The Ties That Bind (3 page)

For what? Anything and everything, she supposed. After Kayla’s graduation, she’d seen very little of Rick. She supposed she’d have to get used to that since Kayla was now eighteen, out of school, and they didn’t have the normal sharing of custody that they used to. Kayla could come and go as she pleased, divide her time between both parents however she wanted to, not according to a court-ordered custody document. Not that that had ever mattered anyway, since Lisa and Rick had pretty much split custody. When one had something to do, the other gladly filled in with taking care of Kayla.

But still…Lisa’s world seemed emptier without Rick in it.

Too bad. She’d just have to get over that. Rick obviously had a life now. It was high time she got one. After this vacation, she intended to start living again. Going out more. Dating.

Bleh.

The announcement of their impending landing relieved her of that train of thought. In a few minutes, they were on the ground. Lisa grabbed her luggage and went off to find the shuttle to take her to the hotel.

Connie said her cousin had gotten them a great deal at one of the most beautiful resorts on Saint Thomas. A last-minute cancellation or something like that, so they’d gotten it at half price. Lisa didn’t care where they stayed. A discount-rate shack would have been fine with her.

But when the shuttle turned through the gates and down the long road leading to the hotel, Lisa caught her first sight of the resort and gasped. It was a villa, a palazzo, a veritable mansion towering above the entire island. Built on top of a hill, rising high and proud and utterly breathtaking, Lisa realized then and there that this wasn’t
a hotel, it was a damn city in itself. The resort was one of the finest, the ritziest, and Lisa figured Connie was insane and they were both going to be flat broke by the time this vacation was over.

Check-in was like a dream. Her reservation was already taken care of—
bless you, Connie and your cousin!
The room was ready and her things were brought up by the bellman. Wow, this was living. She’d never been treated like this. The bellman took her upstairs via an elevator—everything was trimmed in gold, including the numbered buttons on the elevator. The bellman used another key, sliding it into the slot above the room numbers on the elevator. The light at the top blinked.

“We’re on the top floor?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, looking straight ahead and not at her. “Presidential suite.”

“Um, are you sure? Because I’m not important or anything.”

His lips curled upward. “Yes, ma’am. Presidential suite. When we get up there, I’ll give you all your keys.”

The door opened, they took a step out, and there was the door right in front of them. Wow. The hotel room was as big as her entire house. Prettier, too. Open, airy, tropical breezes blowing through the open balconies. Dear God, she could see the turquoise blue waters of the Caribbean right from her room. She knew her mouth hung open, but she couldn’t do anything to shut it as she strolled along the pristine cinnamon marble flooring, broken up occasionally by plush, room-sized rugs. The entire suite screamed expensive, from the dark furniture to the king-sized bed. Everything was open, gorgeous, state of the art, and oh, she so couldn’t afford this.

“Are you sure?” she asked the bellman again as he set her suitcases on the floor in the bedroom.

“Yes, ma’am.” He showed her how to use the elevator keys, gave her a tour of the suite. She gave him a generous tip, then after he left, she turned around and walked outside on the balcony. One of four balconies, one available from every room in the house—because that’s what this was. A freakin’ house.

Holy crap. This had to be some kind of mistake. She was certain
the hotel management would come knocking on her door within the hour, indicating that there had, in fact, been a mistake, and she needed to pack up her things and move to a regular room. One of those “bed and bathroom and that’s all you get” kind of rooms. Actually, she wasn’t certain she could even afford one of their regular rooms.

This couldn’t be her and Connie’s room. Even at the discount rate, it just didn’t seem possible.

She wandered through the suite and waited a full hour before deciding no one was going to knock at the door announcing an error. Then she decided to unpack.

One king-sized bed in the master bedroom. And another bedroom in another part of the suite. Oh well, she and Connie would figure it out later, and the master bedroom’s closet was more than large enough for both their clothes.

She hung everything up, put her things in one of the dressers, then changed into a sundress, trying to figure out what to do until Connie arrived tonight, when the phone beside the bed rang. Her stomach lurched. This was it. The management.

It was Connie.

“Is it gorgeous?” she asked.

“Yes! Oh, my God, this place is a palace.”

Connie laughed. “I knew it.”

“Are you packed yet?”

There was a slight pause before Connie said, “Uh, yeah. Packed and eager. One problem, though. My flight is delayed.”

“Oh, no. What’s the problem?”

“Some equipment failure. They’re going to bring in another plane, but I won’t be able to come in until tomorrow.”

“Dammit, Connie. That sucks. You should have had my flight.”

“Don’t be silly. Anyway, here’s the deal. I got you a dinner companion for tonight.”

Lisa was sure she hadn’t heard that part correctly. “What?”

“My cousin knows this guy who lives there locally. Gorgeous. Great talker. He’s available and would love to have dinner with you. You won’t have to hide in the hotel room tonight like I know you would have.”

She would have. “Connie, I’m not at all interested…”

“He’ll meet you in the bar at seven-thirty. Dress sexy. I already told him what you look like. Oh, I have another call coming in, I gotta go. Have fun!”

“Connie, wait!”

But she was already gone. Dammit! How could Connie do this to her? A dinner date? Jesus. She so wasn’t ready for this.

Okay, she had to calm down before she drove herself crazy. This was just dinner. A nice way to pass the time tonight, and Connie was right. It was better than spending her first night in the room. If the guy was a local, he could fill her in about the island, things to do, and places she and Connie could go. Perfect. She’d have a good time. It would be fine. It wasn’t like she was obligated to hop into the sack with the guy.

God, she was rusty at this whole man-woman thing. With Rick it was so easy.

Get over it, Lisa. You don’t have Rick anymore. Time to step outside your comfort zone.

Way outside.

She glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was four. She had three and a half hours until she had to meet her date tonight. Plenty of time to wander around the resort, grab some pool time, and start working on her tan. She could even have one of those tropical drinks, which would help her relax.

She changed clothes again, this time putting on her swimsuit and a cover-up, then slipped on her sandals, filled up her beach bag, and headed downstairs.

After taking so many turns around the hotel she ended up right back where she’d started, she decided she was going to need a map or she’d be forever lost. She stopped at the concierge’s desk and picked one up. That would help a lot. Navigating this theme park-sized resort wasn’t going to be easy, and she didn’t have the best sense of direction anyway.

She made it through the throngs of inside-the-hotel shops, stopped
and surveyed the menus at a couple of restaurants, and found the bar before maneuvering her way to one of the pools. She ended her hotel sightseeing right there at the crystal blue waters that seemed to spill over into the turquoise of the Caribbean, as the pool was balanced on the edge of the ocean. It was breathtaking. She found a corner spot, pulled off her cover-up and lathered on sunscreen, then stretched out to enjoy the warmth of the sun.

This really was the life. Her eyes closed, she listened to the water lapping over the rocks, falling into the pool on the first level below. The smell of sunscreen and flowers was heady and tropical. She’d ordered a piña colada from the waiter who’d hurried to her side as soon as she’d laid her towel on the chair, and she took a moment to sip from it before lying down again.

It was possible she might never move from this spot. Though after about fifteen minutes she was hot and sweaty, so she got up and took a plunge in the pool to cool off, swam a few laps, then came out and stretched out on her stomach, tossing her floppy hat over her head to block the sun.

It was delightfully uncrowded, just a handful of people lounging by the pool. She spotted a couple across the pool, lying side by side on their chairs, holding hands, occasionally kissing and whispering. They were about the same age as Rick and her. If she and Rick hadn’t divorced, they’d have been married nearly twenty years by now. It might be the two of them on this tropical vacation, soaking up the sun, kissing…

She remembered his mouth, the way he used to take it slow, kissing her until her toes curled, until she couldn’t stand it anymore and begged him to fuck her. Even now she could still find herself staring at the fullness of his lips whenever they were together, remembering how he tasted, wishing…

The pain of longing struck her hard, and the tears began to fall before she could do anything to stop them. Thankfully, the wide brim of her hat camouflaged the ridiculous waterworks.

What the hell was wrong with her anyway? It was way too early in
the month for PMS. She was just lonely. If Connie were here, she’d no doubt be drunk and laughing her ass off by now, or fending off some lifeguard fifteen years her junior that Connie had dragged over.

Tomorrow things would be better, when she didn’t have all this alone time and nothing but memories to wallow in.

She sniffed, swiped at the tears, angry at her emotions. Rick had a woman in his life now. She had no hold on him anymore. It wasn’t like she ever had anyway. Ever since they divorced, he’d been free to date, to find someone else, to get married even.

So had she, though the thought had never crossed her mind. Not while Kayla had needed raising.

Kayla was raised now. No more excuses. So how come she still didn’t want to?

The sun had long ago slipped behind the tall columns of the main hotel. She grabbed her watch, realizing it was almost six. Time to get ready. She threw on her cover-up and headed upstairs to take a shower and get ready for tonight. For her date. Where she promised herself she wouldn’t once think about Rick.

Who knew where tonight would lead? Maybe this guy would be smokin’ hot and she could have some wild, uninhibited, no-strings-attached sex. God, she really needed sex, was tired of her hands and her vibrator and craved the feel of a man’s big, hot hands all over her, the feel of a thick cock sliding inside her, pumping her until she screamed, bringing her to orgasm over and over again.

She shuddered and stepped into the shower, staring down at her beaded nipples.

“Hang on,” she said, cupping them, sliding her thumbs over them, then reaching for the body wash, refusing to touch herself this time. She was going to wait. Maybe, just maybe, there was hope for her on this trip. Maybe she’d be brave enough to have a fling. Why not? She was certainly old enough, had no one to answer to but herself.

She dried her hair, put on makeup, and selected a nice dress. Black and gold with spaghetti straps and little gold sandals. She wore earrings only. The little threads of gold woven into the tight black bodice were showy enough. As she stared at herself in the full-length
mirror and twirled around, letting the skirt settle back around her legs, even she had to nod. She looked damn sexy. Running from one end of the hospital to the other kept her in shape. She had a decent body and Connie had been right—this dress showed it off nicely.

She glanced at the clock. Seven-fifteen. She supposed she should head downstairs and find a spot in the bar, order a cocktail so she could take a few sips, and relax a little bit before her mystery date showed up.

The bar was glorious. Dark and sexy and smooth, with glass walls, tinkling chandeliers that caught the light, and leather furniture you could sink into with ease. There were intimate tables for two or four tucked into dark corners. The entire place was open to the outdoors, bringing a gentle breeze in from the water. There was a nice spot right at the bar where she settled in on one of the high barstools and ordered a drink. A band played, fortunately not too loud so people could hear themselves talk. There was a decent crowd in there. She wondered if this guy would be able to find her from Connie’s description.

She was nervous! She felt like a kid going out on her first date. Really, this wasn’t even a date. She had to settle down. Maybe he wouldn’t even show up.

She felt warm breath on her shoulder and tensed.

“You take my breath away, Lisa.”

Oh, God. She knew that voice. She shifted, turning in her seat, but she already knew who it was.

“Rick?”

What the hell was her ex-husband doing here?

“Hey, beautiful,” he said.

Rick was dressed in white slacks and a black shirt, both silk and hugging his body in all the right places. The lights in the bar caught on his blue eyes, giving him a dark and dangerous and oh so sexy look. And when he smiled, she couldn’t breathe. He was the one who took her breath away. He was so damned gorgeous she was shaking.

It took Lisa a few seconds to find her voice. “What are you doing here?” This couldn’t possibly be coincidence, but her mind wasn’t working through the possibilities.

He brushed his fingers over her bare shoulders, an intimate gesture, more than he’d touched her in years.

“You can’t guess?”

She shook her head. “No.” Something formed in the back of her mind, but she shrugged it off. Confusion had taken hold, so again she asked, “What are you doing here?”

He grabbed her drink, laid cash on the bar counter, and found a table for two in the corner. A waitress came over and Rick ordered a drink.

“Are you here with your…” She couldn’t find the words. “Are you with someone?”