Page 99 of Tame Me

“Put your shoes in here if you like.” He opened the bag, and I placed my stilettos on top of the towel.

“Lead the way.”

There was enough light from the buildings behind us to illuminate Hunter’s sexy bottom, and I watched his cheeks rise and fall with every step he took. “You’re checking out my butt, aren’t you?”

I giggled. “Maybe.”

He stayed high up on the beach in the soft sand and found a little spot that was fairly flat and almost fully encompassed with beach grass. There were people way down at the waterline, and I could hear people behind us, but amongst this vegetation, we were totally secluded. It was our own little hidden oasis.

He held the bag containing the food toward me. “Can you hold this for a sec?”

I curled the bottle of wine beneath my elbow, and as I held the food container, Hunter plucked the towel from the bag and laid it out so we’d sit facing the beach. He then began undoing his shirt buttons.

I chuckled. “Hey, we haven’t even eaten.”

With a cheeky smile, he cocked his head at me, then placed his shirt on the sand in front of the towel. “It’s for our food.”

“Oh.” I giggled, feeling a little silly. The moon was a giant white globe, and with each passing second, it rose slightly higher off the horizon, casting warm light over the tumbling waves. With my shirtless man basking in the moonlight, I was absorbing the most spectacular scene ever.

He took the wine and food from me, and I lowered onto the towel. While I wriggled into position, he put the plastic bag on his shirt and opened the lid on the polystyrene container holding our food. Then he cracked open the wine and poured each of us a drink.

Hunter sat at my side. “I’m starving.”

He offered me first choice, but it was difficult to focus on the food with my half-naked man sitting beside me. He commanded attention in all the right ways. The heat of his body was more exotic than the full moon rising high off the ocean.

I plucked a prawn cutlet from the tray, and as I munched away, I absorbed my glorious setting. “It’s beautiful tonight.” I reached for my glass and took a sip.

“You’re beautiful.”

I tugged my lip into my mouth as I turned to him. “Thank you.” I accepted his compliment; however, it was Hunter who was beautiful. Everything about him was special—his incredibly handsome looks, his gentle demeanor, his fun nature, his ambition, his sense of adventure. I was pretty sure I could go on listing his endearing attributes all night long.

As he passed the food tray over again and I plucked a piece of crumbed snapper, I wondered what it was about me that he liked. Once again, the brutal reality of my never-ending lies hit me. Hunter didn’t even know my name. Or my job. The reality of my stupid situation was brutal agony, and as we shared a meal and the conversation flowed so perfectly, little pieces of my heart drifted away with the gentle breeze.

I had to tell him. As much as I didn’t want to ruin our perfect night, I couldn’t delay this a moment longer.

“So, tell me, Just Memphis, when do I get to know your surname?”

My body froze to ice. This was it; he’d opened up the perfect opportunity. My heart pounded, my breath shot in and out, and I clenched my jaw in an attempt to stop my chin dimpling.

I put my glass down and sucked in a long, shaky breath. “Hunter, there’s something?—”

“Oh look, a shooting star. Quick, make a wish.” His excitement was electric, childish even, as he pointed at the blaze of light.

“What? Oh.”

“Quick, make a wish.” He squeezed his eyes shut, and I did the same. It wasn’t hard to think of a wish. The only wish that meant anything was that Hunter would forgive me.

He gulped back his drink and placed his glass on his shirt. “Want to know what I wished for?” His eyes dazzled in the moonlight.

I giggled at his enthusiasm. “You can’t tell me, or it won’t come true.”

“It’ll only come true if I tell you.”

“That’s not how this game is played.” But after his comment, I really did want to know.

He wriggled around to rest on his knees, giving me more of his body to look at. “Come on . . . indulge me.”

Unable to resist his boyish charm, I smiled. “Okay, what did you wish for?”

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