The bedroom lights are low, and I marvel as I run my fingers down Mindy’s arm, enjoying watching the goosebumps rise on her skin. “How do you keep doing that?” she asks, smiling. “Two days of us having sex, and you keep surprising me. I know it’s coming and you still make it happen.”

“A secret.” I chuckle, looking into her eyes. “And you’ve got great skin.”

The past few days have been paradise. With most of the big stuff done, we’ve had some more time to just spend together. Most of it has been spent talking.

The more and more time we spend together, the more I grow confused. At first, this was all fun and games. But it’s turned into something more. Being here with her, getting to know her and her family, I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.

Sure, some of them are wild. Her sister has sex on the brain way too much, her mother’s a bit too worried about money, and her grandmother gives exactly zero fucks what anyone thinks about what she has to say.

But they’re real, and they love each other. All of them. And Mindy herself . . . she’s more than a Princess. She’s an angel.

She reaches up, cupping my face to look into my eyes. Her breathing is still ragged from our early morning quickie, and watching her naked body on top of the sheets, I can’t believe that I’ve had the chance to be with her as often as I have. “That was great,” she says, shuddering. “You take my breath away.”

“Good,” I say, delivering a kiss to her lips. “Because I plan on doing that a lot more.”

She smiles for a moment, then it slowly fades. “A lot more? We only have a few days left. Reality’s coming, and it’s coming too damn fast.”

I feel a little jolt. It’s now Friday. It’s the day before her mother’s wedding. Honestly, it feels like our last day together. Our return flight is Monday morning, but I’m sure Sunday will be spent preparing to go home and spending a lot of time with the family. It’ll be the hug and kiss goodbye time and a chance to wish Mary Jo and John off on their honeymoon. They’re flying out Monday too.

We don’t even have all day today. Today is already packed with rehearsals and trying on stuff. This will be our last leisurely morning. And it’s hard to admit, but I don’t want it to end.

“Yeah,” I murmur, my chest feeling like I’ve got a lead weight pressing down on it. It’s taking away my breath and making it hard to even say what I want to say. I want to tell her that the dream doesn’t have to end. I want to promise her more than just a fantasy week on the ocean.

But I can't form the words. How can I tell her that I don’t think this is fake anymore? Our engagement might be fake, but what I’m feeling damn sure isn’t.

“What are you going to do when you get back?” she asks softly.

“Probably check on Mom first, then make sure my business isn’t in total shambles before it ever gets off the ground,” I say, slightly troubled. Last week, making Steele Security a name in the corporate world dominated my thoughts and my efforts. Now, it just doesn’t seem as important as spending time with Mindy. “Then I’ll make sure my little shithead brother hasn’t burned down my house. I asked him to watch my place.”

She smiles. “I’m sure everything will be okay. If he’s anything like Roxy, he’s a pain in the ass but comes through when your back’s to the wall.” She sighs and turns on her side, running her hand down my slightly stubbled cheek and making my morning shadow crinkle. “But I’m not gonna lie. I'm not looking forward to going back to that damn coffee shop. I’ve been having so much fun, and the days have flown by.”

“I’ve been having a blast,” I agree. “I’ve really enjoyed my time here.”

A flush comes to her cheeks and goes down her neck to her chest, and she bites her lip, smiling slightly. “Thank you. It means a lot, and you make me feel good. And to think, the first time I met you I wanted to choke you.”

I chuckle. “Yeah, well, that was hot. I loved how you walked in there with your little list, thinking you could tame me. It was . . . cute.”

Mindy smiles and traces my jaw with her fingers like she’s trying to memorize me with her touch as much as with her eyes. “Who’s to say I'm not just doing this to wrap you around my finger? An insidious plan to make you my love slave?”

“Who’s to say I’m not doing the same? When I first saw you, I told myself you thought you were a queen and I was going to have to be your king. How am I doing?”

Mindy laughs. She runs her hands down my body, making my skin prick. “I can’t complain, that’s for sure. I don’t think I’ve ever been this satisfied.”

I don’t need compliments, but her words still warm me on the inside. Her opinion matters to me. It makes me feel important.

Her eyes flicker for a moment before they dim, and I see her gaze grow distant. She’s thinking about something. I’ve grown close enough to her over the past few days to know that look.

“What is it?” I ask her. “Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

Her lips part, and she struggles for the words that I can sense even before she tries to form them. They’re foolish, but I want her to say them. I want her to tell me that she truly wants me, that perhaps there’s a chance for something back home. I don’t know how I’d react, but to hear her say those words . . . I need it. I need her.

She looks away, turning over and wrapping her arms around her body. “It’s nothing.”

“It’s something,” I say, spooning behind her and feeling her amazingly soft skin press against me. I bring my lips to the back of her neck and nuzzle, knowing just where she likes to be touched already, just how much she likes that little spot right where her hair makes a little V-shape at the nape of her neck. I kiss and nibble, wrapping my arms around her and stroking her arms. “You know you like it. Tell me what's on your mind.”

She lets out a soft little moan, arching her back to slide her right breast into my hand and pressing her ass back against my cock. “Jesus, you know what you’re doing. But really . . . it’s nothing.”

“Oh, really?” I say playfully, trailing my free hand down her thigh, enjoying the feel of her soft flesh. “I think you’re lying to me.”

“What gives you that idea?” she asks breathlessly, gasping as I pinch her nipple and tug on it lightly. “Fuck . . . I didn’t know I could get this hot so quickly again.”

“I can feel your pulse racing,” I murmur, kissing her neck again. “Under my lips.”

“That’s just because of what you’re doing to me.” She gasps. “And we both know where your hand’s going.”

I grin, recognizing the deflection. “Well, if you’re not gonna tell me, I can stop. Or I can continue.”

She squirms, still not answering me. I pull her tighter against me and press into her. I roll her onto her back and get on top, kissing her lips with more passion. She melts, and I pull back, grinning. “Got anything to say?”

Silence.

“Okay, if that’s how you want to play it,” I warn her. I bring my lips to her neck, trailing kisses down her body. She arches her back, her head pointed to the ceiling as I stroke her skin with my hands while I kiss down to the hard buttons of her nipples, sucking on them and biting them lightly before I make my way down her belly. Then I stop. “Still nothing?”

“Okay!” Mindy gasps. “Please, don’t stop!”

She needs this, we both need this. But I don’t want to rush things. We’re not going to have many more intimate moments. Fuck everything else. If we have to bring it all to a close in a few days, and this is the last chance for me to show her what she is, what she’s starting to mean to me . . . then that’s what I’m going to do.

“Oliver, let’s make this quick. They’re waiting.”

As I go down between her legs, my mouth watering at the heavenly scent already wafting from her wet pussy and ready to devour her, I growl, looking up into her eyes. “Let them wait.”