By Invitation Only Read Online Free Page A

ocean, numerous pools and cabanas—complete with good-looking cabana boys—three restaurants, twenty-four-hour room service, a spa, a sauna and a fitness facility. Olivia experienced a twinge of conscience over what she was doing—pretending to be Holly’s long-lost friend or relative or whoever this “Honey” person was.
    “Here you go, you two lovebirds,” Holly said and pushed Olivia and Nick forward into one of the contemporary Caribbean-style bungalows that probably rented for upward of fifteen hundred dollars a night. “I’ll see you at eight, Honey. Meet us where the limo left us off. I’ll have my assistant drop by with some clothes for you guys to change into.”
    With that, Holly was gone, shutting the door behind her and leaving Olivia and Nick standing alone in the luxury hut where a single king-size four-poster bed with eight-hundred-thread-count Italian linens was situated in the middle of the room. A sliding glass door opened out onto an oceanside terrace.
    “Dibs on the bed,” Nick claimed and bounced flat-footed off the floor like an exuberant kangaroo and landed with his butt on the thick mattress. He rocked back on the plush pillows, elbows out, fingers laced, palms supporting the back of his head.
    “Oh, no. No way. You got me into this. I’m getting the bed.”
    He looked mildly surprised. “Excuse me? I got you into this?”
    “You’re the one who said you were my fiancé.”
    “You could have set the record straight at anytime, but you didn’t.”
    “Only because you didn’t give me a chance. What was I supposed to do? Announce it in midair?”
    He shook his head, clicked his tongue. “I wouldn’t have taken you for one of those.”
    “One of what?” she snapped.
    “One of those people who blames others for their mistakes.”
    That gave her pause. Was she blaming him? Olivia’s cheeks burned. She was. “Look,” she said, and pointed at the sliding glass door leading to the terrace. “Is that a naked woman strolling on the beach?”
    “Where?” Nick vaulted off the bed, raced to the door for a peek.
    Immediately Olivia claimed the bed he’d vacated. Admittedly it was not her most graceful ascent, but she hopped up on the mattress. The white-and-turquoise duvet was still warm from his body heat. “Sucker!”
    “There’s no naked lady walking the beach?” He turned back to her, his mouth pulled down in a sad pout.
    “You are too easy, frat boy. Your rampant libido cost you a cushy sleeping arrangement,” she gloated. “If you’re nice, I’ll let you make a pallet on the floor with the duvet. Otherwise, you can sleep on the terrace and watch the imaginary naked ladies saunter past.”
    “Oh, yeah?” A wicked gleam flicked in his eyes.
    She notched up her chin defiantly. “Yeah.”
    “You forget I’m a rude frat boy,” he said, and did some sauntering of his own, strolling across the room toward her, the glint in his eyes darkening the closer he got to the bed.
    A ripple of apprehension rolled over Olivia. What had she done? She scooted up against the headboard, part of her wanting to flee the room, flee the island, flee the country. But the competitive part of her stayed rooted to the mattress, determined to hold the ground she’d conquered. And yet another part of her—the irritating part that was stupidly, physically attracted to the handsome troglodyte—wanted him to climb up on the bed with her.
    Crap! He was calling her bluff.
    He crawled up the bed, first one knee on the mattress, then the other, coming straight toward her, a lion on the hunt.
    Olivia dived, trying to roll off the bed, but Nick was quicker. He leaped, pinning her to the mattress.
    “Get off of me, you oaf.” She grunted, pushing against his chest with both hands, but she couldn’t budge him. He was much stronger than he looked, but oddly instead of feeling threatened, she felt strangely… protected. How could that be? Maybe it was the bone-deep humor in his gaze.
    “Who’s the