Page 15 of Devoured By You
I fanned myself. “I have third-degree burns to prove just how hot.”
“I need to hook up with a hot guy.” Addison pointed between her legs. “Before my pussy seals up.”
“You and me both,” Kelsey chimed in. “I’m hoping for some action on the cruise.”
“Me, too.” Raya’s dark blue eyes sparkled. “So, are you planning on seeing him again?”
“No. I didn’t even get his last name, although he knows mine. So I guess the ball is in his court.” I rubbed the back of my neck. I should have pressed for his surname. However, if I had, what would I have done with it? He’d clearly kept his identity a secret because he wasn’t interested in seeing me again. Rejection sucked.
“Ooh, a mysterious man. Intriguing.”
“Or well practiced in this kind of thing.” The thought popped out unintentionally. I shrugged to hide my disappointment. “Anyway, I had fun. But I’m far more excited about spending the next sixteen days with you bitches.”
All three girls piled on for a group hug. “Us, too.”
My friends headed down to the hotel swimming pool, leaving me in peace to take a nap, but I struggled to fall asleep. I tried to tell myself it was because of excitement about the trip, but the truth was I couldn’t stop thinking about Blay. Those piercing eyes of his that had bored right through me, the intelligent conversation we’d had, how a single touch had sent a burst of electricity through my veins. The way my body had accepted him as if he’d been created just for me. The sex. God, the sex.
If I ended up comparing every sexual experience to that one, I was completely screwed—no pun intended—on the sex stakes. It wasn’t only the illicit nature of it that thrilled me. It was the complete package. Gorgeous guy who could string a sentence or two together, who listened to my woes about my book, and who gave me an earth-shattering orgasm into the bargain.
In the end, I gave up trying to sleep. I took a shower, then sat on the balcony and listened to the sound of the waves. Music from the pool deck drifted up to me. I rose to my feet and peered down at the swimming pool eleven floors below. Several people were in the pool doing aqua aerobics with a rather enthusiastic woman in a leopard-print swimsuit miming the actions on dry land. And right at the front, unsurprisingly, was Addison, giving it her all. I smiled. Sometimes I wished I could be like that, so outgoing and ebullient. I was fine in small groups, but in large crowds, I faded into the background, preferring to watch rather than take part.
Kelsey waved, nudging Raya sprawled beside her on a sun lounger. I waved, too, trying to send a message not to rush back on my account. Being alone for a little while longer wasn’t a problem for me. Kelsey either didn’t get the message or ignored it. She packed up her things while Raya went to get Addison out of the pool.
We dressed for an early dinner, all of us voting to eat at the hotel restaurant tonight. We had another night in Miami to enjoy before boarding the ship on Saturday, ready for our two-week cruise around the Caribbean. This way, if I crashed, I could go to bed and leave the girls to enjoy the rest of their evening without them having to escort me back to the hotel.
“So,” Kelsey said as soon as we’d ordered cocktails. “How’s the book coming?”
I might have known she’d be the first to ask. “Awful.”
“You always say that,” Addison said. “And then you turn out amazing work that readers devour.”
“Not this time.” I looked over at Raya. “The best thing about this book, by far, is this lady’s talented cover design. But the inside is a gigantic pile of steaming horseshit.”
“I’m sure that’s not true,” Raya said.
“Babe, it is. I know authors are always the harshest critics of their work, but I’m looking at this dispassionately and it’s just dreadful.” I ran a hand through my hair. “And the worst part is I don’t think it’s fixable. Which is a big problem. I’ve bought myself some time with my editor by telling her I really need this break, but she’s going to want to see something when I get home. If I send her what I’ve got, that’s it.” I drew a finger across my neck. “Bye-bye, career.”
“Stop being so dramatic,” Kelsey, in her inimitable direct style, said. “You’re not that person.”
She was right. Dramatics annoyed the hell out of me. My sister, Karen, whom I hadn’t seen in years after she’d sided with my parents over my “disgusting porn,” could turn the slightest drama into a major crisis. These days, I avoided anyone with those specific personality traits.
“I know.” I sighed. “It’s the pressure of the previous book getting to me. If this one isn’t as well received, then I’ll have failed, won’t I?”
“Oh, Jesus.” Kelsey rolled her eyes. “Don’t make me slap you.”
“Ooh, if we’re lining up for slaps, can I get in on that?” Addison grinned, her green eyes twinkling with humor.
“If you say something so ridiculous again, even I might have to get in line,” Raya weighed in. And she was the pacifist amongst us.
“But what do I do?”
“Want me to read it?” Kelsey asked.
I shook my head. “It’s a nice offer, but—”
“Your ego is a little delicate right now, and the last thing you need is me coming in with my red pen and reaffirming your concerns.”
I loved how she knew me so well. “Exactly. Maybe if I leave it for a couple of days, then go back to it, the answers will magically appear.” I doubted it, but voicing that would probably earn me those slaps.