“Oh, shit!”

My hand flew to my mouth as I watched Nate fly into the water below the dive deck. I hadn’t realized just how close he was to the edge, and I didn’t mean to slap his ass that hard. It was meant to be a playful tap, but he’d sailed right into the ocean with an almighty splash.

“Did you just push him in?” one of Libby’s friends asked as I peered into the water, searching for Nate. He hadn’t come up for air yet.

“Uh… yes. Accidentally,” I replied, not turning to look at her. I was too busy frantically scanning the water for Nate. Most parts of the ocean around the reef were a clear, pale aquamarine, but the part we’d stopped at was a deeper blue. I couldn’t see more than a few inches below the surface.

“Can he swim?”

This time I turned to Libby’s friend, my eyes slowly widening. “I don’t know. Shit!”

Oh my god. What if he couldn’t? What if I was responsible for drowning him? A full two minutes had passed now, and he hadn’t surfaced.

There was only one thing to do. I had to go in after him. I had to help him.

Just as I was about to dive into the cool water, Nate burst through the surface like something from an 80’s beach movie, complete with the slow-motion hair flopping as he shook salty water from his face.

“Gotcha,” he said, flashing me a grin as he caught sight of my horrified face.

“Nate! Where were you?” I screeched, sinking to my hands and knees on the deck’s edge.

“There’s a little alcove right here underneath the deck,” he said, effortlessly moving through the water toward me. “You pushed me in, so I thought I’d freak you out.”

“That’s not funny! And I didn’t push you!” I said. He raised wet brows and cocked his head to the side in a questioning glance. “Okay, I did, but I didn’t mean to.”

He was holding on to the edge of the dive deck now, tanned skin glistening under the water sliding off it. I was struck by the urge to lick it all off.

“I’ll forgive you,” Nate started slowly, reaching for my left arm. Judging by how the temperature of his wet hand, the water was a lot colder than it looked. “If you come in with me.”

“No! I don’t want to get wet right now!” I shrieked, although I already was, just from looking at him. He’d been parading around this yacht since we boarded, teasing me with his panty-melting body, and it was obvious that he already damn well knew the effect he had on me.

His lips curled into a devious smile. “It’s only fair,” he said, pulling me farther down toward the water. I wrestled against him like a petulant child, trying to stay aboard, and our heads inadvertently came within a few inches of each other. Nate paused as my eyes focused right on his lips. For a moment, I thought he might kiss me, but instead he released my arm and glanced at the ladder heading back up to the deck.

“Fine. I give in. But I’ll get you back one day,” he said with a grin.

He hauled himself out of the water. Salty droplets slid down the contours of his chest and abs, and his sculpted arms drew every female eye on the deck as he ran a hand through his soaking hair. Every single line of his muscular physique was perfection, and every single woman here knew it.

I grabbed him a towel. “Here,” I said, my words coming out in a choking sound as I tried to stop staring.

Goddamn, he was hot.

So hot.

After taking the towel, Nate pulled me against his still-soaked chest and murmured in my ear. “You better watch out. You’re not the only one around here who can dole out spankings.”

Once again, I was speechless around him. I darted back over to my sun lounge and held my book up in front of my face to cover what I knew were flaming-red cheeks. After a few seconds, I peeked over the top of the pages to look at Nate again. He was drying himself with the towel and still attracting attention from every female within a ten foot radius.

“Need some help drying off, Nate?” trilled Libby’s annoying maid of honor Bianca, the same woman who’d spent half the trip eyeing him up. She was utterly shameless.

“I’m fine,” he said with a polite smile, before turning his gaze to me and arching an eyebrow as if to say ‘See? I’m ignoring her. You’re the only one I want’.

I lowered my eyes back to the book, my heart pounding. No one else had ever made my pulse race like he did, and he damn well knew it.

It was so obvious what he’d been doing all day. He was trying to speed me along; force me to admit that I returned his feelings by making me realize how flustered I became when I saw him shirtless or had his hands gliding all over my body. Amateur move, but not entirely ineffective. In fact, judging by the heat that’d been pooling between my thighs all afternoon, it was a winning strategy.

I bet he knew that, too.

I wished I could be like him, so filled with confidence in everything I did. Charisma and fortitude came naturally to him, and he seemed to handle things so easily. So casually. I couldn’t even imagine pulling off the things he’d managed to achieve in life. Or the things he’d been through, for that matter. If I had ten million dollars hacked out of my bank account, I’d probably be in a psych ward rocking back and forth whilst clad in a strait jacket. But Nate didn’t lose the plot. He’d continued striving to keep his company going, and he’d probably make his money back within a decade.

Suddenly the five grand I’d offered him to join me on this vacation seemed paltry. Still, he was here, wasn’t he? Here and wanting me, apparently….

My legs quivered at the thought. A million questions rushed through my mind at the same time. What exactly did he see in me? What did I have that all these other women didn’t? When he said he wanted me the other day, did it mean he wanted everything from me, or was this more of a sex-only fling situation?

Ask him, crazy woman, the voice of logic in my head told me. Duh.

We were supposed to have dinner with everyone tonight after our return from the yacht trip, so I decided to get him alone after dessert and ask him all my questions. Maybe then, depending on his answers, I’d be able to let go. Open up. Let something happen between us.

Maybe.

The rest of the yacht outing was uneventful—sun, champagne, and relaxation. The perfect afternoon. I even went for a quick dip in the ocean with Libby despite my earlier bid to stay dry.

At six, the yacht docked back at the marina outside the resort, and we headed back to our respective rooms to get changed for dinner. We were all meeting at the resort’s main restaurant for a big group dinner in one hour, so that was plenty of time for a shower, blow-dry, and outfit selection.

After cleaning myself up and figuring out which dress I wanted to wear to dinner, I went through my suitcase, trying to find my nicest underwear set. An impish smile played on my lips as I searched. In the shower a moment ago, I’d been struck by inspiration. I figured Nate needed a taste of his own medicine, so he could know how frustrating it was for me to see him strutting around wet and half-naked all day today. So in a few minutes I was going to give him a show of my own just to tease him.

Was it juvenile? Yes. Satisfying enough to make me not care about how silly it was? Also yes. Nate had a good sense of humor, anyway. He’d appreciate my little prank.

I selected a sexy lacy black and white bra with matching panties and put them on before proudly inspecting myself in the mirror. Just because I didn’t usually get much action didn’t mean I wasn’t allowed to wear nice lingerie. It was one of the few things I liked to splurge on.

When I was ready, I wrapped my white hotel robe around myself, not bothering to tie it at the waist. At exactly ten to seven, there was a sharp rap on my door. Nate was here to pick me up for dinner.

With a sly grin, I headed for the door, ‘accidentally’ letting my robe fall open to reveal the skimpy underwear.

“Hello there,” I said in my most playful tone as I opened the door. “You’re a little early.”

“Well, hello to you too, Georgie…”

With horror, I pulled the robe tightly around myself. It wasn’t Nate standing at my door at all.

It was Tripp.