Page 20 of Faking It at Sea

Never mind that my own drink was sweating in my hands. I leaned forward, wrapped my lips around the straw, and sucked down a mouthful of the sugary concoction.

Sutton watched me with a hunger in his eyes that heated my blood despite the icy goodness sliding down my throat. He swallowed hard. “See? The curvy glass is one thing, but the straw is what draws attention to the lips. It is the single most erotic way to drink something.” He pulled the drink away slowly before bringing it to his own lips and taking another sip.

Okay. Damn. He wasn’t wrong. “It’s not just the drink,” I argued, and by some miracle, my voice sounded almost normal.

“No?” He set the glass on the tall table beside us. “What else isn’t awkward enough for you?”

The way he looked at me. The way he smelled. The way his voice rolled over me like a caress.

I cut a glance to the ocean sprawling out behind him to buy myself time, then I lied. “I don’t know.”

He reached behind him, gripping the railing with both hands. “If it helps, you were also unexpected, but in all the best ways.”

“There you go again. Who talks like that in real life?” I asked, trying to ignore the flutter in my middle. It was a cruel trick of the mind—or maybe it was my heart—that made me wish, for just a second, that I was brave enough to start something real with Sutton.

“The same guy who put his foot in his mouth last night. I’ll admit, it wasn’t my finest showing. I’ve been out of the dating game for a long time, which means there is a high probability that I’ll find myself chewing leather again soon.”

That pulled a laugh out of me. I dropped my gaze to my drink and stirred it, grateful for the temporary distraction. Sutton’s pull was magnetic, and it wasn’t just physical. There was a good chance I could fall for him if I let myself.

If there was any doubt, all I had to do was look up. Somehow, in the space of that brief conversation, I’d managed to inch closer to him without realizing I was moving.

“Any chance you can turn down the charm?” I asked, though I was only half joking.

He shook his head. “You bring it out in me.”

Another breathy scoff escaped my lips. “Right.” I took another long drink of the cavity-inducing elixir. There was enough flavored syrup in it to mask the rum, of which there was plenty. That had to be why I was standing so close to him.

And why, when I realized it, I didn’t immediately back away.

He held his hand out. “Can I steal that from you for just a minute?”

I glanced down at my glass, then back up. “Yeah, I guess.” Though I couldn’t think of a reason why he wanted it. His own half-full cocktail was right there on the table.

He took it, his fingertips brushing mine in a caress that sent a shiver of anticipation through me. Then he set my drink beside his. “That’s better.”

“How is that better?” And why wouldn’t those damned butterflies calm down for one freaking minute?

“Because I want your eyes on me when I ask you this question.”

The butterflies ramped up their assault, but I kept my focus on him. I would not let him see how much he was getting to me.

Sutton took my hand and brought it up, brushing his lips across my knuckles. “You are stunning, June. Do you know that?”

I blinked back at him because I didn’t know how to answer that question. I could play coy, but the truth was, Sutton had a way of making me feel beautiful just by looking at me.

His gaze searched mine before his attention dropped to where his hand was trailing up my forearm, leaving a ripple of want in its wake. Those blue eyes returned to mine, trapping me in their hold as his rough fingertips drifted over my elbow and up my upper arm. When they skated across my shoulder and upthe side of my neck, I tipped my head to the side the tiniest bit to give him better access.

His light touch was heaven. It brought every nerve ending in its path to life, and when his hand cupped my cheek, it took every drop of my self-control not to lean into it.

“Can I kiss you?” His low voice drowned out the distantly thumping bass coming from the dance floor, rolling over me with its own delicious rumble.

I should say no. That was the smart thing to do. We’d known each other for one day—one—and he was already getting under my skin.

Come on, June. Use your brain.

Shake your head.

Take a step back.

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