I squinted into the sun, Sophia stood over me with her hands on her hips.
“Oh, hey,” I replied, closing my eyes once more. “Did you have a good night last night?”
“Yeah, but where did you get to?” she asked, settling down on the empty lounger beside me. I barely resisted a sigh. Looked like a minute of peace was too much to ask for.
“I was tired and didn’t feel much like partying.” I shrugged.
“Would it have killed you to let me know? One minute you were right behind me and the next—”
“Sorry, Mum,” I said sarcastically. Before Sophia could continue to read me the riot act, the waiter returned with the fanciest–looking iced coffee I’d ever seen and a plate with a grilled cheese sandwich that was still sizzling. I sat up and muttered my thanks, eagerly tucking in.
“Ooh, that looks good,” Sophia said, eyeing my breakfast. “I might have to get one of those.”
I mumbled my appreciation for the sandwich through a mouthful and Sophia got to settling herself down beside me. I watched her from my peripheral vision, curious to see if she had any suspicions of my real whereabouts last night. I took a sip of my coffee and cleared my throat.
“So how was the after party? Did it live up to Vegas’s standards?”
Sophia grinned. “Absolutely. There were showgirls and everything. You missed out.”
Oh, Sophia. I really, really didn’t.
I fought a smirk. “Sounds like it.”
“It’s okay though. You weren’t the only one who sloped off early,” she said, rubbing sun lotion into her arms and legs.
I felt my stomach squeeze with both excitement and dread. “Oh?” I asked, feigning indifference.
“Half the mechanics and engineers were beat, too. Some managed to power through, but I think the late race really takes its toll.” She paused. “Even Kristian didn’t show his face.”
That’s because his face was busy between my thighs.
“That doesn’t surprise me,” I replied, handing my now empty plate to a waiter and kicking my legs out as I lay back on my sun lounger. “He’s a stick in the mud at the best of times.”
Sophia sniggered. “Now, now. I know there’s no love lost between you, but you really should be more careful how you talk about him, y’know. You may not like it, but heisyour boss.”
This time I couldn’t hide the smirk on my face. I closed my eyes, tilting my face up into the sun and hoping Sophia didn’t read too much into it. Just as I was beginning to relax, I heard my teammate suck in a breath.
“Speak of the devil,” she muttered quietly.
I couldn’t resist. I hurriedly took my sunglasses from my head to hide my eyes from view, eager to lay them upon Kristian for the first time since we’d become intimate. He was at the opposite side of the pool, striding towards the bar. He didn’t cast me even a hint of a glance, and though I now knew that was purposeful so as not to arouse suspicion, it still rankled me. I pursed my lips. I wanted Kristian to beobsessedwith me, to watch him fight with himself not to stare at me, to lose his cool whenever we were around one another… I sat forward, folding the back of my sun lounger down until it lay flat and rolled over onto my stomach.
“Bee,” Sophia giggled. “You seem to have forgotten half of your bikini!”
I grinned and hiked the thong even further between my cheeks before unfastening the ties that held my bikini top in place. “So?”
“So, I was literallyjustsaying how you should try to be more professional around Kristian…” she trailed off with a heavy sigh. “I shouldn’t be surprised with you.”
My phone buzzed on the table beside me and I already knew it was a message on my personal device. I sank my teeth into my cheek to keep from grinning like an idiot, deliberately not rushing to answer the text I knew was waiting for me.
I held off as long as I could, knowing my delayed response was going to wind Kristian up. Just before I cracked and gave in, my phone buzzed a second time, and I knew I had won the battle of wills between myself and the team principal.
“You need to get that?” Sophia asked.
“Mm, I suppose I should,” I replied, playing down my eagerness. “Pass it over?” I held out my palm, listening to Sophia’s lounger creak as she leant forward and grabbed my phone. With my device in hand, I unlocked it.
KRISTIAN: I know your choice in bikini is deliberate, and I fucking love it. Remaining professional is going to be harder than I thought…
KRISTIAN: Answer your phone, you little witch! Stop playing with me.
