Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 63068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 315(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 315(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
Archer passed me a bottle of water, reading my mind.
“I’ll go get dressed behind the screen to give you some privacy,” he said, taking his towel off and getting down from the massage table.
Even though he’d gotten off on the side opposite me, I still got a quick look at his profile, and then a longer one at his back. His lean, strong form sent a jolt of arousal through me.
Damn. Not so many nights ago, I’d had my hands all over that body. Part of me knew I never should have crossed that line with Archer, but another part wasn’t sorry at all.
I slid down from the table and dressed, keeping my eyes on the screen to see if Archer took a peek, and slightly disappointed when he didn’t.
“Are you dressed?” he asked from behind the screen.
“Yes. What should we do now?”
It was our last day at the resort, and I wanted to soak it all in.
“Want to go to the big pool? There’s a swim-up bar.”
“That sounds great.”
He gave me a sheepish look. “Did they, uh…set you up with a new swimsuit?”
I flushed at the memory of what he’d done to the one on the island. “Yes, there were a couple of new ones in the clothes they sent to my room.”
We took the wide marble staircase in the foyer up to our rooms, and each went into our own room to change. When I emerged from my room in a black tankini, Archer was standing in the hallway, wearing nothing but navy swim trunks.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Your suit looks nice.”
“Thanks.” I snuck a glance at him as we walked. “This reminds me of our weekends at the lake.”
His smile was wistful. We’d spent many summer weekends as teenagers at his grandpa’s rural home, where Archer would work all morning on mowing and yard work and then spend the afternoon swimming with me.
We’d made out for countless hours on the dock at that lake.
“Those were really good times,” he said.
There were lots of other former Exiled competitors at the pool, and I gasped when I saw Andrea among them.
“Rod and Andrea are here,” I said to Archer. “What does that mean?”
“I forgot to tell you, I ran into Sal when I was getting coffee earlier. The show is finished filming. There’s a winning team, but no one is allowed to say who it is.”
I gaped at him. “They expect us to wait until the show airs?”
“Yep.”
“That’s lame. We should be able to know and just not repeat it.” I pulled my hair back and put it up in a ponytail. “At least we get to hang out with Rod and Andrea on our last day here.”
Several hours later, we were finishing the second bottle of wine we’d shared with Rod and Andrea, all of us laughing over a story Rod had just told us.
“I do not recommend getting poison ivy on your bunghole,” he said, shaking his head. “That’s all I’m saying.”
Andrea gave me a pointed look. “He kept me up all night long scratching it.”
“Is it gone now?” Archer asked.
“I think so.” Rod shrugged. “Can’t see it, but it doesn’t itch anymore.”
After finishing the last of her wine, Andrea yawned and said, “I need to get to bed, guys. This was a great way to spend the last night here.”
We all said our goodbyes, hugged, and exchanged numbers. Then Archer and I headed up to the second floor.
This was it. Tomorrow we’d say goodbye and it would most likely be a long time until we saw each other again. As hard as it was to be this close to him and remain just friends, I was going to miss him.
We reached the door to my room and I got my key card out.
“Last night here,” I said softly, looking down at my handbag.
He cupped my face in his palm, tipping it up until our eyes met. We’d spent the entire evening exchanging longing, heated looks. I knew he wanted me as much as I wanted him.
“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, Lo.”
I swallowed hard. “I know we shouldn’t, but it’s our last night here, and if”
His mouth was on mine before I could finish the sentence. I dropped my bag and wrapped my arms around his neck, returning his kiss and gasping into his mouth as my back pressed against the door and he ran his hand under the hem of my dress and up my thigh.
“Where’s that key?” he asked, breathless.
“I don’t know.”
He looked at the ground, where I’d dropped my bag, finding the key. He handed me my bag and used the key to open the door. The moment we stepped into the room, he descended on me, kissing my neck and cupping my ass.
“This fucking dress,” he said gruffly. “I’ve been hard all night looking at you in this fucking dress.”