Page 2 of Trust and Obey

“Kendall!” Elle dug a sharp elbow in my side.

Blinking, I glanced at her and then followed her gaze back to the registration desk. The receptionist, my manager Andy, and the guy I had just been daydreaming about were both looking at me. Belatedly, I realized that Andy had called my name.

Oh, holy shit. This hot guy was actually my guest for the week. Someone up above either really loved, or really hated me.

Years of habit and training kicked in. I plastered a big dumb ‘Welcome to the resort’ smile on my face and strode forward easily like I wasn’t sporting a half stiffy. Hopefully, people would think my shorts were bunching weird or something.

“Hi,” I said, “you must be Mr. Helman. I’m Kendall. Welcome to the resort. I’ll be your personal relaxation consultant throughout your stay.”

“Call me Deacon.” His voice was so flat I would have thought that he was annoyed with me, but up close—damn, this guy was exhausted. He had a five o’clock shadow that was unkempt enough not to be deliberate. Unlike most of the guests, he wasn’t wearing sunglasses. His eyes, which I now saw were dark blue, squinted at the sun, and had deep rings of exhaustion under them.

Suddenly, I wanted to talk the hot guy into bed for another reason entirely. He clearly needed a vacation more than I did.

My smile became that much more genuine. “Deacon, then. Well, I’m here to take good care of you now.”

Wow, weird phrasing alert. Quickly turning to cover the faux pas, I gestured to the nearest porter, a good kid in his first tourist season named Tommy.

Tommy took the heavy bag, and I took the light carry-on because I had graduated out of porter duty a long time ago. I wasn’t above letting the younger generation do my work.

“Let me show you to your villa,” I said and gestured for him to walk with me.

Deacon followed me down the dock in a passive way that didn’t feel right for this guy, like he had been so wound up for so long that his body was on autopilot. I chatted briefly about the island’s history in a customer service friendly way, ignoring all the ugly bits.

Luckily, the assigned villa wasn’t too far away. Deacon was solidly built, all muscle. He had at least four inches on me, and six on Tommy. We couldn’t have carried him between us.

“Each villa, of course, has protections in place to ensure complete privacy.” I gestured around to the natural landscaping of scruffy native bushes, palm trees leaning overhead, draped with vines. What I didn’t point out was that there were hidden speakers within the trees to pipe in both local bird chatter and some inconspicuous white noise.

There were also barrier fences hidden here and there within the bushes to keep guests from blundering from one villa to the other. We walked along a wooden pathway which wound between the individual villas. From the pathway, all that could be seen were glimpses of white buildings through the foliage.

“I heard your expectation of privacy is very high here,” Deacon grunted, which was practically the first thing he had said since offering his name.

“You bet it is,” I turned back. “You are issued your own key card and WiFi password. The antiglare windows don’t allow casual viewers to see to the inside. That means you can walk around your villa in the nude without being viewed.”

“Except by my personal relaxation consultant.”

Oh, was that a little bit of sass I heard? Perhaps he was waking up a little bit.

I grinned sharply back at him. “Honey,” I said, “it wouldn’t be anything I haven’t seen before. This vacation is all about you. So do whatever you need to relax. It won’t shock me.”

He blinked and looked away.

I did too, wondering what the heck was wrong with me today.

I was professional, friendly, and courteous. But my words had skirted close to innuendo. Yes, I was a little burnt out with my job, but the last thing I wanted to do was to make someone uncomfortable.

And yet… I didn’t get the feeling Deacon was offended.

Again, my traitorous mind flashed to my fantasy of him bending me over on the boat. But now I thought about all the soundproof protections we put in the villa, and what it would take to test them out.

Stop it, Kendall. Get your head back in the game.

“Here we are.” I turned down a sharp path to a small wooden placard labeled villa number seventeen. It was one of my favorites. One bedroom, one bath with its own fully stocked kitchen, a lap pool, as well as an open view of the ocean.

I unlocked the door with the key card first before handing it over to Deacon. The tips of our fingers brushed, sending a warm jolt up my wrist. Our eyes briefly met, and I was the first to look away.

I strode into the villa and started the grand tour. “Feel free to use the iPad on the table to order meals and drinks any time. Our kitchen is open twenty-four seven, but if you prefer to cook yourself, of course the provided kitchen is fully stocked. There is a complimentary barbecue outside, as well.”

Tommy the porter came in after and put the bag on the floor. I nodded, and before I could dismiss him, Deacon stepped over and handed Tommy a couple of bills.

---