Page 3 of Guarded Love

Magnus’s dark brows pinched before turning back to the girl. “Like I said. They’re waiting for me. I have to go.” He wasted no time untangling himself from her before joining us, shrugging in the face of everybody’s amusement.

“We’ve been here for less than twelve hours. You waste no time,” Connor accused, and I couldn’t tell if he approved or not.

“Life’s too short to waste time,” Magnus defended.

“Unless it’s somebody else’s time you’re wasting, right?” I very deliberately checked the clock hanging on the wall above the reception desk, then looked back at him. “We’ve been waiting forever.”

“Sorry,Mom,” he replied, having the nerve to smirk. “But thanks for getting me out of that. I owe you one.”

His blasé attitude only deepened my disgust. “What about the girl you left standing there? What do you owe her?” I questioned, my eyebrows raised.

“Apart from the four orgasms I gave her last night?.” He shrugged, his thick shoulders rising beneath a white button-down, giving me a blank look.

“Ugh!” I spewed out in disgust.

“Come on, already.” Pepper shot a look between us, then took Connor’s hands in hers and dragged him toward the back doors facing the marina. “We’re wasting time, and I want to show you the bikini I bought for laying out on the yacht.”

“I hope the chef fixed something good for breakfast.” Magnus had the nerve to wink a deep blue eye my way. “I worked up an appetite last night. And this morning.”

“You’re disgusting,” I hissed out while we brought up the rear of the group. The only two single people there, we walked with a good deal of room between us while the others held hands, teased, and kissed.

“You’re the only woman I’ve met recently who thinks so,” he fired back with a grin that made me want to push him into the water.

The worst part was knowing he was right. He oozed charm and was hot as sin. But he would never in a million years look at me like he looked at those many other women he’d charmed.

And I couldn’t help but hate him for it.

2

MAGNUS

“Can I offer you anything else?” I couldn’t help but openly stare at the pleasantly full rack of the server who had come down to the hotel’s private beach to bring refills of our drinks. She wanted to know what she could offer? I had a few ideas.

“Sorry about my friend here,” Ari apologized, rolling his eyes before elbowing me. “He left his manners at back on the yacht.”

“I think we’re fine.” Barrett offered a winning smile, and the girl nodded, but the coy little secret smile she flashed my way before hurrying off told an entire damn story.

“Wait and see,” I predicted, reaching for my beer. Beer was for day drinking, something we’d been engaged in for the past hour while the girls frolicked in the water. “I’ll know what her pussy tastes like by the end of the day.”

“Nothing like setting a goal.” Connor had the nerve to laugh, and the others joined him. I didn’t. I took a long pull from my beer and gritted my teeth with determination. I was going to fuck that girl if only to prove I could. Unlike my friends, I hadn’t turned into a little lap dog after being domesticated by a woman.

Besides, I had already been down that road.

I’d gotten used to the bitterness that bubbled in my gut whenever my ex came to mind. We had barely been married long enough for the marriage to count, yet she would always be part of the record of my life. A lying, cheating bitch. The worst part was I was willing to give it all up for her. Partying, running around, all of it. I was ready to settle down, be a good boy, or so I told myself. Whatever it took. I wanted us to be a success. After all, in our world, successful relationships were few and far between. Sure, people could put on a good show for the cameras. They could smile and play nice in public.

Like the Diamond family.

Connor’s and Lourde’s parents had been married for years, painting the picture-perfect image for the sake of their media empire. However, in private, it was another story. They pretty much lived separate lives.

Connor had been on the verge of that kind of arrangement too. He was on the brink of a marriage drawn up by his father and believed he had to go through with it if he wanted to take his father’s place at the top of the mountain. Then came Pepper, and he realized that marrying for love was more important than making a good match for the sake of public relations.

Did he know how ridiculous he looked with that gentle smile he wore while Pepper splashed in the water? She did look hot, I’d give him that, wearing a white bikini that contrasted perfectly with her olive skin. He wasn’t ogling her or anything like that. He didn’t have to. I had no doubt he would tear that thing off with his teeth the second they were alone. It was obvious at that moment that wasn’t what was on his mind. He worshiped her. She was everything to him.

Glancing around the table, I realized he wasn’t the only one. Olivia slipped, toppling over, arms pinwheeling, and Ari laughed before cupping his hands around his mouth. “Try not to drown this close to the wedding!”

“Bite your tongue!” Lourde shrieked. “Don’t even say things like that, Ari!”

She and Grace helped Olivia to her feet—the blonde was in stitches, and her laughter made Ari laugh with her.

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