Page 8 of Tropical Inferno

There was a hint of a smile on her face, but her eyes were dead serious. “Does that make you uncomfortable?”

“Noooo…” Damn, how could he answer this without burying himself in an even deeper hole than he was already in?

“But?” she prompted.

“We live in difficult times, where those types of relationships are still often frowned upon. I support people no matter what their sexuality, but I find it difficult to watch. Not the act itself—I’m talking about what they go through. The pain, the worry about being seen in public…seeing it is stressful to me. It makes me feel helpless, which is a feeling most men don’t like. So I’m not uncomfortable with the concept, but in practice I have to admit I don’t know how to behave.”

“You’re right,” she said quietly. “It is hard to watch people you love suffer simply because they fell in love with someone society doesn’t approve of. Jamie—my brother—has suffered a lot for being bisexual, more than anyone ever should for anything. I hate it for him, but on the other hand, his husband is the greatest guy, they have a daughter and another baby on the way, and are really happy. I hope someday I find a man who loves me the way my brother-in-law loves my brother.” She paused. “How did this conversation turn into something so serious? I thought we were going to start flirting?”

He inclined his head, grateful for the reprieve. “We can do that.”

* * *

Not a lot of flirting went on the rest of the day. They swam and soaked up the sun for a while, but after a shower and some takeout, Maddie fell asleep on the couch, the carton of shrimp fried rice still in her hand. Instead of waking her, Hawk cleaned up the food and covered her with a light throw blanket. Her suitcase didn’t get to the resort until late but he carried it into her room so it would be waiting for her when she got up in the morning. Hoping she would sleep well, he tried to do the same.

He was up first, even though it had taken him a while to fall asleep, and went for a run on the beach. He got up early to work out year-round and the last two days had messed with his schedule, so he pushed himself a little harder than usual. He ran barefoot on the shore, letting the wet sand raise the level of difficulty. When he got back to Ottawa, he had to be ready to play his ass off. The five games plus the $10,000 fine were harsh, but the worst part was that he hadn’t done it. Telling the truth, however, meant throwing a teammate under the bus and that would be a totally different kind of hell. He would be the guy in the locker room no one trusted, and that was the equivalent of death in a team sport.

He was in an untenable situation with absolutely no resolution that would fix anything. If he told the truth, his career would probably be over in a year or two. If he didn’t, he would always be considered a terrible human being by…pretty much everyone.

Slowing to a walk, he paused to catch his breath, bending at the waist and resting his hands on his thighs as he inhaled deeply. Damn, he’d gotten himself in trouble before, but never anything like this. He hated what people thought of him, and meeting Maddie was the kind of coincidence that made him wonder if some kind of higher power was trying to tell him something. He didn’t normally believe in that kind of thing—coincidences happened—but this was different. Maddie was different. He barely knew her but he couldn’t stop thinking about her. She went from pissed off little hellion to sweet and vulnerable to sexy and strong. Her staunch defense of her brother’s lifestyle warmed him and he wondered how she would feel when she found out they knew each other. Jamie probably hated him now, so he’d been resisting the urge to reach out to him since he’d left Ottawa. This just wasn’t the time, especially now that he’d met Maddie.

Jogging home at a light pace, he forgot all about his dark thoughts as soon as he saw her. She was singing a very off-key version of “Stronger” by Kelly Clarkson at the top of her lungs, dancing around the room as she unpacked her suitcase. He leaned against the doorway watching, enjoying the view of her legs in short shorts as she wiggled her hips and held an imaginary microphone.

Maddie jumped when she realized Garrett was standing there, her hand flying to her chest. “What the hell?!” she demanded. “Are you trying to kill me?”

“I could ask you the same question,” he chuckled. “You definitely shouldn’t pursue a career as a singer.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “Oh, and I suppose you could do it better?”

“No, but you don’t hear me trying to sing either!”

She laughed. “Whatever—but guess what? I have clothes!”

“Personally, I don’t think they’re necessary, but I’m glad you’re excited.”

She picked up something silky and black. “So…you wouldn’t want to see me in this?” She let the little black dress cascade down from where she held it by the spaghetti straps at the top, meeting his eyes flirtatiously.

He walked towards her slowly, stopping barely an inch away from her. He looked down into her big brown eyes and lifted her chin with a gentle finger. “If I see you in that dress, chances are you won’t be in it for long. Careful what you wish for, little girl, ’cause I wasn’t kidding when I said I wasn’t all that nice.”

“You’ve been very nice to me,” she whispered.

“Someone shot at us,” he responded in a gruff voice. “I probably would have done my best to protect anyone in that situation.”

“Would you have invited some sixty-year-old school teacher from Idaho to breakfast and then to share your guest house?” she questioned, a touch of hurt in her voice.

“No.” He leaned down to make a point but instead of listening, she shut her eyes. Watching her eyelids flutter closed in anticipation of a kiss they both wanted made his gut clench with desire. He was desperate to taste her, but when this was all over she was going to hate him, and having sex with her would only exacerbate how much he hurt her. He was only human, though, and looking at those rosy, parted lips waiting for his touch was a little more than he could resist. One taste, he promised himself. Just one.

The moment their lips made contact he knew he was dead in the water. This was going to go bad and he was wholly incapable of stopping it. She was the sweetest thing he’d ever come across and when her tongue tentatively edged between his lips, he was lost. He wrapped one arm around her waist so he could draw her up against him and dug the other into the hair at the back of her neck. Her whimper only fueled the fire and he let himself devour her. They kissed and kissed, going from hungry and urgent to curious and exploratory. It was the opposite of what he expected, but exactly what he needed to put on the brakes.

“Babe…” His voice was rough, raspy with need as he broke contact. “This is too much, too fast.”

“I’m not actually a little girl,” she whispered. “I’m a grown woman who knows what she wants and I want you.”

“I know, but…” He gently took her by the shoulders and looked down into her face. “We only met yesterday, while people were shooting at us. It was kind of crazy. I don’t want this to feel like payment or—”

She put a finger on his lips. “That’s not what it feels like. It feels like vacation sex.”

He ran his fingers through her long, velvety hair, his eyes never leaving hers. “Let’s go back to flirting, okay? What your eyes are telling me is totally different than what your mouth is saying. I don’t think you’re a vacation sex kind of girl and I meant it when I said I was trying to be nicer. I don’t want to break hearts and jump from bed to bed anymore.”

---