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Andrew groaned, but the rest of us laughed into the night.
Later that night, Pierce and I were locked together in sweaty lovemaking. He had been going slowly, drawing it out for nearly half an hour. Finally, I rolled him sideways and straddled him, riding him until we both came together.
“That’s twice in the same day you’ve ridden me,” he said while we cuddled after.
“Now that I know you’re running in this big race in two days, I don’t want to sap all your energy. You need to conserve your strength.”
“I leave for San Jose in two days. The race doesn’t start until Sunday, with some travel days before and after. But I appreciate your thoughtfulness.” He gave my ass a loud smack. “And I love it when you’re on top.”
“I’m going to miss you,” I said without thinking.
Pierce caressed my back with his fingertips. “I’ll miss you too. But it’s only two weeks. Like I said, it’ll go fast.”
I wanted to tell him that it would go fast for him, since he was the one doing something active. I would be stuck here. I thought about those days aboard the Bellerophon, bored and anxious without anything to do.
But as I thought about it, I realized something: it wasn’t the boredom that worried me. I would legitimately miss Pierce. We had finally gotten into a nice rhythm together, and now he was running off—literally. There was a soft ache in my heart at the thought of being away from him. Even though I knew our relationship was purely physical, outlined via a binding contract, it felt like we were dating. It felt like he was my boyfriend.
Uh oh, I thought. I’m definitely catching feelings for this man.
And that worried me more than all the tarantulas in Costa Rica.
21
Andrew
I was a worrier. It was in my nature as a valet. I made sure everything lined up properly throughout Pierce’s day, and I anticipated all the small things that might derail it. Worrying helped me predict those distractions.
But right now, my worries were personal. And they involved Melinda Norris.
I’d liked her since the moment I met her in Providence, watching her pull up in her car and stare at Pierce’s helicopter like it was an alien. Hell, I had liked her ever since Tristan showed us her file from the surrogate agency. Getting to know her, first on the Bellerophon and then on the island, had only increased these feelings. Helping her. Watching her. Laughing with her. If she were a guy, I would have become best friends with her.
Since she was a woman, it was impossible for deeper feelings not to begin to sprout. Especially considering what the contract stated—or, more important, what it didn’t state.
There was a new kind of energy between us that evening on the terrace, when she learned about The Coastal Challenge. Something sexual. At first I thought it was all in my head. I liked her, and was projecting my own emotions onto this woman. But as the evening went on, I became more certain there was something there.
That scared me, but it excited me, too.
I was normally able to fall asleep at the drop of a hat, but I slept horribly that night. It was the same thing the night after that. I tossed and turned and thought about how Melinda and I would be spending a lot of time together in the next two weeks.
Time together alone.
There was a cool morning breeze blowing in from the water as we stood on the helicopter pad to say our farewells.
“So how does this work?” Melinda asked Pierce. The breeze blew her blonde hair all around her head. With the sunlight streaming down, it made it look like a halo. “Do you make a grand entrance, arriving at the starting line by helicopter?”
“God, no,” Pierce said with a laugh. “The last thing I need is people knowing who I am.”
“He goes by the pseudonym Benny Peers,” Tristan said dryly.
“Wooow,” Melinda said. “So clever.”
“I save my cunning for my business ventures. And my women.” Pierce took Melinda in his arms and gave her a long kiss goodbye.
I turned away. Pierce was not a jealous man, but I still couldn’t help but feel a tingle in my stomach whenever the two of them kissed. Maybe it was jealousy, or maybe it was a strange sort of excitement. I glanced at Tristan and wondered if he felt something similar; if he did, he hid it behind a mask of boredom. But whatever the emotion was, I was intellectually happy that they were getting along. I was doubtful that it would all work out when she first signed the contract. She had seemed so stubborn at the time, incredulous at the entire offer.
Oh how things have changed in three short weeks.
As their kiss ended, and they hugged one last time, Melinda whispered something into Pierce’s ear. I was standing close enough to hear.
