Harlequin KISS August 2014 Bundle (70 page)

‘Nah.’ Her wave dismissed half the population. ‘Another mirage. Most
of them have compromised. For a lifestyle or a child. They’d all betray each other given the right price.’ She heaved a great sigh. ‘It’s verrrry sad.’

‘Would you compromise?’

‘Never.’ She slammed her shoulders back. ‘Never give up. Never surrender. That’s me. I’m not the compromising sort. And I know the truth. Remember the truth, Adam. Love is an illusion.’

‘I’ll remember, Liv.
Now, let’s get going. We’re nearly at the hotel.’

Minutes later Adam surveyed the bedroom and gusted out a sigh. Gan must have assumed they were sharing a room—more to the point that they were sharing a bed.

‘I’ll go and sort out another room.’

‘No. Itsh OK. Really. We’re past the attraction, remember? It’s all over and done with.’

Clearly Olivia was suffering from selective
memory and/or delusion.

She surveyed the bed. ‘But just in case we’ll build a barricade.’

With great precision she leant over the mattress and Adam’s heart skipped a beat at the sight of her heart-shaped bottom.

Very carefully Olivia arranged an armful of pillows in a straight line down the middle of the bed. ‘Easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy. Sleep well, Adam’

Somehow that seemed
unlikely.

But it would be another first. Sharing a bed with a woman and a barricade; he must be losing his touch.

* * *

Olivia squeaked her eyelids open and hurriedly closed them again. Sunlight. That was definitely a clue. So was the whirr of air-conditioning.

Enough to tell her that she wasn’t tucked up nice and safe and warm in her bedroom at home in the middle of a Bath
winter.

Then there was the flower-sweet scent borne in on the sunlit breeze.

She was in Thailand.

Memories surfaced. Of a bar on the beach. Golden sand crunching underneath her toes. A fantastically beautiful sunset. Drums... A napkin scribbled with notes... And beer...lots of beer.

And there had been Adam.

‘Rise and shine, Liv.’

‘That’s a joke, right? And who said
you could call me Liv?’

‘You did.’ His deep tone was tinged with amusement. ‘So, rise and shine, Liv.’

Olivia hauled her eyes open again and turned her head, wincing. ‘Rising is a faint possibility. Shining, not so much.’

‘I’ve brought tea,’ he said, and stepped forward to place a steaming mug on the bedside table.

Bedside.

The word was ominous, opening the floodgates
to the next wave of memory.

Olivia braced her hands on the mattress and hoisted herself up gingerly, wriggled backwards and leant against the padded headboard. She reached for the life-saving cup of tea, devoutly hoping that everything could be cured by a nice cuppa.

‘Thank you,’ she murmured, her tongue thick and fuzzy, but soothed by the strong brew, and her parched throat grateful
as the reviving liquid slipped down her throat. ‘So...’ Gripping the folds of the blanket, she forced herself to meet his gaze. ‘Hit me. How embarrassed should I be?’

‘How embarrassed do you want to be?’

She very rarely got even so much as tipsy, and even then only if she was with someone like Suzi, whom she trusted implicitly. Alcohol was a known inhibition-destroyer and a sure-fire
route to loss of control. So what had she been thinking last night? Somewhere along the line she had quite clearly dropped the ball.

Please let that be the only ball-associated activity that had gone on. What a crying waste it would be if she’d slept with Adam and didn’t remember it. No. That wasn’t possible. Every molecule of her would retain every second of the experience. This she knew.

‘Just tell me, Adam. What did I do?’

‘Nothing so terrible. Honest. I
like
sleeping with a barricade down the middle of the bed.’

His eyes glittered, and the glints of amusement were oddly reassuring. Adam was teasing her, and he wouldn’t do that if she’d done anything spectacularly daft. Like climbing over the barricade and jumping his bones.

Trepidation returned and Olivia
licked suddenly dry lips, heat shooting through her as his eyes followed the movement, snagged on her mouth ‘Did it work?’

‘Yes, it worked.’ His face was suddenly unreadable.

For heaven’s sake.
She was being an idiot. Of course the barricade had worked; it hadn’t even been necessary. Not only had she drunk enough beer to knock out a football team, she’d also passed out. That was enough
to kill off any attraction.

And should any lingering tendrils have remained he’d now been treated to her in all her morning glory. A surreptitious glance down showed she was still in the grey top and trousers, now rumpled beyond repair. The strong tea had at least obliterated the fuzzy taste in her mouth, but Olivia could only imagine the state of her face. The remnants of yesterday’s make-up;
her hair back in bird’s-nest mode. So one thing was for sure: any attraction Adam might still have retained for her would have been killed stone-cold dead.

Which was a good thing.

‘Good. So now, if you leave me to it, I’ll try and transform myself into something more human.’

‘OK.’ He nodded. ‘I’ll be in the foyer in half an hour.’

Thirty minutes later she surveyed herself in
the mirror. This worked. Cool, calm, and the epitome of poised.

No one would believe the woman in the mirror capable of mad drunken exploits. The navy sleeveless dress had been chosen with a view to impressing Zeb with her professionalism, but it would now hopefully convey to both Adam and Olivia that she was a together person with a mortgage and a business. As opposed to a drunken idiot.

She tugged her freshly washed hair into a high ponytail, slipped her feet into sensible plain flat navy sandals and made her way out of the bedroom.

Instinctively she turned right and headed towards the foyer, and slowed in an attempt to prepare for the impact of Adam. Now her hangover had receded she could take in his appearance with even more appreciation. Dark hair damp from the shower,
a dark green version of the T-shirt that so admirably accentuated his chest, and beige knee-length shorts. Delectable.

But Olivia would be strong.

‘Hey,’ she said.

‘Hey,’ he replied.

Dark brown eyes swooped over her body and his lips quirked upward into what really could only be classified as a smirk. As if he knew exactly what her appearance denoted and thought it was so much
hooey.

‘So what’s the plan for the day?’

‘I’ve got something to show you,’ he said.

A boyish smile tilted his lips and against her will her heart did a hop, skip and a jump.

‘But first I asked the chef to make you this.’ He handed her a plastic container filled to the brim with thick red slush. ‘It’s a smoothie. Full of dragon fruit and watermelon. There should be enough vitamin
C in that to zap the last of your hangover away.’

‘Oh...’ For an insane second tears prickled the back of her eyes—before common sense asserted itself. It was kind of Adam. Thoughtful of Adam. But it wasn’t up there with Mother Teresa. ‘Thank you.’

‘No problem. Now, let’s go.’

Olivia followed him outside, blinking in the brightness as he strode towards the vehicle, his canvas trainers
puffing up clouds of dust from the path.

Climbing in behind him, she sipped her smoothie and stared around, marvelling at the scenery, taking in the dark green leaves of the foliage of the palm trees that sprinkled the road. As Adam drove she saw the many scooters that zipped around at seemingly lethal speed and gripped her free hand around her seat belt.

A ten-minute drive and they
pulled up outside a secluded villa, set back from the road and nestled within a mini-jungle of lush-leaved plants. Adam jumped down and came round to take her hand—a hand he retained as he led her towards the villa.

Its wooden structure was raised on posts, with an elegantly tapering roof and wide hanging eaves.

‘Here we go,’ Adam said. ‘Our home for the week.’

‘You serious?’

‘Absolutely. Cooking, cleaning, dusting... Whatever you need doing, I’m your man.’

Whatever she needed?
Hauling her mind out of the gutter she stared at him, sensing that for Adam this was a bigger deal than he was letting on.

‘Why are you doing this? I have the feeling you want a home like you want a hole in the head.’

‘Yeah, well. How much did
you
want to get up on stage and
play the drums?’

‘That would be hole-in-the-head level.’

‘So fair’s fair. Plus you issued a challenge—and real men don’t refuse a dare.’

‘Then lead on, Masterson, and show me the house.’

She followed him towards the front entrance, inhaling the earthy jungle smell of the lush, verdant foliage. ‘It belongs to Gan’s aunt,’ Adam explained. ‘She only lets it out to people recommended
by Gan because she wants the house to retain its karma.’

Olivia could understand that; there was something personal about the villa that made it different from your average holiday let. Each room was clean and bright, with marble floors cool to the touch of her bare feet. Mismatching mahogany and teak furniture and a variety of Thai statues and tapestries were scattered around. There was
also an enormous balcony with a view of the sea that stole her breath, complete with...

‘A hammock! Adam, I have
always
wanted a hammock.’ She turned to face him. ‘Did you choose this place?’ she asked. ‘Or did Gan tell you about it?’

‘I chose it,’ he said. ‘I saw a few others that were way more luxurious, but this one...well, I thought you’d like it.’

‘I do.’ But how on earth had
he had time to do all this? She glanced at him and then at her watch. ‘What time did you get up?’

‘Early. Birds and worms and all that.’ His expression was closed as he moved towards the sliding balcony door.

Oh, no. Maybe she’d been snoring. Just to add to the drunken, slovenly image. Little wonder if Adam had leapt out of bed and sprinted from the room to find alternative accommodation.

‘Well, it was worth it. This place is amazing.’ She tipped her palms in the air. ‘Who knows? You may love having a home.’

‘And maybe pigs will fly.’ He smiled, but this time it was that practised smile of charm. ‘Let the holiday begin.’

ELEVEN

‘Are we
nearly there yet?’

Adam braked to avoid a scooter that had swerved out of nowhere onto the dirt road, then gave Olivia a very swift, fleeting glance from the corner of his eye. ‘Seven and a half minutes,’ he said.

‘Sorry. I’m stupidly excited about these caves. Especially as you won’t tell me anything about them
and
you’ve made me promise not to research
them online. So, yes, I am bouncing up and down like an overgrown child. I’ll stop now.’

Three days in and this holiday was unlike any Adam had experienced. Truth be told, holidays for a man who had travelled the world and then built up a global empire of hotels had always been problematic.

This time it was different; it couldn’t be compared to any of the most decadent, sex-filled sojourns
in the penthouse suites of many of his hotels. And surprisingly enough not just because of the lack of any sex—decadent or otherwise.

Because, whilst frustration
was
his constant companion, putting lust aside, Adam was enjoying himself.

No doubt it was the novelty factor, but he loved Olivia’s interest in everything—her relish of every bite of food, the way she had spent hours discussing
music with Saru, turning his friend into her devoted admirer.

There was also her attitude to both shopping and money. Utterly appreciative when he had held a shop door open for her, she’d bristled into fury when he’d tried to pay for her holiday clothes.

‘You’re already paying for accommodation and you flew me out here. Our deal doesn’t extend to new clothes. In fact I’ll pay for
your
clothes. Seeing as I’m making you buy them.’

So for the first time since...well, the first time
ever
...Adam had stood back and watched someone else pull out a credit card. A novel experience, and not one he could see happening again in a hurry. It was hard to imagine his conveyor belt women going Dutch, let alone paying for him. As for purchasing him a selection of slogan-laden T-shirts—one
depicting a reggae band, another saying ‘Keep Calm and Play the Drums’ and another blue number with an underwater sea scene and the caption ‘I swim with the fish’—Adam knew that would never happen again, either.

Which was all fine. Predictability and decadent sex was definitely the way forward on future holidays. Unless, of course, frustration killed him first.

He pulled up at the side
of the road. ‘We’re here.’

‘And you’re sure it’s OK for us to do this by ourselves?’

‘I’m sure. I know the family who runs the tours. I worked for them as a guide for a whole season, so they know I can do it safely. I’ve spoken to them. It’s all good.’

Though for a moment Adam wondered why on earth he
hadn’t
suggested they join a normal tour. Maybe because he wanted to see the wonder
on her face when he introduced her to a place that was special to him? He really hoped not. Because that would be worrying. To say nothing of dumb.

A sudden shot of alarm zinged his synapses and he climbed out of the Jeep and inhaled deeply, sucked in the pure forest-scented air as he walked round to open Olivia’s door.

He knew exactly what was going on. This was all about the frustration;
he wasn’t used to spending time with a woman he fancied the pants off and being unable actually to
remove
said pants. So all the lust had nowhere to go and it was affecting his brain. Big time.

Once she’d climbed out he looked her up and down.
Keep it clean, Adam
.

She gusted out a sigh. ‘I’ve got comfortable, sturdy footwear, long sleeves and loose long trousers and I’m smothered in
insect repellent. The only way a mozzie will come close to me is if all its nasal tubes have been extracted. Which isn’t very likely. So can we go?’

* * *

Olivia entered the forest and breathed her appreciation as she looked around the vast canopy of verdant trees. The spectrum of green ranged from vibrant to dark, catching the dappled sunlight so that motes speckled the trailing fronds
and leaves.

The path was gentle, almost meandering, and Olivia felt a peace and tranquillity that could only be exploded by... Crashing right bang into Adam’s broad back.
Damn.
She’d been trying to hang back; the past few days had shown her all too well the disaster of getting too close. But in her gawping admiration of Mother Nature she’d taken her eye off the ball and now here she was.
Back in the danger zone. Up close and personal with the breadth of his shoulders and his scent that won out even over that of the forest.

It took every ounce of her self-control to step backwards—especially as she was sure his body had given a small ripple of appreciation at her touch.
Delusional.

Adam’s face was inscrutable as he indicated what looked to Olivia like a sheer incline.

‘Now the climb begins,’ he said. ‘You ready?’

‘Bring it on.’

The harder the better; the more she exerted herself the less she’d desire Adam. That was the theory anyway. But there was something in the thickness of the air, the fertile thriving of this mangrove woodland, that clogged her throat with want.

‘Off you go,’ he said, and for a second she heard an echo of her own feeling
in the depth of his voice. ‘I’ll be right behind you.’

She was imagining things; she must be. The past few days she’d kept a physical distance, avoided so much as a brush of their hands. As for Adam—Olivia was sure that he no longer wanted her at all. So it must be the magical atmosphere of the forest weaving some sort of hallucinatory spell on her.

Olivia hoisted herself up onto a rock,
relieved to see a hanging rope suspended to help her continue the climb up the steep incline. It was an ascent that incorporated not just slippery rock but solid tree branches that jutted out at improbable angles. Thighs aching and calves protesting, Olivia felt sweat sheen her forehead over the twenty minutes it took to reach the cave entrance.

Or at least what Adam called the entrance.

‘That’s not an entrance. It’s a crack in a rock. I’ll never fit in there.’

He grinned suddenly. ‘Sure you will. You fitted through that window a week ago. I watched you.’

‘That feels like a lifetime ago.’ Guilt smacked her; a flush rose to her skin. She’d barely given a thought to Zeb or her mum or the baby in the past days. ‘Have you heard any news on when Zeb may get here?’

Adam glanced away from her and reached into his rucksack for a bottle of water. ‘Gan called earlier. Friends of his met up with Zeb. He should be here tomorrow.’

‘Tomorrow?’

Her dismay was embarrassingly apparent and shame coated her as actual disappointment weighed in her tummy. Meeting Zeb was her mission—surely she wasn’t shallow enough to care that his arrival heralded the end of
their holiday? Even worse, surely it couldn’t have anything to do with Adam? She wouldn’t,
couldn’t
even contemplate that.

‘That’s great,’ she said firmly, and plastered a smile on her face. ‘Wonderful.’

‘Isn’t it?’ he agreed, his tone so noncommittal Olivia had no idea what he was thinking. ‘But why don’t we discuss Zeb later? Negotiating the cave is quite tricky, so it’s best if we
concentrate on that right now.’

She nodded.

‘It’s pitch-dark in there, so you’ll need this.’

Adam handed her a headlamp and Olivia put it on before watching him angle the breadth of his body into the sliver of darkness between two overhanging rocks.

Sucking her tummy in, she followed, glad of the flashlight as inky darkness enveloped them. The torch illuminated a bamboo ladder
leading down into the midnight depths. ‘Is there any lighting?’ she asked.

‘Nope. But your eyes will adjust. Once we get down the ladder make sure you stick close to me.’

‘Not a problem.’

A cast-iron excuse to do what she’d longed to do for days, and this time she wasn’t going to deny herself. Because tomorrow Zeb would arrive and this whole idyll would end; there would be no more
opportunities to be anywhere near Adam after that. The chance of actually acting on this crazy, stupid attraction would definitively be over.

Life would return to normal.

Which was exactly what she wanted. Right? She would have accomplished what she came here for, made an attempt to ensure this baby had a father in his or her life. That was good, right?

Olivia waited for the anticipated
buzz of enthusiasm and came up with a flat fizz of two-day-old champagne.

Ridiculous—she was being ridiculous.

‘Liv? You OK?’

‘I’m fine.’ Of course she was. ‘I just need to get my bearings.’

Truer words were never spoken.

Once down the ladder she looked round in awe, the light of her headlamp picking out the damp cave walls, the narrow passageways jutted with rocks.

‘Follow me, and if you’re worried, say,’ Adam said. ‘It’s a bit difficult in places, but I’ll be right here every step of the way.’

Olivia bit her lip and nodded. She had to stop reading double meanings into his words but somehow down here, in the very depths of a miracle of nature, every word seemed significant. It felt as though Adam were asking her to follow him somewhere else—or maybe
that was wishful thinking on her part. She needed to get a grip; Adam was guiding her through a network of caves, not on some spiritual or sensual journey.

She needed to concentrate or she would fall into the abyss—both literally and metaphorically. Plus, no way should she miss out on an experience like this; these caves were a once in a lifetime... And there went her stupid brain again.
Reinterpreting her every thought to bring her back to the idea of sleeping with Adam.

Consigning all such thoughts to perdition, Olivia edged along a bamboo plank, the rush of adrenaline adding to her already skittering nerves. She followed Adam along narrow passageways, scrambled over ancient rocks slippery with underground water and marvelled over a darkness that had never been so much
as touched by sunlight.

And all the time the warm bulk of Adam’s body both reassured and tantalised her. The whole journey was taking on a hidden depth of meaning as the heavy air of the cave made her dizzy. It wasn’t only affecting her, either—she was sure of it. Adam was mostly silent, though always there, steadying her at the exact moment she needed it. But his face, dimly shadowed and
dappled by torchlight, held a suppressed urgency, visible in the set of his jaw and the slant of his brows.

‘Ooh...’ Olivia gasped as she stepped through the narrowest of entrances into a cavernous chamber. It was magnificent; the domed ceilings must have been carved by some god of nature to create such a mystical vault.

Filled with awe, she trailed her fingers along the cold, damp stone.

‘Look at these,’ she said, and pointed up at the almost implausible stalagmite formations. ‘I’ve never seen anything like them. That shape there—it looks like some sort of guardian...a gargoyle who guards the entrance. They must be ancient.’

Adam nodded. ‘I used to stare at them for hours. If you look at them long enough they sizzle your brain.’

Olivia turned to him. ‘I thought you
were a tour guide.’

‘I was. But my first foray into these caves was...’ He shrugged. ‘Unauthorised. This place—it’s a great place to...’ He shrugged, rocking back on the balls of his feet. ‘Think.’

‘I can see that,’ Olivia said, and she could—could see an image of a younger, teenaged Adam, all gangly limbs and overlong dark hair, coming to these caves to brood. Perhaps to wish he could
stay longer with the people who had been like family to him. Gan, Saru and his parents. That much she’d gleaned from snippets Saru had let slip over the past days—that and the fact that Zeb had been a pretty much absent parent, spending more time in retreat, leaving his son to his own devices until he was ready to move on again.

Olivia gulped, suddenly aware of the sear of his gaze. ‘What
are you thinking now?’

‘You don’t want to know.’ A rueful smile tugged his lips as he turned his body away. ‘Trust me.’

His words echoed through the air, bounced off the strata and into her consciousness.
Trust him.

Pinning her shoulders back, she sucked in the musky air. ‘Actually, I do want to know.’

He swivelled back round on one foot and studied her expression for a long
moment. His brown eyes were dark and serious; his face was streaked with loam and age-old grime. ‘I was thinking how very much I want you,’ he said simply.

‘You do?’ Encrusted mud dislodged as she raised her eyebrows.

‘Yes, Liv, I do. Bit of an open secret.’

Adam’s velvet growl smoothed over her skin.

‘I thought—’ Olivia broke off.

‘You thought what?’

‘That we were
past that. Especially after the other night.’

Adam frowned. ‘What happened the other night?’

‘Well, I fell asleep in all my clothes and probably snored the night away, the following morning I looked like a cross between a bird’s nest and something the cat dragged in, and since then—well, we’ve shared a house.’

‘And sharing a house kills attraction?’ He dropped his mouth in mock
horror. ‘It’s because you’ve seen me wielding a dustpan and brush, isn’t it? My macho image is gone for ever.’

Her lips tipped up in a smile. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. It’s me. The last few days I’ve wandered the house in scruffy pyjamas before I’ve even brushed my hair. And who knows what I look like now?’

Adam tilted his headlamp and studied her. ‘Well, you have clay streaking your cheekbones
like some sort of warrior markings and mud smudged across the freckles on your nose.’

‘Great! I rest my case. You can’t possibly want me looking like this.’

‘You don’t get it, do you?’ He gestured at the air between them. ‘This spark we have—it doesn’t get cancelled out by tangled hair or rabbit pyjamas or mud. Trust me.’

Those damn words again, echoing round the walls as though
the cave itself could pick which words to resonate.
Trust.
She didn’t do trust; it wasn’t in her make-up or her inclination.

Yet here and now, in this unspoiled place, it was difficult to see anything wrong with a primal,
natural
desire to mate. Adam wanted her and, boy, did she ever want him. Yet...