"No, you are not. But you've had a big shock." He touched my arm. "Take it easy for a while. Watch some TV and chill."
I nodded.
He hooked a finger under my chin and urged me to look up at him. "You're sexy, Mara. I want to kiss you, but not like this."
Ollie ran his thumb over my bottom lip, then he walked out the door.
I stood there like a statue for a minute or two, maybe longer, wondering why I always did such stupid things. Of course he wouldn't want to kiss me. Why would he? I'd freaked out when I saw naked people.
After changing clothes, I ventured out of my room, heading down the hallway and into the kitchen. Ollie wasn't around. He'd told me he was going to his office in the guest house, so I hadn't really expected to find him here, but I had hoped for it. What should I do? Going outside seemed like a horrible idea. The nudists might be out there, and though I knew I wouldn't pass out this time, I still didn't feel up to facing a bunch of naked people who'd heard me scream and seen me faint. God, they must've thought I was a lunatic.
My stomach grumbled.
Should I rifle through the fridge for food? This wasn't my house. I didn't feel like I should poke around in someone else's kitchen. Ollie was letting me stay here instead of in the guest house out of kindness and probably a desire to make sure I didn't faint in his arms again.
I leaned my elbows on the butcher-block island.
And that's when I saw the tented card standing in the middle of the island. It had my name written on it. I picked up the card and looked inside. It said, "Eat anything you want, then kick back and watch TV. I'll bring you dinner tonight." Ollie had signed the card.
Now that I had permission to rifle through the fridge, I did. The owners of the resort had lots of food on hand, some of it things I'd never heard of, like Minas cheese. I made myself a turkey sandwich, even putting cheddar cheese on it in spite of hearing my mother's voice in my head saying, "Dairy will make you gain weight, Mara, and proper ladies don't get chunky." Screw that. I'd had a horrible day so far, not to mention the entire year before today, so I deserved cheese, mayonnaise, and sour cream and onion potato chips.
And milk. Mm, it tasted so good.
Consuming a forbidden sandwich and chips made me want to go all the way, food-wise. I'd seen a tray of cupcakes in the fridge too, so I retrieved the tray and set it on the counter. The cupcakes looked like dark chocolate, tinged with red, and with vanilla frosting on top. Could they be red velvet? I'd never had that, though I'd dreamed of cupcakes like this often after seeing a case of them at the bakery across the street from my condo. Red velvet looked so decadent. So yummy. So...forbidden.
I picked up a cupcake, peeled back the wrapping, and sank my teeth into the dark, succulent flesh. The deep, dark chocolate melted on my tongue. The flavor of the cream cheese frosting melded with the chocolate in the most delicious combination. Sweet. Tangy. Rich. Mmmmm, yum.
An actual moan escaped my lips.
Swallowing, I closed my eyes and bit off another chunk of dark-chocolate heaven. Then another. And another. Once I'd finished off that cupcake, I dived into a second one, moaning even more deeply when the flavor of it filled my mouth.
A throat-clearing behind me made me jump and glance at the door.
Ollie still had his hand on the knob, the door halfway open. He wore a tight expression that seemed almost pained. "Sorry, I should've knocked first so I wouldn't scare you."
I quickly chewed and swallowed my bite of cupcake. Dropping the rest of it on the tray, I wiped my mouth with my hand. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be wolfing down all the cupcakes. Bill me for the cost of them, please."
"No way." He shut the door and approached the island, standing near me. "You're a guest. All the food is included."
I gazed longingly at the cupcakes. "I just found out I love red velvet."
"Yeah, I could tell."
His voice was deeper, infused with something I couldn't quite identify, something almost...hungry.
I offered him a cupcake. "Want one?"
"No thanks. But you go ahead and eat all you want."
He still had that touch of hunger in his voice, but he said he didn't want a cupcake. Why did he sound that way, then?
Ollie raked his gaze over me from head to toe, taking in my capri pants and short-sleeve top. His tongue sneaked out to moisten his lips, and his eyes seemed to darken. When I got to my feet, he pulled in a long breath and exhaled it slowly, rubbing his jaw. "Pink toenails. I like it."
My sandals exposed my toes, and I always kept them painted. When he'd said he liked my pink nail polish, his voice had gotten deeper and huskier.
He lifted his gaze to mine.
The heat in those amber irises could've melted the clothes right off my body. It didn't, thankfully. But I did feel hot and wet in the most intimate way.
I suddenly realized the truth. When he'd looked hungry a minute ago, it hadn't been for cupcakes. He wanted to gorge himself on me.
No, it couldn't be that. Stupid, Mara, jumping to conclusions. If he'd wanted me, he wouldn't have pushed me away when I kissed him earlier.
His gaze skipped down to my chest and the modest amount of cleavage my top revealed. He licked his lips again.
"I should go," he said. "See you later."
And he left before I could form any words. How bizarre.
The door clicked shut behind him, and I
