She spent another half hour on the phone with the resort, wrangling for a last- minute reservation, but in the end wound up with their best luxury suite, boasting a built-in hot tub, a fully stocked bar, and all sorts of other naughty goodies.
Last, she booked a flight for the three of them. No way in hell were they leaving Liam here, since he wasn’t ready to deal with Dev and Geneva. He needed this impromptu vacation as much as, if not more than, she and Jude.
Done, she went in search of the men and found them reclining by the pool in shorts and no shirts. She drank in the sight of them, such a striking pair. Even the bruises on Liam’s back and throat didn’t detract from his beauty. They, along with the head wounds, were already starting to heal, but would take a while to completely disappear.
The inner scars would take much longer.
“What’s up?” Liam glanced at her, trying to smile. His poor voice was still scratchy.
“Los Cabos, that’s what.”
“Huh?”
Jude inclined his head toward her with a puzzled smile. “ Mexico?”
“Bonus points for Edgar.”
“Funny. What
“Reservations. Ours. For two weeks,” she said, taking in their stunned faces. “At a five-star adult resort that redefines the word
“Holy shit,” Liam said, mood lifting. “When are we going?”
“Pack your bags, gentlemen, because our plane leaves at nine in the morning.” She grinned. “And I’m going to be on it with my favorite guys.”
Los Cabos gleamed like a jewel, with pristine sands and blue green water, the fresh salty air inviting.
Or at least that’s how Jude imagined it-except for the breeze, the rush of waves on the shore, the call of gulls, lively conversation. Those enabled him to form a better picture. But what was so special about a place you couldn’t see?
The woman you’re with, big guy.
The bellboy rolled their bags to their suite and brought them in, exclaiming about how much they’d love their stay, all the fun activities to do, the nightlife, blah, blah. Jude figured the guy wanted a good tip, so he gave him a fat one.
That shut him up and he scurried away, leaving Jude and his companions to explore their new surroundings. Jude had to admit, at first he hadn’t thought this was such a good idea. Well, a great idea with bad timing, maybe. He hadn’t taken a vacation in years, and certainly hadn’t planned on one now.
And then there was Liam. Battered and heartsick, his sleep broken by terror, he was only just beginning to heal. Jude had almost nixed the tropical excursion, but after the way his friend lit up like a Christmas tree at the idea, depression lifted, Jude had relented. This could be just what they all needed.
“Hoo-boy!” Liam exclaimed in a scratchy voice. “I love it here already!”
“What is it?”
“There’s a bowl of condoms on the coffee table! Purple, red, green, blue… ribbed, lubed… flavored!”
“You are such a horn dog,” Lily teased. “You’ll probably have tried them all by the end of our stay.”
“Me? I’m as pure as a nun. Sex, ewww.”
Jude chuckled. This was the Liam he knew.
Lily twined her fingers through Jude’s. “You guys want to change, check out the bar, and get a drink, then walk down to the beach?”
“Great!”
Jude pictured him pumping his fist. “Sounds good. I am a little thirsty.”
Jude brought his cane even though Lily helped to steer him from their suite and through the resort the short distance to the outdoor bar. Here, he discovered, the drinks were served in plastic cups so the patrons could conveniently carry them all over the resort.
They sidled up to the counter and a bartender spoke from directly in front of Jude.
“What’s your poison today, guys?”
Liam didn’t hesitate. “I’ll have a
“You are so cliche,” Lily said, giggling.
“Am not! They’re good-you should try one.”
“We just got here, cutie. I want to be conscious when the sun sets.” Ignoring Liam’s snort, she addressed the bartender. “I’ll have a Corona with a lime.”
“A rum and Coke for me,” Jude said.
“Coming right up.”
The man moved away to his task, while Liam continued to ogle their surroundings.
“Oh, man. This place is awesome. Thanks for bringing us here, Lily.”
“You’re very welcome. What would you like to-”
“Holy crap! Topless volleyball,” he breathed in reverence. “Can we go down there?”
“We are, in a minute. Hope they’re wearing sunscreen,” Lily joked.
“You want to play?”
“I’ll pass, thanks. Jumping around with my parts jiggling isn’t my thing.”
“But you don’t have anything to jiggle,” Liam said, laughing.
“You little shit,” she replied with fake menace. “Just see if that gets you any nooky.”
“Oh, there’s plenty of that around here if you cut me off.”
“Careful, you have to live with me.”
“Sorry.” He didn’t sound sincere.
Their drinks arrived and Lily pushed Jude’s into his hand. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” He took a swallow, relishing the cold burst of the dark flavor on his tongue. “This is good.”
“Mine, too,” Liam said. “Well, I’m going to watch the volleyball game. Come on, you two!”
Jude heard the barstool scrape and figured he must’ve taken off. Lily laughed, leaning into Jude’s side.
“Good grief. Don’t you ever let him out of the kitchen?”
Jude thought about that. “Not enough, apparently, considering he’s been sneaking around with Dev and Geneva. In fact, I’m not sure he’s ever been on a real vacation.”
“That’s just criminal. If it was up to me, I’d spoil him all the time. I’d spoil both of you.”
Did he detect a hint of wistfulness?
“You two have bonded quite well.”
“And have
He reached for her. “Do you really need to ask?”
“Yes,” she said, taking his hand. “I feel… like there’s more going on between you and me than great sex-not that there’s anything wrong with consenting adults playing fair and square. But I…”
“Tell me.” His heart quickened. He very much wanted to hear what she had to say on the subject.
Just then, a man next to them ordered a drink.
“Walk with me,” she suggested.
He let her pull him away from the bar, getting that she wanted a little more privacy. He toyed with his rum and Coke, happy and a little nervous, too.
“This is new territory for me,” she went on. “In my limited experience, it’s not wise to get too attached to someone you care about. To let those feelings grow into more.”
“You’ve been hurt,” he said, squeezing her hand.
“Not in the way you mean.”
He took a guess. “You’re talking about your father again.”
“Yeah. It’s not that I consciously shut out people on purpose. Or at least I don’t think so.” She sighed. “I’m not doing a very good job of explaining myself.”
