen. She was gravely short on female friends, or friends at all, especially since the move.

“I can get started right away. Bella’s sleeping.”

Destiny thought about it for a moment before stating, “Sure, whatever you want to do is fine. Give me the afternoon to find someplace to move my stuff to, and then the office is yours to share with your wonderful husband.”