Page 35 of Craving Paradise

“Would you like one?” I ask, holding up the bottle of tequila.

“Yes, it’s been that kind of a night.” Jasper walks over and takes a seat at the bar. I pour him a large tequila over ice and hand it to him. Our knuckles brush again, and there’s that pesky spark again. Is he wearing polyester or something? Because the static is insane.

11

JASPER

“You want to head outside? It’s a gorgeous night tonight,” Lauren suggests after handing me my tequila.

“Sounds like a good idea. Lead the way.”

Lauren reaches for one of the glass doors and unlocks it. She then slides the door, which opens the entire wall, bringing the outside inside. A large pool with a spa off to the side glows like a blue jewel in the garden, and you can hear the ocean waves crashing against the shore below. I bet the view is amazing during the day.

Lauren sits on one of the sun lounges, and I follow her lead, taking the one next to her. She kicks off her heels and sits on the white lounge, the hem of her dress riding up dangerously high.Eyes up, Jasper.She lays back, looking at the inky black sky and the billions of stars hanging above us, and sighs.

“You forget how beautiful the night sky is living in London with all that light pollution getting in the way.” She sighs.

“You can see them clearly at my family’s place in the country. It always takes my breath away when I look up. You don’t realize how much you’re missing with all the city distractions around you.”

Lauren’s attention returns to the night sky before she speaks again.

“What do you like better … city or country?”

“Bit of both. I’ve sponsored one of the polo teams down there, which gives me an excuse to get out of the city. For the moment, my office is in the city, so I must stay there for the foreseeable future.”

Lauren turns on her side, giving me her full attention. “If you didn’t have any responsibilities in the city, would you pick country then?”

“As a single guy, maybe not full-time, but when I have a family, yeah, I’d move to the country.”

“Judging by what your family portrays you as, settling down isn’t in the cards anytime soon,” Lauren states as she takes a sip of her drink.

“I’m not as bad as they say I am,” I defend myself.

“So, you haven’t slept with all of Autumn’s friends?” Lauren asks, raising a brow in my direction.

“Not all of them.”

“Is my sister one of them?”

“No, she wasn’t interested,” I answer honestly. “Years ago, yes, I tried to get it on with her, but she said no. But I don’t see her like that anymore. Jealous?”

“No,” she answers, knocking back the rest of her tequila. “We don’t owe each other any explanations about our past.”

“I’d like an explanation about …” I start, but I’m surprised when she stands up from the sun lounge, lifts her dress over her head, and throws it onto the lounge. There she is, standing before me in a tiny white bra and G-string set. My tongue waters as my eyes run over her body, my dick tightens in my pants, and need pulsates throughout me, remembering what it was like being inside that tight body.

Lauren then strides confidently toward the pool, giving me a glimpse of her peachy ass in that barely-there thong, and my brain short circuits. It’s only the sound of the splash as she jumps into the pool that pulls me back to reality. What the hell is she doing? Lauren comes up from the water as her tanned body glistens in droplets from the pool. They shimmer under the moonlight like tiny pearls across her skin.

“Did you jump into the pool to get away from me or my questions?”

“Both.” She grins, answering honestly.

“Why?”

“I need this job, Jasper.”

Why does she need to work at a sex club? From what I remember, Autumn told me about Ines’ family, and they’re rich. Probably richer than my own family.

Does she have debts? Is she in trouble? Is she a sex addict?

---