Her eyes roam back and forth between my own, and she nibbles on her lower lip in contemplation. The majority of me… the part that is a reasonable and logical man… doesn’t really expect her to give in. I’m a perfect stranger and she seems like a nice enough girl. While she may be a big flirt, she doesn’t seem the type to just jump into the sack with anyone. She could have her pick of any man on this island, as a matter of fact.

So I’m utterly shocked when she leans across the bar and whispers to me, “Okay.”

My head jerks back slightly. “Okay?”

She nods and pulls her wrist out of my grasp. “You can have me. I get off at six.”

Holy fucking shit.

She’s mine.

Chapter 5

Casey

I must be crazy.

That’s the only explanation to account for the fact that I’m giving myself to a man that I know nothing about and had maybe ten total minutes of conversation with.

At least that’s the conclusion Andrea had come up with when she hissed at me about an hour ago while we were in the bathroom together. “Are you fucking crazy?”

“Pretty sure I am,” I told her as I washed my hands.

“You don’t know anything about him,” she pressed in an urgent whisper as she leaned against the vanity. “He could be a murderer or a rapist.”

“He’s your brother’s friend,” I pointed out. “And besides… it’s not like I haven’t done one-night stands before, Andrea. You know this about me, and you’ve never been all judgy about it before.”

“I’m not judging,” she said with an apologetic smile. “I love your freedom and sass to live your life your way. It’s just… have you seen him? He looks dangerous.”

Yes, he does look dangerous. It’s why he’s appealing to me so much. He’s like forbidden fruit. He’s like fire. He’s all the things I shouldn’t touch but the temptation is too strong to ignore.

I dried my hands and threw the paper towels in the trash can. Turning to Andrea, I took her by the shoulders and leaned in to her. With an assured voice, I told her, “I’ll be fine. Now go out, have dinner with your brother, and reconnect.”

Andrea nodded in defeat and I ushered her out the door. While they had been out on the back deck, she had invited both Kyle and Tenn to dinner with her and Wyatt as he was getting off duty, and they were going to meet him on the north end of the island.

Apparently, Tenn had declined, instead telling her that he had a dinner date with me. That, of course, sent her scurrying into the bar where she demanded I go to the bathroom with her and she proceeded to tell me how crazy I was because she was sure the only dinner that Tenn had on his mind was feasting on me.

Yup… pretty sure I’m crazy to be doing this, and yet I can’t think of one logical reason other than the fact I may be insane to call it off. Tenn had left at the same time Andrea and Kyle did, telling me that he had to go find a hotel he could check in to and that he’d be back to pick me up when I got off work.

Which is right now.

Kent relieves me on time, and I quickly count out my tips and wipe the bar down. I glance around the bar, which is really starting to fill up with more tourists out looking for a good time. I don’t see Tenn and for a moment, I consider that maybe he got cold feet. Or maybe even Andrea scared him off, which, if that’s the case, I’m going to be pissed.

By the time I grab my purse and yell out goodbyes, I still don’t see Tenn and disappointment starts to well up inside of me. I made a command decision to give in to him, something that I’ve never done in my life for a man. I’ve always been the one to decide my course, and I’ve yielded to no one.

This was huge for me. I mean, a massive departure from my normal way of thinking when it comes to the opposite sex. And maybe I can blame it on the feelings of unrest I’ve been having, or maybe it’s the fact that I’ve been unfulfilled for so long, just stepping one foot in front of the other as I walk my way through endless days. But, for whatever reason I capitulated, I recognized in myself a major breakthrough and I wasn’t about to back down from it.

But apparently, Tenn was going to, as I don’t see him as I weave in and out of customers on the way out to the front door. I give one last look over my shoulder, desperately looking for his tall frame and dark hair, and my stomach bottoms out when I come up empty.

With a sigh, I turn and push the door open, stepping out into the humid summer air.

“Hey Goldie,” I hear, and my eyes immediately lift and lock with Tenn’s as he sits sideways on his bike, his muscular legs stretched out in front of him, one booted foot crossed over the other at the ankles. His arms are crossed over his massive chest, and he gives me a lazy smile. “Want a ride?”

Hitching my purse up over my shoulder, I saunter over to him, my eyes locked to his. I put a little extra sway in my hips and then tuck my thumbs into the belt loops of my shorts, just at my waist. The move pushes the denim down a bit, revealing the skin on my lower abdomen. Normally, that move is enough to draw a man’s eyes down but Tenn’s gaze remains focused on my face, his lips arced up in a sexy smirk as if he knows all my tricks.

“Turns out,” he continues on as he stands up from his perch on the motorcycle and bends over to one of his saddlebags where he pulls out a small helmet, “you have a nice bike shop just down the road and figured I’d pick you up a helmet so you can ride with me.”

My eyes flick down and then back up again. “You want me to ride with you?”

He nods and steps up to me, placing the helmet on my head. As he fastens the strap under my chin, he confides, “I want that gorgeous body pressed up against me sooner rather than later.”

His fingers move from the straps to my cheeks, and he holds me firmly in his grasp. Leaning down until his nose is almost against mine, he whispers, “Still going to let me have you, Goldie?”

My eyes nearly flutter closed over the husky promise in his voice and my bones go liquid on me. I’m in very near danger of rolling over and baring my proverbial throat in complete surrender to this sexy predator.

In an effort to get some control back, I raise a hand and lay it on his hard chest. Raising up on tiptoes and angling my face to the left, I bare my teeth and nip his jawline, which causes him to groan. “For tonight,” I clarify, because I need the safety of my boundaries. “You can have me just for tonight.”

“Hmmmm,” he murmurs as his hands drop to my waist and he pulls me into the warmth of his body. “A one-night stand kind of girl.”

“Queen of,” I provide, throwing light on exactly the type of woman that I am.

Tenn dips his face and brushes his lips over my neck. My head tilts to the side to give him better access as my fingers dig into the soft cotton of his tee.

“Gotta go back to the boyfriend tomorrow?” he asks in a teasing tone before scraping his teeth along the path his lips just took.

I can’t help the shudder that ripples through me, and I give a slight shake of my head. If I’m being all honest about my boundaries, I need to make sure he understands me fully. “There’s no boyfriend.”

He hums approval as a hand moves behind my head and grips into my hair. He tugs, and my back arches slightly as he raises his face to look down at me. His eyes are shadowed as the outdoor lighting of the bar is at his back, but because they are so pale, still shine brightly at me. “Even better.”

“It’s still just one night,” I insist, knowing that the minute I promise myself that, I won’t go back on it. I’m too disciplined in the way I parcel out my intimacy.

“We’ll see,” he murmurs. Stepping away from me, he grabs my hand in his and pulls me toward his bike.