Paradise Falls: A Bassett Hotels Novel Read online

  Well that didn’t take long Amanda thought and turned her head toward her sister. “Ouch, what?” she asked, rubbing at the spot on her arm.

  “Have you ever seen a more gorgeous man?” Janice gushed as she pointed to the man that had just stepped onto the pool deck.

  Turning to see why Janice was so excited, she followed Janice’s out stretched hand prepared to be unimpressed and found the man partially hidden by palm fawns. How could Janice tell he was gorgeous being half hidden? She did have to admit that the parts she could see were impressive.

  The moment the breeze gave her a clear look at his face Amanda felt her pulse race. She wanted to look away in case he noticed her staring, but he was too far away to notice. The moment her eyes had locked onto his body an intense feeling of need slammed into her so suddenly it made her gasp.

  Only one man had ever turned her on like that without saying a word and he had sat in front of her for the entire plane ride here. What were the odds that it would be the same man? Was it the universes way of telling her to relax and go with Stacy’s suggestion of a fling? Maybe she was being crazy, and it wasn’t the same man, but if it wasn’t him then why in the hell was her body responding so strongly to him?

  Noticing the way the navy polo clung to his body had Amanda’s mouthwatering and the tingling sensation was back in her fingertips, imagining the feel of his chest under them. Closely cropped black hair plus the well-built body left no doubt in Amanda’s mind that it was the same man. In the back of her mind she heard the phrase she repeated like a mantra through the entire flight come back to her, I’m not here for a fling, I’m not here for a fling, I have work to do, and he would be a distraction.

  Amanda knew that if Stacy could see him he would be exactly the type of man she would declare fling worthy. Most certainly drool worthy even by Amanda’s standards. Blushing at the thoughts racing through her mind, she couldn’t take her eyes off him. She had to be channeling Stacy and her fling mindset, it wasn’t like her to feel an instant attraction.

  For a moment she wondered if he had noticed her on the plane, but she knew that was crazy, no one noticed her when she was with Janice. Everyone was drawn to her sister and she was invisible. Normally she didn’t mind being an afterthought, but she didn’t want to be one to this man. She wanted him to notice her, didn’t she?

  “I think I need a drink. I’ll call him over. Maybe I’ll have some adventure on this boring island after all. Just remember that I saw him first. So, no dropping your name or flashing your money at him.” Janice said icily. “Yoo-Hoo.” She wiggled her fingers toward the man.

  Amanda groaned "Seriously, could you be more obvious?" but Janice ignored her.

  “Oh, look here he comes.” Janice said smugly and adjusted her bikini top.

  Oh lord here he comes, she couldn’t muster the same enthusiasm that Janice had. Amanda didn’t make a move, suddenly she was frozen in place and it was hard for her to catch her breath, she diverted her gaze as he approached.

  Oh my God what was she going to do? How was she going to escape this embarrassing encounter with her dignity intact? If it was the same man and he hadn’t noticed her then she would feel plain, if it wasn’t the same man and she was reacting this strongly to him then there had to be something wrong with her, she didn’t practically combust when she caught a glimpse of a hot man. She had never been that way, not even with her ex-fiancé. The giggle that came from Janice had Amanda’s mind snapping back to the problem at hand. How was she going to get out of here?

  “Can I help you with something?” inquired a rough sexy voice, though it struck Amanda that he didn’t sound amused.

  The man’s voice was deep, gravely and just the sound did something to her. Amanda didn’t want to be caught staring at him and tried to do her best to ignore him, but she was fighting a losing battle. Giving in she turned her head slightly toward his voice and hoped he couldn’t see how her eyes were roaming over his body behind her sunglasses.

  “Yes, could you recommend some activities on the island for a single girl to do?” Janice asked fluttering her lashes.

  Amanda rolled her eyes on a silent groan. She was so embarrassed but at least he didn’t know that they were together. Maybe if she turned her attention away from them Janice would forget she was there and she could escape. She wanted to escape the weird affect the man was having on her body.

  Just the sound of his voice had her feeling wet and needy. The faint blush she could feel on her skin she could pay off as the suns effects and not enough sunblock but there was no way to play off how her nipples had tightened just by his nearness. How her breathing had become shallow. Janice’s words had her breath catching as she inadvertently turned the man’s attention toward her.

  “My sister is a stick in the mud and has left me to fend for myself.” Sounding like a petulant child, Janice turned in Amanda’s direction and gave her a dirty look before returning her gaze and a million-watt smile to the man, “Unless you would like to join me for some, activities?”

  Amanda felt her cheeks redden at her sister’s words and averted her eyes. When she snuck a peek at the man’s face, she noticed a slight lift of his eyebrows. Clearly, Janice’s meaning wasn’t lost on him either. Ok, she couldn’t just sit here and pretend to ignore them anymore. She had to leave before she threw up all over this deck or begged him to take her to bed instead of Janice.

  Amanda slowly sat up and swung her legs over the lounge. She prayed that her legs would hold her as she quickly walked away. The last thing she needed was to fall in a heap at his feet, but as she moved to the edge of the chaise, so did the stranger. He adjusted his stance, so he was standing between the two chairs effectively blocking the exit.

  Amanda sat there stunned for a brief second not making a move until he reached a hand out to help her up. It was such a gentlemanly move that she put her hand in his automatically. As their hands touched, she felt a flush reach up her neck to her face that had nothing to do with Janice’s embarrassing behavior. There was a spark, a current of awareness that passed between them and her gaze, still hidden by her sunglasses, snapped to his. She had to get out of there before she made a complete fool of herself, but she couldn’t seem to break the contact.

  CHAPTER 3

  Russ was annoyed at the way the woman called out to him, as if everyone should jump because she told them to, but he couldn’t help walking toward her. Something was pulling him, but it wasn’t her, it was the beauty next to her. She seemed so familiar, the closer he came to them the reason became clear and he almost couldn’t believe it. It was the woman from the plane.

  He had felt her eyes on him during the flight and the weight of her gaze mixed with the perfume she had been wearing had made him hard. He had sat in his seat trying not to let anyone notice how uncomfortable he was but every time he took a deep breath he could smell her. He had been tempted to look back at her and make plans for when they arrived, but she had her eyes closed and he hadn’t wanted to disturb her, he figured he would ask her when the plane landed but she had slipped out of her seat the moment they were able to de-board and he had lost her as he was stopped by a stewardess asking him out.

  Normally he would have taken her up on it especially after the meeting he had just flown in from, but she couldn’t hold his attention like this woman had. He knew he had to tread carefully. He didn’t want to offend either of the women, but he knew without a hesitation that he wanted this woman. The one who hadn’t even spoken to him yet. She had captivated his thoughts when they should have been where they always were, on his hotel.

  “Hi, I’m Russ.” He introduced himself trying to look between the two women, but his eyes kept coming back to the beauty standing in front of him.

  Russ noticed that the redhead on the chaise shifted so her breasts were even more prominently displayed if that was even possible. “I’m Janice.” Came the smooth reply. If the woman was trying to lay seductively to get his attention focused solely on her then she was going
to be disappointed. He wanted her to take the hint and leave him alone with her sister. He wanted to find out if she had felt the same spark the moment their skin came into contact. It was as if the eyes behind her sunglasses held him prisoner, he was unable or unwilling to break their connection. When she still didn’t respond, he looked at her questioningly, wishing that she would remove her glasses. He wanted to see the color of her eyes.

  The entire flight he had the feeling that if he pulled her into his arms that she would be a perfect fit, his perfect match, and the temptation to find out now was burning through him. It took all his control not to test his theory. She seemed to hesitate, and he didn’t want to do anything that would prevent him from getting to know her, or at the very least to learn her name.

  The need to know who she is was starting to border on an obsession which felt stupid because he had just laid eyes on her yesterday but last night he had laid awake and tried to imagine what it would be like to have her in his bed. If he had known yesterday that she was going to be a guest at his resort, he would have tried to harder to find her. The disappointment that he had felt yesterday as he walked into the airport and didn’t see her waiting for a connecting flight to another destination should have given him a clue that she might be here, but he couldn’t see past his disappointment.

  That disappointment had plagued him last night. So, there was no way that he would let her leave without a getting a name if he could help it. This spark between them was too strong to be ignored.

  He had never had any problems meeting women but this one was different. He was determined to find out why she affected him like she did. It was more than her body, even though she had a fantastic body, curvaceous and filling out her bikini to perfection, but there was something more about her.

  Lost in his appraisal of her body and contemplation of the spark between them, it caught him off guard when she suddenly jerked her hand from his and reached behind her for some sort of skirt thing that matched her bikini. He could feel her eyes still on him the whole time she reached for it and tied it around her waist. He may not have been able to see her eyes, but he could certainly feel their intensity. Even under her scrutiny his attention never wavered. He took in every detail that he could.

  Between his scrutiny and Janice’s narrowed gaze Amanda knew she had to make her escape. The only problem was he was still blocking her path. How could she get him to move?

  She reluctantly pried her gaze from his and tilted her head down. It had become a habit when she felt intimidated, suddenly she couldn’t maintain eye contact, all thoughts turned to fight or flight and right now her thoughts were telling her to flee. To get as far away from this man who made her body feel things that she did not have any experience feeling. “Excuse me I was just leaving.”

  “Without introducing yourself?” he scolded with mock severity putting a hand over his heart as if she had wounded him. The crinkling around his eyes gave away the fact that he was suppressing a smile but when his smile couldn’t be contained it had her heart racing. The man had a fantastic smile.

  Finding it hard to contain her own smile, one look at Janice had it melting off her face. She wasn’t trying to encourage him, and the thought made her sad briefly but knowing Janice if Amanda made the smallest sign that she was interested it would become some type of competition.

  Feigning an uninterest that she was far from feeling she put on her best boardroom face and replied, “Yes I think that would be for the best.” As Amanda made to go around him he stepped out of her way. She felt relief that he had moved, if he hadn’t she wasn’t sure what she would have done. It would have looked silly climbing back over the chase to go the other way, but she would have. Luckily, he didn’t make her do that, looking back at Janice to see if she would stay or follow she noticed Janice’s pointed look to get lost so Amanda hurried across the deck to the entrance of the hotel. All the while feeling the man’s eyes on her.

  It frustrated Russ to watch the blonde beauty walk away from him. Hell, he hadn’t even gotten her name. When was the last time that a woman hadn’t just fallen in his lap? He had gotten so used to flashing a smile and getting whatever, he wanted, but it didn’t bother him as much as he thought it should have. For the first time in a long time he wondered what he had done to make her uncomfortable. He couldn’t think of what he might have said in their brief encounter to have her running off like that. He wanted to follow her and find out, but he couldn’t, he would have to deal with the woman who was still splayed on the chaise first.

  What was her name? Jen, Jane, Janice, yes that’s right, Janice. He did a quick survey of the woman doing her best to lay seductively. Long legs that would no doubt have her standing at almost his height. Long auburn hair that was so red you knew that it wasn’t a natural color. Not that he normally minded that kind of thing but it didn’t interest him. It made him wonder what else about her was fake. The only thing that seemed natural about her was her piercing green eyes.

  He could have told her that she could rest back against the cushions, that he wasn’t interested in the assets she was trying too hard to put on display for him but even for him that would have been rude. She had all the classic signs that he had come to expect from guests like her. People here for a good time, with the smallest amount of encouragement he knew he could have her back at his penthouse splayed beneath him, but the thought didn’t do anything for him.

  He deserved to blow off some steam, but he couldn’t get the offer past his lips. When he closed his eyes on a frustrated sigh the blondes face flashed across his eye lids, not the woman before him. That’s how he knew he was in trouble, it seemed he was beyond the no expectation, no strings hook ups. Thoughts of the woman that just left preoccupied his mind.

  He wanted her to be the one trying to get his attention, the one laying seductively on the chaise or more importantly laying naked in his bed. He hoped to hell she wanted him half as much as he wanted her. The soft roundness of her face captivated him, her plump kissable lips, and the way her hips swayed as she walked away had him growing hard just thinking about it. He wished that he could have gotten a good look at her eyes. The longer he stood here dealing with Janice the longer it was going to take to find her.

  Janice shifted making him realize that he had been standing there staring without really seeing her. He cleared his throat “I’m sorry that I ran your friend off. I hope it wasn’t something I said.”

  “Oh, she’s not my friend. She’s my sister. Well, my step sister”.

  It wasn’t lost on Russ that she said it as if it was appalling that they were even remotely related, and it pissed him off. “Well I still apologize. Was there something that you wanted when you called me over?” There had been a question, but he couldn’t remember what it was.

  When was the last time he had been interested in someone who clearly didn’t want anything to do with him? Never that he could think of. Normally women were throwing themselves at him, but she couldn’t seem to careless. It intrigued him.

  It felt like he was the one doing the hunting instead of being the hunted for once. It was a nice change, it made him feel alive after weeks of being beat down with work. He had to get out of here and go find her.

  “I was hoping we could get a drink if you’re not working. I’d hate to get you in trouble with the boss.” His back teeth ground together, and control of his temper was slipping through his fingers. Guests like her paid the bills, he reminded himself.

  Her comment about getting him in trouble with the boss stumped him, until he thought about how he was dressed. When thoughts of the beautiful blonde wouldn’t let him sleep this morning, he had gotten up to walk the beach, throwing on khaki shorts, running shoes, and a resort polo but he spent the morning looking over some renovations and never went back to change.

  It was wrong, but he was going to use her assumption against her and let it justify his reasoning for not wanting to get a drink or anything else with her. If he could make a graceful exit and
not offend her then he would be able to go look for her sister. Now he just needed to get her name. “Sorry but I’m still on the clock.” Not a total lie he told himself. He did have a mountain of paperwork waiting on his desk to get through today.

  “What time do you get off?” she said with a pout “Maybe we could meet up later?”

  “I’m just starting my shift and I’m pulling a double to cover for a friend, so I’ll be here until quite late. I’m sorry. As for activities, if you go to the front desk they can recommend some great ones where a single girl can meet people.” He started to shift away hoping that their conversation was at an end.

  “Ok off with you then.” She said with a dismissive wave. “I’ll see if I can find something to do. Really they should have made this place more entertaining.” She flopped back against the cushion and Russ could feel her eyes on him.

  More entertaining, He fumed. The whole point of this resort was for people to relax. To get away from being over scheduled and over worked. Had he made a mistake in cutting back on the island activities? Did other guests feel the same way? He could feel his doubts start to rise. He pushed them down, like he did every time they rose within him, one day he would have to decide if this new direction for the hotel was worth it. Walking away, trying to get his thoughts in order, he stopped a few feet from Janice and turned around. He knew how to get his mind off things. She sat back up and looked at him hopefully.

  “You know I didn’t catch your sister’s name.”

  Janice huffed and flopped back down on the cushion with a wave of her hand. “Amanda.”

  Russ had hoped for something more than just a first name. He couldn’t even guess how many Amanda’s were in the hotel. Should he ask for a last name? If he did it would prolong his time in Janice’s company and as much as he wanted to find her sister, he wanted to get away from Janice more. Turning on his heel he strode toward the hotel entrance.