Chapter 4
I’m dressed tokill.
Skimpy, red cocktail dress. Check.
Bright-red stiletto heels. Check.
Eye makeup for the evening. Check.
Phone. No check, but who cares?
The entire point of this getaway is to go incognito.
“Jordan,” I say as we walk side by side through the promenade area decked out with a huge, several-story-tall Christmas tree. “You know what would really freak Jade out?”
“What?” He touches the small of my back to guide me around a tour group taking pictures with Santa Claus.
“If we both pretend nothing’s happening. She’s expecting me to text her and be upset about the arrangement.”
He lifts a bushy eyebrow and the mischievous smirk crinkles his face. “You mean you’re no longer upset?”
“I’m still upset, but I refuse to let Jade get the satisfaction of putting me in a tight spot.”
“Hmmm, I myself prefer tight,” he says. “The tighter, the better.”
“Ahem.” I turn away from him at his obvious innuendo. How would he know I’m going through a two-year dry spell unless Jade briefed him? “The point is, let’s play a prank on her.”
“Sure, we’re all about pranks here.” His eyes glitter as we stroll underneath candy cane arches. “What do you have in mind?”
“No contact,” I say. “I know my phone’s missing, but Jade doesn’t have a clue. I’m not answering email, voicemail, and not posting updates.”
“Same here. I’m entirely off social media.” He stops underneath a glittery Christmas garland with a huge sprig of mistletoe. “Since no one will ever know, will you?”
“Will I what?” I blink at the greenery tied with a red ribbon hovering above our heads. What could I possibly lose?
“Seal our deal,” he says. “What happens on board stays on board. My lips are sealed.”
He leans toward me, taking up all the space under the Christmas display, and all I can see, taste, and feel is this toxic and heady cloud of masculinity engulfing me, drawing me into a vortex of temporary, or maybe permanent, insanity.
Forget who he was.
Forget who I am.
Forget the world.
Forget it all.
“As are mine,” I mutter and let our lips touch.
His mouth is soft but firm. Strong and gentle, and I’m shocked at the sizzling sensation, the sparkly effervescence, the electricity in the air.
Is this for real?
I’ve narrated this exact situation so many times. The sparks. The excitement. The tingling, hair-raising, fluttery and churning sensations. I’ve spoken breathless words describing in detail the feels and tastes and the crashing together of lips, hearts, and souls.
I let my mind wander, loose of the moorings, out to sea. My brain cells don’t want to function, not when all my blood surges to more carnal regions of my body.
I sigh into his mouth and let my arms go around this man’s solid, sturdy waist. My lips keep in cadence with his, but we keep our tongues to ourselves.
