Oliver followed me. "I'm confused. Why are you so upset that all the naturists are naked?"
"Because---" I flapped my arms and huffed again. "Public nudity is illegal."
"This isn't public. It's a private resort." He held up his hands, his tone conciliatory. "Listen, you can dress for meals. Nobody will care."
"Oh, how generous." Christ, I sounded like a haughty bitch. How was I supposed to react to all of this? I scrunched up my face so hard my eyes watered. My lip probably curled. "I'm allowed to wear clothes if I want. Shouldn't you be more concerned about disturbing all the other guests who don't want to eat surrounded by naked people?"
"Um, those are all the other guests in there."
"Everyone eats in the nude?" What bizarre alternate reality had I stumbled into? I grasped my head in my hands, struggling to make sense of...anything. "What kind of place is this?"
"It's a naturist resort." He touched my arm again. "Relax. This is a clothing-optional resort, not a clothes-free one. You can take your time getting acclimated before you ditch the clothes. You haven't done this much, have you?"
"Done what?"
"Gone nude."
What on earth was he talking about?
I lowered my hands, narrowing my gaze on him. "What do you mean it's a clothing-optional resort? I thought this was a naturist retreat."
"It is." He raised his brows. "What exactly do you think a naturist resort is?"
"A place where people go to enjoy nature and see the wildlife."
He gave me a long-suffering look. "Miss Severins, you're at a nudist resort."
My eyes burned again, probably because I'd gone bug-eyed again. A new wave of icy shock crashed over me. My knees wobbled, and my face went subzero cold.
And I fainted.
Oliver caught me. "Miss Severins?"
My lids fluttered open, and I gazed into his eyes, now visible thanks to the lack of glare inside the building. He had gorgeous amber eyes. Cradled in his arms, I said, "Nudist?"
"Yeah, that's right. Some of us prefer naturist, though."
I closed my eyes and moaned.
He helped me to my feet. "How did you not know? It says right on our website, and on every travel site where we're listed."
"Never saw any website. I hired a travel agent to book my vacation. She said this was a place where birdwatchers and other nature lovers come to enjoy the outdoors."
"Sorry. I don't know where she got that idea." He glanced at my suitcases, where he'd dropped them on the floor when he hurried to my rescue. "You want to go home right away?"
"I can't." I threw head my back and moaned again. "I bought nonrefundable, round-trip airline tickets. Are there any motels in town?"
"Sure, but they're all booked up. The Renaissance fair is this week."
Oh great. I slumped against the wall. Sure, I could afford to buy another airline ticket, but that would mean crawling home with my tail between my legs to tell my parents I'd screwed up again.
"I'll take your bags up to your room," Oliver said. "And if you still don't feel comfortable eating in the dining hall, I can bring food to your room."
I managed a weak smile. "You're a good man, Oliver. How did you ever wind up working at a nudist retreat?"
His expression tightened a smidge, but only for a second.
"Never know," he said as he hefted my suitcases off the floor. "You might decide to give naturism a try."
I straightened and smoothed my dress. "I doubt that."
Then I lifted my chin and marched off down the hallway barefoot, having no fucking idea where I was going or how I would handle two weeks at a nudist resort.
Chapter Two
Ollie
I followed Mara down the hall, admiring her ass the whole time instead of watching where I was going. She had a great ass. I mean, epically great. Somebody should've sculpted a statue of her bottom, it was that fantastic. What wasn't great? Not paying attention to where I was walking.
Mara started up the stairs, but I didn't notice.
Holding on to two enormous and unbelievably heavy suitcases, I stumbled straight into the bottom step. My fingers popped open. The suitcases whumped down, and her shoes that I'd tucked under my arms clattered to the floor, but I tripped and tumbled forward right into Mara's fine behind.
She shrieked.
My face landed smack on her ass. I'd knocked her down, and now her legs were under me, but I wound up face-planting in her butt cheeks with only her dress and, I assumed, her underwear separating my nose and mouth from her body. Damn, she smelled good. Did she spray perfume on her dress or something? Nah, that wasn't a phony scent. It was all her.
"Get off me!" she hollered, trying to kick at me but not having any luck, what with all of me on top of half of her.
"Sorry," I mumbled into her ass.
I planted my hands on the step and pushed myself off Mara, then offered her my hand. "Let me help you up."
The girl with the awesome ass glowered at me for a second. But then her features relaxed, and she accepted my hand. "Thank you, Oliver. I'm sorry I freaked out and kicked you."
"No problem. Sorry about the face-in-your-ass thing." Believe it or not, that wasn't the most embarrassing thing that had ever happened to me. I still remembered the day a porcupine had chased me out of the woods. Yeah, I'd screamed like a girl and run away from a pudgy creature that moved slightly faster than a snail. Not my finest moment.
"It's okay," Mara said, smiling shyly. "Probably my fault for making you carry those bags."
"Carrying whatever crap you bring is part of my job. Once, I had to haul a giant pet carrier with a Saint Bernard inside it."
Mara's eyes widened. "You allow pets here?"
"Sure. Only well-behaved ones, and they have to be on leashes."
"But Saint Bernards are..." She went pale, like she might faint again. "Their heads are huge.
