Sinfully Summer

Sinfully Summer

Aimée Duffy

A division of HarperCollins
Publishers

www.harpercollins.co.uk

Contents

About the Author

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Epilogue

Love Romance?

About HarperImpulse

Copyright

About the Author

Aimée Duffy

All my life I’ve been dreaming up stories. My mum said when I was little I used to make all the My Little Pony figurines talk to each other and even fall in love. Later, it was Barbie and Ken. In my teens, I played matchmaker with my friends at school.

When I wasn’t creating imaginary scenarios, I had my nose stuck in books, reading across genres and there was one thing I loved more than the escapism—the fact a story could touch me so deeply, like I was experiencing everything along with my characters. I knew from early on this was something I wanted to do for others.

Fast forward a few years and the dream almost got lost in real life, but I still couldn’t shake it completely. Now I write sizzling romance with the hope of making my readers’ hearts race as if they are falling in love for the first time.

I would like to dedicate this to Michelle Smart, Incy Black and Amalie Berlin. If not for you three wonderfully talented ladies, I would have thrown in the towel with this story. Thank you for your unending patience and support.

Chapter One

Alexa Green poked her head out of the hotel room door. She darted a glance left, then right and exhaled when she saw the corridor was empty.

‘One lap,’ she threw over her shoulder to her best friends, Sarah and Jenna. ‘And don’t you dare think about locking this door.’

If she was lucky, she guestimated she’d get all the way around her floor without seeing a soul. Nice underwear or not, getting caught in her knickers running down the halls of the most exclusive hotel in Marbella was sure to paint her cheeks pink for the first time ever. With shaky hands and a jittering belly, she took a step into the hallway. Out of all the crazy things she’d done, this topped them all. A muffled thump sounded from along the corridor and she hesitated.

‘Chickening out, Lex?’ Jenna asked.

Alexa gritted her teeth at the god-awful nickname. She swore they only used it to wind her up. ‘Not a chance.’

Tiny gymnasts in her stomach flipped and twirled, contradicting her cool façade. She stepped further into the hall. Adrenaline ripped through her body, making her heart pound hard against her chest. She felt alive, alert and exposed in a way that was more thrilling than terrifying. She turned back to her friends, a huge smile on her face. ‘See ya in a few.’

The marble floor felt cool on her bare feet as she bolted down the light, airy hall. Doors leading to other suites whirred by in a flash as she pushed herself faster; elation and a sense of freedom making her laugh breathlessly. She couldn’t deny the craziness of the dare, this was one of the wildest things she’d ever done, but she couldn’t say that she wasn’t enjoying the thrill.

She reached the end of the long corridor and made to turn left just as the main lift doors opened and two men stepped out. Her heart stopped and, for the beat of a second, time seemed to freeze.

Oh God.

She turned and scampered in the opposite direction – away from the English rock star and his publicist. She recognised them from more than a few wild parties back in London.

There were no doors down this strip of the hotel and she wondered where on earth she was running to, but the sound of two wolf-whistles kept her feet moving.

If she was the kind of girl to blush, she’d have been scarlet from head to toe.

Panting, she reached the end of the corridor and sprinted down the hall to her right. She couldn’t hear the men’s footsteps over the blood pounding in her ears, so couldn’t be sure if they’d followed. But she
was
sure that she wasn’t going to give anyone the opportunity to perv on her up close. What kind of idiots
wolf-whistled
in this day and age?

Shiny brushed steel doors came into sight at the end of the corridor. When she reached the lift, she paused in front of it. Alexa didn’t think it could be the main one, not so far away from the rooms.

She stabbed her finger into the button furiously until the doors slid open. After darting inside, she spun around, scanned the control panel then hit the ‘door close’ button. As the metal slid shut, she exhaled the huge breath she’d been holding.

She let out a giggle. The elevator jarred and then promptly began to move. Up. She stopped giggling and scanned the control panel, hoping a floor between where she was now and the penthouse would magically appear. It didn’t.

Jenna and Sarah had booked the plushest suite for their girly holiday and that had been the top floor, just below the penthouse with a bird’s eye view of the beach.

With her heart bursting out her chest and her hands shaking worse than the vibration plates at her gym, Alexa reasoned it might have been a maid who pressed the button so there was no need to panic, yet. After all, hotel managers still needed their suites cleaned. Her father had long since moved out of the penthouse of his own luxury resort but she knew from catching quick glances of the hotel mogul’s adopted son, Enrique Castillo, around the hotel that he stayed here. She couldn’t imagine the hunky man with the expensive tailored suits and Italian shoes would stay anywhere else. Unless he had a huge mansion on the beach, just like his parents did. Their beautiful properties were often featured on the news for hosting charity functions.

The fact that it was past six in the evening made her feel silly for praying it was a maid, but with panic threatening to render her incoherent, she had to keep a hold of her marbles and find a way out of this mess. Surely if the infamous Mr Castillo caught her, he’d chuck her and her friends out of his hotel. Ice laced the blood in her veins as trepidation washed through her.

Not to mention the paparazzi would have a field day with the story. She’d be Alexa Green, the wild-child streaker who’d gotten herself thrown out of another classy establishment. She shuddered. No way was she going to let her last single girlie holiday with her best friends end that way.

Alexa’s mind whirred as she thought of a way out of it. Given the choice, she’d rather face the idiot whistlers than this. The lift shuddered to a halt and she edged to the back. Her bottom met cold metal, but it did nothing to cool the heated blood pounding through her veins. Watching the doors slide open, she felt the ones behind her do the same. For a brief second, she froze as two male voices bid each other goodbye in Spanish. They weren’t in sight yet, so she slipped out the opposite side of the elevator and darted around the wall.

Trying to calm her breathing, Alexa took stock of her surroundings. With her heart galloping faster than a race horse, she noted that she wasn’t in an entrance hall as she’d originally expected. Nope. She’d walked straight into the Castillo penthouse. The thump of metal signalled the doors closing. She held her breath.

The slap of shoes hitting the cold, granite floor had dread knotting her stomach. Mr Castillo hadn’t left. Alexa struggled to breathe evenly. If he was here, calling the elevator back up would make enough noise to alert him to her presence. But that couldn’t be the only way out.

If she was right, no one would rely solely on one escape route in a hotel this grand, not with the risk of fires and electrical failure. Safety officers wouldn’t allow it. There must be a stairwell leading out, she just had to find it and slip away unnoticed.

The sound of the footsteps drifted away, followed by the click of a door closing. Adrenaline roared through her veins. This was her only chance. Pushing away from the wall, she rounded the lift, desperately seeking an escape. She barely noticed the plush furnishings, soft-looking leather sofas and floor to ceiling window which showcased the most spectacular view she’d ever seen. Instead she focused on the walls surrounding the elevator.

‘Are you lost?’

The heavily accented voice froze her to the spot. She darted a glance toward the sound. Dark brows furrowed over the richest coloured eyes she’d seen. His gaze swept over the length of her body, then up, lingering on her rear for a beat too long. Her skin tingled under his scrutiny.

Turning her whole body to face him, she slapped a hand on her hip. ‘Had a good enough look?’

His lips quirked in a sexy, lopsided grin. The jitters were back and Alexa swore the temperature in the room shot up ten degrees. Her gaze dropped to his broad shoulders, covered in a thin white t-shirt, then down to a well filled chest. She could see a dark pattern beneath the t-shirt. She longed to find out what kind of tattoo he had. Usually, tats didn’t do it for her. But on that body…

‘I could ask you the same thing.’

She snapped her attention back to his face. He stepped toward her, his jaw set, his eyes dancing with humour and something darker…something that made her blood heat and her mouth water.

Alexa raised her arm, palm out. ‘Hold it there, Mr. Any closer and I’ll scream.’

He paused by the sofa. Propping his hip against the cream leather, he folded his arms across his chest, causing the muscles to bulge. The moisture drained from her mouth and flooded in her belly.

‘No one’s here to hear you.’ He cocked a brow. ‘You seem to be forgetting where you are and,’ his gaze dipped down to her breasts causing the nipples to peak against the lacy fabric ‘how underdressed.’

Alexa thought this moment would have topped the blush scale. She planted her other hand on her hip and glared at him, unwilling to show any weakness. ‘I’m just leaving.’

She turned and strode back to the lift, keeping her back straight and trying not to wiggle her hips too much. The predatory sheen in his eyes made her body more jittery than the idea of sprinting around the lower floor in her underwear. She reached out to hit the button, but a large hand circled her wrist before she made it.

Alexa squeaked and darted back a step. He was so close, and his chest was
right in her face
. She could see the dark outline of the tattoo beneath the thin cotton. The outline of a burning sun, she thought, or something that looked like a sun. Her hands itched to lift the material and see for herself.

‘I’m up here.’

She snapped her gaze back up to his smirking face and took another step back. His lips kicked up at the corners and his eyes darkened. She swallowed against the urge to step closer, to feel his hard body pressed against hers. But she realised she was in little more than her bra and knickers in a stranger’s home. Unease skittered down her spine.

Alexa squared her shoulders, trying to quash the fear turning her heated blood into cold sludge. ‘I’m leaving now.’

‘After you explain what you’re doing in my home in your undergarments.’

‘
Undergarments?
’ Alexa pressed her lips together to keep a giggle at bay. ‘Seriously?’

The amusement in her eyes brought out Ric’s smile—something he hadn’t done in a long time. What was it about the young heiress that fascinated him? He couldn’t deny that she was incredibly beautiful. A brown, messy bob fell to her shoulders and she had the greyest eyes he’d ever seen. Her lips were the perfect bow; pink, rosy and ready to be kissed. Not to mention the fact she had a body that would melt weaker men into a puddle, and he’d never seen as much of it as he had tonight.