Page 62 of Maneater (The Mavens #1)

FORTY-TWO

JOSIE

I leave Rowan’s room at the ass crack of dawn to take a morning yoga class with Rory, our eyes and ears open for any whispers.

We realized that Tanya is often on the standby list for these classes, and given her recent behavior, she seems to be our number one suspect, so we make sure we’re there.

Unfortunately, it’s a packed class, and she isn’t in attendance, but I can’t be too mad at the way the slow, languid movement makes my body feel, especially considering my new nightly activities have me feeling sorer than I’d like to admit.

Not that I’m upset about it, of course.

I’m tying up my bikini top for another morning at the pool while we try and figure out the next steps when there’s a knock on the door. Rory answers it, and I hear Rowan’s deep voice greet her.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, walking over to him.

He looks casual for once in a thin T-shirt and a pair of swim shorts.

I don’t miss the way his eyes move to my full breasts in my small top.

Despite the number of times I’ve had him in the past week, it doesn’t feel like enough.

I wonder if, when we’re both home, it will be different.

If, once we’re free of paradise, the need will be less.

My gut tells me no.

“We’ve got plans.”

That makes my head pop up. “Plans?”

“You and I are going on an adventure today.”

I want to be excited. An adventure with Rowan, especially in this paradise-like place, sounds amazing. But…

“I’m here for work, Rowan. I can’t just go off on an adventure. It’s not fair to Rory,” I say, giving him an apologetic look.

“Please go, I’m begging,” Rory says, exasperated.

“What?” I ask, turning to her.

“Go. I want to stay in this room in peace and quiet for six hours. I’m going to start sifting through the cameras around the time of each incident, look into Tanya, that kind of thing. Plus, we have all those new cameras in the staff areas I want to screen.”

“I could—” I offer, but she shakes her head.

“You could enjoy a day off like a normal fucking person,” Rory says with a glare.

“And you?” I counter, putting my hands on my hips. “ You’re not taking a day off.”

“This is the equivalent of my taking a day off. I’m going to pop in the raunchiest audiobook I can find, then dig through these files. Basically, my version of bliss.”

She’s not wrong, but it still makes me uncomfortable.

“I don’t know, I feel like I should stay here. I could go to the pool and talk to some people or?—”

“You also got a lot of intel yesterday.” She reaches for my hand, and I know I’m not going to like whatever she has to say next. “I also think you should lay low for a bit,” Rory says, looking at me.

“Excuse me?” I ask, my eyes wide. I’ve never stood aside or lain low.

“Just for a day or so, while we dig further into Tanya and check to see if she could be behind this. Where has she been during, before, and after each sabotage? I’m going to keep moving through the cameras and, now that I have access, check all of her scans, see where her card has been used and what times. ”

“And while you do that, I could?—”

“She thinks that if it’s Tanya, she could target you,” Rowan says, concern in his voice, and my words cut out.

“You guys have talked about this?” I ask, looking from one to the other with a hint of betrayal, I know is silly. Rory sighs.

“He came to me with the same concerns I was feeling. I don’t want to raise an alarm or anything, but we can never be too sure.” She looks at me. “Plus, you just went out with Daniel, and she saw it. If you’re out today, flirting with any man you think could give you intel?—”

“But maybe I could?—”

“You’re going to start bringing attention to yourself, and you know it if you don’t just enjoy yourself like a normal person.” My jaw tightens, and I glare at her, but then Rowan’s hand is on my wrist, and I’m turning to look at him.

“We can do some extra inspections while we’re out. Now make a beach bag, and we’ll go,” he says, then presses a kiss to my forehead. “But it’s a hike to get there. Wear sneakers.”

I stand there, confused and elated, warmth sliding through my body as he sits on the couch to wait for me. I look from him to Rory, who is smiling approvingly.

“The man has spoken.”

He takes me hiking, which at first, I argued against, considering what happened the last time we went.

I’ve been assured that, although the hikes are discontinued for guests until everything clears up, a team has thoroughly swept the area for any other booby traps.

They did find another one, a trip wire that lifted its suspect into the air by the foot like in old cartoons, but nothing else.

Still, we keep a vigilant eye out for both traps and for any additional evidence.

Nearly an hour into our hike, we reach the other side of the property, which turns out to be a small, secluded beach with light sand, a few palm trees, and miles of a bright blue ocean.

In the distance, I see a dolphin jump up and out of the water, and I gasp.

It’s so picturesque, I might think it was fake if I weren’t actually here.

The entire back of it butts up to the woods, but the beach itself is clear.

“This,” Rowan says, looking around with a proud smile. “This is why I chose this location.”

“A wooded beach?” I ask with a smile of my own.

He nods. “A wooded, secluded beach. When the excursions aren’t stalled, we do super exclusive trips out here.

A couple, maybe two, pay extra to be here by themselves, no one else around for the whole day.

We cater to it and sometimes even send a masseuse out here for couples’ massages.

Very expensive, but the guests love it. It’s like their own private beach.

They don’t even have to wear suits if they don’t want to. ”

“Are you telling me this is a nude beach, Rowan?” I ask, my eyes wide. “I’m super cool and like to think I’m pretty progressive, but sand in my bare crotch is not for me. Sorry to break it to you.”

He lets out a deep belly laugh, tugging me into him and pressing his lips to mine. When he pulls back, his smile is wide and carefree, and suddenly, I can’t find it in me to feel bad about taking some time for myself while on a mission.

“I would absolutely have warned you ahead of time if that was something I expected, but just for the record, sandy crotches don’t do anything for me, either.”

“Phew,” I say in exaggerated relief as I toe my sneakers off and step into the warm, soft sand. I expected it to be filled with rocks or twigs, but it’s not; it’s perfect and luxurious and pulls a soft sigh from me.

Rowan grabs my hand and walks me to the center of the beach before dropping his own large bag he brought with him. I dig through mine, setting things aside on the beach blanket he’s laid out to find the sunscreen I already know I’ll need a second layer of.

“Uh, is that a taser in your beach bag?” he asks, and when I turn, I see my sparkly pink taser is sitting on the blanket. His look of utter concern makes me smile.

“Oh, Betty?” I reach and grab it, pressing the button once, then twice to spark it to life. Rowan sits back further, and I laugh at him. “Yeah.”

He opens and closes his mouth a few times before asking, “How did you get that on a plane?”

“Don’t question my methods, Fisher,” I say. He glares, and I giggle. “I put it in my big luggage, my god. Did you think I was bringing a taser in a carry-on?”

“If anyone could manage it, it would be you.”

I pat his cheek and smile. “I love the confidence you have in me. “

“I have all the confidence in the world in you, Josie.”

“As you should,” I say, standing up and stretching.

The sun feels glorious on my skin after we walked through the shaded trees, but the water looks even more inviting as we stand beneath the beating sun.

I shrug off my shorts and start making steps toward the water, looking over my shoulder to see Rowan staring at my ass.

I smile wide and wink before speaking again. “Come on. I want to go for a swim.”

“I never want to leave here,” I say on a sigh later, after Rowan fed me the most amazing sandwiches and fresh, homemade chips that he had the kitchen make. We’re lying on our backs side by side on the beach blanket, letting the sun dry us off, and it feels like absolute heaven.

But the reason I never want to leave has so much less to do with the sun and sand and more with the man lying next to me.

We’ve spent the last few hours talking nonstop.

I’ve learned that, like me, he has no pets because he’s not home enough, but he would like one eventually.

He learned to ski as a kid but hasn’t gone in years, though he might find a few chances with the new Aspen location opening soon.

He always knew he wanted to be in business, although luxury hotels were something he fell into during his undergraduate studies when he secured an internship with Daydream.

His favorite food is Japanese, his favorite color is navy blue, and while he doesn’t watch much television or movies, when he does, it’s mostly eighties action films.

In turn, I told him I desperately want a cat, though not until I can make sure I’ll be home often enough to care for one. I’ve never been outside of the Americas, nor have I ever skied; however, while on an assignment, I learned to surf while investigating a man who owned a surf shop.

It’s been…easy. Shockingly so. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, for him to drop some kind of lore that makes me get the ick, but everything he tells me fits him so well and just… fits .

We fit.

“Yeah, me neither,” he says, reaching for my hand and squeezing it. I give him a smile, but it’s tinged in worry despite trying to fight it back. Inevitably, the incredibly attentive man notices it.