Page 191 of Hell Hath No Fury
“I’m sure there are a lot of things about Oregon that are different from our island.”
“Oh, so I’m not the only one who was paying attention.”
Slipping his hand in hers, he led her out to the beach, closer to the bonfire, but still far enough away from the crowd that they could have some privacy. Butterflies filled her tummy, liking it way too much that he seemed to want alone time with her. She was only here for a few more weeks; she didn’t need to be getting involved with someone. Although a fling never hurt anyone.
“Dr. Ashby Carver, born and raised in Independence, Oregon,” he started, continuing to ramble off all the random facts she’d told him about herself. Ashby was amazed at his memory, the butterflies going wild with each new thing he remembered.
“Holy wow.”
“Sorry, I don’t mean to come off as weird, I just…”
“No, not at all. I…”
Ashby let herself trail off, not knowing how to continue. Why was she suddenly so awkward? This was not who she was. She was loud, proud, and everyone who thought she was too much could go fuck themselves. Yet, for some reason, she really wanted Carlos to like her. The real her. She just didn’t know how to let that shine and not overwhelm him.
“How about a dance?”
“What?”
His question caught her off guard. A moment ago it seemed like he was about to get serious, picking up on the get-to-know-you game they’d been playing over text messages. But now he wanted to dance?
“Dance with me.”
Carlos wasted no time, slipping an arm around her, tugging her into his hard body. The soft cotton of her blue sundress felt like it could incinerate any second from all the heat between them, making Ashby’s heart skip. His body against her was magical, making her feel like the only woman along the beach.Despite her better judgment, she was starting to really like Carlos. As inlikelike him.
The heavy beat surrounding them faded into something softer, more sensual, as the DJ merged two songs together. The shift didn’t faze Carlos though, slowing his movements, pulling her closer. Ashby’s mind raced with all the things she wanted to say in this moment, but couldn’t bring herself to speak. Carlos’s eyes were locked on her, the corner of his mouth upturned into a sinfully delicious smile. One she couldn’t help but reciprocate.
“Do you know howintoxicatingyou are?” he asked, his head dipping down slightly.
“Intoxicating, huh?” she teased. She couldn’t tell if it was a line or not, but either way, she liked it. The idea of being intoxicating to someone like Carlos made her heat up even more.
“I am aware of how cheesy that sounds, but right now, I don’t really care. I’m much more concerned with whether it’d be too forward to kiss you right now.”
“Not at all.”
Her response was out before she even thought about it. Not that she would have answered differently, but at least for appearance's sake maybe she should have at least pretended to think about it. Carlos’s arm tightening around her waist pushed all thoughts of appearance's sake straight out of her brain, however. His head dipped lower, until his lips were a whisper away from hers. The space between them was almost imperceptible but felt like a million miles. He paused for a moment there, letting the anticipation building within start to bubble over. If he didn’t kiss her now, she might just burst into flames.
A second later his mouth captured hers, soft and light at first, growing more powerful by the second. Fireworks lit up inside her at the feel of his strong lips against hers. Her mind wentblank, the whole world seeming to fall away as he continued to kiss her like he had all the time in the world.
“Woof! Woof!”
The sound of Mickey’s bark startled her. The pup jumped up against them, his front paws hitting Carlos’s hip, breaking the kiss. Part of her wanted to curse the dog for interrupting, but her head was still too swimmy to find the words.
“Hey boy,” Carlos said, reaching down to scratch him. “We’re gonna have to have a talk about not cock blocking me, ‘kay?”
Ashby laughed, her heart soaring at the hottie in front of her talking to his dog like he was his wingman.
Looking up at her, Carlos gave her the same devilish smile he had earlier. “Whatcha doing tomorrow?”
“Ummmm, working?”
“Skip it. It’s my day off. Come hang out at the beach with Mickey and me.”
Ashby knew she should object. But she couldn’t bring herself to. She hadn’t had a day off since she’d arrived on St. Thomas, and she knew her boss wouldn’t care. Plus, she really wanted to spend more time with Carlos.
“It’s a date.”
CHAPTER FOUR
