Always. If it’s only on porn sites, though, she won’t have access from here.
Evan
Is that so? You been trying to watch something or what? Got flagged by Beaumont in Paris? You should know better, dude.
I smirk. Here sits a man who needs no porn. Trust me, Evan won’t get it, because Lexi is his sister, but I’m one hell of a lucky guy right now.
Me
You sound kinda desperate there, bro. You do you. Don’t worry about me.
Lexi and Jem’s voices drift over, and I glance to the open door. My time is up, and I send a last quick word to Evan.
Me
Gotta run. Keep me posted.
I rush to log off as Lexi and Jem walk into the office. My pulse spikes with adrenaline now that I know for sure the Mia Reed bomb has finally dropped. For weeks I’ve watched Lexi agonize over it, and it’s been eating at me too.
She smiles as they enter the office, but as she comes closer, that surge of protectiveness I always feel around her clamps tight around my heart. I want to protect her, at all costs, from every possible onslaught, whatever form it might take.
That night five years ago, this feeling dictated my every move, my every decision, even the one of walking away. I had to protect her from myself, from the man I saw myself becoming. I wasn’t proud. I didn’t like what I saw in the mirror. I was becoming likehim. And here we are, going around this sex-business as if it’s a bit of fun on the side. Only this time, I won’t be able to walk away from her.
“Oh, here you are. We’ve been looking for you,” Lexi says as I get up from her desk, feeling somewhat unsteady with the force of this feeling and the realization that hit me square between the eyes.Fuck. And how the hell do I protect her from this shitshow of a tornado coming her way?
With a hard swallow, I focus on Jem, who seems to have a permanent scowl on her face. “I was just catching up on some emails.”
“You’re done?” Lexi says.
“Yep.”
“A couple of guests want to go for a last snorkel,” she tells me as I scoot to the side. “Can you go with them? Roger is already kitting them out.”
“They’ve mentioned whale sharks,” Jem says, still studying me as if I’m a bug under her microscope. “Hope you’re up for it.”
“Of course.”Why wouldn’t I be?As I shoulder past Lexi, I capture her fingers in mine, and she smiles. Seeing her hurt is going to break me, and there’s no stopping this freight train. Lexi needs to know about the video, but not in front of Jem, of all people. Maybe I can save her the distress until another day. If the video has only dropped on porn sites, it could take some time for it to reach a wider audience. “The first batch of guests are gone?”
“Phew. Yes. Just waved Matthias de Foch off.”
“Good.” For all the ways De Foch pissed me off, I have him to thank for pushing us to address our past. Without his invitation to a threesome, Lexi might never have been so bold as to flirt with me, which led to other things… I want to wrap her in my arms and whisper that I’m here, whatever comes her way, and I’ll always be here if she needs me, but Jem sits down at her desk with an exaggerated sigh.
“We have a bit of a breather,” Lexi says as she squeezes my fingers again. “New guests are arriving tomorrow.” She leans in and whispers into my ear, “Maybe you have time for a few spa photos in the morning? Like, really early?”
I nod, but follow her lead in not discussing the spa’s future in front of Jem. “That’s hardly a breather.” It’s all on the whiteboard that covers half the wall, and by the look of it, thingsaren’t slowing down yet. “Any arrivals we need to look out for?” I turn to Jem with a hitched eyebrow. She knows everything, doesn’t she? And the best way to deal with her type is to soothe the ego.
“No repeaters,” Jem says. “The guests are all first-timers tomorrow.”
Lexi lets go of my hand as she sits. “The remaining guests are partied out, and we’ll have an early night tonight.”
“I’m planning on it, babes.” At my words, Lexi opens the middle drawer of her desk to reveal a box of condoms that seem to have been tossed in in such a rush that it slipped half out of the boutique’s paper tote. She looks up at me with that sweet blush and bites her lip.
I break out in a happy chuckle. “Not messing around now, are we?” I murmur, for her ears only.
“I plan to mess around a lot,” Lexi whispers back.
Lexi likes to take charge, that’s for sure, right up until the moment she hands it all over.Noted.
I drop my gaze to her lips. “I’m looking forward to it.”
