PART ONE
It was summertime! Arianna was on vacation in Hawaii with her best friend, Lorna. Arianna heeded the advice of her friend to make a quest list to be fulfilled on vacation, and the third one Lorna wrote on the list was having wild sex with a hot guy, amongst many other things. Since they got to the hotel booked by Lorna’s boyfriend, she has been looking for a hot guy to hook up her best friend. Lorna planned to make her best friend enjoy her summer before she got back to being a busy career woman.
Arianna is the chief executive officer of her parents' business, so she barely has time to have fun. All she does is spend her entire week buried in a stack of paperwork. At twenty-five, Arianna doesn’t have a boyfriend. Although she had one a few years ago, it ended sourly because she couldn’t commit to the relationship. The company has always been her priority.
Lorna yawned as she stepped out of the bathroom. “Where are you going?” She asked her friend, who had a towel in her hand, and then she wore a bikini.
“Where else?”
“To the pool?” Lorna arched her brows.
“Of course!” Arianna replied with a shrug.
Lorna hastened her steps to get to her friend. “Wait a sec...” She rushed to the window and pulled at the curtain, only to find that everywhere was dark. “Oh my goodness! It is nighttime! How long was I asleep?”
“You slept for almost six hours. The time is 1:58 a.m.” Arianna replied.
Lorna's eyes widened in shock. “I only wanted to nap...how on earth did I end up sleeping for six hours?!” She gasped out. “Did you drug me, Arianna?” She had slept off right after having a big buffet for dinner.
Arianna giggled. “I wish I did so you would be out for three days, and that way, I can sneak out to work on my laptop.”
“You dare not!” Lorna pointed a finger at her with a serious look on her face. “We are on vacation, which means no work! Try to live a life with the company in the picture.”
“I am trying, seriously...I am trying. I spent the whole time watching boo bitch. I enjoyed the movie.” Arianna commented as she wore a robe around her body.
“I told you that you would love it. But what’s with the midnight swim?” Lorna sat on the bed.
“I just need to cool off my head and then enjoy the feeling of water on my skin,” Arianna replied.
“Alright. I’ll go back to sleep.” Lorna yawned as she lay on the bed. “Don’t stay too long!” She called out as Arianna walked out of the room.
No one was in the pool when Arianna got to the area. It made her happy that she had the whole place to herself. Everyone seemed to be asleep in the hotel since it was midnight. She had called the reception desk earlier to make a special reservation for the pool. The area was a bit dark, exactly how she wanted it to be.
Arianna kicked off her soft slide, pulled off the robe over her head, and carefully set it at the side of the pool. Her bikini fitted her perfectly, exposing more of her sculpted figure and dazzling complexion. She sat at the edge and put one leg into the pool, sending shivers. Her eyes surveyed the still water as she remembered one of her wishes: to buy a mansion with a pool when she was a little girl. Arianna enjoyed swimming a lot. As the CEO of one of the best textile companies in America and the only heiress of Mr. Collins and Mrs. Janet Smith, she has fulfilled almost all her girlie wishes. Arianna has a whole mansion with a private pool to herself.
“All the luxury in the world, I will get it,” Arianna roared.
She set her clothes, cell phone, and towel and slid them together at one spot before stepping more deeply into the pool. She went deeper until the water reached her waistline. Suddenly, her eyes caught a glimpse of something floating on the water, but it disappeared. She became scared when it appeared and disappeared at a fast pace again.
Immediately, Arianna started back to the pool's edge, terrified that something might devour her and no one would rescue her because she had made a special reservation. But something grabbed her ankle tightly, and Arianna screamed out in fear. She used her other leg to fight off whatever had caught her ankle. And all of a sudden, a manly figure pushed his way up and clasped his hand over her mouth to stop her from screaming.
Arianna’s back was against a solid chest, and she knew it was a man, so she fought harder.
“Arianna,” the not-so-familiar voice whispered into her ears. “Relax, it’s me. Damon.” He turned her to face him.
Fear crossed her expression as she stared into his eyes. Her heartbeat raced three times higher. He just scared her and has the guts to let a smile play on his lips! She almost lost her breath when he grabbed her legs! Arianna pushed him away and continued towards the edge so she would leave. What the hell is wrong with the hotel’s special reservation?! She pondered.
Damon. She didn’t know anything about this man except that she met him at the gym a few days ago and he had helped her with some exercises. Damon works at the hotel gym as a coach, and part of the VVIP hotel package they paid for came with having a private coach. So Damon was assigned to her while Lorna got a female coach. She has only seen this guy just twice before now! So what made him think he could do such a thing with her? She wondered, certainly pissed at his gut.
“Arianna?” Damon called her, but she didn’t stop. He knew he had startled her by what he meant as a playful trick.
Damon had just completed a swimming lap when he sensed the presence of someone. He couldn’t recognize the person too soon because the pool wasn’t bright. He had stayed under the water when he heard her saying a few words so she wouldn’t change her mind about swimming if she had seen him.
Arianna was surprised to see Damon and froze almost immediately in fear after she heard his voice.
“Hey, Arianna, I didn’t mean to startle you.” Damon pushed a hand through his wet hair after they left the pool. Beads of water dropped over his sculpted and expanded chest. He stopped her from taking her robe, but she jerked free.
“Don’t touch me.” Arianna breathed out heavily.
“Arianna—“
“What the hell is a gym master doing in a pool I reserved to have to myself? I fucking paid thousands of dollars to have this entire luxury to myself!” She grumbled without caring if he heard her words. She wondered if the gym master gets paid enough to make a special pool reservation.
“The fact that I work at the gym doesn’t mean I am broke.” Damon chuckled lightly. “I am volunteering to coach people at the gym, not that it is a lifetime job.” He added.
Arianna looked away without saying a word. He was right about the first statement, but do volunteers have a greater chance of receiving some expensive hotel treatments? She mused as her gaze flicked to his bare chest, and she admired him. She was angry at him for startling her, but everything melted down when fantasy kicked into her head again.
After the first gym session with Damon, Arianna had admitted to her best friend that Damon looked pretty damn perfect for the third thing on the summer quest list, and Lorna had advised her to get to know him. Arianna had waved her off, saying she wasn’t interested, but Damon standing in front of her, all wet and gleaming in sexiness, was making her have a second thought. Her eyes undressed him as he held her wrist again.
“I am sorry.” He said.
Damon wore a blue swim trunk that displayed his manly bulge. She couldn’t help the images that filled her head as he stood almost naked in front of her. She swallowed hard as she let him lead her back into the pool. He made her sit at the edge while he entered the pool, his strong arms on both sides as if guiding her.
Damon waited for her to catch enough breath before speaking up. “Are you okay?”
Arianna licked her lips, and the gesture turned on a switch in Damon. He tried to hold back from kissing her.
“I am fine. But you scared me.” She removed strands of hair from her face.
“I didn’t mean to scare you. I just had to lay low in the water when I heard your voice so you won’t change your mind about swimming.”
Arianna didn’t say anything. She couldn’t find the right words to say to him because the effect his nearly naked body was having on her was too much for her to bear.
“I must have used my reservation time since they let you use the pool. So, since you are here to swim, have a good one. I’ll see you at the gym by 7:00 a.m. Don’t be late.” He attempted to leave, but Arianna held onto his right wrist. She wanted him to stay.
Arianna whipped her head to look up at him, and their gaze locked. “Stay...with..me.” She stuttered.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to disturb your swim.” Damon said in a tight whisper.
She let go of his wrist. “I am not mad at you. No..I was, but..not anymore. So you can stay.” She stuttered.
“Alright.” Damon nodded. “Then we should swim.” He dipped his hands into the water and splashed it at her. “Will you be okay?” He asked, referring to her wrapping her arms around her chest.
Arianna shook her head. “Yeah, I am fine as long as you don’t scare me again.”
Damon chuckled as he went farther into the pool until the water reached his waist. “Do you like swimming?”
Arianna entered the pool. “Yes....and I plan to have a good one today.” She smiled as she started towards him.
Damon splashed the water on her from where he stood as a renewal of playfulness triggered in him again. It was a relief that she was her usual self around him again.
Desires flared in his eyes as he disappeared underneath the water and dived closer to her. “I didn’t know you were a volunteer at the gym. I thought you were working there full time.” Arianna said.
“It is just a habit I can’t get rid of.” Damon shifted closer, brushing a drop of water from her cheek and removing wet strands of hair from her face. He trailed his strong fingertips over her chin as his eyes gazed at her lips. And he lost control completely when her tongue flicked over her wet lips again.
Damon pulled her closer to his body, and she gasped at the sudden movement with her hands pressing against his chest. Arianna could feel the electricity between herself and Damon as their naked flesh met. Tingles began to course through her body as a hand cupped her ass cheek. They were drifting right to the flirting zone.
One would think Arianna has never had intimate contact with a man. But she hasn’t experienced this quick connection in her whole life.
Arianna trailed his wet fingertips over her lips. Her temperature hit a different degree; she swallowed hard, waiting for him to do what she desperately wanted. When he didn’t make a move, she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned up to kiss him, but she got lost in the kiss immediately.
Arianna had thought of spending more time with Damon after the second gym session because she couldn’t help the strange feelings. Was it summer spirit that supported her quest list?