“Hmm, come on,” Reggie said. “I wanted to talk to you.”
“Is something wrong?” I asked, glad I’d decided to wear tight underwear and loose pants, so any physical reaction would be concealed as I followed him out of the room.
“I hope not. And before I get to why I hunted you down, Iwasgoing to warn you about Clay.”
“Warn me? Is he dangerous?”
“Dangerous?” Reggie asked, then laughed. “So far, the only danger he’s posed has been to the men who come in here believing they’re straight.”
“I...pardon?”
“He’s got an excellent nose for figuring out which guys want to sleep with other men, and getting in their pants,” Reggie said.
“And you don’t have a problem with that?”
“We’re here to helpadults, Rowan. What two grown, consenting adults do in their spare time, in privacy at least, is no concern of mine,” he said. “And I was going to warn you because you struck me as the type not to enjoy being hit on. But from what I saw, maybe that’s not the case.”
“I didn’t ask for that,” I told him with a frown.
He showed me the palms of his hands in placation. “Whether you enjoyed it or not, wanted it or not, is up to you. If you let him know you aren’t interested and he doesn’t back off,thenit should be my business. Just don’t make the same mistake others have made with him and think you’re going to get anything serious out of him. You might not be a bashful virgin, but you still make me think you’re a long-term commitment sort of person. So if you have your fun?—”
“Thank you for the warning,” I said stiffly. “What is the real reason you wanted to speak to me, if not to try to invade my personal life?”
“Well, it still is kind of about your personal life,” he said, leading me over to a corner and dropping his voice. “I wanted to apologize for last week.”
“What about last week?”
“When Luka...interrupted you.”
“I see,” I said. I had known, of course, that Luka had informed Reggie, but I hadn’t expected him to bring it up. “You weren’t the one who walked in.”
“And it wasn’t Luka’s fault either. If the system had been operating correctly, it would never have happened. And yes, youdidactivate privacy mode. I checked the logs.”
“I didn’t think my credibility was in question.”
Reggie smirked. “Unlike everyone else here, I know what you do for a living, and anyone who audits people at their jobs knows that the first place you look for mistakes or a misremembered event is the people involved. It was nothing personal.”
It was odd to be known as an auditor by the people who ran Arete without it raising red flags. But Hannah had sworn up and down that the best way to get through this subterfuge was by sticking as close to the truth as I could without outright admitting why I was here.
“So the problem was the system, and I’m glad the incident didn’t put you off developing a relationship with Luka.”
It had been close. When he had walked in, and I’d recovered from my shock at being witnessed in such a private moment, my first reaction was rage and indignation. I had been prepared to get up, put my clothes on, and march, if not out of the resort altogether, then to Reggie’s office to demand a new Guide.
Except it didn’t take long to realize that what I’d seen on Luka’s face had been genuine shock, and panic as he fled the room. It took me a couple of minutes to compose myself and think beyond my emotions. Luka wasn’t the most capable or experienced at his job as far as I could tell, but neither was he pushy, invasive, or prone to crossing lines. He also hadn’t been blatantly incompetent, so I could safely assume he had made an egregious mistake. He had deserved a chance to explain himself, and I was glad I had given him one.
It wasn’t until after he was gone that I suspected there had been another reason for my intense, immediate response. He was, as I had admitted to myself, an attractive man who had walked in on something not only incredibly private, but sexual. I was no less human than anyone else, and wires were bound to get crossed. It hadn’t helped that I’d been thinking about his naked, erotic wrestling with Cade in the spring when one of the focuses of my fantasy came stumbling into my room. A good-looking man had witnessed me masturbating…to thoughts of him. I felt another surge of sexual attraction, but also guilt.
No one needed to know that, though.
“Did you solve the problem?” I asked, rather than give a protracted speech I didn’t want to give and was sure he didn’t want to hear.
“As a matter of fact, I did,” Reggie said with a proud smile. “I had it patched within twenty-four hours of Luka reporting it. I had a few more things hit my desk, and I kept forgetting to tell you.”
“Well, I appreciate that,” I said, wanting to get back to my room, not just to take one of my pills, maybe two, but to risk the opportunity to deal with myself. My interaction with Clay was a reliable indicator that I needed to release some steam before it built up so much that I did something impulsive. Something I might regret.
“Ah, speak of the Devil,” Reggie chuckled, and I turned, groaning inwardly as Luka jogged up. His shorts weren’t nearly as small as Clay’s, but they were small enough, as was the sleeveless shirt sticking to his sweating body.
“Hey, hey,” Luka said, bouncing between each foot. “Figured I’d get a workout in while you got through your...what was it you said? Doomed endeavor?”
