Adrenaline Heat Read online

  Luna placed her hand on his arm. “The buffet is open. Let’s grab something and find a corner table so we can get out of this.” She lifted her hands in the general direction of the crowd flocking around the laden tables.

  Some people acted as if they were starving although they’d gotten an array of afternoon snacks and cakes on the flight.

  A woman he recognized as one of Luna’s colleagues from human resources walked straight toward them. “Isn’t the heat gorgeous?”

  Luna sighed and gave the older woman a crooked smile. “I honestly prefer cooler climates and lots of snow.”

  The reply reminded him painfully why he used to call her his winter girl. He put on his best fake smile, put his arm around her shoulder, and playfully pulled her closer. “You’re cold all the time.”

  She leaned into him and put a hand on his chest. “A price I’m willing to pay.” Her colleague laughed and moved on.

  Somewhere off to the right, a live band started playing Caribbean tunes.

  Oliver placed his hand on the small of Luna’s back and nodded toward the buffet. “You’re right. Let’s get this over with.” They joined the line and quickly filled their plates. Then he steered Luna to a small table at the edge of the terrace, hoping he could avoid sharing a table with other GovCorp employees. He didn’t know if he could stomach tedious small talk. Above all, he wanted to avoid questions about their honeymoon that never really took place. The tropical risotto he forked into his mouth smelled delicious, and he was sure it also tasted great, but it could have just as well been shredded cardboard. He chewed it down, taking in the scenery of his previously most-beloved memories—memories that were nothing but lies.

  Luna shifted in her chair and leaned forward. “Oliver?”

  He really didn’t feel like talking to her though he knew they’d have to look happy. “What?” he ground out.

  She whispered through her teeth, “Lewis is coming over.” A frown wrinkled her brow, and her voice sounded incredulous. “And people are taking off their clothes.”

  Sitting with his back to the crowd, Oliver half turned, but Lewis’s big hairy gut blocked his view.

  Lewis placed his veiny hands on their little table and leaned in. “I see you two lovebirds opted for a private table instead of joining the rest of GovCorp.” He flashed a conspiratorial smile before he wiped at his sweaty brow. “This ridiculous heatwave is unbearable. As I already told the rest of our group, you can go and ditch the dress code, beachwear is fine.” He pointed at Oliver’s chest. “Or, if you don’t want to change, go ahead and unbutton your shirt like I did.” His gaze skipped to Luna’s light summer dress, and he pulled up his eyebrows. “Very wise choice. And very pretty I might add.” Then he directed his attention to Oliver again, giving him an encouraging nod. “Don’t be shy. We’re one big family, right?” His grin was just a little too big.

  Oliver tried to keep his expression neutral. “I’m good.”

  Lewis made a sweeping gesture toward the other tables were the men were unbuttoning their shirts. Some other men and women were leaving the tables, probably to change. Obedient little minions that they were.

  Luna threw him a pleading look.

  Oliver pressed his lips together and unbuttoned his shirt, wondering what would come next. Strip poker? But he’d agreed to this ridiculous charade, and the humid tropical heat was unsettling.

  Lewis patted him on the shoulder, and his look fell to their half-full plates. “Have you finished already? Is the food selection not to your liking?”

  Luna smiled politely. “The heat, you know. And we had a lot of snacks on the flight.”

  Lewis nodded and turned to Oliver. “I hope you don’t mind me asking your wife for a dance.”

  For a second, worry flitted over Luna’s expression.

  Oliver lifted a shoulder. “You’re her boss. How could I stop you?” There was an edge to his voice, but he didn’t care. There was no need to pretend he didn’t loathe Lewis, considering their past.

  Lewis’s eyes narrowed for a second on Oliver until Luna scraped back her chair and Lewis focused his attention on her.

  Smiling, Luna took the arm Lewis held out to her. After a few steps toward the middle of the terrace, where three other couples were already slow dancing to soft tropical tunes, she threw a quick look over her shoulder at Oliver. Her sad eyes drilled a hole in his already damaged heart, and he wished he could just bury it under snow and ice instead of sitting in this simmering heat and watching her dance with Lewis.

  Lewis turned her in his arms, and as they swayed, they were clearly having a conversation. As the love song went on and on, every look at Luna and Lewis talking made his pulse spike a notch. What were they discussing?

  After the dance with Lewis, a few colleagues of Luna’s called her name, and when she turned, they motioned her to come over to their table. Lewis gave her a quick nod, and Luna headed toward the women’s table. Though Oliver was itching to know what that dance had been all about, part of him was relieved she didn’t return to him. They’d agreed it would be best if she mingled while he stayed at the suite, blaming it on his injuries, and that was exactly what she was doing. And his kidney also demanded he’d stick to the plan.

  He left the terrace and took the seven flights of stairs up to their suite. It didn’t do much to alleviate his pent-up anger, but the burn in his leg muscles still felt good.

  Back in the suite, he tried to lie down, but the damn adrenaline wouldn’t let him rest. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and went out on the balcony, where he had a clear view of what went on down at the terrace restaurant. He let his gaze roam the tables until he found Luna. And what he saw her doing sent a new rush of irritation through his veins. Damn it. On his way back down, he set his unopened beer on the side table at the suite’s exit and slammed the door behind him.

  A woman Luna knew from accounting refilled Luna’s empty glass with a wide smile before she could protest. Her head was already spinning. While she laughed and drank with her colleagues, Luna secretly watched Oliver talking with Lewis. She thought he’d left and gone upstairs, but either she’d been wrong, or he had returned. Her sweeping gaze got stonewalled by Oliver’s dark stare, and unease crawled through her margarita-induced haze as she took another sip from her straw. Something was wrong. A little snort escaped her. Well, everything was wrong. This party paradise, this fantasy, where salty water kissed white, powdered sand was a living nightmare, her personal purgatory.

  But for Oliver, it had to be so much worse. Until a few weeks ago, this was his happiest memory. How it must hurt him to be reminded of her betrayal everywhere he looked. And still, he played along. His words earlier in the room had hurt. But she’d been warned that he might be easily irritated thanks to the serum he had to inject himself with until his wound was healed. Although he was right here with her, she missed him incredibly, the real Oliver, not the hard shell she was looking at now. Hopelessness welled up inside. How could he ever forgive her? She’d taken something away from him, and she had no idea how to ever return it.

  “Luna?” Her colleagues lifted a full pitcher she hadn’t even noticed the server had brought.

  “Sure. Why not?” She held up her glass, and as soon as her colleague had refilled it, she removed the straw and tacky little umbrella and downed the tasty liquid, although she was probably already more than just a little tipsy. Usually, she avoided alcohol, terrified of ending up like her mother. Her gaze fell on Oliver again as he crossed the terrace toward her table.

  A colleague from human resources who sat to her left bumped her shoulder into Luna’s. “I really wish some of our colleagues wouldn’t have unbuttoned their shirts.” Her look seemed glued to Oliver. “But woohoo, you…” She rested her chin on Luna’s shoulder as if she wasn’t able to hold up her head on her own. “You have got one seriously hot piece of a man at your side.”

  Luna laughed lightheadedly as her own gaze traveled along Oliver’s abs to his birthing scar. She’d always
loved touching and licking the smooth round indent and the low sounds he made when she did that—usually before following the happy trail down to another part of his anatomy she equally loved. She shook the stray thoughts from her mind, but she could feel a stupid grin spreading across her face as she turned to her colleague. “Right? And you know what?”

  Her colleague shook her head a little too fast and grabbed on to the table’s ledge. “No, what?”

  “Until Oliver, I’ve never wasted a thought on belly buttons. How different they looked. Unique?” She giggled. “Sure. But pretty? Not so much.”

  Her colleague grinned and clinked her cocktail glass against Luna’s. “You got a point there.”

  Meanwhile, Oliver had reached their table and held his hand out to Luna. “Sorry, I need a minute with my wife.” His words were accompanied by a strained smile. She should probably introduce her husband properly, but she couldn’t remember the name of her colleague. Instead, she settled for waving at her and got a wink in return. She rose to her feet on shaky legs and was almost relieved as Oliver wrapped his warm hand around her forearm to steady her.

  He pulled her over to the edge of the terrace where she almost stumbled over her own feet. Stupid heels.

  They finally stopped near a row of palm trees and flowering bushes. The warm, sweet smell of ginger lilies were a sharp contrast to the iciness Oliver radiated. He wrapped his arm around her waist as if he thought she might fall.

  Giggling, she grabbed the drink list from a bar table next to them. It was definitely easier to pretend everything was okay with a full glass in hand.

  Oliver obviously fought hard to keep a scowl from his face, but she could only grin. “You should drink something too.”

  A muscle in his jaw ticked. “How the hell is it going to help Lexi if you get drunk and embarrass yourself and your supposedly loving husband in front of everybody here? I'm not going through all this shit just so you can blow it up in our faces.” Focusing on something behind her, he murmured, “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” A mix of sadness and anger ghosted over his features before he chased it away with a shake of his head. “I can’t believe how stupid I was. I really thought I bested my fate and found a woman who actually loved me. I was such an idiot.”

  His sobering words stabbed her right through the heart, leaving it bleeding out despair. She cleared her throat and searched his eyes. “You have every reason to hate me. Still, you help my sister and me despite everything I've done to you. I will never forget that, and I will always love you for that. No matter what you say or do to me now. No matter how badly you'll hurt me in the process. I know I deserve it.” Her vision blurred as she turned toward the beach. Keep it together. Don’t let the others see you crying. But repeating the mantra still wouldn’t help her hold back the tears. She needed to get out of here before her colleagues saw her crying.

  Oliver exhaled behind her. “Luna. Wait.” His voice was still harsh, but the edge was off. He curled his arm around her middle and steered her toward a darker corner of the terrace.

  His warm scent alone soothed her enough to keep her from sobbing, which was so screwed up.

  He pulled her into a tight hug. “Shh, baby. Don’t lose it now. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

  Grateful for the shield his chest provided against any prying eyes, she wrapped her arms around him to keep from shaking. The stiffness in his spine resolved a little, and he started running his strong hands up and down her back.

  He hated her, he made it quite clear. This hug was for show, not because he wanted to be close to her. So, she took a deep breath and tried her best to act her part as well. Resting her forehead against his pecs, she wiped away the wetness on her face.

  “No, you were right. I’m sorry.”

  Oliver’s spine straightened under her fingertips, and he half turned toward the terrace.

  Her own breath hitched. The song the live band started playing was their song. The song that was played at their beach wedding ceremony, which only took place a few hundred feet from where they were now—well, at least in Oliver’s fake memories and the fake video of the ceremony. Some couples already started dancing, drawing a panicked gasp from her. “Oh God, I think we need to dance. Just to be on the safe side.”

  Oliver’s eyes widened as he pointed toward the band. “Are you telling me even our fucking song is just a lie?” Disbelief rang in his voice. “Did GovCorp pick it?”

  Throat tight, she nodded as tears pricked her eyelids again. Worse though, Lewis zoomed in on them from across the terrace and started moving in their direction.

  Oliver’s skin welcomed the cool ocean breeze that finally kicked in, but it couldn’t calm the serious tug-of-war of emotions inside his chest.

  In his arms, Luna frantically wiped her cheeks with her palms, but her eyes were overflowing with tears.

  He quickly pulled her closer into his embrace, gently pressing his hand against her lower back. “It’s okay. Stop crying, please. It’s not your fault.” He forced himself to calm down—for his own sake and for the safety of everybody involved, especially Lexi. He had a clear idea of what those same scientists who drank and joked a few yards away would do to her if things went wrong.

  A hint of coconut shampoo tickled his nose, and he bent his head and kissed the top of Luna’s head. He needed to stop hurting her. And to do so, he had to stop taking that damn serum. It turned him into an asshole, and this was only their first evening. They’d never make it through the rest of the retreat like this. His kidney still felt more than tender, but it would have to be good enough.

  He let his hands slide down to Luna’s shoulders and took a step back when he noticed movement in his peripheral vision. Lewis strode into their direction, sporting his fake jovial smile. Or maybe it was just his drunk face judging by how many glasses Oliver had seen him empty over the course of the evening. It didn’t make a difference though.

  Oliver knew it was either dance with Luna now or...

  Damn, her lids were all puffy and red. There was no way they could go back there where everybody would see she’d just bawled her eyes out.

  Lewis was only a few steps away from them now, and Luna tried hard to get a rein on her tear ducts, but the damn things just wouldn’t obey.

  Oliver cupped her face with both hands and embarrassment swept through her. She couldn’t believe she was ruining everything on their very first evening. She tried to lower her head again, but he softly wiped under her eyes with his thumbs and whispered, “Hold on.” His mouth crashed down on hers, and her lips parted as soon as his tongue licked at their seams.

  A low moan formed in her throat as he took the kiss deeper, and her belly started heating as his hands slid down to her waist, pulling her closer to him. She pressed her hand against his bare chest to steady herself as he started to slowly turn them both a little.

  His lips wandered across her cheek until she could feel his hot breath hitting her earlobe.

  “Okay, I think we changed Lewis’s mind. He’s returning to the bar.” Oliver let go of her and stepped to the side.

  Despite the heat, Luna’s skin chilled instantly where Oliver’s hands had just roamed her body. As real as the kiss had felt moments ago, Oliver’s current expression didn’t show any feelings. It had merely been a tactic to save their hides. And apparently, it had worked. Their song had meanwhile ended, and the band played a lively Reggae rhythm now.

  Lewis approached another couple, hopefully, fooled by Oliver and Luna’s passionate display.

  Oliver straightened his open shirt, and his jaw unclenched. “I think it worked.”

  She bit her lips. “I’m sorry I screwed this up.”

  Oliver wrapped his arm around her waist. “We’ll get through this.”

  Goose bumps flared at his words, and her eyes flicked up to meet his gaze.

  “We’ll save your sister.” He clarified his previous statement.

  She knew the words were meant to soothe, but they also
doused the tiny flicker of hope that he might have referred to their relationship.

  Oliver crossed the stone terrace toward the main bar, watching Luna hurry inside the hotel to freshen up in the ladies’ room. They’d both have to pull themselves together if they wanted to get through the retreat.

  He rested his elbow on the colorful, tiled counter, and after a quick check of their enormous variety, he raised an eyebrow at the young bartender. “Just give me your best local beer.” Whatever he’d drink, it would only taste like the frustration that had taken up residence in his throat.

  The bartender opened a bottle and placed it in front of Oliver. When he turned to grab a glass from the shelf next to him, Oliver shook his head. “Thanks, that’s not necessary.” He wrapped his fingers around the ice-cold beverage and turned to watch the crowd.

  Most were done with dinner, and they’d moved on to the drinking part of the evening. Some guys already had glassy eyes, some were laughing a little bit too hard.

  Oliver took a long swig of the beer, which was sweeter than he’d anticipated. Just as he lifted the bottle to his mouth again, he noticed two guys at the end of the opposite second bar clearly checking out Luna in her short, strapless dress as she reappeared on the terrace.

  He shouldn’t care. Still, heat flared in his veins.

  And someone else in his direct line of vision sent even more fire through Oliver’s system. Lewis swaggered over toward him, sipping from his champagne flute. He pointed toward Oliver’s lower back. “How are you holding up?”

  Oliver waved a hand, as if his stab wounds were nothing. And truthfully, in comparison to everything else going on here, the pain was a minor nuisance.

  Luna made out Oliver and Lewis at the bar, but Oliver slightly shook his head. She gave him a small nod and joined a group of younger colleagues in the opposite direction.