Promise of Paradise (4 page)

Climbing into the tub, she pulled the curtain around her and stood under the hot spray. Nothing could have prepared her for the rush of emotion when it came. Nadya turned her face up to the spray and cried.

Why not her? Never would she begrudge her friends their happiness, but why couldn’t she share in it? If this was a town of men who liked older, big beautiful women, where were
her
young studs? Hell, she’d even settle for old studs—
one
old stud. No one could ever say that
she
was picky.

Still, she’d been on the receiving end of a
lot
of staring, but no one had asked her to be their date. Hell, no one had asked her to be anything but the person who would sell tickets at the carnival tomorrow, and that asshole Perry didn’t count.

After her crying jag, Nadya turned the water off and stepped out onto the cool, tile floor. She dried herself off with a thick towel and dressed in a long, flowing skirt and flowered blouse. She wore heels for once. In this town, she didn’t have to worry about being taller than every man she saw. They grew big here.

Her face heated as she thought about Luc and Gabe. She’d taken to thinking of them that way when she’d heard them call each other by those nicknames. She liked the sound of the names almost as much as she liked the looks of the men.

Would they be in the dining room for dinner? She doubted it. They most likely had their own place. Jonas had said they owned their own business, after all.

She walked down the hall to the elevator and punched the down button with more force than she probably needed. Still, it had felt good to let off a little steam. The elevator dinged and the doors opened, revealing the empty interior. With a sigh, she stepped inside and pressed the button for the ground floor.

“Hold the elevator.”

The deep voice sent shivers up and down her spine. Goose bumps covered her arms, and her nipples tightened as she hurriedly reached out and stuck her arm between the closing doors.

Nadya berated herself for her reaction when the man entered the elevator and turned to hold the door for his friend. Just because they were staying here, in the same hotel, didn’t mean they wanted to have anything to do with
her.
Hell, she was forty-three years old and probably weighed more than either of these two men.

“Thanks for holding the door.” Luc smiled down at her, his eyes crinkling at the corners just a bit. “Sometimes it acts up and gets stuck between floors. We’d hate to have to wait an hour for the damned thing.”

“There’s always the stairs.” Nadya had contemplated taking the stairs for a nanosecond before she remembered what shoes she’d put on.

“True, but if the elevator go stuck, you’d be in here alone. At least this way…” Gabe shrugged. “You’ll have company.”

“Uh, yeah. Right.” She nodded. Why would they give a damn?

The elevator jerked and she lost her balance on the stiletto heels she wasn’t used to wearing. Luc caught her upper arms and held her steady until she regained her footing.

“Maybe you two should stand across the elevator. I’d hate to fall on you and hurt you.”

“There’s no chance of that happening, sweetheart.” Gabe gave her a lopsided grin. “We’re a
lot
sturdier than we look. Incidentally, so is this elevator. It just has its little quirks. Kind of like the rest of us.”

“What?” Nadya stared up at them with a frown.
What in the world are you two talking about?

Gabe moved closer, pressing the length of his body against Nadya. It was all he could do not to groan as he took in her unique scent. He loved the way she felt against him, all soft and feminine. He’d always loved women with full breasts and hips. He wasn’t sure why and he didn’t give a damn.

At the moment, all that mattered to him was the tantalizing scent of her porcelain skin and feel of her curves as he pulled her into his arms.

“I…uh…what are you doing?” Her spine stiffened as he pulled her close and Luc moved up against her back and pressed little kisses against her neck. She tilted her head back to meet his gaze, her brows drew down in an adorable scowl.

He smiled as goose flesh covered her arms and she shivered. “I suppose you could say we’re staking a claim.”

“I’m not a freaking gold mine.” She practically snarled the words as she struggled to push him away. “So help me God, I’ll scream rape.”

“No you won’t.”

“Look. I might be a big girl, but I’m not desperate and I refuse to jump in the sack with just anyone.”

“Thank God for that.” Luc continued pressing little kisses where her neck met her shoulder.

Nadya’s breathing grew erratic. “Let me go.”

The elevator jerked again and the bell indicated they had reached the ground floor. “Your wish is my command,” Gabe said with a smile as he released her. “Try not to get so caught up in the carnival that you forget to eat again. We won’t be pleased if you continue to neglect your needs.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” The angry blush staining her cheeks told them differently. She knew exactly what they meant. She’d skipped lunch the day before as she watched some of the other women with their mates.

“Yes, you do.” Gabe grasped her arm and stared deep into her eyes. “Take a lunch today or we’ll take you
to
lunch. Like it or not.”

He almost laughed aloud when she stuck her nose in the air, stepped off the elevator with an angry twitch of her skirt and sniffed disdainfully. “I’ll do as I damned well please. Neither of you are my father.”

“Again, thank God for that.” Gabe reached up and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “I mean it. Eat or be fed.” He leaned closer. “Just think of Paradise as the jungle and the law of the jungle applies.”

“Survival of the fittest?” She glared at them, no doubt thinking that they had just insulted her.

Reaching out, they each took one of her hands and brought it to their mouths. “Not quite.” Gabe bared his teeth in a huge, predatory grin. “Eat or get eaten.”

Her heartbeat grew erratic. He could hear it. Jerking her hand back, she lifted it to the center of her chest and her lips moved for a few seconds before sound finally emerged.

“Oh…my. You can’t possibly…” The blush on her cheeks darkened.

“Oh, my sweet, we can.” Luc turned her hand over, pressing an opened mouth kiss against her palm. “And we will.”

Gabe wanted to laugh at her expression. She wanted them. He could smell it. The scent of her arousal filled the elevator and now filled the corridor where they stood. He inhaled the sweet aroma with every breath. His rock-hard cock throbbed with the need to plunge deep into her sheath and ride her until they both came—but it was too soon. He knew that, yet he couldn’t help but tease her. Give her a taste of what she would miss if she turned them down.

He glanced down at the bulge in his jeans and pointedly returned his attention to her, and lifted a brow. “As you can no doubt see, I am looking forward to the opportunity.” He nodded toward Luc. “And so is he.”

Nadya glanced at them both, her gaze lowering to peek at the proof of what he said. She bit her lip and met his gaze with eyes wide. “Are you two for real?” She shook her head. “Of course you aren’t. You’re just passing the time flirting with an old maid.” She glowered at them. “If you don’t mind, I have a dozen eggs and a pound of bacon waiting for me in the dining room. If you make me miss breakfast, I’m not going to be a happy camper.”

Turning, she stalked off toward the swimming pool.

“Nadya,” Luc called after her.

Gabe could do little more than grin.

“Nadya,” Luc repeated when she didn’t respond.

“What?” Turning around, she rested her hands on her hips and stomped her foot, angry that they had stopped her yet again. “What could you have to say that could possibly be more important than my eating breakfast?”

Luc gestured behind him. “The dining room is that way.”

“Oh!” She stomped her foot again and stalked past them with a muttered, “Men!”

Turning, they followed her to the dining room. It was then that Gabe realized that he would be happy to follow their mate anywhere. The sight of her generous bottom swaying back and forth beneath the skirt she wore was something he wouldn’t have missed for the world.

Nadya tried to move slowly as she headed for the dining room. She didn’t want to miss breakfast, but she knew those men were behind her—watching. The last thing she wanted was to show off her jiggling ass as she stomped into the dining room—even
if
it was what she wanted most to do at the moment.

Did those two really think that she didn’t know what they were up to? She wasn’t their type. She pushed the thought of her two best friends and their men from her mind. She didn’t care what they said. There could be only so many men attracted to chubby girls in one town and she very much doubted this particular little hamlet had more than its fair share.

She stepped through the door to see her friends and the men who doted on them already seated and waiting, it appeared, for her.

“It’s about time you got your ass down here. I’m starved.” Milla scowled at her over her cup of coffee.

“Me, too,” Alexa added with a smile. She glanced at the two men flanking her and blushed. “What took you so long?”

“Apparently, the elevator has issues.”

Luc pulled a chair out for her, indicating she should sit. Nadya’s stomach did a little flop as she followed his direction. It wasn’t until after he’d pushed in her chair that she realized that they had successfully maneuvered her into the middle chair. They both sat, one on each side of her.

Nadya cleared her throat, reached out and brought her glass of water to her lips. The water was cool and refreshing. It was also leaking down the center of her chest! “Oh, damn!” She glared at the glass which had a hairline fracture down the side. Had she bothered to look before she picked it up, she would have noticed it wasn’t quite full. Perhaps if she had, she could have saved herself some embarrassment.

Gabe reached over with his napkin and patted her cleavage.

“Stop that!” She grabbed the linen napkin from his hand and held it over her heaving breasts, more to hide her traitorous hard nipples than to soak up any water which had already ran down the center of her push-up bra and pooled in her navel and between her legs.

Double damn!
Now she’d leave a wet spot on her chair, and she had been so determined not to do something so adolescent. Even if she
had
been able to control her emotions and her sex drive, there was no way she could stop the water from leaving a mark on the seat when she stood.
Oh god!
And what, pray tell, would her skirt look like?

Nadya rested her elbows on the table, put her head in her hands and willed herself not to cry out of sheer mortification. Could things get any worse?

“He was only trying to help, Nadya,” Alexa managed to say between bites of bacon.

Nadya glanced at the plate that held the manna of the gods and frowned. There was only one slice left. By God if someone else laid claim to her lonely piece of bacon, heads would roll.

Luc reached out and snagged the bacon, cheerfully popping the slice into his mouth. Nadya shook her head. That was it. It just wasn’t worth getting out of bed today.

“That’s it. I’m outta here.” She pressed her lips together in a frown. “I can’t believe I got out of bed for this.”

At that moment, Gemma, the owner and manager of the hotel sailed through the door leading to the kitchen. In her arms she carried five large plates full of food—bacon, hash browns, eggs, pancakes and biscuits. How the woman carried all five platters was a mystery. Nadya knew she would have dropped them.

“There
is
a god.” Nadya inhaled the scent of hardwood-smoked bacon with a sigh. “I thought you were out.”

“I’m rarely out of food. Once in a while we have an unruly guest or two who clean us out, but not today.” Gemma grinned. “I hope you didn’t think that I wouldn’t cook enough for you. If there’s one thing you’ll learn while you’re here, it’s that the people of Paradise like to eat.
A lot
.” She set the full plates down and picked up the empties, using an efficiency of motion that would have made the most experienced of wait staff proud. “There you go. Enjoy!”

Gemma hurried out of the room, holding the empty platters in one hand as though they weighed nothing.

What was it about the people in Paradise? They all seemed stronger than they should be and the men were downright strange. So many men who liked big women in such a small town was just plain weird, no matter what anyone said.

She frowned over at her friends who seemed to know something she didn’t. It bothered her that they didn’t tell her what was going on. They’d never kept secrets from her before. Well, not that she knew of, anyway. What was going on here to make them do so now?

Nadya reached for the platter of bacon, but Luc beat her to it. He held the plate for her as she used the serving fork and put two slices on her plate. She set the fork down, wishing she had the guts to get more. She wanted more, but what woman in her right mind would eat more than a bit with all of these hot guys sitting around?

Luc sighed as she set the fork down. He picked up the utensil, forked what appeared to be a half pound of bacon on his plate, winked at her and plopped four more slices on her plate.

“Hey! I didn’t want that.”

“Then don’t eat it. It’s on your plate now. Excuse my reach,” he added as he handed the plate to Gabriel. “If you find that you can’t eat it, don’t worry. I’m sure Gemma’s dog would love it.”

Nadya stared down at the perfectly cooked bacon and sighed. How did he know she wanted more? Was it that obvious? It wasn’t as though she ate a lot. She really didn’t. She just loved bacon. Didn’t everyone?

Reaching out, Nadya spooned a small amount of scrambled eggs and hash browns onto her plate, smiling at Gabe when he picked up a biscuit and raised a brow. “Yes, please.” Her stomach did a little flip when she saw how the two men loaded their plates, always asking if she wanted something they had.