Page 24 of Undeniably Unexpected (Boston’s Irresistible Billionaires #6)

C ock-a-doodle-doo! screeches through the air like a whistle, immediately followed by another and then another.

I bolt upright. My head whips all around, my eyes flicker from one thing to the next, and in my dazed and disoriented state, it takes my brain a few minutes to realize where I am. Only I’m still at a loss.

Another rooster crows into the predawn sky, and what the absolute fuck? We’re on an island, not a farm.

I throw back my sheets, unlock the french doors, tear them open wide, and stumble onto the balcony. It’s dark as fuck out here since we’re facing west, and I have to squint to see the ground a story below.

Movement on my right startles me, and I scream on instinct.

“Shh, love. It’s okay. It’s just me.”

“Loomis.” I sigh, my hand covering my pounding heart. “Warn a girl before you sneak up on her in the dark.”

“I wasn’t exactly planning to be out here sneaking up on unsuspecting women at five in the morning now, was I?”

Touché. He crosses the open balcony until he’s beside me, and I try not to notice how he’s only wearing boxer briefs and nothing else. Thank God it’s dark out here and I can’t see, you know, everything he’s got going on.

“Was that a bloody rooster?”

“I think so.” I lean over the metal railing to scan the ground as best I can.

“I can’t see much—ah!” I scream again and half jump onto Loomis, who is gracious enough to catch me, and point.

“Look! That better be a rooster and not a giant bug or a vicious beast, or I swear, I’m going to pack up and leave this island now. ”

Loomis is laughing, practically howling at my expense. “A vicious beast?”

I nudge him with my elbow. “Shut up. You know what I mean.”

“Honestly, no, but you’re adorable when you’re throwing a wobbly over a bird.”

I bite into my lip and turn to meet his gray eyes, which are nearly charcoal black, only to realize I’m still half in his arms and slide myself away. I tug down my tank top that rode up and admit, “I’m afraid of birds.”

“You’re taking the piss, right?”

“I never understood that term, but no. I’m not… taking the piss.” I scrunch my nose. “I don’t like birds of any kind.”

“There’s a joke I could make about your fear of cocks, but I’m too tired at the moment.”

“I appreciate that. I don’t have any witty responses in me. It’s too early, and my heart is beating too much adrenaline through me.”

“Agreed.” He pauses, tilts his head, and says, “Well, it seems we have roosters because there’s another one.” He points to the dark figure milling around by the tall grass. “Or maybe that’s a chicken, and we’ll have fresh eggs.”

“We’re on an island. How can we have livestock?”

“Didn’t you see the pictures and signs all over town when we drove through? I think roosters are their thing down here.”

“I hadn’t noticed that, no. Does this mean we’re going to get this kind of wake-up call every morning?”

He grimaces. “I bloody hope not. Luckily it didn’t wake Fen. When that lad is asleep, a nuclear silo could be under attack around the corner from us and he wouldn’t stir.”

I sag, falling silent as the sky begins to brighten, painting a silhouette on the island. It’s bigger than I initially thought, and I’m a bit anxious to explore it. With a weapon on my person, of course.

“It’s beautiful,” he whispers to himself, almost wistfully.

He rests his forearms on the railing, and I mirror his position, both of us lost in our own thoughts.

I was nervous about how this morning with him would go after last night’s shower incident.

Because yes, I heard him. I hadn’t meant to.

I was genuinely going downstairs to get some water when I could have sworn I heard him groan my name.

For a moment, I was worried. I thought he was in pain, but then I heard him murmur fuck amongst other things, and that groan was followed by a moan that was most definitely not pain-derived.

I was frozen. Rooted to the spot as I listened as he came in the shower… to thoughts of me. He had teased that he might have a fantasy or two since he’s a man and that’s how it goes, but I hadn’t expected him to be serious. Or to follow through on it. Literally.

Truthfully, I didn’t think he saw me as anything more than a friend. Like a Tinsley to him. I didn’t think he was even attracted to me because he’s never hinted at it. Not once. I’ve caught occasional looks and glances, especially since yesterday, but that’s been it.

And I wish I could say I was immune to him and that what he did last night didn’t affect me. But I’d be lying.

Him standing there in nothing but his towel with his tattoos on display along with his muscular arms, shoulders—my total weakness—chest, and abs all dripping water was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.

I don’t think I’ve ever gotten wet simply from looking at someone, but I wasn’t just wet, I was soaked, and he wasn’t the only person to get off to inappropriate fantasies last night.

It’s not how I wanted to start this trip with him. We said nothing would happen, and I meant it. I can’t go down that road. Not with him. Not with all he’s told me along with what I already know of him and his lifestyle.

He’s a famous celebrity with a movie star glimmer in his piercing, mischievous gray eyes.

He’s a bad boy. One who secretly whispers I’m a dirty sex god while smiling and charming you.

He’s all of that, and I’m, well, I’m me.

I’m Keegan Fritz, the nerdy girl with frizzy red hair, a few too many freckles on my face, and a curvy body I stopped making excuses for a long time ago.

I’m a doctor with a heart that gets me in trouble and a mouth that’s notorious for making big promises, especially under stress.

Hence how I found myself here with him.

So I can’t allow myself to imagine that last night, him in the shower, was anything more than a crime of opportunity. I’m here and easy porn fodder that doesn’t require a lot of mental bandwidth. It doesn’t mean he’s attracted to me.

“What are your plans for the day?” he asks, interrupting our silent reveries.

“I have some, uh, some work to do on my laptop if I’m able.” I better fucking be able. “And I was thinking I’d explore the island a bit. What about you?”

He chuckles. “Other than trying to find a proper gate for Fen, not a whole lot. I thought I’d take him swimming and see how he enjoys the water. And maybe I’ll have him chase a rooster or two.”

The thought of little Fen chasing a rooster makes me giggle.

“I think I’ll go shower and get myself ready for the day. No way I can go back to sleep now.”

“And since we both already know I showered last night, I think I’ll go down and brew some coffee for us.”

My mouth drops, and my head whips in his direction. He’s smiling down at me, his eyes sparkling, and I huff an annoyed breath to cover my blush and my body’s reaction to his shower last night.

“You do that,” I snap, and he laughs.

“That wasn’t a very good come back.”

“Really? You’re going to keep taunting me with this? You’re the one with the inappropriate fantasy.”

“But it was lovely. Would you like me to tell you about it? Show you, perhaps?”

“Loomis! I thought we agreed not to talk about it.”

He laughs. “True. We did do. My apologies. I won’t mention it again. Probably right, that is. I can’t have you thinking about my cock that way now that I know you’re afraid of them. He is quite the beast.” With that, he walks back toward his room.

“Jerk!” I call out, and he laughs just as he shuts the french doors behind him. Ugh. I smile to myself as I walk back inside, shut the doors, and go to my bathroom to brush my teeth and shower.

Today, I need to focus on my writing. I have a loose outline for the next book I want to solidify and maybe even plot out a bit more so I can start it. I signed the contract. I read it over on the plane and digitally signed it last night.

It’s done. I’m doing this. I still don’t know what that will mean for me as a resident and a doctor after that, but I’m going to put the time, energy, and emotion into writing this series.

What comes after that, I don’t know. I don’t even know if this series will sell, and what that will mean for me if it does or doesn’t.

Much of my family doesn’t know. How do you tell your very prim and proper grandmother, the queen of Boston, to whom appearances—the right appearances—are everything, that you write very steamy paranormal romances?

Romance is often scoffed at and brushed off as fluff or not substantive.

It’s viewed as porn and trash. No one takes us seriously, yet romance outsells any other genre.

And while I love romance—everything about it—I’m still a Fritz with a name and reputation to uphold and protect. There’s a reason I have a pen name.

I figure that’s a problem later Keegan has to sort out, and only if this series does anything.

For now, I focus on what’s in front of me, what I need to get done, and what I have control over.

My wrist and hand were bothering me a bit last night.

I think the day of travel, lifting things, and doing more than I should wasn’t the best for them. I just hope it didn’t set me back more.

The shower might just be the greatest thing ever, and I change into a bikini, a tank top, and a pair of cut-off shorts since my weather app tells me it’s going to be eighty-three in Key West today.

I twist my long, red hair on top of my head into a bun, use a clip to secure it since that’s easier to manage than an elastic with my hand, and don’t bother with makeup or contacts because I think that’s the smarter play here for me, and frankly, it’s also much easier with my bad wrist. I head downstairs, my bare feet padding on the wooden steps, only for me to come to an abrupt halt.

Loomis has Fen in his arms as he holds him off to the side and stirs some eggs around in a pan with his other.

He’s singing to him. A Tinsley song they both seem to know by heart since Fen is all but humming along.

Bacon sizzles in one pan and eggs cook in the other, and Loomis sings and sways, keeping Fen’s little body safely away from the stove the way any good dad would.

It’s a sight that has my ovaries legit punching my lower abdomen and me automatically sagging and sighing.

It’s the tattoos beneath a fitted white T-shirt and messy blond, I just rolled out of bed after having wild sex all night hair in stark juxtaposition to the adorable baby clinging to his daddy and staring at him with pure adoration and wonder in his eyes.

Plus, I mean, Loomis is singing Tinsley Monroe. It’s pure pop perfection, and he’s hitting all the notes like he was always meant to duet with her. I slip my phone out of my back pocket and take a quick video that I shoot over to Tinsley.

Loomis catches me out of the corner of his eye, and a smile curls devilishly up his face as he takes me in from head to toe. “A redhead wearing red. I approve.”

“Huh?” I follow his gaze to my boobs and notice my red bikini is visible beneath my tank top. “Oh.” I laugh and shrug in a self-deprecating way. “Can’t hurt to get some sun on these pasty legs.” I enter the kitchen and drop a kiss on Fen’s cheek as I peer over Loomis’s shoulder. “Smells good.”

“Did you tell them an Englishman was coming?”

I scrunch my brow. “No. Why?”

“Because they have beans, tomatoes, toast, bacon, and eggs. No sausage, but otherwise it’s a perfect English breakfast.”

“Oh boy. What about tea?”

“There’s that too in the cupboard. But I’ll have that later. Coffee is ready.” He bobs his head over toward the pot of black stuff waiting for me.

“Can I take him and put him in his chair while you finish up?”

“Erm, yeah, that’d be great actually. Thank you.”

Fen comes eagerly into my arms, and I twirl him around, mindful of my brace and wrist as I set him into his highchair with only a minor protest.

“Can you say Keegan? Kee-gan.” I elongate my name.

Fen simply gives me that charming, toothy smile he does so well and makes some impatient noises when Loomis starts to plate up some food.

“Hold there, lad. It’s hot.”

I pour a cup of coffee and plate some eggs and bacon for myself. I don’t know about beans or cooked tomatoes with all of that, but before I can decide, Loomis scoops some of both onto my plate.

“Trust me.” He winks, and with his own plate in his hand, he goes to the table to feed Fen and eat.

I set my plate down and sip on my coffee and try not to watch him talk to Fen as he feeds him.

Loomis is in a good mood this morning. I don’t know if it’s being here on the island with a bit of freedom he hasn’t had in months or the sunshine and warm air outside the window or what.

It’s infectious, though, and I end up eating everything on my plate while ignoring Loomis’s smug grin.

I do the dishes and load up the dishwasher—one-handed, I might add—and the moment that’s done, I go upstairs, grab my laptop, refill my coffee, and head out into the garden. Time to start writing. And ignore the hot, shirtless guy headed for the pool with a baby in his arms.