Читать книгу Tropical Fantasy - Monica McKayhan - Страница 12

Chapter 4

With fingers intertwined, Sasha held on tightly to the small bouquet of mandarin-colored lilies. The small hotel conference room had been transformed into a quaint little wedding chapel. Although the couple was supposed to exchange vows on the beach, the wedding had unexpectedly been moved inside because of a few little sprinkles of rain. Her sister looked as if she’d just stepped out of the pages of Black Bride & Groom magazine, with her chic and stylish strapless Vera Wang gown and its flowing train. Bridget was a picture of beauty as their father escorted her down the aisle, delivering her to her husband-to-be. Her hair flowing against her shoulders and her makeup flawless, she looked happier than Sasha had ever seen her. Derrick looked proud as he awaited her arrival.

Sasha stole a glance at the best man, and he gave her a sly grin and a wink. The night before had been a blur, and she struggled with the thought that she’d slept with a man whom she barely knew. She wondered what it had been like. She didn’t know. All she remembered after four Brown Russians was a romantic walk along the beach before ultimately passing out. Vince must’ve carried her to her condo, because she couldn’t for the life of her remember walking there. He’d obviously undressed her and took advantage of her limp and helpless body.

She glared at him. He looked confused as to why she looked at him that way. He offered an apologetic smile. She rolled her eyes and directed her attention to the bride and groom and the gray-haired Bahamian minister who read Scriptures from a tattered Bible. She would simply ignore him for the remainder of the afternoon, and soon she’d be on a plane headed for Savannah. She would never have to see Vince again if she played her cards right. She could successfully avoid him for the rest of her life, except for those awkward moments when they both would be invited to Derrick and Bridget’s home at the same time. She’d cross that bridge when she got to it, but for now, Vince Sullivan did not exist in her world.

Avoiding him wasn’t as easy as she expected, especially when he decided to unexpectedly grab her by the waist and whisk her onto the dance floor at the reception.

“Are you avoiding me, Sasha Winters?” he asked as they slow-danced to Beyonce’s version of Etta James’s “At Last.”

“Yes,” she said.

“Why?”

“Because you’re a predator,” she growled. “You took advantage of me while I was in a vulnerable state.”

“You were drunk, girl. Plain and simple,” he said. “And I’ll have you know, you tried to take advantage of me!”

“What? You’re insane.” Sasha lowered her voice and then looked around the room. The bride and groom danced cheek to cheek just a few feet away.

“Am I?”

“Yes!” she shouted and then looked around at the questioning eyes in the room—namely Bridget, who gave her a look that said what’s going on with you two? She lowered her voice. “Yes, you are insane if you think that I took advantage of you.”

“You’re right. It was the other way around,” he whispered in her ear, his breath warm and gentle against her earlobe. “I took you back to your room, slowly undressed you. I stood there for a moment...took in the beauty of your sexy naked body. Your breasts were so round and firm and plump. And your nipples...they were so hard. I placed them between my lips one at a time...”

Sasha found herself in a trance under the sound of his voice. She should’ve been mortified by the things he was saying, but she was all but.

“Then I took you. And you felt so good, baby,” he whispered. “I would love to do it again...and again...and again.”

She wanted to kiss his sexy lips, right there in the middle of that dance floor. As his huge, soft hand caressed the small of her bare back, she imagined him taking her—and wondered again what it had been like, because she certainly couldn’t remember one single detail of it.

“If you’ll excuse me, I have to go,” she said. “I have to get packed for my flight.”

“Your flight?” Vince asked.

“Yes, you know...on a jet. That huge piece of metal that’s going to take me away from here to Savannah, Georgia, in just a few hours.”

“So you think that you’re catching a flight in a few hours?”

“I know so,” Sasha said confidently.

“I think you should come with me.” Vince grabbed Sasha’s elbow and led her out of the hotel’s ballroom and to the front of the building.

Sasha peered out the window and noticed that it was pitch-black outside. It was pouring rain with an occasional roar of thunder.

“Oh, my God,” she whispered to herself, and then pulled her iPhone from her glittery silver purse. She tried calling the airline but wasn’t able to get through—the call failed. Rushing over to the hotel’s concierge, she asked, “Can I use your phone to check on my flight? I’m supposed to catch a red-eye out of here at eleven.”

“Ma’am, I’m sorry, but our phone lines are down right now. We’re not able to get an outside line,” said the dark gentleman in his Bahamian accent. “And you won’t be catching a flight out tonight. All flights have been canceled due to the storm.”

“Are you sure?” she asked.

The concierge directed her attention to the television anchored in the corner of the wall. The newscaster’s mouth was moving but with the television on mute, and Sasha couldn’t make out what he was saying.

“Can you turn that up, please?” she asked the hotel’s reservation agent.

The woman obliged and the newscaster’s voice echoed throughout the lobby. “All flights leaving Nassau’s L. Pindling Airport have been canceled this evening.”

Sasha wanted to rewind the newscast, just to see if she’d misheard. She paced the floor, unsure of what to do. She tried her phone again, wanting to get through to the airline just to see for herself. She wanted to hear them say it personally—that her flight had been canceled. Spending another night in the Bahamas was not in the plans. However, she wasn’t completely disappointed. There was something about the handsome man who sat across the room watching her every move. His presence sent her hormones into a frenzy. And spending an extra night in the Bahamas might help her to understand exactly what it was she was feeling inside.