Page 39 of Devoured By You
I arched an eyebrow. “Put you in charge? My darling Aspen, as I recall, you muscled your way into a board meeting the day you graduated and announced that you were the new CEO of Kingcaid Music.”
She pouted. “Do you have to remember everything?”
Sliding a hand around the back of her neck, I drew her to me and kissed the top of her head. “It’s an affliction. Now tell me what’s happened. I might be able to help.”
It was past midnight by the time I’d calmed Aspen down from the PR disaster caused by one of Kingcaid’s newest signings trashing a hotel room and causing fifty grand’s worth of damage. I kissed her good night and retired to my room. The first thing I did was check my phone to see if Jill had texted me back.
She hadn’t.
Chapter 15
Jill
OMG! It’s Hugh Hefner reincarnated.
Blay had not sought me out the day after our night of texting. All day I’d kept my eyes peeled, my body feverish and horny after our sext-a-thon, but I hadn’t caught sight of his tall, muscular back or those electrifying green eyes that appeared to undress me each time he laid them on me.
To say his absence had disappointed me would be under-egging the pressure on my chest, the way my lungs had constricted, restricting my breath. It was so silly, if I thought about it. I barely knew the guy. Sure, the interlude on the plane had repositioned my idea of what good sex was, and he’d reaffirmed that with the all-too-brief encounter in his suite, but that was all it was. Sex. He owed me nothing, and the same went for me. As he’d made clear, he was a busy guy with high-pressure responsibilities. I couldn’t expect him to be at my beck and call. Unlike me, he wasn’t enjoying a holiday. He wouldn’t have the same amount of free time as I did. Or any free time, if truth be told.
I rose on Monday morning as soon as the sun broke the horizon, painting the sky in a deep orange. Donning one of Kingcaid Serenity’s complimentary bathrobes, I quietly opened the patio doors and slipped onto the balcony. All around, the deep blue waters of the Caribbean Sea greeted me.
Tomorrow, we’d dock in St. Maarten for our first stop. When Addison had initially suggested a cruise for our girl’s trip, I’d feared that I’d get itchy feet, knowing I was stuck on the ship without the ability to disembark whenever I chose. Instead, I’d discovered it was more of a floating city, one I hadn’t yet begun to explore. Maybe I’d do a little of that today. It beat sitting around pining for a glimpse of the fascinating, gorgeous CEO.
“You were moaning in your sleep last night.” Addison appeared to my right, yawning as she stretched her arms overhead. “Someone’s feeling frisky.”
“I was not moaning.” An indefensible defense, a bit like an ex-boyfriend who’d insisted he didn’t snore, until I’d recorded him one night and presented the earsplitting, sleep-depriving evidence.
“You were, too. And writhing like a horny bish. Why don’t you message him? Put your vagina out of its misery.”
I rolled my eyes. “My vagina is perfectly happy, thank you. As is the rest of me.”
“Tell your face that. You’re mooning.”
“So I’m frisky and mooning, and have a miserable vagina?”
“Pretty much sums it up, yeah.” Addison flashed me a grin. “Come on, let’s get ready, grab some breakfast, and then we can set about Project Cheer Up Jill’s Vagina.”
I couldn’t help laughing. “You shower first. I’ll make some coffee.”
Thirty minutes later, we knocked next door for Kelsey and Raya, and the four of us headed to the Galleria for breakfast. Despite my best efforts not to keep my eyes peeled for Blay, they hadn’t gotten the memo. The slightest glimpse of a tall, dark-haired guy in my peripheral vision raised my pulse, and when it wasn’t him, my stomach dropped to the floor.
Seated at an outdoor table with the smell of salt in the air and a warm breeze lifting the hair at my nape, I felt myself relax. Pushing thoughts of Blay to the back of my mind, I perused the menu. As I gave my order to our server, Aspen approached. My heart stuttered, my eyes drifting past her to see if Blay was with her.
She was alone.
“Do you mind if I sit with you guys? I’ve had the shittiest thirty-six hours, and I need to be around normal people right now, not an asshole rock star who gives me a PR headache and then sails off on his yacht with six of his harem, leaving me and my team behind to clean up his mess.”
“That sounds… not fun.” I grabbed a chair from the table next to ours and put it beside mine. I liked Aspen, even if she had caught me in a compromising position. There was something inherently trustworthy about her. I listened to my instincts until they were proved false. Somehow, I didn’t see Aspen Kingcaid falling into the dishonorable category.
“It wasn’t. I mean, I’ve fixed his shit, but I could have done without the hassle, you know?”
I didn’t, but I nodded anyway.
“My poor cousin hasn’t had a good time of it, either. The Kingcaids are taking a beating right now.”
My ears pricked up. “Oh?” I couldn’t bring myself to ask outright what was wrong. Addison had no such issues.
“Is that why he blew off my friend yesterday?”