He should be doing a lot of things.
“Do you?”
“Probably.” He shrugged as much as he could in his current position. “Who doesn’t these days?”
“That’s the freaking truth.” Kendall seemed to argue with herself and finally said, “Thanks.”
“For what?”
“For all of it. Taking care of me this morning. The two orgasms. All of it.” She lifted her face and he had to bite back a smile as how hard she was blushing. Kendall pressed her lips together and finally said, “I would really, really like to return the favor.”
Alex’s mind shorted out as what little blood remained in his body rushed to his dick. He took a slow breath, trying to battle his desire. Trying and failing. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I know. Like I said, I want to.” She didn’t give him a chance to argue. Kendall shifted to straddle him, and his honorable intentions died a noble death. She gave him a little smile as she went for the front of his shorts.
They both froze as someone knocked on her door.
A woman’s voice came through, soft and worried. “Kendall, are you in there?”
Kendall paled and leaped off Alex like his body had caught fire. “Oh my god, you have to hide.” She looked around frantically. “Right now.”
* * *
Kendall couldn’t believe this was happening. She’d managed to get through high school without ever sneaking a boy into her bedroom, let alone being caught while doing it. Now, at thirty, she was reduced to shoving Alex into the bathroom and shutting the door behind him.
Which was right around the time she realized she was mostly naked.
She spun around, searching for her bikini bottoms. Meanwhile, Grace knocked again. “I know you’re in there. I can hear you rustling around. Open the door, Kendall.” Then, softer. “I’m sorry I didn’t make it to the deck in time to catch you. Something came up.”
“Just a second!” Kendall dug through her suitcase and pulled out a sundress. She ripped off her bikini top and yanked the dress over her head. Going without a bra, let alone without panties, wasn’t the least bit comfortable, but it was better than the alternative. She cast a quick glance at the closed bathroom door, but Alex didn’t seem to be in any hurry to betray his presence. It’d have to be good enough.
She ran her fingers through her hair and pasted a smile on her face as she opened the door. “Hey, Grace.”
Grace nearly bowled her over as she pushed into the room. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
“No, it’s not. I said I’d be there and then I wasn’t, and no one has seen you since this morning and—”
Kendall grabbed Grace’s shoulders and waited for her friend to look at her. “It’s fine. I drank a little too much and came back here for a nap. It’s a cruise. It stands to reason that people got distracted or chose to do other things besides lie out by the pool.” Her words sounded reasonable, but that didn’t stop the twist in her gut at the thought of her friends wanting to do other things besides hang out with her. Whoever said that people eventually outgrew the feeling of being a hanger-on to their friends was a liar. Hard not to believe that when the evidence pointed to exactly that.
Stop it.
Easier said than done. She tried for a smile. “It’s really okay.”
“No, it’s not.” Grace seemed to finally take in her appearance, and her dark brows rose. “You look—”
“I was taking a nap,” Kendall said firmly.
“A nap,” Grace repeated. If anything, her brows rose higher. “There’s beard burn on your chest.”
She released her friend and slapped her hands to her chest. “No, there’s not.”
“Yes, there really is.” Grace turned and examined the cabin. Kendall could practically see her cataloging the details with that impressive brain of hers. She toed the untied bikini bottoms on the floor. “Did he leave right before I got here, or is he hiding in the bathroom?”
“Grace. What the hell?” She crossed her arms over her chest, which only served to remind her what a freaking liar she was. “I do not have a guy in my room.”
“Uh huh.” Grace took a step back. “Then I guess you won’t mind if I…” She darted to the bathroom door and opened it before Kendall could do more than screech. Alex stood there shirtless, a shit-eating grin on his face. Grace’s eyes went wide. “Holy crap, you have a man in your bathroom.”
“No, I don’t. This is all a figment of your imagination.” Could a person die of humiliation? Because Kendall had to be approaching dangerous levels at this point of the trip. She could not believe this was happening.
If anything, Alex’s grin widened. He held out a hand. “I’m Alex, and apparently I’m imaginary.”
“Grace.” She shook his hand and gave him a once-over. “Apparently I’m interrupting.”