Page 57 of Trust and Obey

That seemed to do the trick. “Fine.” She turned on her heel. “I’ll see you two later.”

And with that promise and threat, she again walked out the door.

Kendall and I both let out a long breath of relief.

“I guess you weren’t exaggerating,” Kendall muttered.

I shook my head, exasperated. “I’m sorry about that. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

I watched him carefully. “I know she can be a little intimidating, and her behavior… there’s no excuse. But trust me, she’s all bark and no bite.”

“That bark is pretty vicious,” Kendall muttered.

I smiled at him, knowing that if he was joking, he had gotten over the worst of the shock.

With a sigh, I glanced with longing at the massage table. My erection had disappeared the second I’d seen Lauren’s face. That was a good thing, but she had completely ruined the moment.

“I don’t think I can feel safe again until I know she is locked out for good. Would you be able to put in a request? I know I could call the front desk, but if you did it, I would know it was done correctly.”

Kendall gave me a tight smile. “I know what you mean, and it’s no problem.”

Had I been certain that Lauren wasn’t creeping around, trying to look in my windows or listening at the door, I would have stepped up and given him a kiss.

Judging by the sudden wistful look in his eyes, Kendall was thinking the same.

“I’ll make it fast,” he promised.

19

KENDALL

A quick trip to the front desk and a word with Andy the manager later, I returned to Deacon’s villa with his new key card in hand.

I felt a mix of concern for Deacon, admiration for how he was handling this terrible situation, and nervousness. His ex-wife had looked at me like she knew me but couldn’t pinpoint from where.

My heart had practically jumped out of my chest when she had asked for my last name.

Thank goodness I had been living under the false name of Johnson for years. All my identification and employment info on the island matched up. The cost of false paperwork had been as much as the plane ticket but had been well worth the price. It had held up for years.

Still, I felt uneasy. I also felt like a hypocrite because I had talked Deacon into not worrying about that sex tape. My opinion had done a complete one-eighty. Now that I saw how persistent she could be, I worried that this was the tip of the iceberg.

If she had come to the resort to dig for info to use against Deacon, she might find it in spades. Not only was he involved with me, but half the staff thought he was a grabby guest. It would only take a few words in the right ears.

It was entirely my fault.

My worry didn’t match Deacon’s. In fact, he was all smiles when I arrived with the new key card.

“Any trouble?” he asked.

I shook my head. “No, the front desk is used to family drama. I stopped in and had a word with my manager, though. He’s going to pass the word down that until Lauren checks out, any request for key cards will go directly through him. It won’t happen again.”

As I spoke, I walked around the room, shutting the blinds and pulling curtains.

Deacon watched me with some amusement. “I thought you said that the villa had tinted windows for privacy?”

I shrugged. “That was before I met your ex-wife. Now I think a brick wall won’t be enough.”

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