The official celebration for Chase’s parents started soon, and Grace hadn’t seen her fake fiancé since he disappeared earlier. She was in their cabin, getting ready for the night and mulling over the day. The lines between her act and reality blurred so much she had no idea where one started and the other stopped anymore.

One day. She spent one day with this blasted man, and he had turned her world upside-down.

“It’s his flirting, that’s all it is,” she muttered angrily, trying to zip up the red dress she’d bought for the evening. “Lay down some rules for tonight. Make it clear to him that this is just a job! Damn it, come on.” She turned in an angry circle, flailing with the zipper, when the cabin door opened and Chase walked in.

He raised a perfectly arched brow at her, and his lips twitched in a smirk. “Are you arguing with your dress?”

Fighting embarrassment, she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. “None of your business.”

“It is, because you’re my fiancée,” he stated.

“Fake. I’m your fake fiancée,” she snapped. “Remember that when you’re kissing me in front of everyone.”

“I think you need to remind yourself of that, too,” he argued as he kicked off his shoes and grabbed his suit from the closet. “I’m not the only one being clingy up there, and by the way, you almost broke my hand.”

Grace chewed her lip but refused to apologize. “Your mother mentioned weddings and kids. It was a gut reaction.”

Chase stalked closer, towering over her petite frame until she craned her neck to continue glaring at him. “Yeah? Would it be so awful to be married to me? I think deep down, you’d enjoy it. Maybe you even dreamed about it last night, and that’s how you wound up in my arms.”

“You smug bastard,” she spat, turning away from him to attempt to zip her dress.

She struggled with it, cursing under her breath, when two warm hands closed around hers, pulled them away gently, and her nerves seared with the closeness of his body. Slowly, he fiddled with the zipper and moved it up, dragging the dress closed against her back, but his hands didn’t disappear once the dress was zipped. They lingered along her shoulders, caressing her skin so that her nipples hardened and a sudden need shot up from the wetness between her legs.

Grace’s eyes slid closed, and without meaning to, she leaned back into his touch. A whispered curse escaped his lips, but he didn’t move away. Instead, his hands slid lower, and he placed a soft kiss where they had been. Her soul cried out for more, and she sighed when his lips moved to kiss her again, as if reading her mind, and traveled up to her neck. He pushed aside her curls, nuzzling the crook of her shoulder. Why had he even bothered to zip up her dress? All she wanted now was for him to undo it and watch his face as she revealed herself to him.

You really want to do that? Get this attached when he’s only going to leave you?

Grace stiffened, and her eyes shot open. “Chase,” she whispered and stepped gently away from his body. His gaze was filled with a longing that hit her deep in her gut when she turned to face him, but she held up her hands to keep him back. “Ground rules. We need ground rules for tonight.”

“Like what?” he asked, and she hated how husky the words sounded.

“Like not kissing or touching unless absolutely necessary,” she insisted. “Before this goes too far and we regret it.”

His face closed off instantly, and he grabbed his suit, moving quickly to the bathroom. Before he closed the door, he glanced over his shoulder and whispered, “A night with you is something I would never regret. Hearing you cry out my name? I long to hear that, Graceland.”

The promise behind those words hit her hard, and she clutched a hand to her chest to steady herself. All sense of knowing what was real and what wasn’t disappeared with his words, and Grace knew tonight was going to be a lot harder to get through than she first thought. But it was their last one together. Just one more, and tomorrow, they’d head home and she’d be able to pay off half her mom’s debt.

And she’d never see Chase again. She shoved her feet into her red heels and told herself it was for the best if they didn’t fall into the lust filling them both. It was too dangerous, and she had enough of that in her life without adding a smug, arrogant man into the mix.

She waited impatiently for Chase to get ready, and when they left the cabin, her hand nestled in the crook of his arm. Neither spoke, though they played their part of the happy couple well enough. For the sake of those around them, Grace ceased glaring at him and beamed at Chase’s parents as they came out onto the main deck to celebrate. It was a beautiful sight, all lit up with fairy lights, and the small three-piece band played songs for the happy couple to dance to.

The night wore on, and Grace meandered through the crowd, laughing with several of Chase’s cousins and family friends. She didn’t absorb much of what was said, but the distraction and distance from the man watching her from across the deck was welcome. The wine helped too, and she’d had three glasses before she even realized it. She sat down at a nearby table to eat something to counteract the alcohol.

With the music swirling around her, a range of songs from the seventies and beyond, Grace relaxed and swayed with it. The night was magical, and though she wasn’t a permanent fixture in these people’s lives, she was happy to be a part of it for tonight.

“Enjoying yourself?” Chase asked as he sat down beside her at the table.

Grace was having a good time and wasn’t going to let him annoy her out of it. Besides, they were still acting like a couple. She nodded, her gaze drifting to the couples dancing on the deck. The music changed and a slow song played, echoing over the water.

“Care to dance with me?”

The word ‘no’ was on her lips, but when she turned to say it, his intense green gaze captured hers and the word was lost. She chewed her lip, knowing it would look suspicious if they didn’t dance together at least once.

“Why not?” she murmured and took the hand he offered her.

Chase swung her around and brought her in close, keeping his hand closed around hers as his other spread against her lower back. Grace rested hers on his shoulder and let the music guide them languidly across the deck. She worried about stepping on his feet, this being the first time she’d ever danced with a man. He guided her effortlessly as the music played.

“That dress is breathtaking on you, by the way,” he told her.

She wanted to see his face, but her cheek rested against his chest as they danced, her body melding against his, fitting perfectly. “Thanks. I’ve always liked red.”

“Funny, so do I.”

He spun her out, and she twirled before he drew her in against his chest. His chin rested on the top of her head, and Grace let her eyes close, wanting to sink into the security he surrounded her with, the sensation of being cared for by someone else. Maybe even being loved. The fantasy that it could really be love caused a small frown, but it lingered until it grew into an actual desire. This was more than lust, but she didn’t dare say anything. He’d think she was crazy—or maybe just after his money.

One day was not enough to fall in love with someone, anyway, but she buried her face against his body and breathed him in. The scent of rainwater and teak-wood filled her nose, and for reasons she couldn’t even begin to fathom, Grace knew she was home.

Chase’s hand slipped from hers, and his arms enclosed her. The move was so natural, she let it happen, never wanting the music to stop, never wanting to face the reality of life back on land.

But the song eventually ended, and their steps slowed to a stop. Grace tried to step away from him, but Chase bent lower. On instinct, she raised up on her toes to meet his mouth. The kiss was slow and sensual, curling her hands into his jacket in a desperate hunger to be closer. His tongue brushed against her lips, and she parted them, letting him delve into her mouth. She was lost in his touch, forgetting where they were as his scent and ragged breathing surrounded her and filled her completely.

When they came up for air, Grace glanced around, expecting everyone to be watching, but the music played and his family danced and celebrated as if she and Chase hadn’t just shared the most mind-blowing kiss ever.

“Want to go for a walk?” he asked breathily.

“Yeah… Yeah, a walk would be good,” she replied and let him take her hand, leading her from the dance floor and down to the main level, which was deserted.

The night was chilly away from the crowd of people, and she shivered against his side. “Here,” he said and shrugged out of his suit jacket. The heat from his body fell over her as he draped it across her shoulders.

“Thanks,” she muttered. They took a few more steps before coming to a stop at the railing. She leaned out, squinting into the night. The mainland was out there somewhere, and with it, all her problems she didn’t want to face.

There was one problem she needed to solve soon, and he stood so close. Chase stepped up beside her, and her hand reached for his. He held it tightly as if it was the most natural thing in the world to hold hands with his fake fiancée.

“What are we doing?” she asked quietly, the words shaky.

“About what?”

“You know what,” she replied. “About this.” Her hand shifted in his, but when she tried to remove it, he didn’t let her. “Chase?”

“I don’t know,” he said on a breath. “Did you enjoy the kiss?”

She wanted to ask which time, but the point was moot. She enjoyed every time those lips of his made contact with her skin, sending trails of throbbing need from her nipples to her most sensitive parts never touched by a man. The idea of Chase being that man made her squirm against his side.

“Grace, did you?” he repeated the question.

“What would you do if I said yes?”

“I’d kiss you again,” he growled with want, and she shivered.

Wetting her lips, she glanced up at him and whispered, “Yes.”

Without hesitating, Chase dragged her gently away from the railing, and with his lustful green gaze locked on hers, he backed her up against the nearest wall. Grace’s chest heaved, and his eyes darted down to the cleavage there, exposed and crying out for him. Her breasts grew heavy and her nipples tightened painfully, and he hadn’t even touched her yet.

Resting one hand on either side of her head, Chase bent lower and caught her lips with his. The kiss was slow at first, barely a caress, but it turned into something more and she sighed against him. This kiss was real. Chase was really kissing her, and when his tongue danced alongside hers, wanting everything she had to offer, Grace knew then all the other kisses had been real, too. Whatever swirled between them, they were no longer acting. Her hands snaked up his chest to grasp his shirt while his moved to cup her cheeks lovingly, holding her so he could kiss her deeper, more passionately, until her mind was foggy with arousal.

“Was this the sort of mischief you had in mind?” she gasped when they parted to gulp in air.

“No,” he whispered, sucking her earlobe until she gasped, her whole body leaning into his. “I have something even better in mind if you’ll have me, Graceland.”

God, did she want him. Even his use of her full name didn’t annoy her. Coming from his mouth, it sounded different—stronger and more full of life than she’d been in a long time. His lips kissed a trail down her neck before he nipped gently at her collar bone, and then his tongue laved at the mounds of her breasts. If they didn’t move soon, she wondered who would find them doing what.

“Chase… cabin,” she managed to whisper before she groaned as his hands cupped her chest.

“Right, there’s a bed there,” he mused.

“A bed would be nice,” she agreed. His mouth suddenly left her body, and she frowned at the loss. He took her hand and tugged her behind him through the yacht and towards their private cabin. Vaguely, she wondered when she should mention she was a virgin, then decided she’d tell him once her mind cleared enough to function at a higher level.

Her knees shaking and mind racing with anticipation, Grace followed close, and when it took too long for him to open the door, she bounced on her toes, pressing her body against his side as he threw her a heated look over his shoulder.

The door clicked open and they fell into the room, Chase’s arms wrapping around her instantly, molding her to his body as his lips captured hers. His jacket fell to the floor and she was enveloped by the warmth of the man himself. Just as she had all day, Grace marveled at how naturally her body reacted to being held by his, craving his touch like she’d never craved anything before. At the same time, she was lost in awe at how enamored she was by such a simple thing as him holding her and kissing her slowly.

They might have only met that week, but their rushing emotions told a completely different story. The sense of being home overwhelmed Grace. This was what it meant to be in the arms of someone who cared for her, who might even be able to love her. At first, when he’d kissed her, she had convinced herself it was all part of the act, but as the day wore on, as he held her close out on that dance floor, something changed, and not just within her.

Chase changed. His gaze changed from lust-filled to a confused need surrounding them both in that darkened cabin.

Her head fell back when his kisses traced down her neck to her breasts again, her hands driving into his long hair and tugging at it when his tongue swirled patterns on her skin. Nothing had ever seemed so right before. Grace could only imagine what it would be like when they connected fully.

Chase tugged at the zipper of her dress, and it glided down her back, the dress parting to reveal more bare skin. She pulled his shirt out of his pants, needing to touch the muscles taunting her throughout the day. They shivered, and he cursed, crushing her against his body while his mouth claimed hers fiercely.

Grace smiled against his lips, a swell of pride filling her chest at knowing she made him react like that with one touch. She shifted her arms enough so the dress slid down her body, and when it pooled at her feet, Chase took a half step back to look at her mostly-naked silhouette.

Beneath the dress, she wore only a red lace thong, along with her heels. Chase’s eyes flared with desire, and for her first time being bared to a man, Grace was as comfortable as if she still had clothes on.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered hoarsely and reached out a hand for her hip.

Grace moved into his touch and went to work on the buttons of his shirt. “I have my moments,” she smirked. When she finally freed the last button and shoved the silk shirt over his broad shoulders, Grace wanted to feel every inch of that chest and run her tongue along his perfectly outlined pecks and abs. “You’re not so bad yourself, Loki.”

He growled deep within his chest as she flattened her palm over the tattoo marking him, the two snakes intertwined in an S, biting each other’s tails. She pressed her lips against it, and Chase picked her up, while she wrapped her legs around his waist, and backed them up against the nearest wall. His arousal grew between them, and she gasped to feel him swell so quickly for her… all for her. Her nipples brushed against his bare skin, and she shivered at the tingling shooting through her body. Every nerve came to life, bursting with desires she never felt so strongly around any other man. Not that any other man had ever done this with her.

“Chase,” she whispered in his ear while his mouth teased her earlobe.

“Yes, Graceland?”

She gasped when he sucked harder on her lobe and at the way her name rolled off his tongue so easily, not mocking at all. “I… uh, should probably mention something to you.”

“Don’t tell me, you’re a lesbian and this is all part of the act,” he muttered with a laugh.

“No, no… not that, but I am a… a… you know what.” Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, while Grace waited for him to catch up to what she’d said and drop her quickly.

Chase paused his kissing and leaned back, his eyes overflowing with arousal and something that made her gasp. His hands gripped her hips harder, and his lips turned up in a crooked smirk as he said, “You’re a virgin? How is that even possible?”

“It doesn’t bother you?” she asked, worried.

“That I get to be the first man to drive you to the edge of pure ecstasy over and over again?” he growled, shifting his hips so he pushed against her. “God, no, not in the least.”

They stared deeply into each other’s eyes, and Grace found herself lost in his swirling green depths, as if she were watching the stars in the night sky soaring overhead. There was so much more to this man than she first assumed, so many layers and hidden pieces she wanted to discover, and as he carried her away from the wall to the bed, Grace clinging to his body, she realized how much trouble they both were in. His eyes never left hers as he set her on the edge of the bed and knelt before her. Gently, his hands traced her shoulders, down her arms, and back up before they moved to her breasts, heavy with want.

As his large hands cupped them, Grace sighed, and when his thumbs brushed against her sensitive nipples, she reached out for him. Chase lowered his head and pulled one firm nipple into his mouth, sucking hard while a strong arm moved to hold her to him. Her hands wound in his hair, pressing his head even closer in her need to have him touch her. His tongue licked the peak until she thought she’d go cross-eyed from the sensation. He grunted when she moaned and moved to the other nipple. Warmth spread from her soft folds, and the urgent need to be touched there filled her so intensely, her thighs parted, and when Chase caught the movement, he cursed against her skin.

“You want me?” he asked roughly, releasing her breast as his hands slid to her thighs.

“Yes,” she whispered, digging into the sheet as his palms glided down her legs then back up, pressing against her inner thighs, moving so close to that sweet spot. “Chase.”

Delicately, he removed one of her heels, kissing her thigh as his fingers worked. His lips moved higher and higher as he relieved her of the other, and his fingers looped into her panties. “I’m going to make you cry out my name more than once tonight,” he promised, and with a quick pull, dragged her panties down.

Completely bared before him, Grace’s eyes were drawn to his. She held his gaze as his hand slid up and brushed against her most intimate place. She was wet—she felt it—but when he did, his eyes narrowed and he grunted. Gently, he moved his palm to cup her, rubbing against her before he tugged at her clit. The sudden explosion of want consumed her, and she fell back to her elbows on the bed. And he didn’t stop. Slowly, he shifted his hand and filled her with a finger. The sensation made Grace sigh, and when he pulled back to replace one with two, she spread her legs wider for him.

“You’re going to drive me insane,” he muttered and kissed close to those wet folds. Grace didn’t know what he was going to do until his lips closed over her clit and he sucked hard enough to make her moan with the pleasure rippling over her body. His tongue teased as his mouth moved and his fingers thrust inside her, stretching her.

Grace held onto the bed, losing all sense of where she was or what was happening. This weekend was meant to be a simple acting job. There had been no intention of kissing this man, no intention of falling for him as hard as she was, but every touch, every brush of his lips and caress of his mouth felt more natural than breathing. Grace couldn’t stop her heart from leading the way and plunging blindly forward into this man’s arms. She raised her head, needing to see his eyes, and when their gazes met, she knew in a terrifying and exhilarating moment, she was not alone in those thoughts.

Chase’s fingers quickened their pace, and he sucked harder on her clit. Grace moaned as the pressure built within her. So close… She was so close to that edge. “Chase… God, don’t stop,” she gasped, her hips lifting of their own accord and her hands cupping her breasts. He growled between her thighs, and when release overcame her, she cried out his name, trembling in his hands and melting as if he were the sun and she had flown too damn close to it.

Her chest heaving, Grace lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling as Chase chuckled between her thighs. He lavished her legs with sweet, soft kisses until she couldn’t stand it any longer and sat up. She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him deeply, wanting to show him what else he did to her in those few moments of complete bliss. She was branded for life—she knew it deep down. No man’s touch would ever feel so damn right. Her hands moved down his chest to his belt and undid it, followed by his pants.

“Graceland,” he whispered against her lips, and as she shoved his slacks over his hips, she moved back across the bed and he followed as if pulled by her. His body covered hers, teak-wood and rain flooding her senses, and she breathed him deeply into her lungs as his fingers brushed through her hair.

With his erection warm between their bodies, Grace shivered, clutching his back as he leaned down and kissed her. Their tongues danced together in a lazy waltz that increased when his knee parted her legs. Grace braced herself when his tip pressed against her folds, but he entered her slowly, letting her body adjust to his size. With each glide in, her body cried out for more, her hips lifting to take him as deeply as she could.

“God, Grace,” he grunted. “I’m not sure how long I can do this.”

“Then don’t wait,” she urged. “I can take it.”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he argued, but she knew the slight pain would be worth the pleasure it would bring them both. Grace raised her hips when he entered her again and dragged him forward until he was seated deep within her. She gasped, wincing at the sharp bite of pain. “Graceland?”

He started to pull out, but she held him there, letting the pain slip away as the pure joy at having him inside her took over. She rocked her hips and smiled up at him, rubbing away the frown lines on his forehead. “I’m perfect,” she whispered. “Chase…”

She didn’t have to finish the thought before he grunted, and as he thrust deep, drew her mouth to his. With each shift of his hips, Grace was driven to a new height of bliss, heat consuming her body as he moved within her, touching her in places beyond her body. It was as if he reached inside and found her very soul and caressed it with his kisses, with every time he pulsed within her sweet depths.

His breathing was ragged, like hers, and he rolled them over so she straddled him without having to pull out. She gasped at the burst of pleasure from the shift, and he held her hips, driving up into her hard and fast.

Something stirred deep within her, and she moved with him like a beast fighting to get free. The rapid explosion of pleasure was insane, but Chase didn’t stop when she cried out. Instead, he swelled even more and swallowed her cries with his mouth, sitting up so their bodies were crushed together. His arms held her close, held her shuddering body wracked with ecstasy beyond what she ever thought possible.

Chase grunted at the moment of his release, filling her with an intense heat. Grace was amazed to find she wasn’t burned by his touch. The room swam around her in a blur of colors before they tumbled back to the bed, Chase holding her tightly as he kissed the top of her head.

“I’ve never had sex like that,” he admitted, sounding as confused and amazed as she felt.

“Never?” she gasped against his chest.

“Never,” he answered, and she heard the honesty in that one word. “What the hell did you just do to me, Graceland?”

She smirked and a real laugh she hadn’t heard in a long time escaped her lips. “I was about to ask you the same thing.”