Page 36 of Holiday Home 5

Chapter Seventeen

Most Deserving

Liam saw the first yawn of the night. Unsurprisingly, it came out of Anna’s mouth. But it was infectious enough to cause Tess to imitate her. Ithadbeen a long day. Starting even before there was any sunlight, followed by activity after activity throughout the morning, afternoon, and evening. They were all understandably a little wiped out.

“Tomorrow, beach, lazy, sun,” Avril said, looking between the rest of them.

“I’m fine with that,” Tess said. “We can do some of the island activities the day after.”

No one spoke against the plan, least of all Liam, who, while not intending to belazytomorrow, had a few beach-related activities to anticipate. With their plans cemented by verbalagreement, Anna, Avril, and Tess began preparing to return to their bure.

However, all three of them jabbed his side with knowing glances as he helped clean up the deck. They’d be going soon, and then it’d just be him and Victoria. What might come of that?

Honestly, he didn’t know. Other than the promise that she’d sleep nude, whatwouldhappen once it was just the two of them, alone, isolated, one man and one woman? He wasn’t too tired yet but couldn’t speak for Victoria. Maybe she was just as ready to slip into a luxurious king-sized bed as the others were.

When it was just the two of them in the suite, putting away the towels in the bathroom closet, Liam kissed Anna goodnight. When he, Avril, and Tess found a moment alone, he didn’t worry about trying to add further separation. After kissing each of them individually, they pushed themselves into his sides, where they each claimed a cheek to kiss.

Both had some parting advice to give him.

“Don’t stay up too late,” Tess whispered.

“Believe it or not, but she likes dirty talk.Don’task how I learned that.”

Soon enough, he and Victoria were waving goodbye to the other three members of their group, watching them leave tracks in the sand. Once they were about halfway back to their bure, Liam glanced toward the woman with nowhere to return to tonight. He found her already doing the same to him.

“When are you taking your clothes off?” he asked, unable to deduce any clever way of asking for what he wanted. And he wanted it more than just about anything. Right now, preferably. The serenity granted by the stars was gone. He was back to feeling consumed with desire.

“When I get ready for bed, obviously,” Victoria said. “Are you in a rush for that?”

“Depends,” he said. “If wedon’tgo straight to bed, what’ll we do instead?”

“Iwas thinking about dipping my toes in the ocean before getting into bed, then reading a book for a little while.”

“ThenIwas thinking about joining you, then reading one of the chess books I brought along.”

As hoped, Victoria offered him a look of subtle surprise. “You’ve purchased chess books?”

“Of course,” he said. “Our deal is still in effect, isn’t it? Even though I’ve finally gotten to see you fully topless.”

His ploy to see her blush completely failed. Instead, the buxom professor seemed intrigued. He supposed he’d settle for that.

“Which books?”

“A couple by Bobby Fischer,” he said, “as well as Jeremy Silman’sHow to Reassess your Chess.”

Intrigue slowly flowed into approbation.Then,a hint of something he liked seeing. “You want to beat me that badly?”

Meeting her piercing eyes, Liam didn’t hold back. “I want to win against you every time we play. Enough that you’ll eventually run out of old pictures and be forced to send menewones.”

Victoria held the silence for a few seconds, then broke their stare. She started heading for the deck’s stairs, the beach, and the softly murmuring tide at the end of it. When he didn’t immediately follow, she looked over her shoulder, the moon’s illumination cascading down her lustrous hair, and gestured for him to follow with a single finger.

“For that to happen, you’ll have to win quite a lot.”

Liam grinned and started after her. “I’ll have at least a dozen wins before summer break starts. Then three to four times that before it’s over.”

“I’ll be impressed if you win half as many times in that time frame,” Victoria said, watching the waves curl and crash only a dozen paces ahead.

“That’s what I’m aiming for,” he said, which attracted her attention. “To impress you.”

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