Page 27 of Marrying the Enemy

“I realized I had forgotten my sunglasses at the lookout,” Dom said cryptically.

“You’re wearing them.”

“Because I went back for them. That’s when I found you limping up the path.”

He was feeding her their talking points.

“I went to the spit on impulse,” she added. “After leaving Logan barfing on the beach.”

“Really?” His mouth curled with amused contempt.

“I caught my foot on a root and twisted my ankle.” It was true.

“Our slow progress back here meant we missed the last boat. We spent a sleepless night in the shack, but otherwise we’re fine.”

Sleepless. She caught back a ragged chuckle. “It’s always best to stick as close to the truth as possible.”

His mouth stayed in its cynical curl.

“Can I really trust you not to tell anyone?” The raw, searing sensation in her chest wouldn’t subside.

“Can I trust you?” He was still looking out to sea, not giving her the merest smidge of comfort with that harsh profile.

“Yes.” It was untenable that she had trusted this man with her body, with her life even, given how their families regarded each other, when she didn’t know how to trust him otherwise. Yet here she was. Alive. Unharmed. So sexually satisfied, she was kind of stupid with it.

But changed, too. Not by sex. By him. By the fact they continued to have something between them and always would. Now they had two memories. They were a part of each other’s history that couldn’t be erased.

“I don’t want anyone to ever know I let you...” Her voice dried up as he finally looked down at her. His glare seemed to pierce the mirror of the lenses so she felt it like a pin that poked through her and held her in place.

“You didn’t let me do anything,” he said in a grim tone. “We did that together.”

She turned her hot gaze to the boat bearing down on their cove. The sound of its engine was growing louder.

“I know,” she admitted in a small voice. “I just wish it had been anyone but you.”

Dom snorted, muttering, “Same,” before he waded into the lapping waves, meeting the boat as it cut its engine, but continued to drift closer.

The voice of the astonished operator carried across the water.

“Mate. You two been here all night?” He stammered that he’d been told everyone was off the island.

“No harm done,” Dom assured him. “We helped ourselves to what we needed. Bill me for the alcohol that was ruined by the tide.”

“I can cover the costs,” Eve said when they came ashore. “It was my fault.”

Dom shook his head once, abruptly, as though she had offended him.

That was pretty much the last thing they said to each other. While he helped the young man collect everything and secure the shack for towing, Eve combed the beach for any litter that their party had missed yesterday.

When the tide was high enough that the shack was floating, Dom boosted her into the boat. She watched the empty beach grow smaller as they motored away. Their tryst was over.

CHAPTER NINE

IT WAS LUNCHTIME when Eve was dropped at the eco-resort.

She was dying for a long, hot bath and a long, undisturbed sleep, but she had promised Dom she would see first aid. She got her foot rewrapped and they gave her a pair of crutches. She then gave the manager of the resort the story they’d agreed on. The resort hadn’t organized the day trip so they weren’t liable, but the manager was horrified all the same. He said he would review procedures to ensure nothing like it ever happened again.

Eve made her way to her suite, dreading bumping into wedding guests and having to explain her injury. That would only lead to even more awkward explanations. Hopefully, Logan wouldn’t even be here—

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