Page 4 of Royal Pain

We were here to have a good time, but the girls had been drinking since noon, sunning themselves to the point I’d hidden under the umbrella in response. Now they were frolicking in the pool. I was certain management was happy about it. Said with tongue in cheek. The girls were being rowdy enough, they’d run off a good portion of the guests.

Well, this wasn’t necessarily the kind of resort regulars frequented for the island life and pool time.

By now, everyone was either dressing to the nines for a night at one of the casinos or the real reason for the creation of the Royal Players Club.

Kink.

I’d heard rumors about it but nothing concrete. There were no pictures, no details anywhere, including on the resort website, unless you’d been given access to the private area.

Maybe I had more of a sense of despair, the last brutal conversation with my fucking ex keeping me on edge. I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t risk his threats of destroying my life coming to pass.

But this was all about Heidi, helping her incredible upcoming event be everything she’d dreamt of. What young girl didn’t fantasize about the perfect wedding? I had, inventing the perfect man, a stunning dress, and the most beautiful, tropical location where the wedding and reception would be held. Too bad I’d learned that pretty much all men were pigs. Exhaling, I turnedaround and took a last picture of the pool with the girls in the background.

I’d become determined to snag a few photographs of the dungeon floors, something that had never occurred before. Our guest passes didn’t include admittance to a single event or room. Damn it.

It would seem the owner was very cautious about who was allowed to see and experience any group or private event. Not that I blamed the man. Or men. I wasn’t quite certain how many people owned the place. That wasn’t a part of my media blitz hype.

What better way to send one of Connecticut’s wealthiest debutants off as the big new social climber?

Her husband was up and coming in the world of politics and a corporate mogul. Their combined wealth was already tremendous. Plus, they were both good looking so their kids would be incredible creations.

Now who was jealous?

I wasn’t certain how I could be since I knew what the marriage would be made of. But Heidi didn’t seem bothered in the least.

As soon as I took my eye off the pool for a blip of a second, everything changed. I placed the phone on the table where I had my towel. Something caught my eye right after that and I would forever be grateful it had.

One of the girls was floating face down in the water, the other three not paying any attention. Neither was anyone else in close proximity. Plus, given the time of night there was only one lifeguard and currently, the guy was too busy chatting on hisphone, likely planning on whatever fabulous moment he would be engaging in.

A slight adrenaline rush kicked in and I sprang into action, not even bothering to remove my flipflops. There was no time. As I flew into the air, I yelled for one of the girls to get hotel security.

The hard splash was startling but necessary. I struggled to swim across the pool, the yells of people around me finally kicking in. Thank God for small things.

The moment I reached her, I accepted all the stories about those drowning being dead weight. The moment I tugged and pulled on her, I knew I wouldn’t be able to get her to the side by myself.

“Help me!” I yelled, hoping someone standing around would jump in.

A brief moment of panic rushed in. Until it was like a flying dragon leapt high in the sky, coming down into the water like a beautiful swan.

When all else failed, you asked for a hero. Thankfully, Heidi had one.

In the form of one huge, gorgeous man with arms the size of tree limbs.

And there wasn’t a single woman who wasn’t in awe at his heroics.

CHAPTER 2

Evangeline

Who was this guy?

It took no effort for him to lift her from the water, placing her gently on the side of the pool. The entire rescue seemed to happen in slow motion, which allowed everyone to slide into shock and awe. The other girls’ mouths were hanging wide open, for God’s sake.

I almost told them to be careful or bugs would fly in.

Yeah, I was irritated as hell with them. No one was doing anything now, just like before.

“Jeff,” Mr. Hero yelled. “Get the resort doctor. Now.”