I feel completely relaxed after Natalie and I had massages this afternoon. The masseuse really worked out the kinks of having rough sex last night. Afterward, we parted ways, and I went up to my room where all I did for the next few hours was lounge around. I decided to read one of my romance books because someone should get a happily ever after on this vacation even if it’s living vicariously through fictional characters.

About halfway through my book, I decide to take a nap, and it felt good to actually do nothing for a change. Instead of meeting Natalie and Adam for dinner, I decided to order room service and stay in, hoping to detox my mind and body of everything Mr. Southern ’n Dirty. Reading a steamy romance was probably not the smartest choice to help me forget about last night, but I don’t think I could ever forget…even if I tried.

Once my food arrives, I sit up against the headboard and flick through the TV channels, inhaling my food in the process. I stop once I come across an old black-and-white western. Just the sound of the man's deep, gravelly voice has my mind back on that damn cowboy. I turn it off and finish my dinner in silence, but everything in my head goes back to him and the way he cherished my body. Gah! It’s ridiculous.

The sound of a text has me shaking him out of my head, and after I grab it, I see it’s from Natalie.

My instincts take control as I slip on a sundress and flip-flops. I quickly pull my hair up into a messy ponytail before grabbing my keycard and phone. I can’t help but wonder if there’s something wrong. When she doesn’t respond to my message, I grow more concerned. Did she and Adam get into a fight? Or worse, did they break up? Different scenarios flood my mind, and without another thought, I rush toward the cabana.

When I step outside, the warm breeze brushes across my skin, and I can’t help but glance at the plum-colored sky as the dark orange sun falls below the horizon. Everything about this island is incredible, and I’m definitely going to miss seeing its beauty once I’m back home and surrounded by the cold and snow.

Music flows lightly through the crowd, and I immediately search for Natalie’s red hair once I reach the pool area. People surround the bar, so I move closer to see if I can spot her on one of the stools. Worry consumes me when she’s nowhere to be found. I glance over the nameless faces, and though I’m in a crowd of people, it doesn’t stop me from seeing him. And when I do, he’s looking directly at me.

For a moment, I contemplate turning around and pretending I didn’t see him but find it hard once our eyes and bodies are locked together in a trance. It’s as if we’re the only people on this whole fucking island. My phone vibrates in my hand, breaking the tension, and when I glance down, I see it’s another text from Natalie. I quickly unlock my phone, hoping everything is all right.

N: Don’t hate me, but you needed a little push. Love you!

I let out a hard sigh when I realize this was all a sham so I’d jump out of my comfy bed and come down here where she must’ve known Alex was waiting. I grind my teeth, already planning to give Natalie an earful when I see her tomorrow.

By the time I look up from my phone, Alex is gone. The glass he was drinking from now sits empty along with the vacant barstool. For a split second, I’m slightly disappointed that he left, but I know I shouldn’t be. I’m half-tempted to text Natalie back and rub it in her face that her stupid plan didn’t work after all.

Annoyed, I turn around and immediately bump into Alex who’s now standing directly in front of me. The smell of him suffocates my senses—pure man mixed with the ocean breeze. My body remembers every single touch and kiss. Swallowing hard, it takes everything I have to look into his baby blue eyes and keep a straight face.

“Looking for someone?” he asks nonchalantly with a smirk on his face.

Inhaling a deep breath, I keep my composure. “Actually, I was meeting Natalie,” I tell him, unable to move as if I’m glued to the ground. He actually laughs, which confirms my suspicions about this all being a setup. I narrow my eyes at him, and he shrugs unapologetically.

“Hmm. Doesn’t look like she’s here.” He pretends to look around, then his eyes fall back on me.

Being this close to him forces heat to permeate through my body, and it feels as if hot flames are licking my skin from head to toe. Blinking and clearing my vision, I finally get a good look at him, and he smiles before taking my hand and leading me to the beach.

“Wait, what are you doing?” I ask, but I don’t pull away.

He chuckles, not answering my question, and we walk pass the cabana until we’re standing in white sand staring out at the water.

“We need to talk.” He finally turns to me, and when I face him, he glides his hand along my cheekbone before brushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

Knowing this isn’t a conversation I should have, I shake my head, dismissing him. My messy ponytail is loose and starts to fall out, and I quickly try to adjust it.

“Yes, ma’am,” he drawls, adjusting his ball cap. “Don’t be stubborn.” He notices me fussing with my hair and pulls the band out of my fingers, causing it to fall around my face.

Opening my mouth to give him a piece of my mind, I barely get a word out before he palms my cheeks and his lips crash into mine. Soon, his fingers are threading through my hair, and I can’t help the small moan that escapes. I feel as if I’m falling into a bottomless pit as our tongues twist together. The beach and sand and everything surrounding us melt away, and it’s just us. By the time we break our embrace, we’re both gasping for air, for some sort of relief. The intensity of the emotions behind his kiss is almost too much—too soon—and it makes me want to run and push him away. It’s what I should do anyway. It’s the smart thing to do, but when I meet his eyes again, I’m incapable.

“You were saying?” he asks against my mouth.

“Don’t be a smartass.” I can’t help but smile and chuckle against his lips.

“Just felt like you needed a reminder of last night, ya know, in case you’d forgotten.” He releases his hold on me but slides one hand down the length of my arm and threads my fingers with his.

“Uh, no. I actually have a great memory, so I don’t forget much at all,” I retort, remembering every inch of his hard, sweaty body against mine.

“Good to know. Well, I’ll just come out and say it then. I had a real fucking good time last night, and I’m pretty sure you did, too. In fact, I know you did, several times. I’d hate for us to stop hanging out, because like I said, last night was a fuckin’ good time. So if you plan to spend the rest of the week playing hard to get, I’d just like to know so I can make sure we’re on the same page. Otherwise, we can go ahead and continue where we left off last night.” He winks, brushing his fingers across my bare arms, causing goose bumps to cover my skin.

Swallowing hard, I try to steady my racing heartbeat. I should’ve known a guy like Alex Bishop wasn’t going to let me off easy, especially with the way I kicked him out this morning.

“Trust me when I say I’m not the girl you want.” I’m trying to convince him, or maybe myself, but either way, he doesn’t let me continue. His finger reaches up and softly covers my mouth, stopping me.

“You don’t know what I want, River.” His voice is low and sincere, but his demeanor is serious as he searches my face. “And you’re wrong.”

All the words I wanted to say to him disappear with a single breath, and I’m left speechless. I’m insanely attracted to him, there’s no doubting that, but the last time I allowed myself to get caught up in a guy is the very reason I’m here on this vacation—to escape the drama men seem to bring into my life.

“You can’t deny there’s something between us—a connection. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I felt it the first time I saw you, and if my instincts are right, you did too.”

I nod in agreement but don’t offer him anything else just yet.

“But if I go back to Texas knowing I didn’t try my hardest with one of the prettiest and most stubborn women I’ve ever met, I’ll live to regret it. And I’m sorry, darlin’, but I don’t like to regret anything in my life. So, as I said, we can go about this the hard way or the fun and easy way. I’m even willing to play all the games you want, but we’re runnin’ out of time here. So I’m going out on a limb and cutting to the chase.” He tilts my chin, so our eyes are locked. “I haven’t stopped thinking about you since that first time we met, so while we’re both here, why don’t we explore this connection we have?”

My heart beats rapidly in my chest, and I feel like I’m dreaming because his words are perfect—a tad too perfect. I’m tempted to pinch myself just to make sure I’m not. Being my typical logical and cynical self, I can’t help but have questions and concerns. But just as I get ready to voice them, I dig deep and ask myself, what do I have to lose?

Nothing.

“Please say something, River,” he demands.

“I’m sorry. It’s just… I need a little bit of time to think about this. I’ve been burned before, and I can’t just jump into your bed because you’re good-looking and say all the right things at the right time with that damn accent. It’s all confusing to me,” I blurt out, needing to catch my breath. “It’s like there needs to be rules or something, but how can there be rules when we only have days left of our vacation? Oh God. Now I’m rambling. I’m making this more difficult than it needs to be, aren’t I? Like always. Spoiler alert?”

Alex cracks up, a sound I could actually get used to hearing.

“I like rules, sweetheart. How about this? I’ll promise to always make sure you come first. When you beg to be fucked harder, I won’t hesitate for a minute. But I’ll also take you out because I’m not a complete asshole. I’d love to go out and explore the city together. No strings attached, just fun.”

“Just fun?” I confirm, my brows rising.

He nods. “And to be fair, you haven’t jumped into my bed…yet. But I can check my schedule for tonight.” The smile on his face grows as the heat hits my cheeks.

Instinctively, I bite my bottom lip while last night replays in my mind. I could do just fun, right? I mean, I’ve never done casual before, but Alex sure makes it sound really good.

“I’m not asking for marriage here. Just a week together. Then we can go our separate ways and continue living our lives with only the memories we made. I can guarantee you’d enjoy making memories with me, darlin’. This sizzling tension between us is electric, and if we don’t get each other out of our systems, we’re both going to explode,” he adds, just as a couple of drunk people stumble close to us on to the beach, invading our privacy.

“This fucking sand is so hard to walk in,” the whiny girl complains as the guy she’s with falls down laughing.

“Babe! Babe! Help me up. Dammit. I think there’s sand in my underwear.” The guy holds out his hand, but she’s not strong enough to lift him and tumbles onto his chest. I hear lips smacking together and clothes rustling, and I turn my head away from them. I’m somewhat thankful for the interruption because my head is in overdrive right now.

“I think that’s our cue to go,” I tell him, stepping farther away from the couple.

“I’ll walk you to your room.” He wraps his arm around my waist, holding me close as we head toward the hotel. Just as we walk into the lobby, I see a brown-haired girl hanging off Dylan’s arm, but he doesn’t look happy about it.

“There you are.” Dylan huffs. “I’ve been texting you because I forgot my keycard,” he says to Alex.

“Sorry. I’ve been busy,” Alex tells him, nodding toward me.

“Hey, River.” Dylan acknowledges me with a smile and a head nod.

The woman looks me up and down, but then she smiles wide when she notices how close Alex and I are standing to each other. “Hi, I’m Jessica.”

“River,” I reply.

Alex hands Dylan the card, and we all ride the elevator together. I have to hold my laughter back when Dylan tells Jessica his head hurts and he’s going to call it an early night. The elevator stops at their floor, and the two of them exit together, but I have a feeling she won’t be staying long.

“Did he really just use the headache line?” I ask, laughing.

“Totally did, but she’s persistent, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she pulls some extra-strength Tylenol out of her purse then tries to ride him like a bull.”

The elevator stops on my floor, and Alex walks me to my door. Before leaving, he places a soft kiss on my lips. “Think about it, okay?”

I smile and nod.

“Have a good night, River. Sweet dreams.” He winks, leaving me breathless.

“Night.” I scan my keycard, and once I’m inside, I lean against the door, my legs feeling like jelly as I slide down.

What the actual hell just happened?

My mind is racing, and I need to talk my thoughts out with someone. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I text Natalie and make sure to give her a dose of her own medicine.

I change back into my comfy clothes and sit on the edge of the bed. The room service menu is still open from when I ordered dinner earlier, and if I’m going to really think about Alex’s offer, I’m going to need reinforcements. I decide to get the double chocolate cake I passed on before. After calling in my order, I lie flat on the bed and stare up at the ceiling, letting my mind wander to all kinds of places. Twenty minutes pass, and when I hear a knock on the door, I fly off the bed to answer it. However, I’m shocked when I see it’s room service with my dessert instead of Natalie.

Sitting on the couch, I cross my legs, and before I can take a bite of the most heavenly chocolate cake I’ve ever seen, there’s another knock on the door. Dammit, it better be Natalie this time. I open it, and she’s standing there with a giant red drink, and I swear a whole pineapple is stuffed inside.

“What the hell? Did you have to crawl here or something? What took you so long?” I scold her before realizing how tipsy she is already.

“Sorry,” she slurs, stepping inside the room. “Adam distracted me, and then I had to wait forever for my refill.”

Shutting the door behind her, she follows me to the bed.

“I was about to send the search team out for you,” I tease, deciding to let her off the hook.

“Is everything okay?” she asks, knowing damn well what she did to me earlier.

I give her a smile. “I’m fine. But you deserve a mouthful right now after setting me up like that.”

Laughing, she sets down her drink on the nightstand, then grabs my plate and proceeds to eat my chocolate cake.

“A mouthful of what?” She wiggles her eyebrows and smirks.

“Ew, no!”

“What?” She swallows the bite of cake down. “I was talking about this delicious cake.”

“Right.” I roll my eyes.

“Okay, I’m sorry I set you up, but I saw Alex in the lobby earlier and could tell he was looking for you before he went to the cabana. Whatever you two have is so obvious, and I knew if he could get one more opportunity to talk to you, he could help you see it, too.” She flashes a smile that tells me her plan was sincere, albeit manipulative. “Chemistry like that means the sex is bound to be out of this world,” she adds.

“Well…you’re right. I can’t deny there’s something there,” I say honestly. “He laid it all out for me and said we should have fun and basically get each other out of our systems because we enjoyed being with each other,” I explain to her, and the smile on her face grows wider.

“I like where this is going.” She nods her approval.

“That’s crazy though, right?” I ask, knowing I’m asking the wrong damn person right now. She’s totally Team Alex. “I just keep second-guessing it and thinking how wrong it’ll go.”

“Oh, honey. Casual sex is healthy,” she schools me. “In fact, you’re a nurse. You should know that.” She chuckles.

I roll my eyes but smile. “It’s the emotional stuff I’m struggling with, especially after Asshole. How do I just turn that off?”

“You do it like you do everything. You’ve gathered all the facts, and you know the expectations and outcome, which means there’ll be no surprises.” Her words are convincing, even though I don’t really need it. Being with Alex even for the week would be an experience of a lifetime. A very fun experience at that. “Hell, if I were single, and he was offering me no-strings-attached sex, I’d be naked the entire time and order room service between the sex marathon and sleep. In fact, the only time I’d see that beach is when my body was pressed up against that balcony window.”

I burst out laughing, my head falling back as I take in her words. I can’t deny how fucking great that all sounds.

“Let your inhibitions go, River. It’s just sex. That’s it. Fuck him out of your system, then go home and add the memories of it all to your rub club.”

I think about her words and really let them sink in. “See, that’s why I keep you around. You’re blunt with no filter.”

“I know! What would you do without me?” she asks, reaching for her drink and taking a sip.

“Have a full piece of cake left,” I tease.

“You love me! So you know what you’ve got to do, right?”

I nod with a smile. “I think I do.”