Page 68 of All I Desire

Chapter Eighteen

MATTHEW

“Someone looks happy.”I give Natalia a quick kiss. It’s mid-morning, and she texted to ask if I would have lunch with her at the resort. Since I’m waiting on some new helicopter parts, and now that Chloe’s in school, I said yes. Of course, I said yes — I crave being near her.

Natalia and I haven’t seen each other since the party, and I feel a little jolt when she grins in my direction.

“Someone is happy. Very happy.”

I shut the door to her office and take a seat. Patting my lap, I open my arm to guide her to me.

“Going to tell me why?”

She’s in that same, sexy, black dress she always wears to work. Apparently, she has ten identical dresses. Her quirkiness is endearing. With a grin, she eases onto my lap and drapes a graceful arm over my shoulder.

“Well, Damien decided to come home on schedule. He turned down the additional assignment. He just emailed me an hour ago, after talking to Kate.”

Thank God. We’ve been texting for two days about how upset she and her entire family have been at the possibility of him staying longer in Syria. I rub her back. “That’s excellent news, babe. You talked him into it.”

She shrugs. “I guess.”

“Will he take the job here?” She told me all about how, since chatting with Damien on Sunday, she and Max had worked to figure out a position for their brother. They’d finally settled on a security job. Of course, being Natalia, she’d come up with some funky title: Head of Secure Resort Ops or CEO of Leisure. Something irreverent.

“Yeah. He said he would. Claimed he might leave if he got called for the fire or police academies, but at least now he can’t use health insurance as an excuse. And we do need security, so this will be good. I think he’ll end up staying, and it will be awesome.”

She sighs and leans in to kiss me. “And I have a surprise for you. That’s the other reason I’m happy.”

“Oh, really? You’re full of surprises this week. Dinner with your parents tomorrow and now what?”

She jumps off my lap, laughing. “Yeah, you’ll be quite surprised by Ginger and Angus, all right. Is your sister okay with watching Chloe tomorrow? She is on vacation, after all.”

“You kidding? They’ve got the night all mapped out. I can’t wait for you to meet her, too. She’s sorry she missed the mermaid brunch.” Hailey’s flight had already been scheduled to arrive too late in the evening for the party, but since she’s staying a full ten days, I figure there’ll be an opportunity for her to meet Natalia at some point.

“Awesome. Come.”

She reaches for my hand and pulls me out of the office, grabbing her clutch purse as we walk out.

“When I took you on a tour of the resort before, I don’t think I showed you a few important things.”

We stride through the airy lobby, then down another long hall. The carpet is colored in various hues of blue and the walls are stark white.

“We have two categories of hotel accommodation here at the Paradise Beach Resort: suite and room.” She’s talking in a smooth, professional tone, and I wonder what she’s up to.

“Good to know.”

“We have poolside”—she motions to a line of dove grey doors with her left hand, then gestures to her right—“and we have Gulf view. All of our rooms were decorated by a noted interior designer from Miami who captured the laid-back lifestyle vibe. We focused on hues of blue sea glass and pearl white, with coral accents.”

We’re at the end of the hall now and she stops at the last door on the right. She takes a key out of her clutch and waves it near the electronic pad on top of the doorknob.

Grinning, I follow her inside and take in the pristine room. It looks like a mini vacation to me, with the curtains open to reveal the blue Gulf of Mexico. The bed’s huge, probably a California king, and there’s a bucket filled with ice and a bottle of champagne on the console. There’s also a blonde, wood tray with sandwiches wrapped in plastic.

“I’m feeling that laid-back lifestyle vibe already,” I say.

She takes the “Do Not Disturb” sign and slides it onto the doorknob, then shuts and locks the door. She turns and there’s a glittering, feral look in her eyes.

“What’s all this?” I ask, even though I know exactly what it is. And I’m already hard in anticipation.

Her grin is eager and coy as she walks toward me. I back up toward the bed as her hands slide down my chest.

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