One Bossy Date: Chapter 4

Yesterday she was beautiful and gutsy and unpredictable, but I never gave her another thought past needing a review.

Today, it really sinks in. The more time I spend with Piper Renee, the harder it is not to notice how sharp she is too—whenever she’s not goofing off like she’s reverted to age ten.

“Holy shit, a petrel!” Piper goes charging into the waves for the dozenth time, chasing this huge blue-and-white sea bird gliding off the shore.

I watch her from my dry spot on the beach as a wave surges in and pushes her back, sending an entire gaggle of birds up into the sky.

I hope her phone’s waterproof. The last thing I need is the damn thing failing and her pestering me to overload my phone with bird videos as a backup.

I’d join her, except I’m in slacks and a button-down shirt.

I was smart enough to leave my jacket in my office today, but stripping down to jump in the water would probably not help my review case.

It’s hard enough keeping my eyes on this woman without my dick turning into a magnet that wants to steer me into her.

So I sit on a rock just where the ocean stops lapping at my feet, glowering, wondering if there was ever a time in my life where I had as much fun as her in full bird dork mode.

Another huge wave crashes against her. She darts under the water, just long enough to make me nervous.

I stand up, looking around.

Goddamn, don’t tell me I have to play lifeguard, too?

But she bursts out of the water, her smile lit by the high noon sun, that blond hair shimmering and tangled around her shoulders.

“Aren’t you coming in?” she yells, splashing with her hand.

My cock jerks, warning me my very survival is at stake.

Christ, this woman.

Her dress is so soaked it’s basically see-through and clinging to her skin, showing off every curve I’d enjoy tracing with my tongue. Water sparkles across her cleavage like small diamonds, begging to be licked off.

Fuck me to hell, it’s impossible not to stare.

I’d have an easier time getting my eyes plucked out by the fishing birds soaring higher now, circling in neat formation.

“Whatever, Brock! Your loss.” With a pout that turns her lips into a ripe strawberry, she flings water in my direction.

“I should have dressed lighter before we set out,” I lie. “The winds can be unpredictable around here and I thought layers would work best.”

“Aw, so what? It’s only lunchtime. Let’s go back to the hotel so you can change.”

The longing look she gives me slices me in two.

“This day isn’t about me, Miss Renee. I’m in Lanai constantly. This is all about making sure you’re able to soak in the best this island has to offer,” I say firmly.

And about ensuring I don’t fall face-first into a sexual harassment lawsuit by doing something monumentally stupid with a guest who’s already seen me nude.

I rip my face away, pretending to watch a few more birds launching themselves into the sky off the rocks.

I could use her bird nerdery right now. I fucking need it when her tits are damn near glowing with the silver water foaming around her.

“Come on! We’re not that far from the resort, right? I can’t have fun with a stick-in-the-mud tour guide,” she calls.

“You were doing a pretty good job of it this morning,” I yell back.

She throws her arms up. “Who am I kidding? I always make my own fun, but I feel a little guilty that you aren’t enjoying yourself. That’s killing the vibe.”

So she’s pure empath, too.

That’s one difference I’m grateful for. I’m well aware my own emotional IQ rivals an earthworm sometimes.

Whatever else she is—and that definitely includes annoying—Miss Renee is the type who manages to squeeze fun out of pure misery.

The influencer gig must be the perfect job for her. She isn’t lacking the enthusiasm.

She bounces up and down again in the water, coming closer, flinging more droplets my way that fall hopelessly short.

“Is that it? You’d better work on your aim,” I say sharply.

“Orrr I could just dunk you since you’re changing anyway.” Before I can react, she lunges forward, throwing a palmful of water that hits its mark.

A growl boils up my throat when I look down.

Of course she’s splashed me right on the crotch.

So much for hiding that raging hard-on I hate her for riling up.

“Brat, you want a splash war?” I glare at her until her smile fades.

Then I’m stomping into the ocean up to my knees, scooping madly at the water, throwing it at her face.

She goes down laughing like the damnably adorable sea sprite she is.

“Okay, okay! I surrender,” she yells. I douse her one more time for good measure before she spits a stream of water at me. “Let’s go back to the hotel. You can change and we can get ready for whatever’s next! I could go for a pick-me-up, too.”

“No more coffee. I’m cutting you off,” I snarl.

Her smile disappears.

“Woman, I just ruined my pants to play with you.” Honestly, saying it makes it that much more unbelievable.“Yeah, let’s head back. You should change too. We won’t be spending as much time in the water this evening.”

She blinks and looks down, her cheeks heating like she suddenly realizes how exposed she is.

“Oh. Okay. I’ll keep a bikini on under my clothes just in case we jump in the ocean again.”

Did she have to say that? I cannot unhear bikini.

With her thin dress so soaked, it’s not hard imagining what she’d look like in a bikini.

I doubt I’ll think of anything else for the rest of the entire day now.

“Come on. Just a short hop up the road, and we’ll take the secret entrance again.” I glare as she claps her hands.

“Cool,” she says. “So what’s up next?”

First, I’m grabbing a whole carafe of coffee to keep up with her.

“We’ll go into Lanai City so you can see the shops. We can grab lunch at a local place.” I pause. When she doesn’t answer immediately, I say, “We could also have lunch at the resort, or have a picnic lunch packed. Our menu is always on point, whatever you choose.”

“Let’s go local. Don’t take this the wrong way, but there’s a Winthrope Resort in Seattle. I’m from Washington and I can eat your food anytime.”

Washington? I grit my teeth, hoping like hell she doesn’t live in my backyard.

I shrug. “If you don’t mind missing the best seafood in Hawaii.”

My stomach growls like a bear, demanding another lobster.

“I’m from Washington. Right on the Pacific.”

Shit, shit.

I say nothing because that’s way too close to home base. That also explains her heavy travels in the Pacific Northwest.

After she dries off, we jump into my rental Jeep and I take us up the road. I don’t press her about home, not when she’d ask about me.

I’m still aiming to leave her clueless about who and what I really am.

Back at the resort, I lead her to the concealed hotel entrance that opens into the private garden. I punch in the code and push the gate open.

“Meet me at the front entrance in twenty minutes and we’ll head out again,” I say.

“Sounds good. Come dressed for Lanai this time.” With a parting look that’s pure sass, she sails toward the elevator.

I sigh, trying like hell to tear my eyes off her lush little ass.

The things I could do to this woman—if only I wasn’t counting on her professionalism.

Since I’ve been exiled to the first floor, it’s a short walk to my garden room.

I change into a USAF t-shirt and khaki cargo shorts with deep pockets for my phone, leaving my hands free.

When I get to the main entrance, I see Piper standing impatiently, already waiting.

Her strapless blue sundress brings out the emerald-green of her eyes. I almost laugh when I see it’s speckled with white outlines of owls.

I wish I could only find her outfit funny.

She wasn’t joking about the bikini.

A bright pink strap crawls up her cleavage and wraps around her neck. That pop of color might as well be a dagger in my brain, destroying whatever section makes me a sane human being.

“…are you okay?”

My head jerks, nodding, so quick to lie.

I’m not okay.

I’m not well.

I’m fucking bewitched by a vision of guiding this girl straight through the private gardens, pinning her against the wall, and tearing that pink strap off with my teeth.

“You sure?” She studies me, her eyes searching mine.

“You look goddamned ravishing,” I blurt out.

Shit, shit.

Way to make everything weird again, you gibbering lust monkey.

“Oh.” She falls back a step and then beams at me. “Well, thank you.”

She’s smiling, isn’t she?

Crisis averted.

I hope.

“Ready for Lanai City? I’m pumped to check it out,” she says, already heading for the door.

“Of course.” I step past her in two quick strides and hold the door open for her.

“Thanks! So how far is it from here?”

“Not far at all.” I veer my head to the right.

We walk together quietly until we reach the Jeep.

That lingering blush on her cheeks tells me she’s still stuck on my dumbass comment.

I don’t want the wheels turning in her head, making everything awkward again.

This silence isn’t helping.

“I’m glad you gave me a chance to make up for that disaster your first night,” I tell her.

“I believe in second chances. But why are you so worried about my review, really? I’m a pretty middle rung reviewer.”

I don’t answer right away. Maybe this conversation was a mistake.

“Truthfully, we’ve been hit with a lot of negative feedback lately. We don’t need another big mishap on our hands—especially not my little intrusion.” I start down the sandy path, and Piper follows me.

“You just need to change your mindset,” she throws back.

“What mindset?”

“You attract what you think about. You’re obsessing over the bad reviews. That could be why your people made a huge mistake when they were just trying to do a good job for you—”

Oh, fuck.

We’re really doing this law of attraction shit?

It’s come up at sales conferences a few times. Always from people who dress in eye-bleed bright colors and who do a better job running their mouths rather than selling anything.

I can’t buy it.

Still, it wouldn’t be wise to blow her off.

“Why don’t you enlighten me?” I bite off, staring at the road and clenching the wheel.

“You just need to look at your reviews objectively. Don’t take them as a personal insult. How can they help your place improve? You should be happy someone takes the time to tell you what’s bothering them. That’s a chance to improve.”

Sure.

I’ll get right on that when someone complains about the feeling of custom lava rock floors on their feet that took five million dollars to install.

I try not to roll my eyes at how obvious and overly optimistic her outlook is.

“You don’t like my advice,” she says, staring.

“I find it amusing. Only you could turn a bad review into a gift from God, Miss Renee.”

She smiles. “Because my mind is in the right place. If you’d try getting yours there, you might have a lot less to worry about.”

Hell, I’d jump at the chance to transport my mind.

Preferably to a place where I’m not thinking about stripping her naked under the high tropical sun.

“Piper, this situation is more serious than you think. It’s been an entire slate of bad press. This resort only opened roughly a year ago. If its reputation gets shredded out of the gates—if we lose business—I could be staring at layoffs or transfers. My staff came in with a lifelong dream of landing a Hawaiian position, or they grew up locally and won’t leave this island for anything.”

“Hmm. I’m sorry,” she says thoughtfully, biting her lip. “But I don’t think it’ll come to that…”

Is she serious?

How does some vlogger fresh out of college even have a clue?

She laughs bitterly and shakes her head. “If you want me to shut up now, I will. I can tell you think I’m stupid—”

But I don’t. She’s just out of her element.

My eyes snap to hers and I slow the Jeep down as we take a winding curve that hugs the cliffs hanging over the ocean.

“Wrong. I know you’re not finished, so let me have the rest,” I urge.

“Well…what if you played with the pricing? You charge more than the Four Seasons. I know you’re supposed to be bigger and better and fancier, but if the guests don’t agree…maybe it’s time to adjust? If anything, a few negative reviews might knock you down to a lower price. You’ll make less money per stay, but you might get more customers willing to take a chance on something with a four out of five rating. And don’t tell me it’ll bankrupt you. You’re Winthrope. The owner, he’s like a bazillionaire, right? And you must make a bundle.”

I clench my jaw.

I’m sure she means my grandfather since she doesn’t seem to know who the hell I am.

“There’s been a change in leadership. Ross Winthrope stepped into the background a couple years ago. Even so, he was a cautious man, and his money strategies are still gospel. It got our brand this far.”

She must see the feral look in my eyes and holds up her hands. “Oh, right. Sorry. I didn’t mean to imply—”

“That I’m just another spoiled rich fuck in a big machine that churns through real dollars like Monopoly money? Always above getting my hands dirty and doing the heavy lifting? Imply away, Miss Renee, you’re hardly the first,” I rumble.

That wins me an awkward laugh.

“And what happens if I get knocked down to a cheaper pricing tier and keep getting negative reviews?” I press her, loving how she chews her bottom lip when she’s thinking.

“If you see them as opportunities, I doubt that’ll happen. But I also don’t know why people freak out so much over nasty reviews. I’ve bought books because of crappy reviews before!”

I raise a brow. “What kind of books?”

Her face glows red and she goes quiet.

“Um, romance. Chick lit. Not the kinda stuff you’d be interested in—”

“Smut then,” I say. “Erotica. Got it.”

Her mouth drops.

“What? Whoa—okay—I mean—”

“Miss Renee, there’s no need to pretend you’re Miss Puritan. Plenty of women in this company who spend long hours traveling like their fuck books to keep them company. I don’t blame them one bit. Who doesn’t enjoy reading?”

For a second, I enjoy her bewildered silence, the way her face burns cherry red.

“Now, what about those bad reviews? Regrettably, our appeal can’t be salvaged with sex.”

She clears her throat. “I mean, when I’m thinking of going somewhere that hasn’t offered me a free room, I look at the three-star reviews first. Unless it’s someone with a track record. The fives are usually too gushy and shallow, and one stars usually mean someone just had a bad day. Threes are where you get the real pros and cons.”

I nod. Decent observations all the way around.

By now, we’re arriving in town.

Once we pull into a public space and park, I let her mill around a few gift shops and then head to a small place down the street for lunch.

“What do you recommend?” she asks.

“Classic plate lunch. It’s kalua pork or katsu chicken with rice and macaroni salad. The best on the island—if you’re brave enough to enjoy the carb overload.”

“Lucky for you, I’m starving. Can I get Hawaiian bread to go with it or is that some kind of mainland joke?”

I snort.

She thinks she’s so funny. For a girl who’s traveled, her questions are so cute you’d think she’s never left the mainland US before.

“Just order the Portuguese sweet roll on the side,” I say.

She smiles. “And I know macaroni salad is like a staple around here, but it makes no sense to me. How’d this place wind up married to macaroni noodles?” she asks after we’re seated, lifting a glass of water.

“Well, my history is rusty, but I think macaroni and cheese took off here in the early twentieth century. It was a cheap way to feed the farmers since everyone loves comfort food. Street vendors started putting their own twist on a hot thing. Now, it’s weird having lunch without macaroni salad on the islands.”

“Pretty interesting. Thanks, professor!”

I shrug, refusing to be blinded by her smile again.

My phone buzzes in my pocket as we head inside the restaurant. I pull it out and see a text from Keenan.

You’ll be back by Friday, right? We’ve got a new headache at the New York resort. I’m emailing you all of the docs now.

I hold in a sigh and send back, Yeah. I’ll review them and put out the fire as soon as I can.

Piper clears her throat.

What the hell happened? Summarize,I send.

I pretend to drink my water until my phone buzzes again.

Keenan: Don’t have all the details yet. But some chick was crazy pissed and threatening to sue last night. I gave her a free night and Mets tickets. I think I’ve talked her down from going nuclear…for now.

I nod at the screen out of habit and punch in, Thanks for reminding me why I keep you around.

I look across the table at Piper.

Her eyes are narrowed as she stares at me, questions etched on her face.

“Here’s your inside look at the downsides of hotel management. I answer texts constantly so I can babysit reviewers. It’s not all elysian beaches and sipping mai tais.”

“You’re a dick,” she whispers.

“Careful, Miss Renee. If I didn’t know better, I might think you’re treating this like a date with date-like expectations.”

That shuts her up.

Thankfully, she forgives me enough to make small talk while our food arrives. We both wolf down our lunch while she tells me about the many cozy cabins she’s been to everywhere from Leavenworth to Yellowstone.

After lunch, I lead her down the street and rent a four-wheeler.

“What’s that thing for?”

“We’re visiting a local ranch for horseback riding, but it’s pretty far off the beaten path. This is the easiest way to get there. You ever driven one before?”

She shakes her head.

“I’ll drive then. You just sit behind me and enjoy the ride.”

Her eyes swell and she nods tensely.

I sit down and wait as she climbs on behind me, so careful to leave a gap between us.

Now, it’s my turn to tense up.

My blood goes molten at the slightest brush of her hand.

“Is there like…something I can hang on to?” she asks weakly. “Sorry. I get around, but I’ve never been on a sports vehicle or—whatever this thing is.”

I chuckle. “You already know what you’re supposed to hold on to, Miss Sunshine. Right in front of you. If touching me makes you that uncomfortable, I’ll figure out something else for us to do.”

For a heady second, she’s quiet.

“No, that’s…fine. Although, I’d rather see dolphins than horses.” She knots the sides of my shirt in her fists.

She’ll definitely want a better grip than that once we get going, but I don’t say anything.

“It’s the end of whale season, I believe. Hold on and we’ll find them.” I hit the gas.

The ATV lurches forward with a droning roar.

“Oh! Oh my God!”

There’s a panicked flurry of small hands around my shoulders.

The space between us disappears.

Then she presses her body against my back for dear life. Her arms hug my chest, little nails digging into my shirt.

Even when she’s almost drawing blood, it makes me harder than a brick.

There’s something wrong with me.

It’s a bumpy ride to the ranch, but that’s not why it’s a special kind of exquisite torture.

Her hands brush my skin.

Her breath falls against my neck in hot sighs.

Her body fucking trembles against mine.

I’d have an easier time escaping a pit of scorpions than the thousand scalding images of all the other ways I wish I could make her shake.

By the time we’re pulling up the dusty road and a grinning guy with a dark tan approaches, we’re damn near molten, her hot little body snug against mine.

Her breath comes so shallow, giving her tits this delectable friction I can’t stand.

Even the balmy heat does nothing to stifle the instant cold when we climb off and pull apart.

She won’t look at me.

It takes at least a solid minute for the redness on her cheeks to fade.

When my phone vibrates against my hand, I’m thankful for the distraction as we walk toward the horses. I glance at it, making sure Keenan’s New York nightmare is still under control.

“Do you ever take a break?” she asks, finally looking at me.

“Can’t right now. Not all of us make our living filming exotic birds.”

She huffs. “But what would happen if you did turn your phone off for a few hours? One evening? The resort won’t burn down. I promise.”

I throw her a slow look.

Then again, when the hell was the last time I enjoyed Lanai and it wasn’t all business? I mute my phone.

She’s still wearing the same enchanted look on her face she’s had since yesterday with the sand angels. The one that reminds me of an awestruck girl on her first trip to Disneyland.

A hollow feeling rips through me.

Was travel like that for me when I was a boy? Before everything became work?

As the day goes on with our slow, bobbing horseback ride over the ocean cliffs, one thing becomes increasingly clear.

Piper Renee is my exact opposite.

She’s a ray of sunshine, lighter than anything else in this world—especially when she starts singing obnoxiously loud on an isolated stretch of coastal road.

I pretend it annoys me to death.

Honestly, broken chords of “Walking on Sunshine” make my ears bleed, but when I tune her out, her beauty eviscerates me.

Another sight I don’t need.

Another feeling I don’t have time for.

Another temptation to keep eye-fucking this pretty girl.

I’m starting to get why I’ve been single for so long.

This could have been a productive day. Instead, I’m spending it as a glorified chaperone to a woman who doesn’t know she’s turning my balls into softball-sized blueberries.

It’s only temporary, I remind myself, breathing slowly as she belts out another broken tune.

She doesn’t stop until I grit my teeth and dagger her with a dirty look.

What the hell is this?

A mammoth clusterfuck, apparently.

An illusion of a date with a pretty girl who doesn’t know I’m a chronic liar.

Fuck, it’s an anti-date.

Winthrope International has real problems I need to deal with that go way beyond apocalyptic reviews.

Yet here I am, stuck with this sun pixie with my phone switched off, trying like hell to pretend I have a life.

She can get brunch from any restaurant she wants at Winthrope tomorrow, so tonight I decide to wow her.

We drive across the island to a restaurant so exclusive the waitlist for reservations is usually six months deep, but the managers know who I am.

The rare flex of my name scores us a private booth as a courtesy.

Piper sips her wine, her strawberry mouth taking in the burgundy sweetness.

Focus on her eyes, damn you, I remind myself.

“Tell me your favorite part of the day,” I say, swirling my own wine and looking down.

Anything that keeps my dick from ripping through my trousers.

“Do I have to pick one? I don’t know… Everything here is so beautiful. The cliffs, the little craft shops in Lanai City—oh, and that humpback whale! I’ve seen orcas plenty of times but the humpbacks are harder to catch back home. It was so cool when he breached.”

I love the whimsical glow on her face.

“Good. Sounds like a welcome break before you go back to—” Damn. I realize I’m about to ask a question I dread. “Where did you say you’re from in Washington?”

“Seattle.”

Shit.

There it is.

“We’re basically neighbors,” I say flatly.

I have no fucking clue why my cheeks hurt, fighting down a smile and a grimace simultaneously.

Maybe because I’ll know she’s there—far too close for comfort—even after she melts back into a sea of over a million people.

Still too close for my mad, simmering desires.

Barely a short car ride away from reconnecting, from haunting my balls until they’re bluer than the sky.

Yes, I’m being fucking ridiculous.

It’s not like we’ll ever have a reason to see each other again.

After tonight, after she posts her review, we go back to our separate worlds.

“Oh, you manage the Lanai resort from Seattle? You live there?” She looks over the top of her glass.

Fuck. I’ve already said too much.

“Technically, no. I’m traveling constantly in this role. I have a beautiful house in Seattle, though,” I admit, ignoring my better judgment.

Her eyes sparkle.

“Wow. You’re living my travel nomad dream. God, I wish I could travel so much I didn’t feel tied to any place. You’ve got the life I’d lead if I could be someone else—if I wouldn’t miss my family way too much.”

Sunshine, you have no idea what you’re asking for.

“Is that the only reason? You underestimate yourself, Miss Renee.” I take a slow sip of wine and capture her eyes. “You’ve got a steady following. Once it’s big enough and you lock down more ways to monetize it, there’s no reason why you won’t be able to jet around to your heart’s content.”

She shakes her head quickly.

“No, it’s just…it’s not that easy. I’m lucky to get away at all.”

I frown at the way her head drops with her eyes closed before she looks at me again.

“Why?”

“I—” She pauses. “I just have obligations back home. Personal things.”

“You’re young and free. You only get that once.” I study her left hand closely, confirming there’s no ring.

It’s a safe assumption she’s not tied down, even if she might have a serious boyfriend.

“Not as free as you think,” she mutters, glancing away.

“What’s tying you down then? Children? School? A man?” I try to keep the jealous edge out of my voice on that last word.

She snorts like I’ve asked her if she’s hiding a pair of unicorn wings.

“No way. Nothing like that, but I do have family issues that keep me in Seattle. But it’s not important.” She sighs and props her chin on her hand. “What was your favorite part of the day, crankyface? Lanai must be kinda boring when you’re here so much.”

I stare at her for a second and decide I’ll humor her.

“Clever dodge, Sunshine. Lanai has a certain familiarity to it, I think, so I value experiences. Anything out of the ordinary.”

“Yeah? You mean you did something with me you haven’t done a thousand times before?”

I pause, dragging her gaze to mine before I answer.

“You really want to know? Okay.” I lean in closer. “Frankly, my favorite part was when you wrapped yourself around me on the ATV. I wish we never got to the ranch.”

Her mouth twists open as she gasps.

“…bad answer, Brock.” She blushes but can’t hide her mutinous smile.

“Sure, but you’re enjoying my mischief, aren’t you?” I cut a piece of my steak and chew slowly.

She makes a disgruntled sound and shakes her head vigorously. That smile she can’t shake gives her away.

Thankfully, I end it there, before anything monumentally stupid happens that undoes all my hard work.

Control yourself. You want to walk out of this with a glowing review, not her panties, bozo.

We focus on the dessert menu. I convince her to try the decadent coconut cake, the best she’ll ever have. Since she can’t eat the whole thing herself, we share a piece.

It’s the kind of magnificent torture a man only experiences a few times in his life.

This fucking mockery of a date that’s not a date.

Trying like hell to convince her to like me for my resort—and not because I want her screaming in my bed.

After dinner, we head back to the resort under a smear of silver stars hanging over the ocean.

She slumps in her seat with a muffled groan.

“Oof. You weren’t kidding about that cake. Too delicious, even if I’m busting at the seams. Thank you.”

“Thank you, Miss Renee, for not murdering me with a lamp the other night.”

“You got lucky. I was a little distracted.”

I wonder if she means my body—my sizable package—and I hate that I can’t ask.

It certainly wouldn’t be the first time my cock left a woman stupefied, but never the unique way Piper Renee experienced.

“Lanai is a good place to be distracted,” I tell her, my eyes flicking over as I drive. “I’m afraid we won’t be shower buddies ever again.”

She giggles, her face heating that damnably alluring ruby red.

“Let’s take the long way up. I’ll show you the rock garden,” I suggest once we park.

We set off on the winding walking path around the resort, veering down a trail flanked by ferns and flowers.

Before I realize I’ve done it, I’ve got her hand in mine.

Real smooth.

Apparently, while I was too busy focusing on not doing anything stupid, my hand went straight imbecile on its own.

I should drop her hand now.

Pretend it never happened.

Mutter something pathetic about how it’s a bad habit and leave it at that.

But she isn’t pulling away, is she?

Quite the opposite—her little fingers curl around mine like she’s begging me to stay. To touch her just a few more seconds.

Goddammit.

If I push her away, she’ll be offended for sure.

Why double down on dumbassery?

And if I’m being honest, I enjoy her warmth too much, the way her nails press lightly into the meat of my hand.

What’s truly pathetic is that this is the closest thing I’ve had to a genuine date in years.

Managing an empire as big as Winthrope doesn’t leave time for much more than shallow hookups where you’ve barely traded names in some upscale bar before clothes start falling off.

“Wow,” Piper whispers, stopping at a break in the brush and palm trees to study the sky.

It’s such a clear night, and the stars are truly brilliant.

I can’t help tightening my hold on her hand.

I’m here so often I take this view for granted.

“It looks like a movie or something,” she says, inhaling sharply. “You don’t get skies like that back home. And it hits different here. It’s not like New Mexico or Utah where I’ve seen some pretty cool night skies.”

I offer her a smile.

“Now you know why so many astronomers set up shop in Hawaii. This way.” We’ve arrived at the rock garden so I pull her along the curling manicured paths.

Not that it matters.

This lightning bug of a woman won’t stay on the path to save her life.

She breaks away from me, pulled toward the rocks like a magnet. They glow dark purple under the full moon.

She makes a game of hopping from one large moss-covered stone to the next. After a few near acrobatic jumps, I’m not sure she’ll keep landing on her feet with catlike grace, so I catch her midair.

Her eyes go wide, but she doesn’t complain as her arms curl around my neck.

“Why’d you have to ruin it?”

“Because you must be the only guest who’s ever used a world-renowned Japanese artist’s creation as her personal playground,” I say with a snort.

“Got it. You should just put up a No Fun sign then. It’d be less disappointing.” She flicks her tongue out.

This hard-on will murder me.

I look up and see Jupiter glowing brightly overhead, this massive star blasting through the night. They say it’s the closest it’ll be for another hundred years.

The added light only enhances Piper’s dreamlike glow.

“Woman, you might resemble a pixie, but you don’t fly. Keep your feet on the ground. You shouldn’t be jumping around with your foot healing, I’m sure.”

“Whatever, bossypants.” Her emerald eyes drop from my eyes to my lips. “Also, my feet aren’t touching the ground right now, and I’m very content.”

Oh, fuck.

Oh, fuck.

It’s like those words seal our cursed fate.

I don’t think a boulder to the head could keep me from kissing her hard enough to take her soul.

“Miss Renee?” I rasp, moving my face painfully close to hers.

“Yes?”

“I lied about my favorite part of the day.”

“You…you did?” She blinks like she senses what’s coming, her soft smile fading in a mess of giddy nerves.

I nod slowly. “My favorite part was spending the whole day with you. We won’t see each other again, but you made me wonder what it might be like to travel with someone. To share the world and know they’d always be there. This is the life I’d lead if I could be someone else. I’d spend all my days with someone like you.”

Her arms tighten around my neck.

She closes her eyes and sighs, this nimble creature in my arms, mine for the taking.

It’s a sound that splits me in two.

My entire body throbs. I want to brush my lips over hers very lightly, teasingly, but this feral growl trapped in my throat doesn’t let me.

When we collide, it’s all violent sparks.

Pure delirium.

Her mouth is a fever, burning to my very bones, and there’s only one cure.

I slide my tongue past her whimper, firm but gentle.

But her tongue moves against mine with a pressure I have to match.

Fuck, it’s too much.

Too good.

Too blinding.

My vision reddens as I suck at her mouth, devouring her, everything turning frantic. My fingers dig into her hip before I tear myself away.

“Back on your feet now,” I whisper raggedly, my brain howling with disappointment.

Every last bit of me might be screaming to fuck this girl right here, but I can’t give in.

I can’t undo the repairs I’ve made today, even if walking away from another taste of her kills me.

She whimpers as I set her down and she finds her balance.

“You just had to go and make this difficult, didn’t you?” she whispers sharply, still smiling.

“Believe me, it’ll be pure hell for me, too, trying to forget. Consider it a blessing we won’t see each other again. It’s been a lovely day, Miss Renee. Let’s not taint it with anything you’ll regret.”

We both turn to the sky again.

My hand finds hers.

We watch Jupiter, the moon, and the stars dancing around them for a few more minutes in blazing silence until she laughs.

“What?” I ask tensely, turning to look at her.

“Who would have thought? The naked intruder is a gentleman after all!”

Hardly.

If she could only read my mind, she’d know she’s barely escaping wearing my mark from the inside out.

Instead, I just shrug and turn back to the silver night.

“I’ve been called worse, Miss Renee. You need to up your insult game.”