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After getting some vitamin D, she dug around in her purse for a tube of sunscreen. She took care of her front and then turned to Noah.
“Um, I hate to ask, but could you put some on my back?”
“Why do you hate to ask?”
“It would involve touching me,” she said, turning away from him and pulling her hair out of the way. “You seem adverse.”
He huffed out a laugh. “I don’t know about adverse,” he muttered. The tube made a sputtering noise as Noah squeezed out a glob. His big hands spread the sun-warmed cream over her shoulders and down her back. She tried to ignore the shot of heat that ran through her. Why was applying lotion so sensuous?
“Done,” he said gruffly.
“You want me to do yours?” she asked.
“I’ll lay on my back.”
“Suit yourself,” she said, laying on her stomach and untying the string of her bikini top.
He groaned. “What are you doing?”
“Relax,” she said. “I just don’t want a tan line.”
He mumbled something about her being the death of him, and she smiled. The notion of a fling with Noah had crossed her mind. If they were stuck together anyway, why not? They’d kissed twice, and both times, she thought she’d combust on site. Sex with him would no doubt be fantastic.
She talked herself out of making the first move, reasoning the fallout wouldn’t be worth it. Plus, he was so uptight, she couldn’t see him breaking the rules and didn’t want the embarrassment or awkwardness of being turned down.
“Wanna camp here tonight? I think I saw a sign that said it was allowed.”
He groaned. “I don’t like being out in the open and so vulnerable. I was going to suggest a nice hotel with secure entry points and a deadbolt. A hot shower and big beds would be a bonus. This isn’t over, you know? Until they catch whoever’s doing this, you and the other contestants are still in danger.”
“I know. But you said we weren’t followed. And I haven’t posted since lunch, so there’s no way anyone could’ve tracked us. Please!” She batted her eyelashes and puckered her lips into a pout.
“Does that usually get you what you want?” he asked, raising an eyebrow to indicate it would not work on him.
She smiled. “Nine and a half times out of ten.”
“What about dinner?”
“We could fish.”
“With what? You got a fishing pole in that fifty-pound bag of yours?”
“I have dental floss. We just have to find a stick.”
He laughed. “As much as I’d like to see you try that, no. I need real food.”
“Real fast?” She chuckled.
“Yes.”
“We can compromise. We’ll go out for dinner but sleep in the tent on the beach.”
“Fine.”
They packed up the towels and cooler and enjoyed fresh-caught fish while overlooking the ocean from the deck of a seafood restaurant.
After dinner, they bought two quarts of firewood from a man who was selling it out of his truck bed on the shoulder of the road. When Noah got back into the car after loading the wood into the trunk, he handed her a fistful of daisies.
“For me? I love them,” she cried. “Where did you get them?”
