Scandal: A BAD BOY Romance Novel (9 page)

Better than nothing,
I thought, thinking back longingly at the mimosas I'd enjoyed not even 24 hours ago. Holding each bottle under my arms, I floated to my back and kicked back to shore. It was a wonder that these bottles of gold had survived at all, but they were tucked at the very bottom of the vessel. That area was probably mostly untouched since it was under water the entire time.

As I kicked, I noticed something in the distance. A triangular shape. A
gray
triangular shape.
Oh god, it's a shark,
I panicked as I began to kick even harder. I was almost at the shore now and a moment of regret passed through me before I decided to let go of the bottles and backstroked the rest of the way. My breathing steadied as I practiced my breathing exercises, and I ended up being more upset about the lost champagne than I was about the fact that I was being chased by a shark.
Gotta keep my priorities straight.

Once my back hit the coast, I jumped up and ran out of the water, panting as I looked back at the water in annoyance.

"Looks like you had a choice in getting in this time." Asher's warm, deep voice approached from behind me, and relief flooded my chest at the same time as it warred with anger.

"Where were you? I was freaking out." I frowned, smacking his arm lightly.

"I forgot you're not a morning person," he responded, grinning. "We needed fresh water, supplies for a shelter, and something to help the fire become smokier to get the attention of the planes."

I glanced over at our temporary camp and noticed the pile of palm leaves and various other materials he'd gathered.

"Oh. Thanks," I responded sheepishly, feeling bad about carrying my stress over to him. Looking back at the water longingly, I admitted, "I swam to the jet and managed to grab two bottles of bubbly."

Asher's grin grew wider and he slung his arm around my shoulder, hugging me to his chest. "I knew you had it in you, firecracker."

"Don't get too excited. A shark chased me to the shore and I dropped both bottles."

"Oh, shit," he said, roughly whirling me around to face him. His hands gripped either one of my shoulders as he examined me from head to toe. "You certainly look fine."

Damn racing heart,
I thought as my skin prickled with his look. He was eyeing me approvingly, but he didn't let his gaze linger anywhere for too long. My breath hitched and I crossed my arms over my chest to cover myself up. My nipples were getting stiffer and more tender, and the longer his hands were on my shoulders, the more I wanted to feel those hands on other parts of me.

"Do you mind?" I did the whirling motion with my finger, indicating that he should turn around. When he did, I grabbed my tunic and slipped it on over my head. I did
not
need Asher Harding knowing what effect he had on me. That was the last thing I needed.

As I slapped the sand off my tunic, I heard a splash behind me.

"
Asher!
" I yelled, running a few steps towards him then stopping just short of the deep end.

I watched him disappear underneath the water, bewildered that he would still dive into the water even after I told him about the shark. Who knew how many sharks there were in there! I knew Asher was strong, but some forces just shouldn't be reckoned with. My chest constricted with worry as I stared at the water, counting the seconds. I couldn't even see him anymore, and it felt like he'd been gone forever. As I battled with myself over whether or not I'd be strong enough to fish him out (doubtful), Asher's dark head of hair popped out of the water. Triumphantly, he held one bottle above his head as if it were a trophy as he stepped out of the water.

"You are such an idiot," I said, laughing with relief and joy that he found at least one of them. "You could've been killed!"

"Worried about me now?" he asked, his eyes smiling at me.

"No," I scowled. "Maybe. You're all I have here," I stated matter-of-factly, impressed with myself at how true I made that sound.

I would keep his importance at that level, I decided. He didn't need to know that he was starting to grow on me or that I loved the way he took care of me and my needs above his own. It was something I never expected him to do after experiencing working with him, but I was beginning to realize that he couldn't act like his true self at the office.

Fishing into his jean pocket, he pulled out a swiss army knife and expertly popped the cork on the champagne.

"A toast to keeping the only thing you have here, then?" he teased, offering me the bottle.

I took it gingerly, as if the sharks would steal it away again, before taking a sip and handing it back to him. "Cheers to that."

"Perhaps another toast for our dear dolphin pal that got you to drop the other bottle?" Asher watched my face carefully for my reaction before taking a swig.

"What?!"

He nodded his gorgeous head over the the water, the blues of the ocean mirroring the blues of his eyes. "Look."

Following his gaze, I had to admit defeat. That same triangular shape was now obviously a curved triangular shape from this angle. As if to prove a point, the dolphin jumped out of the water for a brief moment.

"Damn it!" I mourned the loss of the additional bottle, making Asher crack a smile.

"Don't worry, I'll get it tomorrow. And now we know that the sharks aren't circling the jet, so it's actually good that you drew its attention. Come on, let's celebrate!"

We walked back towards our camp together, and my heart warmed at the fact that he was trying so hard to make me feel better.
He's having a shitty time here too--as shitty a time as I'm having--but he's still trying,
I thought. I really was in big trouble, but not for the reasons I thought before when I accepted this job. The more I spoke to Asher, the more I realized that he had a good heart. A really good heart. But I still wasn't sure of his character... What kind of person sexually assaults their secretary? It hurt me to even think it; I couldn't picture him doing it, but the evidence spoke for itself. He'd spent a year in prison for it and lost his position of power at the other office. I couldn't deny the facts.

"I've got a couple surprises for you," Asher said, shooting me a mischievous look.

My eyebrows shot up. "Surprises? What kind of surprises?" I was a little skeptical. What could he have when we were stranded here?

I watched Asher as he lifted one of the palm leaves and retrieved what looked like a skinned snake along with something that looked like a squash.

Scrunching my nose up at the dead creature, I focused my attention on the squash-looking-thing. I didn't need to know how or what he killed. Animals in their raw form always bothered me. "What is that?" I asked, pointing at the orange fruit.

"This? Oh, nothing really, unless you like chocolate."

"Oh,
god
," I sighed, and it came out more like a moan than I'd intended. "You did
not
find me chocolate." Was it even possible to just find chocolate? This man was magic.

"You're right, I didn't find you chocolate, sorry. Not sorry about that cute little sigh of yours though." He winked at me, and my face flushed.
How does he turn me on so quickly?
"It's a cacao pod. If we leave the beans out in the sun for a while, you'll have chocolate in a few days. For today..." He paused and cracked the cacao pod against a nearby palm tree, splitting it in half and revealing little white sticky-looking things inside. "We'll have to make do with cacao flesh for an appetizer."

"You mean dessert," I pointed out, taking a sip of the bubbly while eyeing the white blobs suspiciously. It certainly didn't
look
like dessert. Or chocolate.

"I have something else in mind for dessert," Asher responded coolly, watching my expression change from confusion to desire.

Biting my cheeks, I did my best to look neutral and ignore his comment.
Only a few days before someone finds us,
I tried to convince myself. The problem was, I wasn't sure I'd be able to last a few days if he kept looking at me like he wanted to eat me.

Amusement danced in Asher's eyes as he watched me settle down on the sand. I couldn't stand next to him for too long. It had only been a day and his stubble was starting to grow out, I could smell him without all of his cologne and he smelled good. Damned good. Even better than when he groomed himself.

"Give me one of those," I said curtly as I tested one of the white things. "
Mmm
," I moaned as I savored the sweet, yet tangy, flavor. It certainly didn't taste like chocolate, but it was delicious.

"You're not going to win, you know," Asher said as he loaded twigs, sticks, and leaves back in our fire pit. I watched the muscles on his back work as he lifted large quantities of them at a time.

"I didn't realize we were playing a game," I shot back.

"One of us is."

His blue eyes locked with mine then, spreading warmth through my entire body, even down to my toes. I had no idea what to respond to that, so I tugged on a strand of hair while watching the sparks grow into a fire. It was lucky that Asher brought a lighter with him, otherwise it'd have been extra tricky trying to create smoke signals.

Satisfied with my resignation, Asher turned and grabbed a sharpened stick to pierce the snake with. He sat beside me while he held it over the fire, roasting it. We took turns drinking from the champagne bottle in silence while Asher cooked. His thigh was pressed against mine, and even that simple contact seared my skin. I should have pulled my leg away or moved further away from him--after all, we had the entire beach to sit on. I didn't, though. I didn't want to break contact, so instead, I pretended that I didn't notice while I listened to the crackle of the flames.

"Can I ask you something?" I finally broke the silence after the champagne gave me enough courage to speak.

Asher tilted his head slightly to split his attention between me and his cooking.

I didn't wait for confirmation. "Why do you stay at Harding & Co if you hate it so much? You don't seem to be the type to care about what people think. It just doesn't seem like you."

Asher barked out a bitter laugh. For a split second, I wondered whether or not I made a mistake in asking him that.

"You spend a day with me and assume that you know me?"

It felt like my heart stopped. "No, I just mean you..." I let the words trail off as I wondered how to word it without offending him. I could feel him watching me coldly as I mentally stumbled over possible explanations. He made no attempt to help me. "You seem well off, even without your father's money. Your smart and I can tell you have a good heart, even though you don't like to act like you do. It just feels like you would have a different scene if you don't enjoy it, that's all."

"What makes you think I don't enjoy it?" The coldness had seeped out of his voice after he heard my explanation, and I breathed a silent sigh of relief that I'd chosen my words wisely.

"Your work personality and non-work personality are different. Normally, people don't act like complete assers when they're pleased with their work environment."

"Assers?" he asked, hiking an eyebrow in my direction.

"Asses. I meant asses," I quickly corrected myself.

Asher was watching me again, and I hoped that my blush wasn't a dead giveaway that Asser had been my secret nickname for him. He had removed and set aside the cooked meat to allow it to cool, so he shifted so he could face me. I instantly missed the lack of contact since he'd pulled his leg away from mine.

"Why do you think I haven't left?"

I swallowed, my throat suddenly feeling parched. Clara's words and the articles were dancing in my head, but I couldn't tell him that, so I just shrugged.

Asher hooked his index finger under my chin and gently tilted my head up so I would be looking him in the eye. "Don't lie to me. I can tell that you're keeping something from me."

Exasperated, I flung my arms in the air in a frenzied shrug. "Of course I'm thinking something! You've been a prick to me since I started working for your father, then you hit on me, and then I found out you assaulted your secretary and went to prison for it. I can't exactly go around asking you what the deal is or why you forced yourself on your last secretary." The word vomit tumbled out of my mouth faster than I could control. I had been thinking and agonizing over this for months. This was the first, and possibly only, opportunity I had to bring it up.

Within seconds, I was on my back in the sand with Asher on top of me. He had my arms pinned above my head, away from the fire which was dancing with the blazing anger in his eyes. My eyes widened at his sudden shift in demeanor and my heart raced at the close contact. Asher's hard chest was pressed against mine, flattening my breasts. My nipples hardened with the need for Asher to totally dominate me, to make me his, and it took everything in me to not grind myself against him. My legs were spread, allowing his cold belt buckle to press against my growing wetness. I squirmed underneath him, almost embarrassed at how wet he'd gotten me in such a short amount of time.

I moaned when his hands slid down my arms along the sides of my chest, waist, and thighs. His short nails scraped me just enough to leave a trail of goosebumps. Asher lowered his head towards my neck, nuzzling it. Each time his lips stroked the sensitive flesh of my neck, I wished that I could be enveloping him with my pussy.