He’s covered in a thin layer of sweat, and I mentally pat myself on the back. Rapid heartbeat, sweat, wild hair, and heavy breathing. I’ve flapped the unflappable Gavin Carlyle.
Once Gavin catches his breath a little, he takes off the condom and tosses it to the trashcan by the bed.
“I should go,” I say, my voice still affected by what we just did. I half-heartedly pull my dress down and move to slide off the bed.
Gavin turns to me and reaches out to touch my elbow. “You can stay if you want.”
“Okay. For a little bit. I’ll just go to the bathroom.”
I leave the bed and walk to his bathroom. I’m too lazy to go back to my room for pajamas, so I snag one of Gavin’s button-down shirts on my way.
After I use the facilities, I look at myself in the mirror.
I look as flapped as Gavin is. My hair is a tangled mess and I have red marks where Gavin’s five-o’clock shadow rubbed against me.
I smile as I finish washing my hands and go back to bed. Gavin took his shirt off while I was gone and got comfortable in the bed so I slide in next to him.
Gavin turns the light off and then pulls me into his side, head buried in my hair and limbs extended to cover me.
I fall asleep surrounded by Gavin’s smell, touch and heat.
The next morning, I wake up to light shining directly in my face. My heart starts to pound when I feel a heavy weight on my side pushing me into the bed, and I don’t recognize the room I’m in.
Then information starts slowly filtering through my sleep-addled brain and I remember I’m in the enemy’s room. And we had sex last night.
I slowly slide away from Gavin, trying not to wake him. I want to get back in my room so I can process the events without being distracted by Gavin’s perfect hair and perfect body and perfect peen.
I thrust a leg off the bed first and the momentum has the rest of me sliding off like a less flexible slinky. I land on the floor with a muted thump. Thankfully for my knees, Harrison has all his rooms carpeted in a thick, soft carpet, both for its sound dampening and its cushioning properties.
I peek my head back up and release a breath of relief that Gavin didn’t wake up. I tiptoe to the couch to get my clothes and debate with myself if I should take the time to get dressed or take the chance of running into someone only in Gavin’s shirt.
There’s rustling from the bed as Gavin turns around to his other side, facing away from me. But the movement still causes me to freeze in fear.
Nope, the embarrassment of getting caught sneaking out of Gavin’s room in the shirt is better than having to face Gavin.
Sneaking out of Gavin’s room, I pull the door closed softly behind me. There’s no one in the hallways and I rush to my room next door. I open that door with much less care and heave a sigh of relief when I’m safely back in my own room.
Now I just need some distractions so I don’t have to think closely about Gavin.
My phone is still on my bedside table. Perfect. There has to be something on there that needs my attention, and I do have an event to plan today. I see a text from Sarah that everything is being set up on the grounds.
One thing going to plan today, at least. I change quickly, pack a bag of things I’ll need and run down the stairs, only going the wrong way down the right hallway once this time.
I’m practically a resident here.
“Sarah,” I yell and wave when I get closer to one of the tents beyond the terrace. “Everything looks perfect!”
They set up the tent beautifully. They somehow found an actual rickshaw to put in the corner and the top of the tent has colorful fabric hanging from the ceiling. Each side has freestanding columns and Indian style arches.
Colorful mason jars decorated with gold-painted henna designs on the outside and tea light candles inside sit atop the tables, along with elephant-shaped cookies with matching henna patterns on them for when the guests want to take a break.
On one side are large baskets, each with a different color powder. The long table next to them contains filled water balloons and water guns.
“Can I hug you?” I look at her with gratitude.
Sarah laughs. “Yes.”
Permission granted, I give her that hug. “This must have cost so much.”
