Bet on Me (8 page)

A few seconds later he bobbed up, spitting out a mouthful of water, and rubbed his eyes. He paddled back towards me until he reached the beach. The pebbles darkened beneath him as he coated them in a layer of water. When I glanced up to meet his eyes they were framed by droplets clinging to his lashes.

“Told you I don’t back down from a bet.” He smirked.

“It’s a good thing I only make bets I don’t mind losing.” I matched his expression. “I didn’t have any more crazy planned for the rest of the day to begin with.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Cole

She threw herself off a rock—a fucking rock—just to get away from me. I’d never had
that
happen before. No one ever said no to me, let alone flung themselves into a river to stop a kiss. Seriously? Couldn’t she have just said no? I mean, what happened if next time—because there would be a next time—we were on a roof? Was she going to throw herself off that too? Or how about on a pavement? Would she throw herself into oncoming traffic? Her craziness knew no bounds.

I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the almost-kiss, or the sensation of her soft skin against my jaw all night and morning. If she thought she could get away with teasing me throughout the duration of my stay then she was in for a surprise. She had nothing wild planned for the next two days due to work, and it gave me the perfect opportunity to exact my revenge.

If she wanted a war, then war was what she’d get.

We’d see who caved first.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Alaya

“I hate him. I truly, utterly, completely hate him,” I whined to Rose for the umpteenth time. She worked behind the bar, and every time I got a lull in serving drinks around the pool or returned with an order I had a new complaint.

Leaning against the mahogany top, I spun my black, circular tray around and waited for her to make up the iced teas a couple had ordered.

“Yeah right. You can deny it all you want, but you like him.”

I frowned at her. “No I don’t.”

Rose shrugged. “What’s he doing now?”

“He’s just … he’s just … ugh!” I dropped my head into my arms, muffling the groan of frustration. When I regained control, I looked up to find Rose placing the first drink in front of me with a smile. “He knows exactly what he’s doing. Every time I walk past the jackass he touches me. His fingers only graze my leg or back, but I’m surprised I haven’t walked into the pool when he combines it with his comments. He shouldn’t be allowed to say the things he does.”

“Have you tried not walking past him? I think the heat is beginning to fry your brain if you can’t figure that one out.”

My grimace deepened. “Believe me, I tried. It only draws a wolf whistle from him, and out of the two I prefer the silent torment because at least it doesn’t attract attention from the other guests.”

Rose giggled. I was glad somebody found it amusing, because I didn’t find a speck of humour in Cole’s actions. He’d been at it for three hours and I was dangerously close to dumping the iced teas over his head if he didn’t cut it out soon.

“It’s not funny!” I took her silent shakes of amusement as disagreement. “Just give me the damned drinks.”

Swiping the tray off the bar, I balanced it on my hand and made my way over to the far end of the pool where a couple sunbathed. As I moved past Cole his fingers grazed the back of my calf. While only a feather-light touch, it caused my knees to weaken and my breath to catch.

Deliberately, I gazed in the opposite direction, not paying him any attention. My steps quickened so that soon I could place the couple’s drinks on their table and return to the bar where I could relax in the shade and admire Cole from a distance. Of course I’d have my sunglasses on, so he wouldn’t notice my staring.

Anticipating his touch on the way back, I gave him a wide berth, only his touch never came. I’d successfully passed him and three other loungers when I heard his voice.

“Gingernut, can you give me a hand?”

My steps halted and I gritted my teeth. For a moment I remained glowering at the bar, wondering what he could possibly need. I used the time to pull up my best false smile—the one I used with irritating customers—and then turned slowly to face him.

“What can I do for you, Hazel?” I enquired, taking a step in his direction. If I hadn’t been on duty I wouldn’t have been so polite.

His eyes burned at the name—the only dig I could get in during work hours. However, when he held up a bottle of sun cream and waved it in front of him with a grin, I came close to ignoring all code of conduct.

“I can’t reach my back. Think you can help?”

I strode towards him quickly and hissed, “Can you stop it? I’m trying to do my job here.”

He replaced his grin instantly with false innocence. “Stop doing what, sweetheart? I’m just relaxing here like any other guest.”

“You know exactly what you’ve been doing.”

“I really don’t, so enlighten me.”

I snatched the bottle from his grip. Figuring it was the only way to shut him up and get out of the situation, I made a spinning gesture with my finger. Cole swivelled on the seat and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his legs and exposing his back to me.

I shook the bottle and squirted a trail along his spine. My initial idea was to get it over with as quickly as possible, but as my hands connected with the strong, sinewy muscles I couldn’t resist taking my time. Slowing my movements, my actions changed into more of a caress when a plan came to me.

Wiping the excess cream on my leg, I straightened one finger and proceeded to write on his back. Removing a layer of cream in certain patches, I hoped to brand the name ‘Hazel’ on to his back. I finished my drawing with a little heart and pronounced myself done.

Cole spun back to me and I handed him the bottle without a word as I began to leave.

“Nice try, Gingernut, but not good enough.” Glancing over my shoulder, I watched Cole perform a perfect dive into the water. His body cut through the surface gracefully as he immediately broke out into long, powerful strokes, which pulled him towards the opposite end of the pool. When he gripped hold of the tiles, shook the water off, and beamed at me, I glowered in response. Biting my tongue to hold any frustrated retorts in, I spun swiftly to clock off. I’d show him how to really get under someone’s skin. I planned to change into my tiniest bikini and once I finished with him he would wish he’d never started the game.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Cole

I knew my taunts were getting to Alaya. If she thought for one second I hadn’t noticed any of her frustrated rants to the girl behind the bar, she was wrong. I noticed everything she did, down to the tiny hair flick she performed before picking up every tray of drinks. It also meant I couldn’t miss the fact she’d disappeared. Her friend remained behind the bar, but I couldn’t find Alaya anywhere around the pool.

For a second I wondered if I’d pushed her too far. Though I couldn’t help myself. I got a kick out of frustrating her and her anger only made her hotter. I liked the way she fought back and pretended I had no effect on her. Her flushed cheeks and clenched jaw told me otherwise.

I was about to get up and head back to my room when she stepped out of the building. Unlike earlier, she had ditched her work clothes in favour of a navy camisole and denim skirt. She carried a pale yellow towel in one hand, and sunglasses and sun lotion in the other. Beneath the material of her top, the white strings of a bikini poked out. My eyes followed the thin strands up from her chest to where they tied at her neck and became lost in the tendrils of deep red hair falling around her shoulders.

She circled around the pool towards me with a deliberate sway to her hips. Within seconds she stood beside me and threw her towel over the free lounger next to mine. Placing the rest of her belongings on the table, she turned her back on me to give me a close-up view of her perfect ass.

When her hands dipped to the bottom of her shirt I couldn’t look away. She raised the material up over her skin slowly. Pulling it over her head, she shook out her hair and threw the top on to the lounger. Her hands lowered to the waistband of her skirt. The material loosened as she undid the front and then her hands were on her hips. My throat bobbed as I swallowed, my heart hammering in my chest.

Carefully, with deliberate movements, she slid the denim over her skin to expose the tiniest bikini bottoms I’d ever seen hugging her curves like they were a second skin. Everything seemed to play out in slow motion as she inched the material lower, exposing a centimetre at a time.

She allowed the material to drop and I watched it pool at her feet.

When she bent over to pick it up, my gaze flew back to her ass and instantly my chest constricted at the sight. The lack of air burned my lungs. Too transfixed by what I saw, I couldn’t be bothered with simple necessities such as breathing.

All of a sudden her movements resumed their normal speed and she turned into me so my gaze was level with the glint of her belly button ring. Each time she shifted the crystal caught the sun like the piercing winked at me.

“Pick your mouth up, Hazel.” Her voice once again filled with the sarcasm I was swiftly becoming used to.

Her words finally made it past the foggy barrier in my head that only allowed me to focus on her. I raised my hand to my mouth to find it open.

Funny, I hadn’t even noticed that happening.

I snapped it shut as she sat down on the lounger.

“I thought you were working today,” I said, my voice coming out huskier than I intended. I coughed to try and clear the desire building within me.

“I was.”

I waited for her to expand on why the hell she sat next to me in a bikini now then, but she didn’t. She picked up the sun cream and squeezed a blob on to her palm without acknowledging me. Propping one leg up so it bent at her knee, Alaya began applying the cream liberally over her skin.

I couldn’t help it; I followed her hands and I wished they were mine running over her body.

When she moved up over her stomach and reached her neck, her hands dipped down between her breasts and I inhaled sharply. I could feel myself becoming hard beneath the flimsy material of my swim shorts and if she didn’t stop soon every guest around would know exactly how much she affected me.

Her gaze met mine, sparkling deviously, and I swallowed a couple of times in an attempt to bring moisture back to my throat. She held out the bottle to me. “Do my back?” Her tone radiated innocence, unlike every movement and look she gave me.

I took the bottle absentmindedly and Alaya shocked me from my trance by perching on the edge of my lounger so her back faced me. Reaching up, I swept her hair around to the front—noting how soft it felt—so her skin formed the perfect blank canvas. I’d just managed to open the cap to the bottle when her fingertips grazed my leg.

Instantly, I tensed and held my breath.

What the hell is she doing?

Drawing tiny circles on my skin, the light touches were all I could concentrate on as she moved up over my knee to my thigh. My shorts started to become too tight and everything except her touch drifted away to the back of my mind.

I grabbed her hand when it reached the middle of my thigh, so close to where I desperately wanted her to be.

“Something wrong, Cole?” She glanced over her shoulder. Her eyes danced and her lips curved at the corners. I wanted to bite them, to feel them against mine. I wanted to know what she tasted like.

I stood abruptly, pulling her up with me. Positioning her in front of me to block the noticeable tent in my shorts from view, a growl rumbled in the back of my throat.

“Let’s go for a swim,” I demanded, guiding her over to the pool.

“Why? Do you need cooling off, Hazel?” She spun to face me, tilted her head to the side, and bit her lip.

Fuck, I really wanted to bite it.

“You’re playing a dangerous game, sweetheart.” I circled her hips with both arms, keeping her from backing away. Her skin burned beneath my touch, yet she shivered into me.

“Only because I’m winning the game you started.”

I arched an eyebrow at her, raising my free hand to drag my knuckles over her cheek. When my thumb lowered to her lips she moved to nip it.

“You’re winning?” My voice dropped into a deep murmur as I began to close the gap between us. She wasn’t getting away this time. When she tried to take a step back she only walked into my hand.

“Yes,” she squeaked, her lips parting as she craned her neck to look at me. The confidence she exuded was rapidly leaving her. Her witty and flirty comebacks were nowhere in sight, and it appeared she had to fight for every shaky breath.

“How’d you figure that one out?” I thought we were both losing, really. Until her lips were on mine and her legs were wrapped around my waist neither of us was winning. We were locked in a battle of wills, and if losing meant kissing her first I’d gladly take the fall.

“Because you’re the one trying to kiss me,” she whispered, her gaze darting to my lips involuntarily.

“You want me to, though.” I lowered my face even more, my nose skimming against hers. I could feel every exhale sweeping against me, mixing with the sweet smell of sun cream.

“I-I … don’t.”

I hummed, the rumble deep in my chest, and rested my palm on her jaw to cup it. “Try that again and make me believe it this time.”

“Cole.” My name fell from her lips in a raspy murmur, almost like she was pleading.

“Yes, Gingernut?” I grinned, inside and out. I was about to win.

“Let’s go for a swim.”

The words confused me, and I was still struggling to understand what she meant when Alaya threw herself back and we both tumbled into the water. Not expecting to take a dive, I swallowed the foul tasting chlorinated water and came up spluttering. Once I cleared my eyes, I locked on Alaya a metre away. All of her vulnerability vanished and her feisty, confident personality returned with a vengeance as she smirked at me.