Page 3

“I’ll promise you no such thing,” I retorted. “Besides, I have work to do.”

“No, you don’t. Besides, you can’t work. We don’t have Wi-Fi in the cabana.”

I looked at her suspiciously. “What kind of a resort doesn’t have Wi-Fi?”

I saw a flash of guilt before she hid it. “It’s optional in the cabanas,” she said. “I chose the ‘no Wi-Fi’ option so we could all disconnect.”

Fine, I could just find a place to work somewhere else in the resort. I knew there had to be Wi-Fi in the common areas. Or maybe I could figure out how to make my phone into a hotspot? That thought had scarcely crossed my mind when Evie walked over and put her hands on my shoulders.

“Look little sister, I’m worried about you. You work all the time. You never take a day off and I haven’t seen you since last Christmas. Every time I see you, you look more stressed out. Can’t you try to just enjoy our weekend together without worrying about work? Please?”

I pulled her into a hug. “I’ll try, Sis. I promise.”

And now here I was, trailing a strange man as he showed me around and told me the history of the resort. I studied him covertly from the corner of my eye. He was incredibly hot. He was about four inches taller than me, with wide shoulders and a trim waist. He was wearing shorts, giving me a glimpse of his muscled calves. His hair was dark and thick, generously threaded with silver, and he was sporting a dark five o’clock shadow across his square jaw. It was his eyes that had caught my attention though. Dark and expressive, fringed by long lashes that women would pay good money for.

When our gazes met for the first time back at the bar, I had gotten the most uncanny sensation. It was like he somehow knew me, although we had never met. And when he touched me...I’d had to look around to see if I was standing on an extension cord or something. I’d never had such a strong physical reaction to a man before. It was unsettling.

Colin was an excellent tour guide. He walked me past the tennis court, the zipline entrance, the various buildings holding everything from reception to restaurants to the spa area, before leading me towards the beach.

“How long have you worked here?” I asked. He seemed very familiar with the resort and its history.

“Um. Since I was a kid.”

At my curious look he added, “My dad worked here, so I followed him around a lot. He was a big believer in teaching kids the value of hard work at a young age.”

“Then you worked your way up to bartender?” I asked. It seemed kind of weird that this guy had spent his entire career in one place. He had to be in his mid-forties, at least.

There was a flash of something in Colin’s eyes that I could not interpret. “I actually...well, I’m a...I’m a floater. I work wherever I’m needed in the resort.”

I had the feeling that wasn’t what he was going to say originally, but who was I to ask a bunch of questions? The poor guy had been roped into giving me a tour after a long day of work. There’d been no way he could have said no without looking like a jerk to my sister.

“Over here is where you rent snorkeling equipment and sign up for parasailing,” he said, pointing at a small building down the beach from where we were. “In this direction, you can walk for a couple of miles before you run out of beach. It’s truly the best place to watch the sunset.”

Suddenly I tripped on my own feet, pitching forward. In a flash, Colin had moved in front of me to prevent me from falling. The man was incredibly fast on his feet. Strong arms gripped my biceps, holding me steady. I put out one hand, bracing it on his chest. Good lord, I could feel how muscular it was, even through his thin Hawaiian shirt.

We both froze, staring at each other. My heart was racing, and I could feel the awareness shimmering between us, making the air even warmer than it was.

“Sorry about that,” I whispered, staring up into his dark eyes.

“I’m not.”

Before I could ask for clarification, Colin lowered his head towards mine. I knew he was going to kiss me and appreciated the fact he was moving slowly enough for me to step back. I should definitely step back. I was going to do that any time...

The minute his lips touched mine, everything inside me stilled. All the swirling in my mind, all the lists, all the things I needed to do, it all just evaporated. One hundred percent of my attention was focused on kissing this man.

When I didn’t pull away, he licked along the seam of my lips, demanding entrance. His tongue swept in, and I moaned against him, sliding my arms around his waist. Colin pulled me closer, aligning our bodies, as we relaxed into the kiss. We fit together perfectly.

Colin slid his hand up, sliding his fingers into my hair, tilting my head to deepen the kiss even more. One strong thigh snuck in between my own, and I shamelessly rolled my core against his bare leg. I was sure the bathing suit I wore under my sarong was already soaked from the arousal flooding my pussy.

Good Lord, I had never been kissed like this. I’d never had this sensation of the entire world fading away. And I had certainly never felt like I could lay some stranger down on the sand and ride him like there was no tomorrow.

Oh crap. Sand. The beach. The sudden realization that I was humping a stranger’s leg in a public place made me pull away, gasping for breath. Colin’s eyes were dark, almost black, and his chest was heaving, just like mine was.

“I...” I paused, unsure what I should say. Oh yeah, my sister. “I should get back. I promised my sister I would join her and her friends for dinner.”

Colin studied me for a moment. “Can we get together later?”

I shook my head. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m here for my sister, not to hook up with someone.” I twirled around, desperate to put some space between us. “Thanks for the tour.”