Dreaming Of... Bali. Fiona McArthur
His gaze found her right then, as though he was aware of her fascination, and she dragged her own back to the delicious food that they had been served. They were lunching on the covered terrace of one of the villas.
Fresh water cascaded into a whirlpool on the terrace below and poured into the enormous swimming pool, its water as clear as crystal. The living area was cavernous with tropical sunlight streaming in from every direction.
Using local stone and Brazilian hardwood floors, the villa was an architectural beauty that boasted ten bedrooms. Decorated with priceless antiques, Indian rugs, art pieces and bamboo furniture from Bali, the villa was situated above a hill providing a spectacular view of the beach.
The chocolate soufflé had barely melted in her mouth when Nathan sat down in the chair next to her.
“What do you think?” he asked, and his entire team had come to a grinding halt as though his very question to her demanded utter silence.
Riya had met his captivating gaze, warning herself not to read so much into a simple question. “Everything is brilliant, gorgeous,” she replied, feeling his scrutiny like a warm caress. “But you don’t need Travelogue to find high-end customers for this place.”
She had known he had dragged her along only to make her uncomfortable. Still, disappointment slashed through her. For a few hours, she had forgotten their little deal, had felt like a part of his dynamic team, had realized how much she had been missing living in her own world.
“I have something else in mind for Travelogue. The island is the place we’re testing it out. Also, every year, there will be three months when we’ll offer up the six villas independently for a deal. A special sale for our low-end customers, a chance for an average man to experience a little slice of heaven.”
“And the income from those three months? It goes to a charity, doesn’t it?”
The Anna Ramirez Foundation, she remembered, her heart feeling too big for her chest.
“Yes.”
“I don’t know what to say. Nathan, I—”
“You get to do the work.” He cut her off on purpose. “I want you to build a new server plus a front-end package from your team that will tie this to the software model you will be designing. And we’ll need—”
“Different tiers for pricing, and packages and even log-in portals for different members,” she replied, a keen sense of excitement vibrating through her.
She had a feeling she had scratched not even the surface of the man he was. And yet she had judged him for not seeing Robert all these years. It scared her and excited her, like nothing else, what else she might learn about him in the coming weeks. And there was no way to turn back from this, no way to curb the curiosity that swept through her.
“Maybe you’ll last long enough with me, then,” he said, standing up.
Riya looked up, hanging between the urge to apologize, why she had no idea, and to leave the status quo. There was something about the tone of his voice that said he had neatly pushed her into the employee box. That he regretted the tiny little fracture in his control earlier.
The easy humor, the carefully constructed indifference, they were all a foil for something beneath, something deeper. Riya wanted to run away and delve deeper at the same time.
“Take a couple of hours off. The island heat can be too strong for newcomers.”
She nodded, feeling a strange sense of disappointment as he walked away.
* * *
Nathan was e-signing a bunch of documents for his virtual manager when he heard more than one long sigh from his engineering team and a subdued curse fall from the local construction crew they had hired.
Baffled by the sudden change in the tenor, he looked up from his tablet.
His own breath fisted in his chest. Languid energy uncoiled in his belly.
Clad in a white stretchy top that hugged the globes of her lush breasts, and denim shorts that showcased the lean muscles in her long legs, Riya was coming down the steep path. Her hair was tied into a high ponytail and swung left and right with her long stride. She wore flats, the strings of which tied around her ankles in the most sensual way.
He couldn’t fault his team for losing their focus, nor fault her for her simple attire. The weather was a combination of damp and stifling heat.
Every inch of him thrummed with tension and anticipation. Locking his jaw, Nathan turned away. Fought the insidious thought supplied by his mind that he could have her if he wanted.
Her skin glistened golden in the sun. And it felt like raw silk, he knew now. And her brown eyes took on the darkest shade when he touched her. The faintest whiff of roses clung to her skin. Two tiny things about her that he would never be able to erase.
Even as he warned himself, his gaze traveled over the modest neckline of the sleeveless T-shirt that draped over her lush breasts and dipped to her waist.
She stopped and looked around her with a smile that only added to her appeal.
The need to run his fingers over that graceful line of her neck, to sink his hands into her hair, to shake loose the safe, sterile world she had built for herself, to be the one to wake her up to her own potential in every way was almost overwhelming.
She was like a beautiful butterfly that refused to leave the cocoon, and he wanted to be the one to lure her out.
With a curse that punctured the stunned silence around him, he shot up from his seat. Turned away from the temptation she presented. Reminded himself that he had conquered obstacles and fears that were far more dangerous.
Things were already too twisted between them. And from her episode with Drew, he knew she could never handle him.
Nathan needed the rule-following, road-map-for-my-life female in his life the way he needed a heart attack.
What he should do was to put her on a flight home immediately and forget her or her little deal.
And yet with the excitement thrumming through her as she reached them, her wide eyes taking in the equipment around, he couldn’t find it in him to break his word.
Three more months of this torture, and he was already chafing against his own rules.
* * *
Pushing her shades on to keep the orange glare away, Riya looked around herself. All the guesses she had made were off by a mile. It was not a casino, or a resort or a theater or an architectural marvel of any kind.
A huge crane stood behind the working team. An enclosure that was as tall as her surrounded the crane.
Her heart beating with a thunderous roar, she stepped inside and stilled.
A raised platform with an exquisitely designed, waist-high iron railing that went all around sat center stage in the enclosure. The most luxurious little sofa with legroom in the front sat against the back wall, and Riya noted that it was riveted to the wooden floor of the platform. As she watched with spiraling curiosity, tiny little lights, strategically placed around the perimeter of the floor turned on, casting brilliant light around.
Two small tables sat on either side of the sofa. Exotic orchids in vases along with an assortment of other things like expensive chocolate and even a bucket of champagne in ice sat on the tables.
And the final thing she noticed was safety tethers on each side of the sofa.
Her breath hitched in her throat as she realized what the elaborate setup meant.
She turned around, determined to find out if the fantastic idea was really true, when Nathan and a tall brunette stepped inside the enclosure.
Meeting her gaze, Nathan tilted his head toward the newcomer. “This is Sonia Lopez. She’s the project manager.”
A kind of