“Why am I so nervous?” I ask, staring into the mirror, holding up a black dress that hits me at my knees and swapping it with a blue dress that shows a little more. More legs. More boobs. But it makes my eyes pop.

“I love the blue one,” Tori states. I glance at her through the mirror.

“Of course you do.”

She ruffles through my jewelry, ignoring me. “If it were me, I wouldn’t wear panties. One glance from him and they’ll melt right off, anyway.” I focus on the black bra and lace panties I’m wearing. Probably a little too direct to forgo the panties, but I chose the blue dress.

I step into the dress, shimmying my body into it. Tori comes up behind me, zips it up, and then holds up a pair of silver dangle earrings against my earlobes. “Have you ever been on a real date?”

“Ha-ha,” I snicker. “Yes. Just not anytime recently. I’m busy with school.”

“That’s what you continue to say.”

“I. Am.” Spinning with my hands on my hips, I glare at her. “Having a boyfriend complicates things. This is my last semester before I graduate. After that, I’ll worry about a relationship. And you know about my history. I… can’t yet.”

She narrows her eyes at me. “So, why did you accept this date?”

“I almost killed the guy. What choice did I have?”

She shakes her head at me, not believing a word I’m saying. There’s an attraction to the guy, but it doesn’t mean I’m ready for a relationship. It’s just a date. One. Date. My phone dings on my dresser and butterflies tickle my insides. He said he’d text me when he arrived. Tori reaches it before I do, waving it around, striding into the living room with it in her hand.

“Time to take a magic carpet ride, baby doll.”

I snatch the phone, laughing. “You’re a nerd.” She smiles wide, plopping down on my couch. “You going into work?” I ask while making certain everything I need is in my purse.

“Of course. What else do I have to do?” She sighs dramatically. I stop fiddling with my purse and peek up through my lashes.

“Yeah, your life is so monotonous.” She flashes a sly grin. It’s not boring at all. She has a boyfriend that takes her out on his yacht or flies her to random exotic destinations a couple of times a month for the weekends. I’m not jealous of Ben, or Mr. Silver as we call him, our nickname for him because he’s older than her by ten years and rich, but I am envious of what she does with him. I’ve lost count how many times he’s asked her to marry him. She loves him, but she likes her freedom too. He’ll need to strap her to a gurney to get her to the altar.

Tap tap tap. I smooth my dress, glance down to make sure my boobs aren’t sticking out and ask, “Do I look okay?” I shake out my hands, my nerves jumping into overdrive. Why am I so wound up?

“Stunning, Ell. Calm down. Like you said, it’s only a date.”

Taking a deep breath, I blow out my anxieties and open the door. Our eyes meet, and I can feel the thrum of my pulse as my heart picks up speed. His eyes work their way down my body, leaving a trail of heat.

“Wow,” he murmurs, his eyes blaze. “You look amazing.”

He’s only seen me in my work uniform, black shorts and a black tank, with Ocean’s sprawled across my boobs. My dark hair is loose and curled, unlike the bun it’s normally in. I even pulled out makeup which I normally don’t make time for between work and school.

I stop at the elevator and tilt my head in confusion as he keeps walking. Once he realizes I’m not by his side, he turns around. “Where’re you going?”

He flashes a boyish grin and shrugs. “I don’t do elevators.”

I glance at the mirrored doors and back at him. “Are you claustrophobic?” I’d be surprised if he said yes considering he was a SEAL.

His incredulous laugh confirms my thoughts that it’s crazy. “No. I don’t like to feel trapped in a box.”

“Isn’t that the definition of claustrophobia?”

He licks his bottom lip and it’s sexy as hell even though he didn’t mean for it to be. “It’s more about the loss of control than the confined space.”

I bob my head back and forth, kind of understanding. Although, not enough to make me take the stairs every day. I join him, walking down the six flights of stairs. I’m grateful we’re going down instead of up. That might be embarrassing.

He holds the door to the garage open for me, the smell of his cologne greets me as I pass. I close my eyes for a moment, reveling in the scent. I'm in so much trouble if his scent is getting to me. When he stops at a motorcycle - a beautiful black Harley - I peer down at my fitted dress and heels and glance back up to meet his uncertain expression.

“We don’t have—”

“I can go—”

We both say at the same moment. He chuckles and says, “We don’t need to take this, I’ll grab Cody’s car.”

“No,” I say quickly. I’ve never been on a bike, but it’s happening tonight. “I’ll go change.” I hold up a finger and take a couple of steps back before pivoting on my heels. “Don’t go anywhere,” I yell over my shoulder.

“That would be stupid of me,” he yells back. I turn and smile at him, he winks in response.

Damn. Damn. Damn. I’m ready to jump into the visible flames he’s putting off.  

I dash into my apartment. Tori stands in my bedroom doorway as I shimmy into my skinny jeans, not yet taking off my dress. “See, I told you, a magic carpet ride.”

I stop mid-zip and glare at her as realization dawns on me by what she meant. “You knew he had a motorcycle?”

With a taunt of a smile, she shrugs unapologetically.

“Really, Tori? You even told me not to wear panties.”

She hums. “How hot that ride would be? Maybe I should talk Mr. Silver into getting a motorcycle.”  

“Oh my god. You are a nymphomaniac.”

This shouldn’t surprise me coming from a woman who doesn’t wear a bathing suit when out on the yacht and all the places her and Mr. Silver have had sex out in the open. She’s as comfortable naked as she is with clothes on, but I’m not. I’d rather the lights be turned off. The scars have always made me self-conscious.

The royal blue silk tank glides down my torso. It’s still sexy and date-worthy. Boots in the summer sound as good as hot chocolate on a steaming, muggy day so I grab wedges out of my closet. At least they won’t fall off my feet.

I glance at the stair exit and I smirk. Nope, not this time. I’ll break my ankle trying to do the stairs right now.

Kase is sitting on his motorcycle when I return, messing with his phone. “Hey stranger, can you give me a lift?”

His thumbs stop moving, and his lips turn up as he mumbles something to himself. When he lifts his head, he flashes a sly grin. I can’t ignore the flush of heat burning deep in my core. I should have kept my dress on. Without panties.

“Where you headed?” His words are playful, but his eyes are full of fire. I try to ignore his heated stare, but it’s always been hard for me to turn away from danger. And Kase is dangerous. I’ve seen how he interacts with other people. He’s intense, reserved, yet doesn’t back away from a fight. He’s nothing like that with me, which makes me question everything about him. It also draws me in and makes me want to know who the real Kase is.

“Wherever you want to take me.”

“Damn, woman. Don’t tell me that.” He grabs a helmet off his handlebar and lifts it over my head. I pull my hair back before he pops it down. His warm fingers graze my jaw as he snaps my chinstraps together. I shiver involuntarily and heat rushes to my cheeks. He flashes a knowing smile and bites his lip and it's damn sexy. “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.” He twists his body to grab his helmet. “Hop on,” he says over his shoulder.           

Feeling nervous, excited, and slightly aroused, I swing my leg over and straddle the seat. I hold on to the seat behind me, not knowing if I’m supposed to wrap my arms around him. “I tried to say no. You wouldn’t let me.”

“Ellie, you didn’t try very hard.” His laugh echoes in the quiet garage until he floods it out with the buzz of his bike. Instinctively, I wrap my arms around his waist, not caring what I’m supposed to do. The press of my body against his, the rumble of the bike between my legs and the adrenaline of being on a motorcycle has my body tingling with little volts of electricity. I’m more alive right now than I’ve been in years.

The wind rushes around us as we zip by the coast and the sun sets low in the sky behind us. The engine roars louder as Kase pushes it to go a little faster. My hands tighten around his waist and I can feel the shake of his laughter. I pinch him, and he retaliates by reaching around, grabbing my ass. Fear spikes through me. Keep your hands on the handles!

“Noooo!” I yell and tap him on his stomach. I release a sigh of relief when both his hands are where they’re supposed to be. After about a twenty-minute ride, Kase pulls into a small beach-side restaurant. It’s a cute, tiki-hut style restaurant with bright lights, beach themed decor and a patio that wraps around the entire restaurant.

Kase parks and takes off his helmet. “This okay?”

I lift off my helmet, hand it to him and shake out my hair. “Yes! I’ve never been here.” North of Gilley Cove is new to me as I don’t venture out this way. He helps me off and I rub the inside of my thighs, not used to the vibration between my legs. Well… for that long.

He slips his hand in mine, with no hesitation.  He’s worried if I’ll like the restaurant, yet holding my hand is not up for discussion. I steal a quick glance up to him and he winks. The confident man leads me inside and I can’t help the butterflies tingling in my belly.

“Reservation for Nixon,” he says to the blonde hostess. Reservation? The restaurant is what I imagined it to be. Laid-back and casual. Typically, this is not the type of place that takes reservations.

“Right this way, Mr. Nixon.” Kase’s hand stays on my lower back as we follow her through the restaurant. I'm excited they're seating us on the patio. The sun hasn’t disappeared yet, leaving a soft pink glow across the horizon. When we keep going, past the patio, I glance at Kase, confused. He nods his head forward and I follow it to a single table set up by the water. Candles flicker on the table from the soft breeze coming off the ocean.

He pulls out my seat for me and helps me scoot forward in the sand. When he whips my folded up napkin and lays it in my lap, I stare up at him in bewilderment. He rounds the table and sits, repeating the motion with his napkin. I’m caught off guard by his chivalry.

He takes a sip of his water, looking at me over the rim of the glass. “What?” he asks, lowering his glass.

“You surprise me.”

He leans back in his chair, chuckling. “Why is that?”

I spread my arms out, looking out to the ocean and back to his amused smirk. “This. I never pictured you being a romantic guy.”

Well, that sounded a bit judgmental and came out totally wrong. He nods twice, his fingers twisting his lower lip. “Why type of guy do you think I am?”

Domineering alpha. My cheeks heat at my first thoughts. “I don’t know. Not this.”

His eyebrow lifts and he leans forward on the table, reading through my bullshit. “You seem to have formed an opinion of me, Ellie.”

I release an awkward laugh, glancing back up the beach, hoping a waiter is about to show up. They’re never here when you need them. He waits for me to answer, a slight tick at the corner of his mouth. “You’re confident, slightly arrogant, with a tough guy attitude. Sweet and romantic, not so much. Dominant and alpha, definitely.”

He shrugs one shoulder. “I go after what I want.” A shiver runs up my back as he locks eyes with me. “And one doesn’t negate the other,” he rasps.

We’re interrupted by the waiter. Finally.

I notice I’m fanning myself with the menu as I’m placing my order. I shove it into the hands of the waiter, rolling my eyes. The heat coming from his words seeps into my skin, leaving me wanting more. It’s irritating I can’t control it. I kick off my sandals and dig my feet into the cool sand, seeking any relief I can find.

“You’re not used to the word no, are you?”  

His lips twist as he glances up to the sky, mulling it over internally. Finally, he answers, “I’m just persuasive.”

“Ha! Remember, the only reason I’m here is out of guilt.” I sit back, cross my arms and smile sweetly at him.

“Is that the only reason?”

I want to answer yes. I want to prove to myself that he doesn’t affect me like he does. But when he cocks his eyebrow up and flashes a smile to match, my confidence wavers about what I want.