What She Needs Read Free Page B

that meshed nicely with the tall palm trees swaying in the breeze. After landing on a private airstrip, Gabe had loaded her baggage into a lavish golf-cart-for-the-rich-and-famous, complete with a polished wood dashboard and leather seats. Then he’d driven her up a meandering stone pathway lined with lush tropical foliage to the open-air lobby, where checking in had been surprisingly . . . normal, like at any other hotel.
    Her deluxe suite, she soon discovered, came with an enormous bathroom and balcony, along with a spacious sitting area. And after unpacking, she’d put on a new bikini—leopard print, and a bit more scant than what she wore at home—and nervously made her way down to the pool. Because even if the lobby and room seemed normal, she’d decided that surely there’d be some heavy sexual vibes at the pool.
    Yet as she stretched out on a lounge chair beneath the sun and started reading some more literature the desk clerk had given her, she learned that the main pool was a sex-free zone, one of many areas at the resort where guests could retreat during their stay to have an experience like they’d find at any ordinary beach destination.
    She couldn’t have imagined more welcome news. And that was when she finally quit being nervous—delighted to learn she could indeed bask in the sun here every day without worrying about sexual . . . creepiness invading her space.
    And to celebrate, she started indulging in more of the same drink she’d been served on the plane, even if it embarrassed her just slightly at first to order “erotic rum punch.” But her handsome poolside waiter, Josh, quickly put her at ease with his friendly manner, soon explaining that the punch was a trademark Hotel Erotique concoction.
    Josh kept the rum flowing all afternoon, until Jenna was so relaxed she even napped a bit. Then went for a dip. When, for the first time, she grew brave enough to look around her at the other people at the pool—some couples, other singles—and had that same odd feeling as when she’d met Gabe: They think I’m here for sex . But then she remembered they were here for sex, and that suddenly seemed a more interesting thought. Walking up the steps out of the lagoon-type pool in her leopard print bikini, water sluicing from her body, she found herself wondering if anyone saw her and wanted to have sex with her.
    That was when she realized she’d had too much rum punch—and she quickly tried to banish the thought. But it stayed with her—and was suddenly a lot easier to ponder under the influence of rum. It was easier to look at the attractive couple a few chairs away and wonder what their fantasies were. Easier to surreptitiously spy a hot blond surfer-looking guy stretched out under a small palm tree and wonder if he’d noticed her bikini, if anything about her meshed with the reasons he’d come here.
    And when Josh delivered another drink, she couldn’t bring herself to turn it down. “But this is the last one,” she told him with a smile—maybe even a flirty one. Unintentionally, of course, because unlike everyone else at the Hotel Erotique, she wasn’t here for sex. And she didn’t want to send Josh the wrong message. Yet at the same time, she wondered if he might be admiring her body at all. Because, according to Shannon and past lovers, it was a good body. And one not normally this much on display.
    “I mean it,” she added when Josh cast a doubtful grin.
    “If you say so,” he’d replied teasingly. “But you know where I am if you change your mind.” The cute waiter had pointed to a thatch-covered tiki hut bar on the opposite side of the pool before departing with a wink that—just like talking with Gabe earlier—had made her a little wet.
    Now, she’d just showered in the luxurious marble bathroom in her suite and was off to dinner with her guide. Following the map she’d been given upon her arrival, she took in the beach to her right, the sky turning blush-colored as the sun