Kiss the Tiger (9 page)

Chapter Sixteen

Later that afternoon, Josh dropped
me off at the hotel entrance. He leaned his forehead against mine as we tried
to say goodbye. I didn’t want him to go. Now that I’d found him, I never wanted
to leave him again. If only life were that simple.

“I need to see you tonight,” he
said.

“I wish I could, but I promised
Nessie I’d go to the Dysis with her.”

“Thirty euros on the door and
another thirty for a couple of drinks, you must have money to burn.”

“Not exactly. But she’s been
looking forward to going.”

He gripped my hips and pulled me
to him. “Fake a headache and come out with me instead.”

I wanted to, I really did, but even
if I had been able to think of another plausible excuse, I owed Nessie at least
one decent time. “I can’t. I can’t let her down.”

“Fair enough, but I thought she
was sick.”

“She was, is, oh I don’t know.
But she should be feeling better by now, and I feel bad enough about leaving her
with only Mum for company, all day. I need to make it up to her. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be. You shouldn’t feel
guilty about wanting to spend time with your sister, but you should feel guilty
about not telling her about us.”

“I know. I do. I’m going to tell
her tonight.”

“Is that a promise?”

“I promise.”

***

“There you are. Where the hell
have you been?” Nessie left the door open for me to enter and resumed sitting
on her bed, wrapped only in a white towel.

“Feeling better, I see.”

She looked up from painting her
toenails and screwed the brush back into the bottle. “Much. No thanks to you.
Why do you keep abandoning me? Have I done something?” she asked, before blowing
on the varnish.

“Of course not, but you know I
don’t do sick beds. I’m far too selfish to be a nurse.” I peeled my dress over
my head and stuffed it in the case of dirty clothes. My underwear quickly
followed. After my day, I needed a shower too. A cold one.

“Where did you get to?” she asked
between puffs.

I entered the bathroom and turned
on the water. “Checked out the other side of town, and then took a boat trip,
seeing as I missed out the other day.” Ninety-nine percent truth, so no guilt
there.

“Did you do the cave one?”

“No, just a ride around the
coast,” I said, stepping into the tub.

“You should have gone to the
caves. It was awesome.”

“Mine was pretty awesome too. I
had a lot of fun.” My cave had been well and truly explored.

“Well, I’m glad someone did. Mum’s
been fussing around me all day. She came in and woke me up when I wanted to
sleep, and then when I was awake, she told me I should be resting. She drove me
absolutely nuts. Seriously, the woman is a nightmare. Even when I told her I
felt better, she wouldn’t leave. I’ve only just got rid of her, on the promise
that I’ll get some food inside me. To be honest, I’m not sure that I can.”

I tilted my head up to the
refreshing spray and listened to Nessie ramble on, knowing exactly what Mum was
like. Throughout our childhood, the slightest sniffle had caused her to worry
excessively and treat us like complete invalids, calling out the doctor when a
simple trip to the pharmacy would have sufficed.

“I’m exhausted,” Nessie
continued. “Mum spent half the afternoon touching my head and stroking my
stomach, and the other half bending my ear about her intention to sue the
hotel. I tell you, I thought I might die from audio assault.”

“You know what she’s like. She
worries. She’ll soon calm down and forget about it, when she realises you’re
fine.” Finally refreshed, I turned off the shower, wrapped around a towel, and
wandered back into the bedroom.

Nessie was wriggling into a
slinky, black dress. “Mum did say one interesting thing.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. She said she wished Dad
had been here, as he would have known what to do.”

“That sounds promising,” I said,
rooting through what was left of my clean underwear, trying to find something
that even vaguely matched, and wouldn’t show through the white dress I’d
planned on wearing.

“That’s what I thought,” Nessie
said. “Hey, did you know Diane was tapping that DILF of a barman?” She smoothed
the material over her curves and admired her profile in the full-length mirror.
“I can’t believe she’s found a man and I haven’t. So far, this trip has been a
bust. All I can say is tonight had better not suck too. I gotta get my shit
together and score me some tushy. I don’t think my ego can take another
bashing.”

Crap
. I’d planned on
coming clean once she had a few drinks inside her. How could I tell her about
Josh now?
Butter her up
.

“You’re off to a good start. You
look hot in that dress.”

“You think? Is black not a bit
boring?”

“Nah. It’s sophisticated, and
tonight is all about sophistication.”

“Even if my ass is so tightly
bound I can hardly walk?”

“You have a great ass.”

She turned and looked over her
shoulder. “I do, don’t I? Will you fish plait my hair?”

“Sure, if I can borrow your white
peep-toes.”

***

The sky had turned a dark inky
blue, by the time our taxi pulled up outside the swanky building. Illuminated
columns sandwiched the entrance, and tiny lights encircling the roof twinkled
in unison with the stars above. Three steps led up past a couple of palm trees,
so fat they looked like giant pineapples, to the elegant foyer, where we were
greeted by an immaculately dressed hostess carrying a silver tray.

“Kalispera,” she said.

“Erm, hello,” I replied, in two
minds whether to leave. The club was far more grandiose than I’d anticipated,
and outdid even the swankiest of corporate venues where my father had forced us
to attend functions. I felt out of place.

“Ah. English. Good evening
ladies. Casino or lounge?” she asked, her white toothed smile poised and
practised.

I bit the bullet and placed our
fee on the tray, hoping it was what she expected—because if not, I’d just made
a huge fool of myself. “Lounge, please.”

Shiny, red talons pinned the notes
down. “Straight through the double doors.”

The whole experience felt alien. “Thank
you.”

The large room had two levels.
The higher one, encircling the edge, held lush S-shaped seating, with soft
furnishings in muted shades of brown and cream. Golden moulded sculptures
decorated the plainly painted wall segments in between more luxuriant cushioned
sections. The lower level formed a circular floor area, housing a bar
surrounded by glistening steel stools. Neon strips lit up the underside of the
bar with a bright blue hue and were echoed by matching circles in the ceiling
encompassing shimmering crystal chandeliers. Yep, I was definitely getting a
slight spaceship vibe.

“Wow.” Nessie’s eyes widened. “I
could get used to this,” she said, her head angled up as she walked into the
room backwards.

“Watch out, Ness.”

She bumped shoulders with a smart
suited man and offered an apology. He smiled and stared at her ass, as I
grabbed her wrist and forced her to continue walking. As eligible as he looked,
I’d spotted he was wearing a wedding ring.

Past another group of people,
there was an opening in the side wall. “What do you think is out there?” I
asked, as we approached it.

Nessie looped her arm through
mine. “Let’s take a look-see, shall we?”

Floor to ceiling glass doors,
propped open by potted ferns, led out to a marble paved patio area. Glass
tables and white padded chairs bordered a pooled area with underwater lighting,
in the centre of which was an enormous steel ball fountain.

“This is pretty smart.” Nessie
pointed out.

I scanned the seating dotted by
the occasional body. “But dead.” A cool evening breeze wafted over from the
sea. I could almost taste the salt as it wafted a strand of hair from my
chignon. “And windy,” I added, trying to tuck the escapee back into place. “I
think you’ll have better luck inside.”

“What do you mean,
I’ll
have better luck? I’m not doing this on my own.”

We chose one of the curved seats
with a good view of the room. “You’re the one who’s desperate for a man.”

“You need one too,” she protested.

I have one
. “Not tonight.”
Barefaced lie, Amy
. But only Josh could fill the need I had. “Tonight is
about you.”

Almost as soon as we sat down, a
waitress appeared, and I ordered two white wine spritzers. Nessie waited until
the waitress was out of earshot. “How generous of you. But quit calling me
desperate. I’m not. I just expected to be having more fun. Didn’t you?”

Was she kidding?
“Quite
frankly, no. We’ve come to a beautiful country. For once in my life, I have a
tan. My body’s still invigorated from the wonderful massage I had yesterday,”—
and
the orgasm I received this afternoon
—“and I mean, look at this place. When
will we have the chance to come to somewhere like this again? I’m having a
great time.”

“Really?”

Our drinks arrived, and I said
goodbye to more notes. “Sure. I feel like a millionaire.” Nessie took a long
gulp of her spritzer, draining half the liquid in one go. I placed my hand over
hers and eased the glass back down. “Unfortunately, I’m not, and neither are
you. So take it easy. It’s your round next.”

One of Nessie’s favourite tunes
piped through the sound system. “You know, it may be swish, but they fucked up
when they didn’t fit a dance floor,” she said, wiggling her hips to the
drumbeat.

“I guess the idea is to find
something classier to occupy your time. How about starting with him.” Keeping
my eyes glued on my sister, I cocked my head in the direction of a guy I’d
spotted staring straight at us. Dressed in taupe slacks and a pink shirt, with
far too much gel slicking back his hair, he’d flashed me a saccharine smile not
thirty seconds ago. His air denoted money, and he might have caught my
interested before Josh had entered my life, but entertaining the attentions of
other men no longer held any appeal. I had everything I wanted.

Nessie’s eyes slid sideways as
she snuck a peek. “Hmm. Not bad,” she said. “Never been too sure about pink on
a man, but I could overlook it this once.” She dropped her head and twiddled
the stem of her wine glass. “Don’t look now, but I think he’s coming over.”

His shadow slid over our table.
“Scandinavian?” asked an accent I couldn’t quite place yet. If that was his
pick-up line, it was the strangest one I’d ever heard.

“I’m sorry?”

“My mistake.” Sitting down
without invitation, he beckoned for the waitress. She arrived almost
immediately. “Champagne.”

“Oui, monsieur.”

Nessie and I exchanged looks. Passable
in the looks department, possibly French, and generous with it. He was off to a
good start.

“What made you think we were
Scandinavian?” Nessie asked him.

“You’re very fair. I took a
chance. I’m Claude, by the way.”

“Ne… Vanessa.” She held out her
hand, palm down, in an attempt to appear more poised than we were. Claude
kissed it. “And this is my sister, Amelia.”

Good grief. Why did she say that?
I couldn’t remember the last time anyone had called me by my given name. I’d
almost forgotten I had it. Not that it mattered what name she gave me. I didn’t
plan on playing gooseberry.

I snatched my clutch from the
table and stood up. “Excuse me for one moment,” I said in the most upper class
voice I could muster.

Panic flashed over Nessie’s face.
“Where are you going?”

“The restroom.” I continued the
pretence.

“I’ll come with you.”

“Don’t be rude to Claude. Stay. I
insist. Besides, I’m a big girl. I can manage to pee on my own.”
Shit
. Did
I really say pee? Not exactly classy.

My visit took longer than
necessary. Nessie needed to get to know her admirer without interruption. I
eked out the time by admiring the deluxe fittings, smelling the flower
arrangement, and trying out various complementary hand lotions. When I finally
returned to my seat, Nessie was alone.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Total smarmy douchebag. Took him
about two minutes to try it on. Seriously what makes a guy think he’s gonna get
his leg over with a glass of cheap champagne and a few compliments?”

“Was that not why we came…to find
you a fuck buddy?”

“Yeah, but not him. If I want
cheese, I’ll go to a delicatessen.”

“Did you at least get a drink out
of him?”

“One glass. Cheeky bastard took
the bottle with him.”

“Never mind. It’s still early.
We’ll find you someone better.”

“There you go putting it all on
me again. What about you. Aren’t you afraid you’ll dry up through lack of
action?” She laughed.

I couldn’t do it anymore. It was
time. “Ness, there’s something you need to know.”

“Go on.”

“I’ve been seeing someone.”

“What! You sneaky bitch. You’ve
been holding out on me. Did you meet him on the island?” She paused, and I
could almost hear the cogs clicking in her brain. “That’s where you’ve been disappearing
to, isn’t it. Who is he? Have I met him?”

“Actually…”

“Ooo, hold that thought, my
evening just looked up. What do you think? Second time lucky?”

I followed her line of sight and
saw Josh approaching.

Chapter Seventeen

Damn it
. What the hell was
he doing here? My evening was so not going the way I’d pictured it.

“Erm, Ness…”

Nessie grabbed my arm, her
fingers squeezing a little too hard. “My God, he’s heading straight for us.”

Of course he was
. There
was no hiding from the truth now.

My heart leapt to my throat as he
approached with a confident air. It was strange to see him smartly dressed,
head to toe in black. I liked it. His skinny pants threw the right amount of
rebel into his suitably conforming appearance, and his open-necked shirt exposed
just enough flesh to set my pulse racing. He caught my eye and shot me a
seductive grin. The image burned so hard into my retina I thought I’d go blind.
The more I saw of him, the more I couldn’t get enough. Nessie was drinking him
in too, with far too much lash-batting for my liking.

Another man was walking beside
him, wearing a slim-fitting white shirt hung loosely over dark grey pants. He flicked
back his tousled blonde hair as Josh said something into his ear that caused
the man to raise his brows and grin. They made a striking pair, and ours weren’t
the only female eyes to follow their progress across the floor.

“I must have done something right
in a past life.” Nessie swooned. “His mate is pretty hot too. You might get
lucky after all. But do you think you could manage
not
to fuck it up
this time?”

I couldn’t answer. My voice was buried
somewhere beneath my desire to get Josh between my legs again.

The men came to a stop at the
edge of our table, and Josh’s gaze flicked between my sister and me. “Room for
two more?”

Before I could react, Nessie’s
eyes widened and she patted the seat next to her. Josh slid in beside her, and
his companion perched on the tail of the S, at my side. He offered me a weak
smile and nodded a hello. I smiled back, noting the Celtic cross dangling at
his throat and the oversized skull ring dominating the hand from which his beer
glass swung loosely between his legs.

Nessie ran her finger down Josh’s
sleeve. “I love your shirt. Is it Dolce?”

He cocked a brow, and laughed.
“No it’s from the market in town. I figured I’d need something smart to come
here.”

“Is it your first time?” Nessie’s
tone indicated that she wasn’t necessarily talking about his night out. I felt
the sting of jealousy stab me in the gut, but I shouldn’t have worried.

Josh ignored her flirting,
answering curtly, “Second.”

Nessie flinched but continued
unperturbed laying her hand on his thigh. I had to score her points for effort,
even though all I wanted to do was fling myself over the table and pull her
hair out. “We look good together, both in black,” she said.

Josh picked up Nessie’s hand,
placed it on the table, and spoke directly at me, “You haven’t told her.”

Nessie’s head shot around. “Told
me what?”

Josh shifted in his seat to face
her. “Look, you’re cute and sexy and you’re going to find someone who loves you
like you deserve. But it isn’t me. Sorry.”

“Huh.” Nessie’s anger and
disappointment marred her face.

“I hope we can stay friends,”
Josh added.

“What would be the point in
that?” she spat. “I doubt I’ll be coming back to Greece any time soon.”

“The point is…I’m in love with
your sister.” He looked over at me and smiled. A genuine, loving smile that
told me he meant every word.

Josh had just said he loved me. I
couldn’t prevent a huge grin splitting my face from ear to ear.

Nessie glowered at him. “That’s
not funny!”

“It’s not meant to be.”

“You’re being serious?”

“Yep.”

Nessie turned and narrowed her
eyes at me. “Is it him you’ve been seeing?”

I lowered my head, sheepishly,
and nodded.

“How could you? He was supposed
to be mine.”

Her hand slamming on the table
caused me to look up through my lashes. “I know but…”

“I was always Amy’s,” Josh
reasoned.

But Nessie ignored him,
continuing to scowl at me the whole time. “You lied to me.”

“Technically, I didn’t lie. I
just omitted certain information.”

“Same thing.”

“Not really. Listen…”

“No. Stop talking. I’m not
interested in anything you have to say anymore. I hate you. You’re my sister!
Sisters don’t do that to each other.” She pushed to her feet, looking for a way
out from behind the table.

“I’m sorry, Ness. I wanted to
tell you.”

Josh laid a hand on her arm. “Sit
down, Nessie. If you stop acting like a child for a moment, maybe we can find
somebody to buy you an overpriced drink.”

“Don’t touch me.” She shook him
off. “I can find my own date, thank you.”

“Yeah? How’s that going?” he
asked.

A look of fury crossed her face,
and staring directly at our new companion, she said, “I don’t know who you
are…”

“Garret.”

“Garret. Okay, Garret. Buy me a
drink.”

Josh shuffled along the seat to
let Nessie pass, as Garret stood and held out his hand. “Fancy a trip
upstairs?” he asked, as she placed her hand on his. I opened my mouth to object,
but then he added, “You can be my lucky charm.”

I looked to Josh for guidance.

“Don’t worry. He’s a sound guy, and
laid-back enough to calm a tornado. He’ll be good for her.”

“How well do you know him?”

“Well enough for him to lend me
his yacht this afternoon.”

I watched the new couple head off
in the direction of the stairs. “Seriously? That was him? I can tell he’s
Irish, but who is he?”

“Have you heard of
Finnegan’s
Fist
?”

“The band that had that number
one, for like…
ever
?”

“And four more besides. Yep.
That’s the one.” He moved along the seating until our thighs touched.

“Is he in the band?”

“Nah. He’s their manager.”

“But he’s so young,” I said,
feeling the heat seep from Josh’s leg to mine. How easy it would be to let my
hand drop under the table to feel what lay under the material, but I resisted.

“Older than us. Twenty-five.”

“And stupidly rich?”

“Indecently.”

“So, he could have his pick of
girls.” Had I allowed my sister to fall into the clutches of a lothario?

Josh drained his glass and
fingered the rim. “In theory, perhaps, but he told me he’s had his fill of
groupies. He’s looking for a nice girl.”

“Nessie’s only eighteen.”

“She’ll be fine. I’ll vouch for
him.”

“If you say so.” I looked at his
glass. “Shall we get another drink?”

“Nah. This joint is a complete
blag. All you’re paying for is the expensive décor and the pretentious company.
I only came back tonight to see you. It’s driving me crazy not spending every
minute of the day with you. Can we get out of here?”

“I thought you just wanted to
spend time with me?” As much as I tried to stop them, my eyes dropped to his
crotch.

He noticed. “I do. Alone. I need
you, Amy.”

“I need you too, but I can’t
leave Ness.”

A soft kiss landed on my
shoulder. “Garret will see she gets back safely.”

“You planned this didn’t you?”

“Guilty as charged.”

I angled my head to allow his
kisses to continue up my neck. They promised more. Josh was right. We needed to
be alone. “You know where I’d like to go?” I said, breathlessly.

“Hit me.”

“Back to the ruins. I’d like to
see the bay at night.”

He looked up and smiled. “Good
job I’ve only had one beer.”