“What’s up with you?” Cassie asks after I get to our room. She’s changed clothes, wearing a little set of pajamas. “You haven’t said a word since walking in.”

I sit down on my bed, avoiding her gaze. I’m still burning up from when Tony pressed up against me. I could feel that big, hard, throbbing . . . a sigh nearly escapes my lips as goosebumps prick my flesh.

I almost let him have me right then and there, pressed against that rock and my pussy begging to have him. At the last minute, I was able to summon strength from the depths of my gut, but even now, I want to go find him again and ask him to fuck me raw.

“Hannah?” Cassie presses.

“Nothing,” I reply. “Just exhausted. All of this is taking it out of me.”

“You’re telling me.” Cassie snorts in agreement. “My back feels like I just went through the CrossFit games after that shit with the bow. Why can’t Wesley be a normal human being and just sell his property to the highest bidder? No, he wants us to play Hunger Games.”

I laugh. “It is ridiculous.”

Cassie bites her lip. “But I’d be lying to you if I said I wasn’t having fun. Maybe it’s all the reality TV I watch, but this is exciting.”

I go quiet at her words. I am too, and it’s starting to distract me from my goal. Not because of the games, but because of Tony. I don’t want to tell Cassie that though. I’ll never hear the end of it. I’ve got to buckle down and get us back on the right path, Myra is counting on us. “I’m having fun too,” I admit, “but let’s not let it distract us from why we’re here. At the end of the day, we still have a job to take care of and people are depending on us.”

“Right, and I have every intention of kicking Caleb’s teeth in. He needs his ass whooped.” Cassie growls, and I can’t help but try to hold in a laugh. She’s so full of shit. Yeah, she might want to beat him, but there’s no real malice in her words. It’s like she sees him as a rival or something.

I chuckle. “That’s the spirit.” I yawn, stretching. I lay back in the bed and turn on my side. “But it’s time to catch some Zs. The crackpot is going to have us doing God knows what in the morning. Goodnight, Cass. May the odds be ever in our favor.”

“‘Night, Han. May you have sweet dreams of Tony.”

I ignore her and try to snuggle against my pillow. I hear Cass’s bed creak as she gets settled in. For a moment, it’s silent and all I can hear are the creatures of the night singing outside. Suddenly, their symphony is broken by a buzzing sound coming from Cassie’s side of the room.

I turn on my side and look across the room. Maybe some sort of giant blood sucking night bug has come through the window. “What the hell is that?” I demand, but then I see what Cassie has in her hand from the moonlight, and I blush in outrage. “Cass!”

Cassie looks guilty, hurriedly putting the vibrator back in her bag. “I was just making sure it worked. I wasn’t using it!”

“Ugh, I just can’t with you! Go the fuck to bed!”

“All right, all right,” she complains.

We both settle back in, and within minutes, Cassie is softly snoring. For the next twenty minutes, I toss and turn, trying to focus on going to sleep, but all I can think about is Tony. About how his cock would’ve felt sliding inside me.

“Fuck,” I mutter. “Get out of my head.” But the more I try to fight it, the more I think about it. I need some fresh air, I think.

Shaking in need, I get up from the bed, quietly walking across the floor and outside. I suck in a deep breath of the fresh tropical air. It’s a beautiful night. The moon illuminates the land and the ocean, with glints from the water and dappled bits of moon sparkling the land and making it look like I’m looking over a field of pearls. Everything is so majestic and pure. It’s the closest I’ve ever seen to heaven. I go back to my room and root in my bags. I find my camera and pull it out, so moved by what I see that I have to record it somehow.

Wesley is such a kook, but in a way, I can see why he always spouts the naturalist stuff. The land is gorgeous. It feels sacred and I want to cherish it.

I walk over to the palm tree near the house and lean against it, sucking in another breath of air as I take in the gorgeous scenery.

“Trying to cool off?” asks a deep voice in the shadows. I let out a strangled cry and drop my camera.

“Shit!” I cry out, picking it up and checking it quickly. It doesn’t look like there's any damage. I turn to see Tony standing to my right. He’s still got on his shorts from earlier, but he changed into a tank top, his muscles rippling in the soft moonlight.

“What are you doing out here?” I whisper loudly. Just when I had something else on my mind, my body remembers what it felt like being pressed against his, and I start to heat up once again. “You almost bought me a new camera!”

He chuckles. “I could ask you the same thing.”

“I was just going back inside,” I reply, but he steps in front of me. I start moving around him, but I freeze when he reaches out to grab my arm.

“Wait.” I stare at him, not moving an inch. I’m like a bird frozen in the glare of a viper . . . but something tells me he’s not a snake. “Stay. I’m not going to do anything you don’t want.”

That’s the problem. I want you so fucking bad.

“It’s beautiful out here,” he says, making me relax.

“Yeah,” I agree, my eyes drawn back to the waters. It’s absolutely gorgeous. I put my camera strap over my shoulder, keeping it safe. “It’s a paradise.”

Tony sighs, then shakes his head. “You know, I’ve done evaluations and research on all sorts of places, but never something like this. I don’t think anyone can say they’re prepared for this place.”

“I know what you mean. It’s the first one where I don’t know if I’m evaluating as a professional or for myself. Not that I could afford something like this.”

“I know. Hey, come walk with me,” Tony says, holding out his hand. “I promise, just a walk.”

My heart pounds in my chest. This is so dangerous in so many ways. Finally, I take his hand, and I’m thrilled at the warmth and strength in his grip. Walking together, we make our way down to the shore, walking just inside the high tide line where the sand is still compact. The waves crash on the beach in the moonlight, and it’s just gorgeous. Tony is quiet at first, just taking it in, then he clears his throat. “So . . . are you going to tell me what happened after the wedding?”

I hesitate on going this deep with him. But I can’t hide the fact that our social circles are intertwined. I take a deep breath. “Life happened.”

“That’s not very specific,” Tony says.

“Well, after seeing Roxy, I just wanted more out of life than an empty apartment. I tried finding a guy of my own, but dating . . . well, it didn’t go so well. I tried photography, but I had to give it up when the choice was pictures or the light bill. Then I found my new job, and now I’m on this big mission to take this land, and in direct competition with you.”

Tony chuckles. “Do you really want to win this thing?”

I nod, letting go of his hand to pick up a rock and throw it into the waves. “It’s not about just wanting to win. Our department needs to show some signs of life.”

He looks me over silently for a long time, and I turn back to him. In the ghostly moonlight, I see a softness in his eyes. “And if you don’t come away with the deal?”

“Then I’m told we’re most likely going to be looking for new jobs,” I say shortly.

Tony squats down and picks up a rock, tossing it into the waves along with me. He’s so elegant that I hurriedly snap a few shots, wanting to catch him just as he is in the moonlight. “I wouldn’t want to see that happen.”

He sounds sincere, but I have to remember he’s a charmer. I knew that from the moment I met him. I lower my camera, curious. “And what would you want to see happen?”

Tony throws another rock before turning and stepping closer. This close, I can barely see him because of the shadows of the night, but I can hear it in his voice. “A girl like you deserves every happiness in the world.” He leans in, and I take a step back, but I can’t escape when his lips press into mine again. It’s not fierce, but sensually sweet, and he tastes delicious. I let myself melt into him for a moment before we pull back.

“I should probably get to bed. We have an early morning,” I manage.

His eyes gleam with amusement as he nods, seeming to say he’ll let me go . . . for now.

Tony nods. “Yeah, but I think I’ll stay out here a little longer. Sweet dreams.”

“You too,” I reply, turning and heading back toward the house. It feels like my legs weigh a thousand pounds as I move away from him.

Watching Hannah walk away, she’s like a goddess, her hips swaying in the moonlight before the shadows from the trees swallow her. My body is throbbing from head to toe, lust pounding in my veins. I want her so badly.

What stops me from chasing her down to take what we both know she wants to give me was the look in her eyes. I think about what she said and it haunts me. I’m out here for the same reason she is. But the intensity of what she said, what she will lose if she can’t ink this deal . . . that hits me hard.

I don’t want that for Hannah. But at the same time, I know Oliver is depending on me and trusts me. I have the future of our family in my hands, and I have to make this work. I have to win.

I pick up a rock and throw it into the ocean, watching it splash in the inky black water. I feel torn, conflicted. I want Hannah, and for some strange reason, I feel compelled to try to give her everything her heart desires. On the other hand, there’s my family, and my responsibilities and duties to them.

I pick up another rock and throw it harder this time. For an instant, it’s a dark speck against the silver of the moon, and I keep my eyes there, hoping for guidance, for answers.

But there aren’t any, just the crash of the waves and the crash of the questions in my head.