Mia nodded. “Annoyingly painful and horribly unwelcome.”
“You think he was born that way?” Alex scrunched up her nose. “Or did he take lessons?”
“It’s usually a bit of both.” Mia shrugged.
Alex grimaced. “Proof that human evolution can go in reverse.”
“Okay.” Romeo pushed up from his chair. “I tried to let it go. But I can’t take it a second longer.” Turning toward the drunk, he didn’t attempt to keep the contemptuous edge from his voice when he said, “Lookcabron, the ladies have asked you nicely to fuck off.I, on the other hand, won’t be so friendly.”
“Mind your businessss.” The asshole rolled his eyes without even cutting Romeo a glance. The dude’s ruddy cheeks matched the tip of his nose, letting Romeo know Mr. One-Too-Many was no stranger to getting cork high and bottle deep.
“Go on and keep rolling your eyes,pendejo,” he snarled. “Maybe you’ll find some brain cells back there somewhere.”
Thatgot the drunk’s attention. He gave Romeo the once-over.
Romeo didn’t spend ninety minutes each morning running on the beach, swimming in the lagoon, and lifting weights simply because he was health conscious. He also did it so that when he ran into jackoffs like Herr Half-in-the-Bag, he had the mass to back up his mouth.
Of course, when Mason, who was built like a shorter version of John Cena, stood from the table, the drunk’s face drained of color. He proved he was smarter than he looked by stumbling out of the bar and onto the long, wooden dock that ran the length of the marina.
“May both sides of your pillow always be uncomfortably warm!” Alex called to the man’s retreating back.
Romeo watched to make sure the bastard had thoroughly adiosed himself. Once he was satisfied, he touched a finger to his forehead, saluting the table of ladies who thanked him for intervening and asked him to join them.
“Some other time,” he told them, and then blinked in astonishment at how easily those three words had slid out of his mouth.
There’d been a time, not so long ago, when he’d havejumpedat the chance to while away the hours with a group of beautiful tourists. Recently, however, his whole “sexit and exit” routine had lost its allure.
Because of Mia,he admitted to himself.
His intense desire to strip her naked had left him completely uninterested in doing the Devil’s Disco with anyone else.
See? Earworm! A sexy, sensual, incessantly arousing earworm.
Who’s my friend! Just my friend, damnit!
“And on that note...” Alex stood and wrapped a hand around Mason’s bicep. “I think I’d like to skip the after-dinner drinks and head back to the hotel. I read somewhere that the tongue is the most powerful muscle in the human body.” She pushed her tortoiseshell glasses higher on the bridge of her nose and grinned at Mason. “How’s about you and me go find out whose is the strongest, huh?”
Mason frowned heavily—pretty much the guy’s go-to expression—but Romeo could tell he was biting the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. Putting a hand at the small of Alex’s back, Mason bid Romeo and Mia a good night, and then quickly ushered his saucy little girlfriend out of the bar.
Shit, damn, and hell,Romeo thought.Now it’s just the two of us.
It was easier to fake nonchalance and comradery toward Mia when they were surrounded by friends and colleagues. But it was almost impossible when he found himself alone with her. When there was nowhere to look but at her tempting mouth and no way to ignore the way her small waist flared dramatically to a pair of hips curved perfectly for the fit of a man’s hand and—
Chronic masturbation.
That wasanotherphysical symptom caused by her mere presence.
Girding himself for the impact of her eyes when he retook his seat, he was relieved when she didn’t look at him and instead kept her nose buried in her phone.
Wayfarer Island was smack-dab between Key West and Havana, Cuba. A small circle of sand and mangrove forest that grew out of the sea and boasted few modern conveniences, least of all cellular service.
Everyone who lived on the island had given up their phone plans—why pay for something they couldn’t use? But not Mia. She’d kept hers active, and anytime she found herself in civilization, the device buzzed nonstop.
“Your cousin again?” He hitched his chin toward her lighted screen.
“He’s asking what time we’re leaving in the morning,” she said and then pocketed her phone after shooting off a quick text.
And there they are, he thought, catching his breath.Those eyes.
