I held Shay's hand tightly, deciding I was never going to let her go as we hurried back up to the house. She was wet and cold and slightly shaken, but not nearly as shaken as me.

I slid open the door and led her inside. I turned to her. "Fuck, you beautiful damn angel, I'm so glad you're standing here with me. You scared me to death." I grabbed her face between my hands and kissed her again. I ran my tongue across her bottom lip. "Hmm, you taste saltier than I imagined."

"Something tells me that's not the only part of me that's saltier than you imagined." She wrapped her arm around my neck and pulled my mouth back down to hers. My arms circled around her body, her wet clothes were cold and clammy to the touch. The slightest shiver went through her.

I could hardly part my mouth from hers. "I would love to think that I'm the cause of that tremor, but I think we need to get you into a hot shower."

"Yes, I suppose so. Or we could just . . ." Again, she threw her arms around my neck and this time her legs followed. Our mouths locked tightly together as I carried her down the hallway. I kicked the bedroom door open with my foot and carried her, still deep in a kiss, into the room.

I set her down on the edge of the bed. "We need to get you out of those wet clothes."

She yanked off the shirt and tossed it onto the floor. Her creamy skin was pink from the cold water. There were still smudges of sand on her face as she peered up at me through her wet bangs. She unfastened the button on her pants as she smiled up at me.

It was almost too much. I had to keep myself in check or risk scaring her off by acting like a ravenous beast. But after not being able to touch her for ten days, all the while wanting her more than I'd ever wanted anyone in my life, mixed with the rush of adrenaline thinking I'd lost her, I was ready to shake off every ounce of control and devour her.

"God, Shay, you are something else." I could barely get the words out. Every muscle in my body was tight as I held myself back. I knelt down in front of the bed like a gentleman, but my thoughts were anything but polite. The slow, difficult task of wriggling off a pair of wet shorts nearly caused me to break my teeth between a clenched jaw.

Shay leaned back on her elbows, still cold and slightly dazed as she waited for me to pull the shorts free. I got up on my knees and sat between her thighs to gaze at her body, clad only in a sheer bra and panties.

I lowered my mouth to her thigh and ran a trail of kisses up toward her pussy. She inhaled sharply in anticipation as I curled my fingers around the lace of her panties. I lifted my gaze to her face and ripped the lacy string apart, before yanking the wet panties free.

I pushed my shorts to the ground. My cock sprang free, hard with hot rage at being neglected for so long. Shay scooted back and reached her hand out to me. I took hold of it and kissed it as I knelt between her legs. I could hear every beat of my heart in my ears.

I swallowed hard. "I'm trying to pace myself," I warned.

"Don't."

I leaned down over her, pressing my swollen cock against her belly as I kissed her mouth and her long neck. "You are worth every fucking dollar of a million bucks," I muttered against her skin.

Her body deflated beneath me. The urgency she'd met me with vanished and she turned her face away from my mouth. "Off, please. Get off."

I backed away, confused and feeling as if someone had just punched me in the gut. The second I was off and standing on the floor, Shay curled onto her side and crawled quickly off the bed.

"What am I doing?" she sobbed.

"Shay, what's wrong? I don't understand."

She stopped at my door, her wet clothes grasped in her hands and shielding her naked body. "What was I thinking?" Another sob left her lips. "I spent so much time telling myself that this was fine, that I wasn't a whore. That it was business and I would be financially set up and never dependent on anyone again. And then there's you and you said"—she dropped her already husky voice lower to imitate mine—"trust me there's not a damn thing that's loveable about me." Her shoulders jerked with another sob. "And it turns out, I'm not just a whore but the world's most expensive one." She ran down the hallway and into her room, slamming the door shut behind her.