When I’d decided last night to give Lina Florida, subconsciously, I was giving it to myself too. The space of two days out of time. Out of reality. There’d be a price to pay, I wasn’t fool enough to believe otherwise, but I did it anyway. I just hadn’t yet decided—no, that wasn’t it—it wasn’t a decision. I just hadn’t yet considered what that time would be filled with. I knew what I wanted, and it was weak to ignore the truth, but I wanted to give us Florida.

I had meetings most of the following day. By the time I got back to the hotel, Lina was just coming out of the bathroom.

“Hey,” she said, momentarily startled as she wrapped her hair in a towel. “You surprised me.”

I looked her over. She wasn’t trying to be modest, and although I didn’t think she calculated some grand seduction, I knew what she wanted. I wanted it too, but we couldn’t have it. I’d be taking advantage, and I couldn’t do that. Last night had been hard, though. I should have asked for a second room, or at the very least two beds, when we’d checked in. The request had been on the tip of my tongue, but the girl had just given me the keys. I’d thanked her and taken Lina up to our shared room.

Sleeping next to her last night—fuck—I’d been hard the whole night and probably gotten about two hours of sleep, only finding relief in the shower in the morning. She’d worn one of my T-shirts to bed, and when I’d climbed in, she’d curled into my arms like it was the most natural thing in the world. And I hadn’t pushed her away. I’d held her, smelling her hair, her skin, feeling her in my arms. Liking the feel of her there.

And all the while I’d lain awake, she’d softly slept.

Shaking off the memory, I held up a bag.

“What’s that?”

“I saw it at a boutique nearby and thought it was your color.” I handed it to her.

She looked at me with a strange, almost confused look on her face. Slowly, she took the bag and sat down with it on her lap. I suddenly got the feeling it had been a very long time since anyone had given her a gift. The thought of it bothered me. Upset me.

Lina slowly drew the dress out of the bag. It was a pale, antique pink, knee-length, crocheted dress, simple and old-fashioned and very pretty.

“Wow. It’s beautiful.” She touched it delicately. “Really beautiful. Thank you.”

“There are shoes to go with it.”

She pulled the box out, opened it, and smiled. “Pink sandals. I never in my life thought I’d own pink sandals.”

She stood and, dress in one hand, sandals in the other, she kissed my cheek.

“Thank you, Damon.”

Fuck. What was I doing? “You’re welcome.” We stood for an awkward moment. “I thought we could get something to eat at one of the restaurants along the beach.”

“Sounds good. I’ll get dressed.”

I thought she’d go back into the bathroom or at least wait for me to turn away, but instead, she set the shoes down, handed me the dress, and stripped off her towel, tossing it onto the bed. She stood before me naked, cocking her head to the side while I tried to breathe.

“Don’t you want me to wear it?” she asked, suddenly coquettish.

I cleared my throat and handed her the dress. “Yes.”

She slipped it over her head then turned her back to me. “Zip me up?”

Glad she had her back to me, I adjusted the crotch of my pants, stepped closer to her than I needed to, and lifted the hair off her shoulder to expose her back and neck. I ran my finger over her spine, watching as the little hairs stood on end in my wake.

I zipped her up. “Be good,” I whispered in her ear.

She shuddered and glanced over her shoulder at me before slipping on the sandals and turning to face to me.

“How do I look?”

“Perfect.” My throat felt tight, making it hard to speak. The contrast of color with her tattoos and tan was striking, and I suddenly wasn’t sure I wanted to take her out at all.

“I just have to brush my hair, and I’m ready,” she said, breaking the mood before disappearing into the bathroom.

When she emerged a few minutes later, she’d clipped her wet hair up and put on mascara and lip gloss. Minimal. The opposite of how much she’d had on that night I’d made her wash her makeup off. The night I’d taken her over my knee, pulled her panties down, and spanked her.

The night I’d tasted her. Let her taste me.

Fuck.

If I’d thought last night was difficult, tonight was going to be impossible.

I took her hand and walked her out the door, pushing the button to call the elevator and waiting.

“I’m trying very hard to do the right thing,” I said without looking at her.

She touched my cheek, drew me to face her. She didn’t speak, not with words, not at first, and her eyes were hard to read. Or maybe I just didn’t want to read what was inside them.

“I won’t help you, Damon.”

“There’s a part of me that doesn’t want you to.”

The elevator doors opened before anything more could be said. Before anything more could be done. Another couple smiled widely at us, the woman greeting us. Awkwardly, Lina and I stepped into the elevator and rode down, her in silence, me trying to be polite. I held her hand, unable—unwilling—to let it go.

Florida. I could give us this. Couldn’t I?

This sin.

What price would we be made to pay? And could I ask God to punish me? Only me?

What would this cost her?

I was older. I was supposed to be the responsible one. I knew better. I should stop. I should release her hand, force her to tell me the truth, do what I said I’d do. Figure out what was going on, and help her. Get her out of the trouble she was surely in, and let her go.

Let her go.

But all I could do was hold her hand and feel her beside me. Because I couldn’t deny this thing between us. Not anymore.

We strolled down the boulevard busy with couples and groups and settled on a Japanese place for dinner. We were seated in a quiet booth at the back.

When the waitress came, I ordered a bottle of wine. Lina raised her eyebrows. While we waited, we sat back, each of us watching the other.

“Sushi?” I asked, finally opening my menu.

“Fine.”

“Anything particular you’d like?”

“Anything you order is fine.”

The waitress returned, poured our wine, and took our order, which was the platter for two. Neither of us were interested in what we ate tonight.

“You’re not making this easy,” I said.

“I told you I wouldn’t help you.”

“This is wrong.”

“Only because you want to make it wrong.”

“Lina—”

“I’d never been spanked before the other night.”

“Stop.”

“I liked it.”

Fuck. Was I going to be able to stand up and walk out of here at some point? My dick already strained against my jeans.

“I’m not sixteen anymore, Damon, and you’re not celibate.”

“I’m supposed to be.”

“Well, you’re not.”

We fell into silence again, drinking from our glasses. “You didn’t put on underwear, did you?”

“I guess I forgot.”

The waitress came with the first course then, and we ate. I changed the subject to safer topics—work, Italy, sharing pictures of Charlie, the puppy Raphael had given Sofia on her first day in Italy, who’d grown into a formidable protector of Sofia. I talked about anything and everything but us.

When the waitress came to clear and asked about dessert, we both declined. I paid the bill, and we got up to leave.

“Want to go for a walk on the beach?” I asked, putting off the inevitable.

“No.”

I studied her face in the streetlight. “Lina—”

She put her finger over my lips. “Stop.”

I took her slim wrist in my hand and drew it away, wrapping my other arm around her middle and pulling her close. “One night,” I said against her lips. “Just one night.” It would be the biggest mistake of my life, but I couldn’t resist anymore. I wanted her. I wanted her more than I’d ever wanted anything in my life.

“One night,” Lina repeated, returning the kiss, her lips soft against mine.

We didn’t speak again, not as we walked, not when we got into the hotel or rode the elevator up. Not when I slid the key into the door and we were inside, where I took her into my arms and kissed her, pressed her against the door, and crushed my body against hers

“One night,” I repeated as if that would make this any less wrong.

She kissed me back, and I pulled the clip out of her hair, sending still damp waves tumbling down her back. I wound my fingers through it, drew her head back, tugging a little harder than I needed to as I looked at her face. Her beautiful, open face. Watched as her eyes teared up at the pressure of my hand in her hair. I unzipped her dress and let it drop to the floor.

I looked her over, standing naked before me but for those pink sandals. Shifting my gaze around the room, I walked her over to the desk and turned her to face it. “Hands stay here.” I leaned her forward, placed her hands down on the desktop, and pulled her hair to turn her face to mine. Kissing her hard on the mouth, I met her gaze in the reflection of the floor-to-ceiling window, which now acted as a mirror.

“Down.” I moved behind her, pushing her forward with a hand between her shoulder blades, then kicked her legs apart. “Legs wide. I want to see your ass.”

Standing behind her, I looked down at her prone body, then glanced at our reflection, watching her watch me. Watch us.

My cock pressed like a steel bar as I moved behind her, stripping off my shirt and tossing it aside before gripping her ass cheeks, kneading them, drawing them apart to expose her to me.

After one more glance at our reflection, I knelt behind her, keeping her spread wide.

Lina arched her back, offering herself to me. And fuck if I wouldn’t take what she offered. What I so badly wanted.

“Your cunt is wet, Lina.”

She made a sound as I brought my face to her, inhaling her scent before licking the length of her, from her clit, over the folds of her pussy, to her ass, circling that tight ring, making her gasp before sliding it back to her cunt. Her scent, her taste, they were addictive. Like a fucking drug. Like my perfect drug. She made me mad, insane with hunger, and I ravished her. I licked her pussy and sucked her clit and tickled her asshole until her knees gave out. Lina pressed herself against my face. I pushed one finger into her ass. She moaned, a sound from deep within her, soft and desperate as she came on my tongue.

I needed to fuck her. Christ. I was going to blow in my jeans if I didn’t fuck her right fucking now.

When she straightened her knees, I stood, my finger still inside her ass as I turned her to face me, making her grind her ultra-sensitive, post orgasm clit against my jeans. Lifting her, I carried her to the bed and lay her down. I drew my finger out, watching her face as I did so, knowing from the look on it that she liked it, that she’d come if I fucked her in the ass. But that wasn’t for tonight. And right now, I couldn’t think that this would be our only night.

“You’re so fucking beautiful.” I stood watching her for a long minute, looking at her dilated pupils as she reached for me. After stripping off my jeans, I took a condom out of my wallet and rolled it over my cock, then pushed her knees apart and climbed between them.

“You want me to fuck you hard or soft?” I asked, kissing her, then kneeling up to hold her legs wide.

“Hard and soft.”

I grinned. I could do that. I brought my cock to her pussy, and she bit her lip as I slid into her tight passage. Not a virgin, but tight as hell.

“Fuck, Lina.” I groaned, closing my eyes to feel her for a minute before drawing back to pump slowly, at first, gripping her hip with one hand and running the other over her belly, her breast, pinching her nipples. Watching her take the pain as I did. Liking the look on her face, knowing it made the pleasure that much more intense as I began to thrust slow but deep.

Pushing her leg wide, I lay my weight on her and closed my other hand around the back of her head, gripping her hair.

“I like my cock in your tight cunt.” I pulled her hair and drew back, thrusting harder, knowing I’d hit that special spot when she closed her eyes and bit her lip, letting out a moan. I watched her, fucking her harder, feeling her fingernails digging into my shoulders as I took her, claimed her, made her mine. When she opened her eyes, she kissed me, biting my lip as she did, a drop of crimson marring her perfect mouth.

“Damon…this feels…so good.”

Lifting myself a little, I flipped her over onto her belly and hauled her hips up, pushing her head down. I thrust in to the hilt as I twisted her hair, turning her so I could see the side of her face.

“I’m going to come again,” she managed to say.

She met my thrusts, closed her eyes, and made that sound she’d made when she’d come earlier. I felt myself thicken inside her, my thrusts short and fast until I stilled, my hand tightening in her hair. I closed my eyes as I came with a low, deep moan, her cunt pulsing around my cock, wishing I could have filled her up with my cum. Wanting to leave a piece of myself inside her. To take a piece of her.