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  “I’m going to come so hard,” James groaned. “Squeeze my cock.”

  Laina did. She would have done anything for him, anything he asked, as long as he was taking her to that incredible place she wanted to go again. She felt warmth radiating upward, from her pussy into her belly, until she was once more balancing on the brink. And then she was toppling over, feeling him thrust upward one last time as groan and after groan ripped from his throat.

  As they rode the crest together, Laina knew that she needed him, every part of him, and that it was already painful to think of a tomorrow without him.

  CHAPTER NINE

  On my way to the spa with Kiki, have fun with the guys! See you this afternoon xx

  AS JAMES LOOKED down at the text from Laina, a war of emotions tore at his gut. At the top was his insanely heated craving for her, along with a mind-bending urge to pull her closer to him than physical limits even allowed. A terrifying, vulnerable, deep feeling that informed him he was past the point of no return with her. It made absolutely no sense that he should feel this way after only two days, but telling himself that did nothing to change the facts. He would never find another woman like Laina. She was hotter than a million casual lays, better than anyone he could have imagined inserting into his world, and the thought of going back to a life without her made his chest ache with emptiness.

  And at the bottom of his gut was raging regret for letting things go this far.

  Damn. Ever since yesterday he’d been ignoring work calls and emails, not to mention trying to forget that Jennifer Liu had the power to put the Moretta project on the chopping block if he didn’t come through. Knowing how skittish his partner was about certain things, he’d let her come in on the deal without divulging a couple of major snags, confident he could iron them out without her ever knowing. But it hadn’t been as easy as he thought, and the truth was he knew better than to do business like that. He’d come under the spell of the island and, if he were completely honest with himself, his own greed. He’d seen an opportunity he wanted to jump on before anyone else could, and he’d needed Jennifer to make it happen.

  And now he needed Laina to make it happen. Damn it—how had he let things go this far without talking to her? He should have done it right when he met her, gotten it out of the way before they got involved personally. Not that he’d had a chance, seeing as they’d gone from enemies to lovers within about one second flat. That first kiss on the deck had led to more so quickly...

  Tossing his phone onto his bed, James dropped his boxer shorts and walked naked into the bathroom. Laina had left around midnight, but the truth was that it had taken all of his strength not to invite her to stay. He never let his conquests sleep in his bed, but Laina was more than that, and he’d known it. If she’d been disappointed, though, she certainly hadn’t let on. Even though he’d insisted on driving her home to the point of getting himself dressed, she’d vehemently insisted on driving herself, leaving him with a lingering kiss. And now the hotel room still smelled like her. He still smelled like her. And even the thought of the heavenly bliss that had gone on between them last night had his ravaged cock lifting off again.

  He had no choice—he had to get it over with. He’d practiced the lines in his head and there was no easy way to ask her the question, no way to sugarcoat his words without disclosing his full intentions. He needed to come clean, come what may.

  A dark sense of dread filled his head as he slid the shower door open. He could lust after Laina all he wanted, could even fool himself into thinking she might be important enough for him to make a serious change in his life. But the truth was that they were on an idyllic island for one week where romance took on a falsely shiny optimism, and that nothing would change the fact that on Monday they’d both return to their real lives—whether Laina was willing to help him or not. The bottom line was that he had to get the conversation over with so he and Jennifer could move ahead with the project. Now. This afternoon. He’d do it when he saw Laina later today, he decided. Even if the thought of it made his stomach clench like a fist.

  He stepped into the shower and turned the cold water on full blast.

  * * *

  “Are you sure you don’t need any help?” Laina asked Kiki, facing her sideways on the massage table. “I haven’t done a single thing since I’ve been here. Aren’t I supposed to be making party favors or something?”

  “I just asked her that this morning,” Kiki’s second bridesmaid, Nicola, who’d arrived for the wedding the night before, piped up on her other side. “But you know Kiki. She’s so organized—or at least she is since Dev came along.”

  “You noticed that too?” Laina grinned. “You should have seen her in high school. She was an executive functioning nightmare, and yet somehow she managed to score straight A’s. And become an executive assistant, of all things—go figure.”

  “Try having her for a roommate,” Nicola said. Her face was turned into the cutout on the massage table, making her voice come out muffled. “I remember this one time—”

  Kiki cleared her throat loudly. “Excuse me for interrupting, ladies, but are you two sure you’ve never met? Because you’re like a couple of peas in a pod.”

  “It is hard to believe,” Laina laughed to Nicola. “I’ve visited Kiki here so often, but I guess I missed the time you were living with her.”

  “I know.” Nicola turned to face Laina. “I thought I’d be staying here a lot longer, but then I met Alex and he swept me back to LA.”

  Though the two women had met only two hours ago, Nicola had already filled in Laina on the odds she’d faced to find true love on the island with Alex, and to Laina it all sounded like a modern fairy tale. Knowing Kiki and Dev’s story too, she couldn’t help wondering if this island had a magical taming effect on certain alpha men.

  Which was exactly the kind of dangerous thinking that would lead her directly into shattering heartbreak, Laina reminded herself. She knew better, and she’d do not well to forget it. No matter what kind of otherworldly encounter she and James might have had last night.

  “Would you two please stop talking?” Kiki sighed. “You’re supposed to be relaxing.”

  Laina tried. Closing her eyes, she attempted to succumb to the massage therapist’s kneading strokes down her back, but it was no use. Her head was a hot mess. She’d managed to deal with a few work emails this morning and even put an ad in for an assistant—Kiki was right, she really couldn’t continue without one—but she’d failed to respond to her mother’s text from last night asking Laina to call her. Not that the timing had been ideal, with James just appearing in the bedroom to tie her up for the most intense experience of her life.

  At the memory of it, a small moan nearly escaped her lips. The way he’d made her feel—her entire body broke out in goose bumps just thinking about it. A low buzz vibrated in her pussy, making even the pressure of the massage table something she longed to grind into just to quench the aching desire she now lived with constantly. And she was sore down there today, another new experience for her, but it was an exquisite pain. A pain that reminded her of James and everything that had gone on between them over the past few days, and of everything she knew they were still going to do. But she feared for her mind, which was filled with thoughts of him that bordered on obsessive. All she could think of was him—his touch, his smell, the boundless magic he’d unlocked in her body...and the questions that kept burning at the back of her mind. Was this more than just sex? Was she special to him, or was he like this with all his conquests, making each feel like she was the only woman on earth who mattered right up until the moment he moved on to the next one? After all, he hadn’t invited her to stay last night.

  Laina tried to remember whose idea it had been for her to go home—had she brought it up or had he? She was pretty sure it had been her, and then he’d offered to drive her home—like she was ever going to let him see where she was staying—
but he had eventually let her go. Laina may not have had much experience with sex, but she did know that a man who let you leave his bed after a full night of earthshaking pleasure didn’t usually have long-term potential. It was a thought that brought an arousal-killing punch to her gut. Despite what had happened with Ward, she had pretty healthy self-confidence, but she knew that if James discarded her, it would hurt more than she cared to admit. Even more than Ward, she realized.

  And that was when she knew she was in way over her head.

  “So,” Kiki said to Laina, flipping onto her back so her massage therapist could start working on her neck. “I’m assuming you found your way back to the stable yesterday? If I didn’t know you were such a good rider, I’d have been worried you got lost.” She turned to her with a raised eyebrow.

  Laina felt her cheeks tingle. She should have known better than to think her friend wouldn’t notice what was going on with her. “I thought you wanted silence.”

  “I do—right after you tell all.”

  “There’s not much to tell.”

  “Liar.”

  “What are we talking about?” Nicola asked.

  “Nothing,” Laina insisted.

  “Come on,” Kiki urged. “I know you’re dying to tell us.”

  “About what?” Nicola pressed again.

  Laina heaved a sigh. “Fine. It’s just... I kind of have a blind date for the week. Long story. And, well...” She gazed straight up at the ceiling to avoid her friends’ eyes. “We may be having a really amazing time. And I may be extremely confused.”

  There was a beat of silence before both women started making cheering noises. Laina laughed. Anyone who thought women didn’t indulge in locker-room talk didn’t know the half of it.

  “Well, who is it?” Nicola asked when they finally settled down.

  “That’s the weird part. It’s Kiki’s cousin. She thought it would be a good idea to—”

  “Do you mean James?” Nicola asked.

  Something in her voice caught Laina’s attention. She lifted her head. “Yes. You’ve met him?”

  She watched Nicola exchange a quick glance with Kiki before she answered. “I have. He came to visit Kiki once while we were living together—but he stayed at The Palms,” she added quickly.

  Laina could feel her gut twisting. No. But she already knew. “And?” she asked, trying to keep her voice light. “What did you think of him?”

  “He was nice,” Nicola said before turning away again.

  Laina dropped her face back down. “Oh, my God. He hit on you, didn’t he?”

  Nicola shook her head quickly. “No! I mean, yes, but—he didn’t know I had a boyfriend. Alex was back in LA, and—it was so not a big deal, I swear. He was a total gentleman when I shut him down.”

  Laina hated the churning in her belly. She hated the raging jealousy she felt streak through her as her mind immediately filled with the picture of their naked bodies together—which had never even happened. So he had asked another woman out—so what? He had been single, Nicola was as gorgeous as they came—it made perfect sense and there wasn’t a thing wrong with it.

  Except that it reminded her that she was only one of many. And that maybe there wasn’t anything special about her at all.

  “Listen,” Kiki said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. “I’ve never known James to have a relationship, but that’s not to say it couldn’t happen. I mean, look at Dev—the number of groupies he slept with before he met me? Horrifying. But I know with everything in my heart that those days are over for him. I think it can happen to any man if he meets the right woman. And I can’t imagine a better one than you.” She ended her comments with a smile.

  Laina tried to smile back, but she knew it looked forced. The right woman. What Kiki said may be true, but where did Laina get off thinking that could be her? Very likely, every woman who slept with James thought she could be the one to win his heart. Even if James had done nothing wrong, she felt humiliated by her own naivete and fragile hopes. A man of thirty-eight didn’t just suddenly decide he wanted his very first relationship when he’d spent a lifetime choosing whoever he wanted whenever he wanted.

  Laina closed her eyes, trying for an indifferent tone. “You know what? I’m really not looking for anything like that right now, anyway. And seriously, Kiki—I insist on helping you. Isn’t there anything I can do for you this afternoon?”

  * * *

  By the time James was walking downstairs to the lobby of The Palms to meet Laina, he’d come up with a plan that he thought was half-decent. The first part of it involved making sure they didn’t end up in bed again before he accomplished his mission. If they did, James knew he’d just fall deeper into the hole he’d already dug for himself, not to mention probably spend the rest of the day having sex like the world was coming to an end. No—James would begin by taking her to the site of his planned hotel and describing his vision to her, and then he’d invite her to be a part of it. He’d even managed to convince himself that he might be stressing out for no reason. Why wouldn’t she agree to what he needed from her? It wasn’t like she had nothing to gain from the deal. Maybe it would all work out just fine, and they could finish the day together doing something a lot more fun than discussing business details. His cock twitched hotly in his pants at the thought of it.

  With a lift in his step, James continued down the stairs and turned the corner—and almost bumped right into Laina. Her eyes went wide when she saw him, and then she took a quick step backward. She was standing between Kiki and another woman who looked vaguely familiar.

  “Ladies! How was the spa?” James asked with his eyes directly on Laina. Despite planning and building the flagship Revive spa in Miami, he really had no idea what actually went on behind those mysterious doors, but whatever it was had made Laina more beautiful than ever. Her nails were polished in a soft pink, her hair was still damp from a shower, and her skin, free of makeup, was glowing as if she were lit from within. She was wearing white terry-cloth shorts that showed off her legs, and a tank top that revealed a narrow slice of her flat tummy. She looked good enough to eat...but that didn’t explain the urge James felt to possess her with his entire being.

  “Um, it was good,” Laina said, but her gaze was on his chest. He tried to catch her eye, but she turned to look at Kiki. “Right, Kiki?”

  “Right. You remember Nicola?” she asked him, gesturing to the third woman. As he greeted her, he did remember; he’d met her once when visiting Kiki, and had even asked her out for a drink, which she’d declined. But that was ancient history. It couldn’t possibly be the reason Laina was acting strangely with him right now.

  He clapped his hands. “Well, I hate to break up your party, but Laina and I—”

  “Actually, Kiki needs my help this afternoon,” Laina cut in.

  His smile faded as he flicked his eyes to his cousin for confirmation.

  “Actually, I don’t,” Kiki said firmly.

  “Not true,” Laina responded. “The wedding is in two days. I’m sure there are a million things to do. And that’s what I came here for, after all.” Her eyes held a touch of defiance. What the hell was going on?

  “Laina, could I speak to you for a moment?” he asked. She looked like she was about to refuse when the other two women stepped away. He put a finger under her chin and forced her face up to his. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I came here to be Kiki’s bridesmaid, and I got distracted.”

  His stomach rolled over sickly. “Distracted? Is that what you call the last few days?”

  Laina turned her face away stubbornly, forcing him to drop his hand. “I realized I need to be a better friend, that’s all.”

  “That’s not what Kiki seems to think.”

  “She’s just being nice. She knows I like you, so she’s trying to play cupid.”

  “And that’s a bad t
hing because...?”

  “Because it’s not going to work.” Laina shook her head. “Look, James. I’ve had an amazing time with you, okay? But I’m not going to fool myself. I know you’re not a one-woman kind of man. Not that I’m necessarily looking for a commitment, but this? I—I just really don’t know how to do this.” She dropped her arms to her sides, suddenly reminding him of a little girl who’d decided to drop out of the school play because she didn’t think she could act. Her authenticity was disarming. James was used to head games—women playing hard to get, trying to make him jealous, showing up for sex at unusual times or places to try to make themselves memorable. None of it worked with him. “I thought I’d be okay with just...sex,” Laina continued in a lowered voice. God, even the word made her blush; how could someone so innocent tip his desire off the Richter scale the way she did? But of course that was all part of it—her total oblivion to the power she held in her hands, her body, her mind. “But I’m not.”

  James’s head was spinning. He and Laina had charged past the casual hookup line the moment they’d entwined their hands in front of Laina’s beloved crumbling house. Maybe even before that, if he were honest with himself—that first night on the boat, her body had met with his in a way he’d never come close to experiencing with another woman. Laina deserved a hell of a lot more than a relationship that was defined purely by sexual encounters—she deserved a man who would worship the ground she walked on. But until just two days ago, James hadn’t even considered a lifestyle any different from what he had. And no matter how addicted he’d already become to her body, he would not break her heart with a promise he wasn’t 100 percent sure he could deliver on.

  “Laina, I...” He raked a hand through his hair, wondering what to say. He needed time to think, that was all, get his head wrapped around the possibility of leaving behind something he never dreamed he wouldn’t want. Of devoting himself completely to her—because if he was going to do this, that was how it would have to be. She was too special to think about any other way.