The sun had dropped lower in the sky, but there was still some time before sunset. After the close call with the other boat, Carter and I let the current take us as we cuddled up on the bench and drifted.

After a bout of hormone-raging groping and making out, then a span filled with so much laughter that my stomach hurt, I sat in Carter’s arms and rested my head on his shoulder. The silence between us was comfortable in a way I’d never felt with another man. I was content.

Too content.

Clara had asked me whether I wanted someone I could be comfortable with, who I didn’t have to always be on point for, and whether it was worth the hassle of continually meeting new guys so I wouldn’t let anyone too close.

After this much time with him, I knew Carter could be that man. We meshed so well in a way I’d never felt before now. Even Gary and I had never had this kind of connection, and he’d been my everything before destroying my life.

That meant Carter was dangerous. He was like an icy slope. Fun to play on, exhilarating to slide down, but I might find out too late that there’s a cliff at the bottom.

Keep it fun and sexy, Madison, I thought. None of this romantic, cozy nonsense.

It shouldn’t be too hard. The chemistry between us was electric.

There was one surefire way to keep Carter’s—and my own—thoughts exactly where I wanted them. I’d never met a man who could keep his cool when I turned the conversation to sex and let him know my favorite positions. Picturing me bent over in front of him would keep his mind on one thing. It was the ultimate in foreplay, the verbal appetizer that would ensure sex was the only place we could go. I just had to keep emotions out of it.

I opened my mouth to bait the trap, but Carter spoke before I could.

“So, where did you come up with your dating rules? It sounds like something out of a rom com.”

His question took me off-guard. Switching mental gears, I considered how much to tell him.

Carter sensed my hesitation. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to,” he said.

I glanced up at him. He was too considerate for his own good.

“No, it’s okay. Just figuring out what to say.” Unlike most men I dated, it felt like I owed Carter an answer. The problem was figuring out how to tell him enough without giving away too much. “The gist of it is that I had a boyfriend whom I trusted far too much, and he ruined my life. I never want to become dependent on a man again. My focus is on my career.”

With bated breath, I waited for the inevitable prodding that always came whenever someone heard about my past. Even thinking of those days hurt, and I hated remembering my old life and who I used to be.

Carter held me tighter. “I’m surprised you date at all if you had that awful of an experience.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s what?” he asked.

I shifted in his arms so I could see his face. “Most people want to know more. They feel like it’s their duty to fix me, that I’m closing myself off to the joys of a happy relationship because of one bad apple.”

“Then those people haven’t ever been through what you have, and they don’t understand. Like I said, I’m surprised you date at all.” Carter looked away, over the still waters.

For a moment, I felt like I understood him. Not just the superficial personality he showed to the world, but the driving forces underneath the exterior. His voice carried a pain and his words a wisdom that didn’t come unearned.

I wasn’t the only one running away from something.

When I squeezed his hand and pressed back into his chest, he looked back at me. I leaned up and pecked his lips.

For the first time, I realized we were both damaged goods.

There was that comfort and contentment again. I had to push it away, lead us back to the realm of the fun and light and airy.

“Well, even though I don’t need a man, they still have their uses,” I said.

Carter smiled as if he knew where I was going. “Oh?”

“I mean, a vibrator is a girl’s best friend, but sometimes, it’s just not enough.”

“Not enough? I don’t know what you mean.”

He knew perfectly well what I meant. It was almost a shame how easy and fun flirting with him was. I’d miss it when it was all over.

I tilted my head to put my lips closer to his ear and spoke in a low whisper as if telling an important secret. “Sometimes, a girl just needs a warm, hard, throbbing cock deep in her pussy.”

Carter’s jaw dropped, faux-shocked. “A rock? In your pussy?”

I burst out laughing, unable to help myself. “A cock, you fucking moron,” I said as I slapped him on the chest. His hard muscle absorbed the contact and felt good doing it, so I kept my hand there. “Preferably yours.”

“Am I just a sex toy to you?” he asked. “To get you off over and over and over… and over again?”

“You’ll love it,” I said, and pulled him in for a kiss. We went deep and hard immediately, Carter as worked up from our closeness and flirting as I was.

When I put my hand down to shift myself in his lap, it pressed against his manhood. The low groan deep in Carter’s throat sent an answering wave of arousal flooding through me.

If there hadn’t been dozens of people within view, I would have taken things to the next level then and there.

Carter broke the kiss, his eyes fiery as his hands held me tightly.

“Are you trying to kill me?” he asked.

I snorted. “You aren’t much use dead.”