Page 14

JEM

I’m so hacked off with myself.

I can’t believe, first of all, that I allowed that to happen. And secondly, that I turned into such a fucking man-child and refused to talk to Dee about it afterwards.

But I was completely freaked out by it.

The sheer force of my need to come had shocked me.

I mean, it’s human nature to want sex, especially when tensions are running high, like they have been between me and Dee for the last few days, but this felt like something else.

Mainly, I think it was a release from the frustration I’ve been feeling towards her since she fell down those stairs in her bloody high heels and forced everyone to adjust their lives in order to facilitate hers.

But it’s not just that.

Sitting there in that meeting with Jeff and seeing how her dad demeaned her suddenly gave me an insight into why she is the way she is. It can’t be easy, being treated like you’re second best to your own sister, especially when she’s as exceptional as Bea.

I felt – not sorry for Dee exactly, but like I understood her a little better, and honestly, it spun me out a bit. It made me feel unsettled around her. So much so, I was angry with her when we’d first walked back into the bedroom after the meeting with Jeff. But I wasn’t sure why.

I was already hyped up, I guess, after all the crazy goings-on from the last couple of days, on top of her little skit about trying to kiss me earlier, that had made me vibrate with sexual tension.

It had hung about, flaring up in my mind every few minutes, all throughout the meeting.

Perhaps it had been all of that coming to a head.

And then, of course, when I’d run into the bathroom after hearing her shout, my blood had been up in expectation of finding she’d hurt herself, but instead I got a full-frontal vision of her in just her underwear.

Her soaked underwear. Which may as well have not been there.

She has an incredible body: soft and curvy, but strong from exercise.

And she is, like her sister, a beautiful woman.

But she has a different energy to Bea. A sexier energy.

A more dangerous energy.

The memory of her jerking me off, her hot, soft mouth on mine, plays on repeat in my head as I stride around the gardens outside, trying to walk off my agitation, but to my utter frustration, I’m getting hard again at the thought of it instead.

Clearly my body wants more of what just took place in that bathroom.

But this doesn’t mean I should get sexually involved with her. As much as my cock might be telling me I should right now.

With any luck, Tim will conclude his business here with Jeff by tomorrow and we’ll be on our way home before the end of the day and I won’t have to see Dee much, if at all, once we’re back in Bath. But we still need to get through dinner this evening and sleep in the same room together afterwards.

Stepping back into the house, I walk around the ground floor, pacing from room to room, still trying to straighten myself out. Luckily, there doesn’t seem to be anyone else about.

There’s the distant clinking of dinner being prepared coming from a kitchen on the other side of the house though, so I’m not going to go anywhere near that. I need quiet and time on my own right now.

I should pull myself together and enjoy being here, on a private island , for God’s sake.

Strolling over to a black lacquered grand piano in the corner of the living room, I peer at the silver-framed photos arranged on the shiny lid.

There’s one of Jeff and an attractive black-haired woman, who looks to be around the same age as him in the picture.

I’m guessing it’s his wife, or partner, because they’re leaning towards each other with their arms entwined, and their body language looks loving and comfortable.

The photo next to it is older, because the two of them are more youthful looking.

And there’s a young black-haired man in-between them in this one.

He looks a lot like the woman in the picture, so I’m guessing he’s their son.

Tim didn’t mention that Jeff has a son in the short, terse briefing he gave Dee and me on the journey here.

I’ll have to ask Jeff about him later.

Speaking of which, I really should get back to the room and dress for dinner.

Which means seeing and talking to Dee.

How am I going to handle this? She didn’t seem at all fazed by the incident in the bathroom, until I closed down on her that is, so I get the impression she’d be perfectly happy to let something more develop between us.

Goddamn it.

How did things suddenly get so messed up?

I can’t let myself get any more emotionally involved with her than I already am. I’d be crazy to. We’re so very badly matched and it would be an absolute disaster to let anything else happen.

I really don’t have capacity in my life right now to take on someone as demanding as Dee.

Granted, it may not be a great idea for Bea and me to be together as a couple right now either, when we’re just starting our business, but I’m hoping there might be an opportunity to explore it as an option in the future when we’re both in the position to.

That’s not going to happen if this thing with Dee gets in the way, though.

I need to be very firm that nothing else is going to develop between us. I’ll play at being her partner and do whatever’s necessary to pull it off in front of Jeff and her dad, but that’s all.

With that fortifying thought in mind, I walk slowly back to the bedroom and take a calming breath before opening the door.

She’s not here.

I check the bathroom.

Nope. Not there either. Just the residual steam from her bath.

Where did she go?

Now I’ve decided to talk to her about this, I’m annoyed that she’s not here.

My nerves are jumping.

Okay. No problem. We can talk later.

I change into smart trousers and a loose cotton shirt for dinner, in deference to our host, then I leave the room again and go for another wander outside to walk off my agitation.

It’s not cold out here, but there’s a portentous feeling in the air.

Dark clouds are building in the distance and even as I watch them, they seem to be moving gradually closer to us here on the island.

We weren’t warned there was going to be a storm, but I know from experience that weather patterns can suddenly take a turn for the worse.

I did a weekend of hiking for my Duke of Edinburgh during my GCSEs and even though it had been predicted to be sunny for the whole time we were there, a sudden torrential rainstorm had caught us off guard on the second day.

Even the inside of our boots were soaked.

Not fun.

And while storms might be beautiful to look at and can be exciting to experience, they’re also dangerous to be caught in the middle of. This one has the potential to cause some major disruption.

I do not want to be stuck here any longer than necessary. I’m already deeply regretting saying I’d come in the first place.

But I’m doing it for Bea, I remind myself. I don’t want her to have to worry about what’s going on with her sister and dad while she’s at the hotel.

And meeting Jeff has been a blast too. I’m fascinated by anyone that can achieve that level of success – especially someone who’s come from humble beginnings. It gives me hope.

I make my way through the manicured gardens to a viewpoint that looks out across the island and out over the Aegean Sea.

How incredible it must feel to own an actual island.

Especially one as cool as this. I experience another rush of awe towards Jeff.

Maybe, if I play things right, one day my own business ventures will be as successful as his and I’ll end up hanging out in the same social sphere as people like him. Wouldn’t that be wild.

‘Excuse me, sir,’ a deep, male voice says behind me, making me jump.

I turn to see a tall guy in tan-coloured chinos and a white shirt walking towards me from the house.

It’s Jeff’s sort-of butler. He looks like he might be a Greek native, though I have to admit, I’m not the best at guessing people’s nationalities.

I’d say he’s in his late-twenties and is striking-looking, with dark, deep-set eyes and a strong jawline.

I imagine he’s exactly the sort of guy Dee would go gaga over.

I force down a weird prickling sort of irritation. Who Dee finds attractive should be – and is – of absolutely no interest to me.

‘Yes?’ I say to him.

‘Drinks are being served on the terrace if you’d like to join everyone else before dinner.’

‘Oh. Right, yeah. Okay,’ I say, giving the guy a nod, trying not to look panicked at being found wandering on my own when I should have been with Dee.

‘It’s this way,’ he says, sweeping his hand towards the house and setting off in that direction.

I follow him, jogging to catch him up before we get to the terrace on the other side of the house, not wanting to appear to be lagging in his wake.

Tim, Jeff and Dee are all already here, drinks in hand. The men have glasses of wine and as I turn to look at Dee, I see she has one too. I’m surprised. I would have thought she’d have gone for a beer or even a cocktail. Wine doesn’t seem like her, somehow. Too refined, maybe. Or too stuffy.

I guess she’s just trying to fit in to please her dad.

I experience another sting of annoyance on her behalf towards Tim and his earlier belittling behaviour.

‘Ah, Jem. Come and join us,’ Tim calls as I walk towards the wrought-iron table where they’re all sitting.

After a moment’s hesitation, I take a chair next to Dee, figuring it would be expected for me to sit with her, as her partner.

I catch her scent in the air as I sit down, and I’m glad we’re sitting at a table so no one will notice my immediate physical reaction to it.

What the hell’s going on with my body? It’s like she’s unleashed something that’s been lying dormant up till now.

She doesn’t turn to look at or acknowledge me, so I throw myself into chatting with Tim and Jeff about the economy.

Every now and again, I’m aware of Dee shifting in her seat next to me, which has the effect of distracting me for a few seconds so I keep losing the thread of the conversation.

Finally, the guy in the chinos comes back to the table to let us know that the evening meal is being served in the dining room.

We all get up from the table and follow him into the house, with Tim walking with Jeff, leaving Dee and me to follow them.

Just before we go in through the doorway, I touch her arm to get her attention.

‘Hey. Look, sorry for running out on you. Let’s talk later, okay? After dinner?’

The look she gives me is initially devoid of any expression, but I catch a flash of hurt in her eyes. ‘Don’t worry about it. There’s nothing to talk about,’ she says, before pushing past me and walking into the house after the two men.

I stare after her, my stomach sinking.

Shit.

I should have gone back sooner, so we could have thrashed this thing out between us before we were stuck together at dinner.

But it’s too late for that now. I’m just going to have to get through this evening without our animosity towards each other showing and giving Jeff any reason to doubt we’re a solid couple.

I’d hate to put Tim’s mission here in jeopardy.

I need him on my side. He’ll make a powerful ally but a formidable opponent if he thinks I’m in any way responsible for messing with his business objectives.

As I predicted, Dee makes a show of being especially friendly towards the chinos guy as he serves us our dinner of grilled fish and Mediterranean vegetables.

So much so that I feel I have to lean towards her during the meal, when Jeff and Tim are deep in discussion about the last election, and whisper, ‘Jeff’s going to get suspicious about us not being a couple if you keep flirting with that guy.’

Dee turns to me, her eyes wide with incredulity, and whispers back, ‘Well, then you need to pretend to find me more attractive, don’t you.’

I swallow hard. Clearly, she’s still in a funk about me legging it earlier and she’s not going to make this evening easy for either of us.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Tim shoot us a look, as if he’s becoming aware of the atmosphere between the two of us and is warning us to pull ourselves together.

So, I do the only thing I can think of and move one hand under the table to grip the top of her thigh, then cup her jaw with the other and lean forwards to kiss her gently on the mouth, trying to put as much affection into the action as I can for our audience and hoping to God she won’t reject me publicly.

I feel her stiffen for a second under my touch, before she gives in to me and relaxes, returning the pressure on my mouth.

When I draw back, I smile at her, then slide my hands away from her body and turn back to my meal, aware of Tim returning to his conversation with Jeff, seemingly satisfied there’s nothing amiss here. Dee, however, is staring at the side of my head in what I think must be surprise.

Thank God she doesn’t have her hand on my thigh, or she’d know exactly how much that kiss affected me. I don’t want her thinking it was anything but an act for Jeff and her dad.

We manage to get through the rest of dinner without further incident, with Dee even joining in on the conversation about the best eco alternatives to fossil fuels.

Jeff encourages her to talk and her body language visibly relaxes as she’s given the space to voice her views.

It strikes me that perhaps this isn’t the norm when her dad is around.

In fact, the more time I’m spending around her, the clearer it’s becoming that Tim’s style of parenting has a lot to answer for. I guess it’s been okay for Bea because she’s interested in the same kind of things he is, but Dee is another story altogether.

And, if I’m honest, I have to admit, it’s a story I’m becoming more and more invested in.