The way his voice deepened to a low, sexy vibrato when he said my name.
And how he almost fucking kissed me.
Oh my God.
I still can’t believe Owen Brooks was seconds away from kissingme.
I’d gone back to my room afterward and stared at the ceiling for over an hour, my heart racing and skin buzzing from his touch.
Every time I closed my eyes, I replayed the way Owen looked at me when he saw me in my bikini for the first time. He looked at me like he… wanted me. His gaze was dark, unguarded, and full of a hunger I’ve never seen in him. He looked like he wanted to freaking devour me.
I’ve tried to talk myself out of it. To make it seem like I’m just misreading the situation, but there’s no other way to see it. There’s no misconstruing it. I’m not stupid; I know when a man is turned on. And Owen was on fire for me in that moment.
Maybe it’s just the fact that he’s a heterosexual man and was staring directly at my boobs and ass, or maybe something finally shifted in him.
Could it be that he was seeing me differently,really seeing me, for the first time? Not just as the girl he has fun working with, but as someone he wants just as badly as I want him.
And don’t even get me started on Vance.
I have to press my thighs together when I even think of how Owen turned into a jealous barbarian the second he saw Vance’s name flash across the screen. Fuck, remembering the way his jaw tightened as his fingers clenched around my phone has my heart skipping beats.
He looked possessive.Dangerous.Like he was two seconds away from getting on a flight to Chicago and ripping Vance’s throat out.
Call me a masochist, but it was hot as hell.
What Owen doesn't know is that he got much closer to kissing me than Vance ever will.
God, that almost-kiss was the worst tease of my entire life. I can’t stop thinking about how perfect his body felt pressed intomine, solid and warm. I can still feel the heat of his skin sliding against my bare ribs.
I can still taste his minty breath on the tip of my tongue, remembering the way his lips trembled like he was fighting to hold himself back.
I hadn’t even realized I was doing it when my fingers dug into his thigh, gripping onto him for dear life. I shiver when I think of how his muscles went rigid beneath my touch, how his whole body reacted like my hands alone were enough to unravel him.
We were so close.
An inch apart. Maybe less.
One thing I know for sure, if his mouth had touched mine, I wouldn’t have stopped him. I wouldn’t have hesitated for a single second.
I would have let him kiss me right there, consequences be damned.
Standing here now, with the ocean rocking lazily beneath us, Owen close enough to see the hairs on my arms standing straight up—I know that whatever almost happened last night is still very much alive.
We both feel it now.
There’s no denying the tension brewing between us.
Seconds later, we’re lowering down into the water in full snorkel gear. The water feels cool and refreshing, calming my limbs. I just float for a moment, letting the ocean soothe me, before turning my head to look at Owen.
He’s right beside me, mask on, honey-brown hair slicked back by the water. The Caribbean sun illuminates his face, making his green eyes look majestic against the teal-blue ocean.
God, he’s so beautiful.
He lifts a hand and gives me a thumbs-up to check in.
I mirror it, smiling behind my mouthpiece.
We sink under the water together, and the reef explodes into color below us. Schools of fish dart past in flashes of yellow, silver, and blue. Coral formations jut and curve into stunning shapes and patterns, resembling an underwater city.
