Oh my God, I’m so freaking relieved, I could pass out. “Thank you,” I breathe.
“Likewise, this fling of ours is nobody’s business, either,” he adds. “What happens in Maui, stays in Maui.”
I can’t believe how much stress Ryan’s just lifted off me. “Well, thanks, but I keep telling you, there’s no ‘fling’ here, just a one-time, meaningless walk on the wild side for me that will never happen again. With you, anyway.”
“I told you to stop doing that.” He glares at me. “What the fuck? You fucked me mere hours ago. You don’t think I have feelings?”
I’m flabbergasted. This guy’s an epic manwhore who hits on women when his girlfriend gets up to use the bathroom and me talking about some other,hypotheticalman Imightscrew one day “hurts his feelings”? Ridiculous. “So is that all you wanted from me, Ryan?” I say, my tone snippy. “You stopped me to ask me not to tell anyone about our little tryst?”
He takes a step forward and my body instantly reacts to his sheer physicality. “No, that’s not even close to all I want from you, but, yes, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about at the moment.”
“Great. I promise I won’t tell anyone.” I put out my hand and he shakes it—and, when our skin touches, I feel an electric current jolt through me. I quickly pull my hand away, my heart racing. “So, if that’s it for now, I gotta go work.”
Ryan motions like he’s allowing me to leave. “Off you go, Theresa Rodriguez. Go forth and be the personal assistant you are, as opposed to the flight attendant you pretended to be.”
I roll my eyes and turn to go, muttering, “Victimless crime, dude,” under my breath.
“Oh, wait, one more thing, Samantha-T-Rod-Theresa-Tessa,” Ryan says politely.
I exhale with exasperation. “What, Colby-Dax-Keane-Ryan?”
“Have I earned the right to call you Tessa yet? ’Cause you just don’t seem like a ‘Theresa’ to me.”
“Sure,” I say. “Call me whatever you want.”
“Cool. Thanks. Tessa it is.”
“Honestly, I don’t go by Theresa, other than at work. Everyone in my real life has always called me Tessa.”
“Then why do you go by Theresa at work?”
“I really gotta go, Ryan.”
“Just answer the question.”
I sigh. “Because when I drafted my résumé for this temp agency right out of college, I thought it seemed more ‘professional’ to put my formal name on it. So, naturally, when the temp agency sent me to Josh, he called me ‘Theresa,’ and I just went with it. I was only working for him for ten hours a week at first, running stupid errands, so I was like, ‘Meh, who cares what he calls me.’ And then I just got used to it and never corrected him. If I were applying for a job today, I’d obviously not be an idiot and just put Tessa on my damned résumé. Live and learn. Anything else? Because I really gotta go.”
Ryan grins but doesn’t speak.
“Can I go?” I ask in a huff.
“Sure.”
“Thank you. Have a great day.” I turn to leave.
“Oh, wait. Yeah, there’s one more thing, Tessa.”
I turn around. “What?”
“You wanna fuck in my room or yours after the party tonight? Your choice.”
I scowl at him. “I’m sorry. Have we met? Are you Keane or Colby or Dax? You Morgan boys look so much alike.”
Ryan takes a step toward me, his eyes blazing, his body heat wafting off him, and my chest tightens with desire. “My name is Ryan Ulysses Morgan, sweetheart,” he says, his voice low and intense. “Captain Morgan. And trust me, baby, you’re not only gonna know my name before the night is through, you’ll be screaming it at the top of your lungs.” Without waiting for my reply, he winks, flashes me a panty-melting smile, and jogs toward his family and friends on the other side of the beach, leaving me with my jaw hanging open and my crotch pulsing mercilessly.
34
Tessa
