‘Most of them do.’ Jasmine nodded. ‘From what I’ve been told, sandy beaches are rare here. And hotels that have direct beach access without busy roads or promenades to cross to get to them are even rarer. So the Love Hotel secured an excellent location. This area is very exclusive and calm, but it’s still easy to get to many other attractions in the region.’
‘Impressive,’ Gabriel agreed.
‘Let me take you to where you’ll be staying.’
Jasmine led us to a villa which she said was ours but I must’ve misheard because it looked like somewhere a superstar like Beyoncé or Taylor Swift would stay. Not a single mother from South-East London.
‘Here we are,’ Jasmine said before opening the solid oak front door.
‘Bloody hell!’ I gasped as I stood in the large open-plan living room. It had a plush white sofa, a ginormous flat-screen TV that looked like it belonged in a cinema and…
Oh. My. God.
‘Look!’ I said, racing to the huge sliding patio doors. Right in front of me were uninterrupted sea views.
‘Not bad, eh?’ Jasmine said. ‘Why don’t you have a little look outside too?’
‘Okay!’ I stepped out onto the patio. ‘Gabriel!’ I called out. ‘Come and look at this! We have our own pool!’
I should probably try to play down my excitement a bit and act like staying in a place like this was just standard, but right now, I had zero cool (not sure I ever had any to begin with). There was only one word to describe this: mind-blowing.
Gabriel stepped outside and nodded his approval.
‘There’s a hot tub too! I’ve never even been in a hot tub!’ I sprinted over to have a look.
As well as the pool and the hot tub, there was a large daybed, plus patio table and chairs and even a hammock.
Once I calmed down, Jasmine invited me back inside to show me the rest of the rooms.
‘So the villa has two bedrooms.’ She opened the door to the first room. ‘This one is slightly smaller,’ she said, ‘then next door we have the master bedroom, which is ideal for couples who are comfortable sharing a bed.’ She smiled.
I was about to protest and tell her that wouldn’t be relevant to us, but when I caught sight of the room, I changed my mind.
It was a four-poster bed which was so big that never mind fitting a couple on here, you could literally have a foursome on it and still have room. Not that it was that kind of hotel, of course.
‘Great bed,’ Gabriel grinned.
‘It’s very… big,’ I added.
‘That is what you said last night,’ Gabriel whispered in my ear. My cheeks heated and a bolt of desire shot straight to my core.
A small smile touched Jasmine’s lips and I wondered if she’d heard Gabriel’s comment.
Once she’d showed us the bathroom which had a gorgeous waterfall shower which stretched across the entire back wall and even had a seat attached (which I assumed wasn’t just for sitting on, if you catch my drift), Jasmine left.
Gabriel stood in front of me and our eyes locked.
I wanted him to scoop me up into his arms and carry me to that big bed so badly, but I’d promised myself that we wouldn’t do anything again and I had to stick to it.
He stepped forward and as his intoxicating scent surrounded me, I felt electricity crackling in the air. One small move would be all that was needed and his lips would be pressed against mine.
Just a few teeny, tiny inches were all that separated us.
It would be so simple to just…
‘I should take a shower.’ I stepped back. ‘Jasmine said the party starts in about an hour, right? And I have no idea what to wear.’
I quickly raced to where our suitcases had been placed in the hallway. ‘I’ll take the small bedroom.’ I shot through the door, closed it behind me and pressed my back against it.
