The smallest, and most luxurious, was located in the rear, separated off from the main crowd by low cement walls and carefully tended greenery that hid the area from prying eyes. The Aphrodite Pool had an intimate feel to it, reinforced by the pair of hotel workers who handled the list of invited VIP guests and kept everyone else from entering. Before Sean could even lift his hand to the scanner, the taller of the two men waved them onthrough.
“Mrs. Wolcott is waiting for you in the main cabana,” themansaid.
Sean didn’t question him, and merely kept walking. The Aphrodite Pool wasn’t as crowded as some of the other pools, but a number of beautiful women and half that number in good-looking men were having fun. Lounge chairs were paired together in between a handful of covered cabanas. The main cabana was double the size of the rest, capable of fitting a small party of at least a dozen people inside its space, which made it easytospot.
A couple of men in casual clothing whose stances gave away their military background stood off to the side of the main cabana. Trevor leaned in close, tilting his head to hide his mouth in case anyone could read his lips, and whispered, “I’ll go hang with her bodyguards and see what I canfindout.”
“Okay,” Sean replied, knowing better than to say anything else when they were within view of theenemy.
Trevor wandered off while Sean headed into the main cabana with its gathering of beautiful women in designer bikinis, hair perfectly styled and makeup flawlessly applied. The amount of jewelry the women wore would’ve been blinding in the sunlight. A few men were there as well, doting on their girlfriends. Their good looks didn’t go unnoticedeither.
Chloe was stretched out on a cozy lounge chair in the center of the cabana, having discarded her sundress and high-heeled sandals in favor of swimwear. The blue bikini matched her nail color and the giant sapphire ring taking up space on her right middle finger. She looked up at Sean’s arrival, her face breaking out into a sunnysmile.
“Riley!” She gestured to him to take a seat on the lounge chair next to hers currently being used by an African-American woman who was probably a professional model—she was just that beautiful. “Come join us. I was just telling my friends about your company and everything that happened in NewMiami.”
Sean inwardly winced as he gamely took a seat on the edge of the lounge chair, smiling a little awkwardly at the gorgeous dark-skinned woman stretched out on it who scooted over with a welcoming smile. She had what looked like a margarita in hand, half-finished, and Sean could smell the tequila from wherehesat.
Chloe wasn’t a businesswoman who understood the innate need for confidentiality, he reminded himself. She was rich, privileged, and spoiled. Spouting off about the mess in New Miami—which had made national news for forty-eight hours afterward—was a great way to draw attention to oneself, and some people thrived on attention. Which was a bad thing considering neither of their groups had gone to the policeafterward.
“Not everything, I hope,” Sean replied lightly as he placed his tablet beside him on the loungecushion.
Chloe smiled at him, a look in her eye that had Sean swiftly changing his opinion of her.Maybe not so carelessafterall.
“Company secrets will remain secret,” she promised. “I was just telling them your cybersecurity company is a worthyinvestment.”
“It’s not every day your husband sings someone’s praises,” one of thewomensaid.
“We like competent people.” Chloe glanced toward the entrance to the canopy. “Is Alexeicomingdown?”
“Eventually. He wanted to eat lunch first,”Seansaid.
“Considering how strong he is, I suppose he needs to fuel his body more than the restofus.”
She shared a sultry smile and a wink with him, which Sean could only return, even if he didn’t really want to think about Alexei in terms of hotness. Objectively, Sean knew Alexei was good-looking, but pretty much untouchable from his standpoint due to his background as a spy. Which was a shame, really, because Sean honestly wouldn’t have minded getting closer to him. He was already regretting pushing the bed issue with Alexei. In hindsight, he should’ve agreed to theextrabed.
“How did you guys meet?” a different woman asked before taking a sip of herchampagne.
“I was hired to handle their company’s finances as the CFO,” Sean explained. “I’m good with numbers and I’m loyal. The loyalty aspect was what sold them on me. Things evolved fromthere.”
Chloe pointed at his empty hands as she picked up her wine glass. “You need a drink before wegossip.”
He really didn’t, but Sean knew better than to say no. Within moments a toga-clad server came over to take his order before swiftly leaving and returning with his choice of beer. If he was going to spend a few hours out here socializing with the target’s wife before dinner tonight, Sean didn’t want to risk overdrinking. He might have a fast metabolism due to being a metahuman, but he didn’t want to tip anyone off that he could hold his liquor better than anyone in thecabana.
Sean didn’t bother taking off his shirt or shoes. This might be the pool area, but he had no intentions of going swimming. Chatting with Chloe and her group of friends was a little awkward at first, if only because Sean was walking a fine line between invited guest and possible contracted business partner. But he was good at putting people at ease, drawing them into conversations that were more about themselves than about him. Rich people, he’d learned over the years,lovedto talk aboutthemselves.
He was almost done with his beer when he saw a couple of people craning to catch a look at someone out of view beyond the cabana, but he ignored the hushed voices in favor of focusing on Chloe. Only when she paused with her wine glass almost to her mouth, tongue snaking across her bottom lip, did he think to look atthepool.
“It’s a shame I’m married and he’s taken,” she said, much to her friends’amusement.
Sean turned to look at what everyone was staring at, eyes widening behind his sunglasses at the sight of Alexei climbing out ofthepool.
Objectively, Sean had known Alexei was attractive for months. But he’d shoved all those little thoughts and observations to the back of his mind while working with Alexei, determined not to let anything get in the way of his job. It was difficult to do at the moment while staring at near perfection in themaleform.
Alexei didn’t have an ounce of fat on him, his tall body all rock-hard, defined muscle that came from a strict training regime and dangerous fieldwork. Sean’s gaze traveled from Alexei’s face and the smirk tugging at his lips, down his throat and chest, following the gleaming trail of water droplets that slid over his skin. His abs were honestly a thing of beauty, tightly cut muscles that flexed smoothly as he straightened up to ascend the wide steps leading out ofthepool.
More and more of him came into view, and Sean’s mouth parted in surprise when he realized Alexei had opted for a pair of tiny black swim shorts that were practically molded to his body, leaving nothing to the imagination. Sean couldn’t quite tear his eyes away from the large bulge on display and unconsciously licked his lips, mouth gone desert-dry that had nothing to do with the warm air. He had a fleeting thought that he wouldn’t mind going to his knees for Alexei if it meant he got to see what was underneath that thin blackmaterial.
The only thing that cooled the rising heat in Sean’s body was knowing Alexei would never find him attractive in any way. His mantle of spy was an immediate turnoff for Alexei in that regard, something Sean had known from the first mission they’d worked together. But they had a role to play here, one that came with expectations ofreactions.
