Trey tore his attention off Reagan long enough to pay for their drinks. When he turned around, drink in each hand, he found Reagan laughing with the owner of the yellow lab. Trey hurried to her side. He wondered how many women the guy picked up this way.

“No he didn’t. Really?” Reagan said to the attractive, tan, and athletic dog owner. She had this way of holding one eye closed when she thought you were full of shit. It made Trey wonder what she looked like when she had an orgasm.

“Yeah. I thought for sure she was going to call the cops on me.”

Trey sidled closer to Reagan. She smiled at him when he handed her the vanilla shake, but she immediately turned her attention back to the dog guy. “So why didn’t she?”

“Riley didn’t mean to hurt her,” he said and turned to his dog. “Did you, boy?”

Riley took several backward steps, his tail wagging, and produced a loud WOOF! in agreement.

“He was just looking for love. Weren’t you, boy?”

Woof! Woof!

Trey slurped his slush as loudly as possible, hoping to regain Reagan’s undivided attention. A harsh, jabbing pain radiated up the back of his throat and pounded incessantly behind his right eye.

“Ah, God. Brain freeze!” Trey yelled and covered his eye with his free hand. “Fuck. Why does that hurt so bad?”

Reagan laughed at him. “Suck it more slowly next time,” she advised.

He had fifteen lines he could have used at that moment, but he had to keep things platonic between them for another hour or so.

“Are you okay?” she asked as she watched him wipe tears out of his eyes. He’d take a broken nose over brain freeze any day.

“I think I need to walk it off,” he said and gave the loser and his dog a pointed look.

“This is Scott,” Reagan said, misinterpreting Trey’s tell-this-guy-to-get-lost look.

Trey nodded at him without taking his eyes off Reagan. He’d never felt so possessive of a woman before. He didn’t even want Scott to look at her. The fact that Scott was using a dog as an excuse to flirt with her made him pretty lame in Trey’s book. Of course, if Scott had a medal of valor, five Olympic gold medals, and a Nobel prize hanging around his neck, Trey would have still thought he was lame. He was hitting on Reagan and Trey couldn’t touch her in such a way to make it clear that she was his. Trey had to be very careful not to give her a reason to blow him off. One more hour to behave. And then once he met her condition, all bets were off. If she tried to push him away again, he’d just have to take the upper hand and see how she reacted. He was starting to understand her signals. Maybe.

“We should probably head back to the limo,” Trey said, careful not to put emphasis on that last word. That would make him as lame as Scott. Trying to impress the girl with material possessions. He didn’t need stuff to impress a woman. But, hello, they had a limo at their disposal.

Reagan nodded and took a long sip of her milkshake. Her face twisted in pain and she covered one eye with her free hand. “Brain freeze,” she gasped.

“You should—”

“Suck it more slowly next time?”

“You can suck it as fast as you want.” He winced as soon as it was out of his mouth. He was so used to turning every phrase into innuendo it happened automatically.

Reagan laughed. “Don’t worry. I’ll suck it real slow. It will last longer that way.”

As turned on as he was by this woman, there were no guarantees he’d last at all. No matter how slow she sucked. He stared at her mouth as he took another slurp of his slush, holding the frigid beverage in his mouth to warm it slightly before he swallowed this time.

Reagan bent and gave the dog another scratch behind the ears. “No more humping elderly women in wheelchairs, Riley. It’s not nice.”

Riley barked and wagged his tail. Trey laughed.

“Bye, Scott,” Reagan said without looking at him.

Two points for the Trey-ster. Trey so wanted to take her hand and hold it as they walked away, but he had a little over an hour to keep his hands to himself.

“So I take it you like dogs,” Trey said.

“I love dogs. Do you have a dog?”

“I had one when I was a kid. He got hit by a car. Haven’t had one since.”

Reagan’s features softened with sympathy and she slid a comforting hand down his back. Damn, he was horny. Even that small contact had his cock at full attention.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “You haven’t had any pets since?”

“Just Eric Sticks.”

Reagan laughed. “I can’t wait to meet Eric. He seems like so much fun when I’ve watched interviews of you guys.”

“You’ve watched interviews of Sinners?” He wondered what she thought of him. He didn’t say too much during interviews. Their lead singer, Sed, liked to hear himself talk.

“I’m kind of obsessed with Sinclair.”

Trey completely understood that obsession.

“I love his sound. It speaks to me,” she added and took another draw off her milkshake.

“I honestly thought you were him at that audition. It’s amazing how much you sound like him.”

“I’ve been practicing. Could you introduce me to him? I promise not to turn into a gushing fangirl.” She covered her chest with one hand. “Much.”

“He’s used to gushing fangirls.”

“Are you?”

“Yeah. But I like it. Brian never did.”

“Thanks for the tip. I’ll try not to prostrate myself at his feet, kiss his boots, and repeat his name like a mantra to the rock gods.”

Trey wanted to make her repeat his name like a mantra to the sex gods. “You should play for him,” he said, trying to keep his train of thought from slipping. Not doing so well with that, thanks.

She paused, her bare toes scrunching in the sand. Damn, even that was sexy. When she didn’t say anything, he lifted his gaze to meet hers. “I’d rather play with you.”

Trey bit his lip, the urge to spill another come-on line overwhelming. He wasn’t sure, because the blood rushing through his head on its way to his cock was rather loud, but he might have actually produced a verbal groan of longing.

“You’re censoring yourself, aren’t you?” she asked and touched his chest with her fingertips. His heart thundered in his chest.

“I’m trying so hard to be good,” he admitted.

“Why?”

“I’m not sure. If you ditch me, I can easily find someone else to entertain me.”

Her features hardened and he knew he’d said the wrong thing.

“The thing is, I don’t want anyone else. I like you, Reagan.”

“How often do you use that line?” she asked.

“Never,” he said honestly.

She smiled and he was glad she believed him. “I was sort of hoping you’d stop trying to be good and just be yourself. I keep glimpsing this naughty guy and I’d like to get to know him a little better. I’m not sure why I gave you that platonic ultimatum. I’ve been wishing I hadn’t for the past three hours.”

“If I give free rein to my naughty side, I won’t be able to keep my hands off you.”

She cocked her head to the side, her gaze trained on his mouth. “What about your lips?”

“They’d be all over you too.”

“And your tongue?”

Now he was sure he groaned with longing.

She stared into his eyes as if contemplating her options. “Do you want to come back to my place? It’s not far from here.”

“I’d like that.”

“Just so you know, this doesn’t mean you’re going to get laid, Trey Mills.”

She was killing him here.

“It guarantees it,” she added.

Heat flooded his lower belly and spread to his groin. He wasn’t going to make it all the way to her place. He didn’t care how close it was.

He draped an arm around her shoulders and drew her closer, hurrying her toward the limo parked at the far end of the beach. Her warmth melted into his side as her arm moved to rest against his lower back. Her fingers brushed his side.

She nodded toward the waves. “Beautiful sunset.”