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I wanted to keep him scared so he didn’t disappoint her, but I didn’t want to lose this deal. I needed this money for the training base.
He was right—it was important.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CLARA
Word got around that I wasn’t Merrick’s and I started getting a lot more attention by the middle of the week. At first, it was intimidating, but then I got used to it.
I had to admit that it was nice to be distracted by handsome men that wanted to flirt with me and buy me drinks.
It distracted me from Merrick. I’d never felt his presence the way I felt it now. Perhaps it was just because we were being forced to share a suite. But he was everywhere.
The shower in my bathroom broke and it took the lodge a day to get it working again. I had to use his bathroom to shower that day and I left rattled.
I wasn’t sure why. The only thing in his shower was a bottle of body wash that smelled like him.
His razor was on the sink beside a bottle of aftershave. On the chair beside it sat his folded sweatpants. He was so clean and minimal, and yet…I felt him everywhere.
We ate at the restaurant for dinner almost every night. My body was a traitor and I found myself losing focus when he talked.
Distracted by how tall he was, how deep his voice was, how his eyes lit up when I said his name.
It all felt dangerous.
So I put a little distance between us, especially at night. Here at the lodge, I didn’t want for distractions. After dinner, I’d go down to the outdoor bar in my swimsuit and some eager man would buy me a Cosmo. He’d linger, sometimes soaking in the hot tub next to me, and we’d chat.
It turned out it was a lot easier to flirt after I’d had a few drinks. So I indulged myself because it felt good. The compliments, the flattery, the endless drinks.
None of them tried to sleep with me though. I didn’t have to ask why. Even though I was technically single, Merrick still hung over me like a threat.
Don’t cross the Welsh King.
These men liked the fantasy of me, but none of them had the guts to actually do anything about it.
On Friday evening, Merrick had a dinner meeting that I couldn’t attend because it was organization business. I went to the spa in the afternoon and got waxed and then had the most relaxing massage I’d had in a long time.
I put on my last clean swimsuit—a tiny, velvet pink bikini. I’d debated even bringing it because it left nothing to the imagination.
But I was feeling bold and I looked good, so I put it on and covered it with a short, silk robe. I padded barefoot out the side entrance of the lodge.
Through the window, I could see all the men in suits at the bar. Merrick was barely visible, but I could just make him out. Looking breathtaking in a tailored black suit and one of his custom gold watches. He was leaning on the bar, Vincent Galt at his side, talking with an older man I didn’t know.
My stomach did a desperate, little flip.
There was a handful of younger men at the bar. The kind of people Osian would hang around with. Rich, ivy league, already hooked into their father’s businesses.
Confident in Merrick’s protective shadow, I skipped past them to the bar. The bartender handed me my Cosmo as soon as he saw me coming. He was a sexy, tattooed, blond man in his early thirties who bought me more drinks than he charged to the room.
Tonight, he was extra attentive. I leaned on the bar and sent him a shy smile and he winked.
“I get off in ten,” he said. “Join me in the hot tub?”
I nodded, feeling naughty even though I had no reason to. I was still single and Osian was still sleeping with other people. I deserved to have a little fun before my engagement.
Making sure he was watching me, I grabbed my usual spot at the hot tub. For a moment, my fingers hesitated over the tie of my cover up.
I was almost naked beneath it.
