THAT JACKSON DAVENPORT was a goddamn fucking liar.

“Whoo, what’s that, seven? Eight? I hope you’re hungry, Sullivan,” he called out, as he opened the cooler of ice and tossed in another flounder.

I looked back at my own bobber, the one that hadn’t moved once, and narrowed my eyes. “I think there’s something wrong with my pole.”

“I promise, there’s nothing wrong with your pole,” Jackson said, laughing as he bent down over me like he was going to kiss my neck, but then he hesitated.

“Thanks for the reassurance, but the least you can do is kiss me, since the fish are all bypassing my pole. Otherwise, this is all bullshit.”

Jackson smiled and leaned in, his lips a warm caress on my neck, and I shivered. “You’re kinda cute when you pout. Also a bit of a sore loser. You know this is just getting you back for last night, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, and here I thought we both won last night.” I put the pole down and got to my feet, stretching my arms over my head, and that move made Jackson stop and stare until a vibration from his shorts pocket had him reaching down to turn it off without looking. Again. “Want another soda?” I asked.

“That’d be great,” he said, and I grabbed a couple from the mini fridge. As I came back over, movement caught my eye, and I set the drinks down and went over to where Jackson was baiting his hook again.

“Look,” I said, caging him in against the side of the boat with my front pressed to his back. I put my chin on his shoulder and pointed over by the bank a good thirty yards away. “You see it?”

“See what? I don’t— Oh, holy shit.”

An alligator that had to be over twelve, thirteen feet long was crawling out of the water and up onto the bank, and Jackson’s eyes were big and round as he watched the prehistoric creature.

“Now that’s something you don’t see every day,” he murmured.

“Not a rare occurrence around these parts. Whaddya say? Want to lure him back in and have gator tail for dinner?”

He looked back at me over his shoulder. “You’ve lost your mind.”

“Tastes like chicken.”

“I’ll pass.”

“How do you know you don’t love it till you try it?”

“I don’t mind trying it. What I do mind is wrestling an alligator into this boat so we can have gator tail. I’ll pass on that.”

“Where’s your sense of adventure, city boy? Five-hundred-pound alligator? Pshh. Easy.” I sat down and picked up my pole as Jackson cast his line out again.

Just as he took the seat beside me, his cell vibrated, and he sighed as he took the phone out, glanced at it, then powered it off.

As the screen faded to black, I said, “Do you need to get that?”

“Nah, it’s not important.”

“Uh huh. Okay.” I was silent for a minute, but as something played at the back of my mind, I had to ask. “Is it work-related? Something you need to go take care of? Because they’ve called a few times, and I can take us back to—”

“No, no work today, and there’s not an emergency, so it’s fine. Nothing that can’t wait until tomorrow.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure.” Then an arrogant grin slowly tipped his lips. “Don’t think because you haven’t caught anything that I’m letting you give up that fast. I never said I’d share with you, and—” His pole jerked in his hand, and we both looked out at the water in time to see his bobber disappear. “Oh shit.”

“No. No way,” I said, as Jackson and I both got to our feet and he quickly began to reel the line in, laughing the whole time. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Nope. Not kidding. A seatrout dangled from the hook, and he removed it from the line and held it up proudly before tossing it in the cooler with his other winnings.

“That’s it. I’m calling it,” I said, and then I hooked my fingers on the inside of his shorts and pulled him toward me. Jackson had definitely gotten sun today, as evidenced by the light pink flush on his cheeks and nose. It set off the blue of his eyes, one light, like the color of the Bahamas, and one dark, like a turbulent storm. It was a combination that served as a decent metaphor for his inner struggle—the good-natured man with the sparkling personality who could light up a room that warred with the bad intentions of those closest to him. “I think you’ve sufficiently kicked my ass today. I’m taking you back to my place.”

Jackson’s hands roamed over my bare back and settled at my waist. “I have to say, I thought you were a better fisherman.”

“I’m gonna call this beginner’s luck. Rematch anytime.”

“Deal,” he said, flashing that gorgeous white smile. He could win wars and impregnate women of the world with that smile. Seemed wasted on me.

“Well. I suppose we should return the boat before the owner realizes it’s gone. Tell me, Jackson. You up for a fish fry?” Then I bit down lightly on his lower lip before sucking it in my mouth. “And you will share with me. But only me.”