Page 14 of Off Plan

Which was, well… fucking hot, if I was being honest. And I couldn’t help but notice that Loafers, while still being a prissy little fucker, was nevertheless passably cute, with all that hair wanting to curl and those greener-than-green eyes.

An ember of lust flared in my gut.

I didn’t have to like the guy in order to fuck him, after all. And I just might be willing to risk my dick getting frostbite for the chance to see the cold-as-ice man on his knees with his mouth around me.

I’d definitely be fantasizing about it.

“There.” Loafers looked at his handiwork with a satisfied expression. “Told you I could do it.”

“Gold star for you.” I yawned and looked at the other two bags, then checked my nonexistent watch. “Tick tock. Time’s a’wastin’, Loafers.”

He made a disgruntled noise but got to work loading in the other two cases—one more in the trunk and one jammed in the back, behind the passenger’s seat—while I got in the car, set the ancient radio to the classic-rock station, and rolled down the windows so it was slightly less sauna-like.

Loafers got in beside me, slammed the door closed, and glared in my direction.

“All settled?” I asked mildly. “At last?”

“No thanks to you.” He rubbed his hands against the legs of his pants, leaving damp, dirty trails on the beige material. His shirt was wrinkled, dusty, and almost completely untucked from his pants. “I certainly hope you’re more helpful than this with the guests at the resort. What exactly do youdo, anyway? You certainly don’t behave like a livery driver.”

“A livery driver?” I grinned. “Fuck, no. I’m a tour boat captain, Loafers. I occasionally fix cars when people need me to. We don’t get much call for livery drivers on Whispering Key.”

Mason scowled. “Really. Do you expect me to believeallthe guests rent cars to get to the resort?”

He managed to make it sound likeIwas lying, when in facthehad no grip on reality.

“Theguests.At theresort. What, exactly, did Mr. Goodman tell you was happening here?”

I could feel the man’s eyes boring into me from the other side of the low console like he wondered if I was being deliberately obtuse.

I flicked him a glance. “Being serious here. You’ll find that Big—uh.Mr. Goodman—tends to play his cards close to the vest. I was told to come and get you. I know jack shit beyond your name.”

Loafers sank down in his seat, and his chin went up mulishly. “Well, I’d think it was all fairly self-explanatory. I’m the new doctor for Whispering Key.”

“You.” I glanced over at him, at the khaki pants that still had a crease down the center front of each leg, and those shoes that were probably worth more than the car we were riding in. “Are Whispering Key’s new doctor?”

He sniffed. “Is that so shocking?”

“Fuck, yes. Are you out of your mind? What would possess a person likeyouto take a job in a place likeWhispering Key?”

He folded his arms over his chest. “I assure you, I’m perfectly qualified for the position. I graduated top of my class in medical school, I have excellent references, and I have years of experience dealing with a wide variety of emergent situations. Broken bones. Infections. Lacerations. Bruising.” He made a motion toward my eye and frowned. “Speaking of which, you should really put ice on that, you know.”

“Yeah.” I eased the car into traffic. “I know.”

Loafers sighed and unbent one tiny fraction of a millimeter. “Look, I realize there’ll be limitations to what I can do, but I think that would be true for any medical professional, especially since Mr. Goodman implied the facility would be relatively small.”

“Small,” I repeated in dawning horror.Try nonexistent.

“Yes. Small for an island with a five-star resort, I assume he meant.”

Oh, sweet baby Jesus and all the fucking angels. “Afive-star resort?”

“Pardon?”

“Think, Loafers. Did he sayafive-star resort? OrTheFive-Star Resort?”

“I…” Loafers flushed. “Whichever. I was possibly a little overly enthusiastic and I didn’t do as much research as I normally might have before accepting the position. I honestly have no idea how many five-star resorts there are on the island.”

None. The answer wasnone. At least not the way he was thinking about them.