Page 37 of Hot Holiday Fling

“Good?” he asked, even though he knew that it had been. It was in her eyes, reflected in the satisfied tilt to her lips.

“No, amazing.” Adie yawned and lifted a hand to her mouth, her eyes widening with embarrassment.

“Tired?”

Adie nodded. “Sorry, I haven’t been sleeping well lately.”

“Me neither,” Hunt told her, turning her around to face him. “And I’m afraid that tonight won’t be any better.”

Adie arched her eyebrows as her hands started to undo the buttons of his shirt. “Why, do you have other plans for us?”

“I promised you at least another two orgasms,” Hunt reminded her, his fingers exploring her wonderfully round, smooth backside. “And I always, always keep my promises.”

“Oh, well,” Adie said on a happy sigh, “I can always sleep when I’m dead.”

“Did your client really ask you to find her a boy toy?”

Adie, half-lying across Hunt, nodded. She was physically wiped and mentally wired. Moving was an impossibility and that was fine because Hunt was an exceedingly fine mattress...

Adie wanted to frown but didn’t have the energy. “She did and I’m so disappointed in her. She knows my rules.”

“Which are?”

“Well, obviously, I don’t arrange people’s sex lives...Ick. Also, even more obviously, drugs are out of the question.”

Hunt’s hand stroked her skin from her shoulder to hand and back up again. “Good to know since I’d hate to see you in orange.”

“Animals are tricky too. I will arrange for the transport of a pet, accompanied by a human, provided I have proof that the dog has been bought from a breeder with exemplary credentials. My clients want only the best, so they normally deal only with decent breeders anyway, so that’s not a problem.” Adie traced patterns on his pec with the tip of her index finger. “I’ll source dogs, cats and horses—I once had to find a client a polo pony for his son—but I won’t deal in exotics, I learned that lesson very early on.”

“What happened?” Hunt’s voice rumbled over her.

“One of my very first clients wanted a capuchin monkey. I felt uneasy about it, right from the beginning. I don’t like the idea of primates being kept in captivity, I’m not a fan of animals in cages...”

“But?”

Adie wrinkled her nose, remembering the fear in the tiny primate’s eyes. God, she still felt guilty. “I needed her money. She was my first client and as rich as Croesus. It was a choice between taking the commission or making rent that month. I found her a monkey but someone reported her to the RSPCA, the UK equivalent of your Humane Society. They visited my client and asked where the monkey came from. Apparently, the dealer I got it from was running a smuggling operation bringing exotics into the country.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah. The officer laid into me, rightly so, and gave me a huge wakeup call. The monkey was relocated to a zoo and is thriving. Since then I’m very, very careful with requests that involve animals.”

“How long have you had your business?” Hunt asked, changing the subject.

“Since I was seventeen, eighteen?”

Hunt lifted his head to look down at her in surprise. “Really? That long?”

“Yeah, though obviously on a lot smaller scale. The seeds of the business were planted at school.” Adie folded her arms across his chest and rested her chin on her fist. “My ridiculously wealthy parents, and I say that not to brag but to make a point, sent me to a very exclusive boarding school but frequently forgot to pay the fees. My mother wouldn’t give me an allowance, I had to ask her every time I wanted something and since our relationship wasn’t great and I was stubborn, I refused to ask her for a damn thing. So I found ways to earn my own cash. I ran a little shop, selling chocolate and energy drinks and odds and ends. Someone would mention they wanted pizza and I would order ten in, charging by the slice. I became known as their go-to girl, if they wanted something but were too lazy to look for it, I would find it, buy it and add a hefty markup for my trouble. They’d pay.”

“Impressive.” Adie wanted to roll around in the warmth and admiration in Hunt’s eyes. “You’re obviously a natural entrepreneur.”

“Yeah, when I’m feeling generous, I can almost be grateful to my parents for pushing me into my career.”

Hunt stroked her hair and pushed his fingers into her hair to massage her scalp. God, that felt fabulous. “I’m discerning a little bitterness. Why?”

Adie shrugged. “My parents shouldn’t have procreated.”

Hunt frowned. “Well, I disagree with that statement because you are here and lovely. But why do you say that?”

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