Page 6 of Royal Pain

At least in my opinion.

“Water is dripping in your face. I thought you might like to get the chlorine out of your eyes.” Just by my nature, the words were said a little tartly.

He swaggered closer and I heard my other friends swooning audibly. Now they reacted to something. Even though he could be considered a drowned rat, his scent was all masculine and sensual, the combination of cigars, citrus, and some exotic wood suiting him perfectly.

The towel suddenly appeared and he grabbed it without looking at the person, wiping his face roughly like a man would do. When he chivalrously offered me the towel, he hesitated, not letting go until our fingers touched.

To say there was a wild current of electricity shooting through me was an understatement. He kept his eyes piercing mine, his entire face slightly contorted.

There was that moment when all time stood still again, the wind knocked out of me and not from exertion. “I guess I should say thank you for coming to the rescue of my friend’s life. I don’t think I could have pulled her to the side.” I held out my hand, trying to be polite.

He studied me as if I’d been the problem but accepted the gesture and hot damn, the crackle between us was off the charts. “Are you included in this… bachelorette party?”

The man made it sound like a bad thing. The tone was also accusatory.

“I’m a member of the group, yes. Why? And who are you?” I folded my arms across my chest, cocking my hip and giving what my friends called an ‘eat shit and die’ look.

He was more amused than ever, lifting his eyebrows as he gazed down the length of me. “Well, my name is Gage Royal, which makes me one third owner of this luxurious resort.”

I knew the Royal name, his photograph not doing him the right kind of justice in my mind

“Well, good for you.”

“Your friends are drunk. Mixing drunken idiots and bodies of water never ends well.”

Wow. The man went for the jugular. Well, he did have a valid reason but that was beside the point. “Don’t worry. We can take care of ourselves.”

“Gage. She’ll be fine,” the doctor said. “But she needs some rest. She’ll have one helluva headache in the morning.”

I glanced at the doctor and nodded. “Thank you for taking care of her.”

Heidi was moaning.

“Of course.”

“Just do me and the other guests a favor. Try and keep down the noise factor while you’re here. I don’t want to have to toss you guys off the island because you’re too… Rambunctious.”

For a bunch of reasons, that pissed me off. I planted my hands on my hips, glaring at him. “Look, buddy. We weren’t causing any trouble, just trying to have a good time. I highly doubt Heidi wanted to end her evening almost dying. Okay?”

“Buddy?” he repeated, his chest puffing up.

“You heard me. And don’t worry, my friend will have an entourage following and waiting on her. Just because you’re such a nice guy, I’ll see what I can do about keeping them cool as cucumbers like a good girl should.” I turned on my heel, barking orders to help Heidi get to her suite safely. I waited until two of them were carrying her away, remaining where I was for a few seconds.

Owner or not, he wasn’t going to ruin the entire event for Heidi or any of the girls.

He chuckled and it was all I could do not to take a swing at him. What an arrogant prick.

I swung back to him abruptly, getting even closer. “Look, I’m no fool in that my besties were drinking too much, but this is a celebration. Surely you’ve had them before.”

He was far too smug, but I’d roll with it. “I’ve had many a lovely celebration here, Ms.…”

The man hadn’t earned the right to learn my last name. “Just Evangeline.”

“Well, just Evangeline, as owner, if destructive behavior continues, I’ll need to shut down all the fun. It would be such a shame if you didn’t get to spend time with male strippers.”

“Why do you make that sound so dirty? Women have been doing this for decades.”

“Yes, but not usually on an exclusive island. You were provided with a privilege, Evangeline. I wouldn’t take it lightly.”

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