“So exciting!” Kat squeals, and then she and Sarah hug excitedly, apparently out of pure joy.
I glance at Ryan to find him still staring at me, his blue eyes smoldering.
I stare back, entranced. I’ve never seen a more exquisitely beautiful face in my entire life. Too bad it’s attached to such an asshole.
Ryan licks his lips and brazenly looks me up and down, his eyes settling on my chest for a beat. Which I can’t say surprises me—I bought this sundress precisely because it flatters my curves. Oh, man, there’s no doubt about it: Ryan’s ripping my dress off with his eyes right now, and I must admit, that’s exactly what I want him to do... which means I’d better get the hell out of here before I let myself get chomped like a human McNugget. I make a big show of looking down at my phone. “Whoa, look at the time. Gotta go. I’ll see everyone at the party tonight.”
Nobody reacts. Nobody cares. They’re too absorbed in their conversations with the people they love the most in this world to pay any mind to Josh’s personal assistant. And that’s just fine with me. Peace out.
Without another word or so much as a glance at Ryan, I turn on my heel and lope away from the group.Oh my God, get me the hell away from that gorgeous great white shark before I give in to my primal instincts and fuck the living hell out of him. (Again.)
“Hang on,” I hear Ryan’s voice call out behind me. “Hold up, Theresa.”
I stop. Crap. I turn around and smile at him like a cheerleader for the losing team. “Yes?” I ask primly. “What can I do for you, Dax?”
Ryan chuckles and puts his palm on his gloriously inked chest. “I’mRyan. Dax is the guy with the band—Ryan’sthe guy who fucked you earlier.”
I gasp and quickly look behind him to make sure nobody’s heard him. “Ryan,” I say urgently. “Someone might overhear you.”
He flashes me a cocky grin.
“Walk with me, Romeo. Holy hell.”
We begin walking along the sand toward the hotel. “Are you planning to torture me like this all week?” I whisper. “Because if so, please don’t. I’m not here for your sick amusement—I’ve got a job to do.”
“We both know it’s not your job you’re thinking about ‘doing’ right now, Argentina.” He snickers. “So when you wanna have round two?”
“Not gonna happen,” I say. “It was a one-time thing, like I said.”
“Then why have you been looking at me for the past ten minutes the way a kid looks at a melting ice cream cone—like you’re dying to lick up all the drips?”
I stop walking and stare at him.Oh, God, yes. I wanna lick up all the drips.“I assure you, the only way I’ve been looking at you for the past ten minutes is the way a dog-walker looks at a steaming turd in the grass:ew.”
Ryan bursts out laughing. “God, I love it when a beautiful woman is funny. That’s the whole package right there.Damn.”
I exhale with frustration, even as my eyes drift to his pierced nipples. “I don’t want to play this game,” I sniff. “I’ve got work to do and I don’t want everyone seeing us talking and start to think we’ve got something going on. If I want another round of meaningless sex, I’ll screw the tattooed bartender I met last night, not Kat’s brother.”
“Okay, that’s it. Don’t say that shit again to me. You understand? Never again.” He grits his teeth. “If you’re gonna have sex this week, meaningless or otherwise, it’s gonna be with me and only me.”
My clit is practically vibrating, I’m so turned on. “Look, Ryan, I’m not doing this with you. Just tell me what you want so I can smile and nod and not actually listen to you and then walk away without any intention of doing whatever it was you asked.”
Ryan crosses his muscled arms over his beautiful chest and assesses me for a long beat. “You really hate me, don’t you?”
I’m instantly taken aback by the earnest expression on his face. “Yes,” I say, but even as the word comes out of my mouth, I’m not sure it’s the sum total of how I feel about him. “And deservedly so,” I add. “You’re a lying, cheating scumbag-asshole-douche. Now just, please, tell me what you want.”
Ryan sighs and runs his hand through his hair. “Okay, all kidding and flirting and bantering aside, I sincerely want your assurance you’ll keep quiet about everything that’s happened between us.”
I’m shocked as hell and I’m sure my face shows it. “Of course,” I say. “I’m surprised you’re... Oh, I get it: you don’t want me cramping your style with the cocktail waitresses out by the pool?”
He rolls his eyes. “Could you stop hurling missiles at me for two seconds? I’m being sincere. I don’t want Josh to find out about us. He’s obviously protective of you and if he finds out I’ve already helped myself to a heaping portion of your very delicious pussy, he’s gonna be pissed.”
I must admit, he’s throwing me for a loop. I thought for sure I was gonna have to beg and plead and, quite possibly, threaten to keep Ryan from blabbing about our little tryst. “It goes without saying I’m not gonna tell anyone,” I say. “I don’t want Josh or Kat or anyone else to know, same as you. Probably more than you.”
“Good,” Ryan says. He sighs like I’ve just lifted the weight of the world off his shoulders. “Josh made a big point of telling me he views you like a little sister earlier, and I don’t want him thinking I’ve got no respect for The Bro Code.”
“Josh said I’m like a sister to him?”
“Yep. And that means you don’t have to worry about me telling my sister or Josh about your little crush. I was already inclined to keep quiet about that, like I said, but if Josh thinks of you like a sister, then there’s obviously no risk of anything ever happening between you two. So, don’t worry, I’m turning the page on all that. It’s done. I swear on a stack of bibles.”
