Page 6 of Trust and Obey

Our dinner conversation remained light and easy, and it wasn’t until Kendall had reached over to uncover the dessert plate—a tasteful tiramisu concoction that went well with dinner—that I realized that neither one of us had talked about ourselves.

“So, what brought you to the island?” I asked

“Oh, this, and that. Who wouldn’t want to work in paradise?” His smile was back in place, customer service perfect. And somehow, very fake. It was as if he had immediately put up a wall.

I tried again. “You have family back in the states?” There was no doubt he was American and judging by his accent possibly from the East Coast.

Kendall shrugged. “Yes, but we aren’t all that close.”

Then before I could ask him another question, he jumped in with one of his own. “What about you? Family back in the states?”

Immediately, I knew this had been a bad idea. I felt my own emotional walls spring up. Thinking about my family naturally led me to remember my wedding day with Lauren… and my in-laws’ disappointment that we couldn’t figure out a way to work it out. I had dashed my mother’s hopes and dreams of seeing grandchildren sooner rather than later, too.

I had no doubt I was doing the right thing, but the pain of the divorce cut deep.

Dad had tried to warn me about Lauren, I remembered bitterly. I thought it had been his depression and overall gloomy outlook on life. But the old man had known what he was talking about. He hadn’t lived long enough to be proved right.

“We are close, my mother and I.” I kept my answer general. “I’m an only child. I’ve lived in New York all my life, but… my father passed a few months ago. “

Kendall reached across the table and pressed his hand, briefly, over the top of my own. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” It really, really wasn’t.

Dad hadn’t been himself since the business folded. Well, to be fair, since the betrayal and scandal that had brought it down. I couldn’t count how many times I’d begged him to get help, see a therapist. My mother had done the same, but Dad had always been resistant. Stuck in a rut he couldn’t shake… until it finally became too much.

I didn’t bring this fact up. It wasn’t proper dinner conversation.

Kendall held up his glass in a little toast as if in the memory of my father. I returned it and we both sipped.

I was still emotionally unsettled after Kendall packed up the meal for the night. At first, I assumed it was from the reminder of my father. Grief hit me at random weird times. But alone in the villa, I wasn’t sure what to do with myself. Too tired to go out and explore the rest of the resort, but oddly restless and full of energy.

The skin on the back of my hand tingled where Kendall had touched it.

I shook my head and decided that a shower, shave, and sleep was in order.

Tomorrow was a brand-new day, the official start of my vacation. Hopefully, by the time I got out of here, the divorce papers would be all but signed and I would have a new life to look forward to.

A few minutes later, I stood in place under a hot shower spray, letting the water relax tense muscles. It was almost as good as a massage. Perhaps I would take Kendall up on one tomorrow.

Absently, I reached down to stroke my cock. I hadn’t thought about Lauren while doing this in over a year now. Instead, I let my mind fill with thoughts of women, real and imagined.

At that moment, they all seemed bland and distant in my mind.

I frowned and it seemed, quite unexpectedly, I started thinking back to the dinner. The way Kendall had tilted his head to expose the long lines of his neck. And in the pool, how he had bent to show off that perky ass.

I blinked hot water from my eyes. I was fully erect; my cock had sprung to life as if it had a mind of its own.

Heat prickled under my skin and none of it had to do with the hot water.

I shook my head and glared down at my dick as if it were a traitor.

With another shake of my head, I banished the thoughts of my relaxation consultant out of my fantasies.

I was clearly more stressed than I had realized.

3

KENDALL

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