Addicted

"Damn," Casey grumbled as the elevator doors closed behind us. "He's perfect for you, and yet I can't help wanting him for myself."

"Have him. I'm not interested in chasing a man, and he's obviously not interested in me." I shrugged and leaned back against the wall, closing my eyes and letting the image of him steal my thoughts. "He is beautiful though, right?"

"Insanely so," she whispered all dreamy-like.

Chapter 8

Easton

I was almost too tired to meet with Brian, La Mage's hospitality manager, but if I shifted my schedule even a little, I wouldn't get in all of the meetings I had booked that week. The idea of having a little bit of fun was still very much on my radar, but it would have to be later. The beautiful girl that I'd once again bumped into out in the lobby was exactly the type of woman I wanted that fun to happen with. Her beautiful skin was lightly dusted with sand, and her slight sunburn only accentuated the radiance of her crimson locks and blue eyes.

My heart raced as I watched her go, but it was best for me to leave things be. We would run into each other over the course of the week, no doubt. Maybe by Thursday I would let my guard down a little. If she kept presenting herself in tiny bikinis it would be sooner than later. It took me twenty seconds of splashing cold water on my face in the bathroom to calm my libido down. It'd been a little too long since I'd taken a woman to my bed. It never worked out well for me to have a one-night stand. Either I wanted more, or they did, but never both of us at the same time.

"You must be Mr. Parks." A tall gangly guy extended his hand to me as I walked into the conference room to my left.

"Call me Easton, please. I assume you're Brian?" I shook the man's hand and took the seat he offered me.

"I am. I've heard a lot about you. We're glad to have you back with us. I've kept up with most of your articles. You have quite a way with words. Ever thought about being a novelist instead of a resort critic?" He sat back in his chair and clasped his hands over his stomach.

"Not really. I love finding the good and bad in places and people. I don't believe that anything is black or white. It's the gray I'm searching for." I pulled a pad of paper from my briefcase and opened the list of questions I'd prepared back in New York for the meeting.

"I like it."

"Thanks. Tell me about the models at the door. Why are they there and when were they implemented?" I focused on my interviewee, though my mind continued to move far from the room. I could appear to be attentive over the next few minutes with Brian, but then I needed an hour to myself. Something about the fact that I kept running into Vivian was bugging me. Was I supposed to ask her out for a drink? Was she supposed to be part of my future?

We wrapped up the meeting, and I shook the hospitality manager's hand once more before walking out the door and turning to make a beeline for the elevator.

"East," Kevin called to me, and I turned, not surprised at all that the portly bastard had two drinks in his hands and three girls around him, giggling about something.

"Hey buddy." I didn't move toward him, but gave him my attention. "Day go good?"

"Great. I love this place. Go change and meet me down here for a drink?"

The blonde on his left waved at me playfully as her brunette friend stepped out of the small crowd. "Yeah, come down and have a drink with us. You're cute."

"There's plenty to share." Kevin lifted his eyebrows at me.

"Right. I'll think about it." I turned and pressed the button on the elevator, ignoring the girls grumbling about my lackadaisical response. If I wasn't spending the night across a table with Vivian, I sure as hell wasn't doing it with some giggling stranger.

She's a stranger. Right. Why doesn't it feel like it?

I got off on the top floor and pressed the code to the penthouse, inserted my key, and kicked off my shoes the minute I was inside. Why was I being so stiff about having a drink with her? I liked her company for sure, and was rather disappointed when she went to sleep on the plane instead of talking with me.

"Your career comes first. This never works out for you." I moved to the balcony and glanced out at the city as the sun started to make its way behind the clouds.

The remembrance of seeing her in her tiny bikini rolled over me and my body responded violently. The delicious swell of her breasts above the black triangles that covered her was only outdone by her curves as she walked away from me.

I brushed my hand down the front of my pants and groaned, closing my eyes and pressing my head to the glass in front of me. "One night. Would she give me one night?"

Somehow I figured the answer might be yes, but a huge part of me knew that I'd be a bastard for asking for it, and one or both of us might end up scarred by it.

I shook off my need and changed into a pair of jeans, boots, and a soft cotton button down before checking my hair and making my way back down to the bar.

Kevin was thankfully alone as I approached him.

"Where's your posse?" I slid onto the barstool beside him and gave him a cocky grin.

"Fuck you, Easton. You have it easy with your good looks and youth. At my age, I gotta work for attention from women."