First day at the resort and Penny had almost died. Go snorkeling. It’ll be fun, the concierge had said. She should have known better than to think she should try something even remotely adventurous. She’d wanted to talk to the sexy stranger who’d rescued her, but was stopped short as they’d brought another victim onto the boat. Apparently, the newlyweds had decided skinny snorkeling was in order and the husband had scraped his bits on fire coral. He’d been laid out like a filleted fish, his testicles looking like bright red oranges. Penny had rushed to help his wife, by bagging ice and gathering their belongings. When they’d returned to shore, she’d helped them get back to the room, staying with them until the hotel nurse had arrived. Unfortunately, by the time she’d returned to the dock, her handsome scuba diver had vanished.

She recalled the long boat ride back to the resort, and how she’d stolen glances at his broad muscular chest. As he peeled his tanned, hardened body out of his wetsuit, nearly every woman on board took notice. She’d inwardly laughed, amused that her near death experience had been coupled with lust. After everything she’d been through with relationships, she knew damn well that she shouldn’t be giving a second thought to a man. But when he’d smiled at her and pushed on his sunglasses, she found the sight of him impossible to resist. The temptation of a vacation fling seemed more and more appealing.

Returning to her room, Penny lounged on her balcony, contemplating her next big undertaking, nude sunbathing. She took a sip of her punch and thanked the rum gods. For the first time in over six months, she was beginning to relax, stress fading fast with each breath of sea air. She was thankful that her best friend, Tori, had talked her into taking a vacation. Six months ago, when she’d found her ex in bed with their local barista, he’d blamed her for his indiscretion, insisting she worked too much and his needs weren’t met. It wasn’t as if she could argue. His comments hadn’t been far from the truth, but it wasn’t as if rent in Manhattan was going to pay itself. After two years of seventy-hour work weeks, she’d finally earned the attention of the partners.

In the wake of her breakup, Tori had declared an intervention was in order. “All work and no play makes Penny a dull girl,” she had teased in the most tactful way possible, insisting they take an all-girl holiday to Precioso Beach. Penny resisted the idea at first. While she’d never been conservative per se, she’d also never been to an au natural beach before and was nervous at the prospect. During the third blizzard of their harsh New York winter and several glasses of wine later, Penny had relented and agreed to a holiday at the hedonistic resort.

Five days of paradise. One day of almost dying and four more to go. She hoped she’d run into her tanned savior once again and manage not to do anything stupid.

“Great dive today, huh? The wall was killer,” Chase commented, referring to the vertical face they’d descended.

“Hey, I’m just along for the ride, Dr. Abbott. You know…enjoying the flora and fauna,” Evan joked.

“You mean the bull that was giving us the big eye?”

“I was thinking more about the mermaid you reeled in when you got to the surface,” he joked.

“Yeah, she was something, huh? They should have them practice in the pool before going out. Everyone thinks it’s easy until they’re sucking water.”

“I hear ya. She seemed to rebound quickly, though.”

“Sure did.” Chase adjusted his sunglasses, pecked away at his iPad, and attempted to appear nonchalant.

“Everything okay back at home?” Evan asked, shaking the sand out of his towel.

“Yeah, just sending Garrett an update and checking email. I’d like to go back to the hole again before we leave. Let’s charter a boat next time.”

“Sounds good. Listen, I’m going to the pool. You want me to wait for you?”

“No, you go ahead without me. I’m going to pack these samples and overnight them. They can get started on the analysis before we get back. I’ll catch up with you later.”

“So you’re not going to say anything about mermaid girl? No comments, like, ‘hey, she’s pretty hot?’” Evan laughed.

Chase glanced at Evan, considering his answer. His friend knew him well enough to know when he was interested in a woman, but he wasn’t ready to show his cards. He hadn’t stopped thinking of the beautiful woman he’d rescued. If it were not for the guy with the flaming nuts, he’d have used the opportunity to ask her to dinner. Cockblocked by a honeymooner, he’d been forced to observe her from across the deck. After they’d docked, his lovely little snorkeler had gone off with the wife, helping them get back to their room.

Chase knew he shouldn’t let himself become distracted by a woman. It wasn’t as if he’d come to Precioso to play. But in the course of a few hours, it had become difficult to think about coral and shells. The only specimen he was interested in studying was the brunette he’d met out at sea.

“Depends,” Chase replied, his eyes on the screen, concealing his feelings.

“On what?”

“First of all, most people just come to places like this as a one-fer. Some big excitement in their boring lives.” He closed his tablet cover and set it on the stand next to the lounge.

“And your point is?”

“My point is that I don’t even know her. Let’s say I pursue her. It’s not going to turn into anything.”

“And? What’s wrong with a little one night stand action? You think too much.”

“Don’t pull your playboy shit with me. Did it ever occur to you that maybe I get tired of that?” Chase sighed, reached for a tube of suntan lotion and flipped the cap open. “Besides, just because she’s pretty to look at, that doesn’t mean we’re going to hit it off.”

It had become a challenge for him to find someone who shared his adventurous interests. Within the confines of their exclusive club, Altura, Chase and Evan explored their drive to push harder and further into the world of extreme sports. Money was never a consideration as they tested each other’s limits, flirting with death regularly. One person’s threshold for risk could far exceed or far disappoint the expectations of another. Within Altura, however, they understood and played hard, with little regard to societal expectations. Considering the mermaid had almost killed herself attempting to snorkel, he suspected they’d have little in common.

“Maybe you just need to relax, Chase. It’s not like you have to fuck her, for Christ’s sake. Have a few cocktails. Some dinner. Dance a little. It’s not like we’ve got a hard deadline. This is an exploration trip. We already bagged some good stuff today. You need to lighten up.”

“Maybe,” Chase conceded.

“If you’re not interested, maybe I should go looking for her…”

“Fuck off.” Chase glared at him.

“See? Someone is interested. All it took was a little competition to wake that limp dick of yours.” Evan grabbed his gear and slung it over his shoulder. “I always loved brunettes.”

“Stay away from the mermaid,” Chase ordered, hurling the sunscreen at his friend.

The suite door slammed shut, and Chase considered his next move. As long as his lovely little fish was still on the island, he knew he’d have a hard time resisting. As he thought about her, he couldn’t stop the picture that formed in his mind. With her braid wrapped tight around his fist, he slammed into her from behind. His dick jerked at the thought, and he knew right then he’d be fantasizing about an encounter for the rest of his days. Chase walked to the window and took a deep breath, trying to clear the image from his mind. But as he caught sight of the distinctive silhouette of his mystery woman on the beach, he realized his decision had already been made.