Summer Heat Read online

  They came to a small clearing and were surprised to see an older couple standing in the pathway smoking a joint and laughing.

  “Hey.” The woman turned toward them, then surprised him by walking over and holding up the joint to him. “Care to join us?”

  “Um, no, thanks.” He glanced over at Elle, who had pasted on her professional smile.

  “Are you sure?” The man moved closer and wrapped his arm around the woman Liam assumed was his wife. “If not, maybe you two would like to have some other fun?”

  Liam instantly picked up on the man’s meaning, since the guy was scanning Elle and that silk dress she was wearing.

  Stepping between the two, he shook his head. “Thanks for the offer . . .” he started, but Elle stepped around him, her shoulders straight.

  “Thank you, but no, we were just heading back. Please make sure you dispose of that properly. Wildfires are common this time of year.”

  “Will do,” the woman added with a giggle, tangling with the man in an embrace as Liam pulled Elle back down the pathway.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “Well, that was fun,” she said nervously as they stepped into the light near the back door. It had taken her a few seconds to realize that she and Liam had just been invited to join a couple for not only pot but sex.

  That kind of thing had never happened to her before.

  Still, when the older man’s eyes had locked on her breasts, she’d been thankful Liam had stepped between them.

  “Something tells me that won’t be the last time you get an offer like that.” He held the door open for her.

  She smiled slightly as she passed by him—she’d handled it the best way possible. With grace.

  “Thanks for walking me back.”

  “Anytime,” he added as she reached the main stairs, and she got the hint that he wasn’t going to head up to bed just yet.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She started to move toward the next set of stairs, but he stopped her.

  “Elle, I’ll need my jacket for tomorrow night.”

  She glanced down at the large dinner jacket wrapped around her shoulders. She’d enjoyed the warmth and his musky scent the moment he’d laid it over her chilled skin. “Right.” She smiled and pulled it off, instantly missing both the feel and the smell. “Night.”

  She started up the stairs again and could have sworn she heard him whisper “Wow” one more time.

  “Looks like you had a good night,” Hannah said from her spot on the sofa with a thick romance novel in her lap when Elle walked in. A glass of wine sat on the end table.

  “Better than yours.” Elle nodded to the still-almost-full glass.

  “I always forget I pour wine when I lose myself in a really great book,” she said, picking it up and downing half the glass.

  “Is there murder?” Elle walked over and glanced at the cover.

  “Yes.” Hannah smiled. “So far three people have died. I think I might know who did it, but . . .”

  Elle sat down on the sofa next to the chair. “If I were an author, I’d end up killing everyone by accident.”

  Hannah laughed. “That’s what Stephen King does, and he’s made millions from it.”

  Elle chuckled. “Dinner was a tremendous success.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Hannah set the book down after placing a playing card to mark her spot in the book. Her friend had tons of bookmarks, but the ace of hearts had been her go-to for as long as Elle had known her. At one point Elle guessed that it had been given to her by her first boyfriend, but when she asked Hannah about it, a sad look filled her eyes, and Elle never asked her about it again.

  “Where is everyone else?” she asked, pulling off her heels.

  “Zoey had an evening ride scheduled.”

  Elle winced at Hannah’s wording, remembering the couple they had bumped into, but shook it off when Hannah continued. “Scar had another group of people that wanted to go out as well, and I’m not sure where Aubrey is. She was wearing hiking boots.”

  “Do you think she’s meeting the guy she’s seeing?” Elle asked, putting her legs up on the worn coffee table. It was only a matter of time before it would have to be replaced.

  “Could be.” Hannah shrugged and sipped her wine as her eyes ran over Elle. “Why were you smiling as you walked in here?”

  Elle was just about to tell her about the couple when the door opened, and Scarlett walked in. They watched her remove her riding boots, then sit down, propping her feet on the coffee table. It wobbled so much that she moved her feet immediately.

  “So?” Hannah and Elle said at the same time.

  “How was the group?” Elle asked.

  “Okay.” Scarlett rolled her shoulders. “I stopped by and had a chat with my mom after. She’s going zip-lining tomorrow.”

  “Really?” Elle asked. “I’m starting to feel like it was a smart business move adding them.”

  “Agreed. Zoey is going to flip her lid when she finds out Mom’s going, though,” Scar added with a smirk.

  Elle chuckled. “I’ll bet you five bucks she tries to stop her.”

  “No one in this room would take that bet. Matter of fact, I’ll bet you she tries to stop her before tomorrow,” Hannah said dryly as she picked up her book again.

  “On that note,” Elle said, standing up, “I’m going to take a shower and head to bed. I have an early morning.”

  “Don’t we all?” Scar stood up and followed her down the hallway. Zoey and Scar shared her grandfather’s old room, and Hannah and Aubrey shared the guest room, while Elle had taken her old smaller room, still filled with childhood memories.

  At least there were three bathrooms to the apartment, which meant she had an en suite all to herself. Thankfully. Not that she would have minded sharing with the others, but after almost a year of living with four other women, she’d heard plenty of yelling about bathroom time limits.

  She had just crawled into bed when she heard Zoey storm in. Rolling over, she silently wished that she wouldn’t be interrupted, but when her door cracked open, she turned back toward the light.

  “I’m still awake,” she said.

  “Good.” Zoey marched in and plopped down on her bed. “That man infuriates me.”

  “Dylan?”

  “Who else?” Zoey tucked her legs under her like she was preparing to stay awhile, so Elle sat up and flipped on her lamp.

  “What did he do this time?” She knew that since the brothers had moved onto campus, Zoey had on more than one occasion complained about the man.

  “I’m pretty sure he has a thing going with one of the waitresses,” Zoey started.

  “Who?” Things were getting juicy now, so she pulled her legs up to her chest and eagerly waited for the gossip.

  “Ryan.” Zoey frowned. “I forget her last name.”

  “Kinsley,” Elle provided for her. “The woman made a pass at Liam tonight while I was standing there.” She chuckled. “The man looked scared.”

  Zoey remained silent for a moment. “Actually, now that I think about it, so did Dylan.”

  “Maybe there’s something more we don’t know, then?” she hinted.

  It appeared that all the hot air had gone out of Zoey, and they sat there in silence for a moment.

  “Other than that, how was your night?” Elle finally asked.

  “Good.”

  Elle could tell Zoey was hiding something, but Elle didn’t think she had the energy to find out what at the moment. “I’m tired,” she said with a yawn.

  “Oh.” Zoey jumped up. “Yeah, me too. Have I mentioned lately that I’m so very happy you talked us into this?” She hugged her.

  Elle chuckled. “Talked, blackmailed . . .” She waved her hands. “All the same.”

  Zoey laughed. “Night.” She kissed her on the forehead. “Grandpa Joe would be proud.”

  “Don’t make me cry,” she said to Zoey’s back as she shut the door.

  The next morning, Elle was woken by not her alar
m but her cell phone buzzing. She reached over and answered it on the third ring.

  “You’d better get down to the smaller pool,” Julie said without even a greeting.

  “What?” Elle sat straight up as her eyes flew open. Thoughts of people falling and injuring themselves flashed in her mind.

  “Apparently, there was a party last night, and . . . well, just get down there quickly.”

  “On my way.” Elle hung up and dressed in record time.

  She jogged down the path and came to a dead stop when she noticed the destruction.

  Pool chairs were out of place, with several of the cushions actually floating or at the bottom of the pool. There was trash everywhere, and empty beer bottles and cans littered the side of the pool; a few even floated in the water, while some were stuck at the bottom of the deep end of the pool.

  “What the . . .” She felt her heart beating hard in her temple and reached up to place a finger over it to stop the vein from bursting.

  “Looks like there was a nice party.” Damion stepped up beside her. “I came out here to clean the pool this morning and found it like this.”

  She’d hired Damion Wells, a local, to run all things water related. Including the pool maintenance, boat excursions, and repair as well as paddleboard, kayak, and canoe rentals.

  He’d been a year older than her in school and had been one of the kids she’d bonded with, since he’d been bullied as well. Being the only black kid in their small school had made him an instant target to a select group of bullies.

  “What happened?” She glanced around at the mess.

  “Looks like a larger party,” Damion said. “Maybe even an orgy.” He nodded to a used condom floating in the water.

  “Eww.” She took a step back.

  “The chemicals should take care of anything . . . in the water,” he said with a chuckle, “but the rest . . .”

  “I’ll get the cleaning crew down here.” She instantly wished to bleach the bottom of her shoes and turned away from the mess to dial the front office. After getting Julie to call in reinforcements, she asked her to get Zoey and the others so the Wildflowers could discuss the mess before breakfast. Something had to be done to ensure that this sort of thing didn’t happen every night.

  The smaller pool was farther away from the main buildings and most of the cabins. It sat near the bay side, which meant there could be a loud party going on every night without anyone hearing a thing.

  It wasn’t until Zoey arrived that she remembered the security cameras they had sprung for prior to opening up. Since they hadn’t needed them during the refurbishment, she’d almost forgotten their use, beyond spying on the brothers’ nightly excursions.

  When Zoey and the others showed up, they followed her back to her office, where she booted up her computer and opened the camera software. Seeing the couples going at it in the water was one thing, but when Hannah mentioned that they were swapping partners, and Elle recognized the couple from last night, she gasped and quickly shut off her monitor.

  “We’re a high-end swingers camp.” She groaned as the realization dawned on her. Her vision started graying, and she wondered if this would become a standard part of her life, dealing with . . . well, everyone else’s sex life.

  Zoey clasped her shoulders to comfort her. “Hey, maybe it’s just a fluke?”

  Hearing a low chuckle, everyone turned toward the office door at the same time. Elle had been so eager to watch the video that she had forgotten to close the door. She was mortified to see Dylan leaning against the doorframe. Closing her eyes, she silently wished to disappear into the background.

  What if word got out to the other, nonswinging guests and the employees about the party? Or worse yet, what if the media somehow got ahold of this news? Having the camp labeled as a swing club could ruin them. She knew of a few neighborhoods farther south in Florida that had been labeled the STD capital of the States. That reputation had damaged the area. When she focused on the conversation again, Dylan was telling them that the likelihood of the party naturally occurring was low.

  The memory of last night, of running into the couple, played over in her head as everyone chatted about the party.

  She wasn’t naive. She knew that opening the camp to a grown-up crowd would open the doors for all sorts of other . . . activities. She had just assumed that they would be done inside.

  Which had her face heating even more when she thought about the possibility of having stumbled upon a different scene with Liam last night.

  After a discussion of breakfast, Elle erased the footage and got up to follow everyone else to the dining hall. As she stepped into the hallway, she turned to see Dylan’s hand brush up against Zoey’s arm. Her friend’s eyes changed from annoyed to full of lust in a flash. Narrowing her eyes, she watched as Zoey walked toward her.

  “What was that all about?” Elle asked.

  Zoey waved her question off. “Nothing.”

  But she could see it in Zoey’s eyes: there was something more between her and Dylan. Did that mean that Zoey trusted Dylan? Or had her friend fallen into one of the brothers’ traps? She had to admit that even she had a difficult time not falling for their charm.

  Were Zoey and Dylan having sex? Had it gone that far? Then, an image of what she’d seen on the screen surfaced, and Elle decided that she was far better off not knowing all the details of everyone else’s sex lives.

  They held a short meeting while they all ate breakfast. They decided she would write a memo to display on the cabins’ computer screens reminding guests to be respectful of camp property.

  After leaving the dining hall, she disappeared into her office for a few hours and wrote, then rewrote, what she wanted to say in the announcement. On what seemed like the hundredth version, she stood up and rolled her shoulders. She stopped herself from throwing her keyboard across the room and paced instead.

  “Problems?” Once again, she’d left her office door open, and she glanced over to see Liam in the doorway, watching her. He looked comfortable, as if he’d been standing there for a while. His dark hair was pushed back away from his face, and he was wearing his camp shirt and khaki work shorts with a pair of worn hiking boots. He looked damn sexy, and she was confident that he knew it.

  It wasn’t the first time she’d seen the muscles in his legs, but each time she did, she found it harder to avoid drooling over him. The white camp shirt clung to him, as if it was a size too small, but she knew it was just the muscles pressing against the material that gave the appearance. Besides, she doubted a larger shirt would hide the span of his chest, nor would she want it to.

  “No.” The frustration she’d felt growing in the last hour came out in her voice, causing his eyebrows to shoot up.

  “Mm? Sounds like you have one.” He moved closer to her. “I heard what happened at the pool.”

  She closed her eyes and took a few cleansing breaths. “What did you hear?”

  “That there was a party at the smaller pool.” He perched on the side of her desk as his gaze ran her full length. Instantly, she felt self-conscious and hid it by sitting back down behind her desk.

  “Yes, well.” She cleared her throat. “Is there something I can help you with?” She flipped her screen off, hiding the message she’d been trying to finish.

  “No, I came to see if I could help you.”

  “Oh?” she asked.

  “Yes. I heard there were a few damaged pool chairs?”

  She noticed a slight dimple to the side of his mouth as he smiled. She knew that he didn’t smile often, which made it all the more attractive. “There were.”

  “I talked to Aiden this morning and suggested that I run it by you before dragging them off to the woodshop for repairs. I was also thinking I could have a few others built. Some sturdier ones?”

  Instantly her mind flashed a scene of being dragged off to bed by Liam. Damn, she thought. She was having a hard time staying focused around him. Taking another cleansing breath, she tried t
o focus instead on the budget and figured she could adjust a bit to allow for the costs.

  “Give me an estimate for the new chairs. For now, do you have what you’ll need to repair the damaged ones?”

  “Yes.” He drummed his fingers against her desk, as if in thought. “There are a few trees that Aiden’s crew have chopped down. With what they cleared, I can have a few other chairs built. Maybe even some more swinging benches.”

  Her eyebrows shot up. She hadn’t thought of reusing the wood from the trees they had cleared.

  “Good.” She opened her expense program. “I’ll set aside some money for—”

  “No need.” He stood up. “The shop has everything we need. There shouldn’t be any extra costs.”

  “Really?” She knew her chin had dropped, but the look he gave her had it closing quickly.

  “Yeah, princess.” He leaned in until he was a breath away. “Did you know that when you stress out”—he reached up and ran a finger down her forehead—“you get a little twitch right here?”

  She was too shocked at the feeling of his skin against hers to even breathe. Before she had a chance to gain her wits, he stood up and moved toward the doorway.

  “I’ll have the lawn chairs fixed and back at the pool by tomorrow,” he said over his shoulder. “Make sure you wear a coat tonight when you trail me. It’s supposed to rain.” He disappeared out her doorway, leaving her vibrating from his touch.

  She tried to focus on the memo again and gave up. She pushed the button and had her last draft going out to her friends for their input and approval. She glanced at her watch and cringed when she realized she had only a few minutes before her first event of the day.

  Aubrey was teaching tai chi and judo, both of which she was highly skilled in. Hannah and Zoey took on the yoga classes, while Elle had decided to host a beginner’s ballet exercise class. She hadn’t expected anyone to be interested, but three ladies had signed up for her first afternoon class.

  Elle had attended ballet classes prior to her mother’s death, and her grandfather had talked her into continuing her training until she’d hit high school.