Page 8 of A Real Good Bad Thing

“I’ve always wanted to be a destructive goddess.”

“By the way, real name’s Jake.”

“Mine’s Ariel,” she said.

“Works, even without the red hair or seashell bra.” It might have been her real name, but more likely it was a nickname or simply a bar alias. With two sisters, I understood about fake bar names. Worked for me, whatever it was.

She leaned in closer, and I caught a faint whiff of her shampoo. Coconut. Perfect scent for an island woman. “Maybe I even have a seashell bra,” she whispered.

Ah hell. That was an opening and I was taking it. “Let me buy you a drink and maybe you can tell me why you have a starfish on your belly button,” I said, and her eyes sparked in curiosity. I held her intrigued gaze for a beat.

Maybe work and women didn’t mix, but one night at a bar after a long-term hiatus? What harm could come from that?

I glanced at her stomach again, her hips, her waist, then looked back up to meet her gaze. “Since it’s ridiculously sexy.”

4

WEAK IN THE KNEES

Ruby

I’d had the piercing for so long I hardly ever thought about the sky-blue starfish belly ring. I ran my thumb across the sparkly surface. “I practically forgot I had this. Got it when I was sixteen.”

“Please tell me that was more than a few years ago,” he said playfully.

I rolled my eyes. “A lot more than a few years ago,” I said. More like sixteen years ago. But I didn’t want to give away too many personal details to a stranger. No matter how handsome he was, no matter how much I liked the crinkles at the corners of his green eyes, the stubble along his jawline, and the golden streaks in his brown hair. And his tattoos. His right arm sported a sleeve of ink in bold shades of orange, green, and blue, like tropical leaves, standing out against his fair but sun-kissed coloring.

“Well, you might have forgotten about it, but I could barely take my eyes off it,” he said, his deep voice low and sexy. Then he feigned seriousness. “I meant, while I was trying damn hard to be a perfect gentleman when you reached up to get the dart—I might have noticed the starfish.”

“Because it’s ridiculously sexy?” I asked, fishing for another compliment. They were unexpectedly…delicious.

“The starfish and its owner,” he answered.

I tingled all over from the remark. And maybe, too, from how it made me want to run a thumb along his sandpaper stubble, feel it brush against my chin, and mouth, and lips.

I gulped, then blinked, like a computer rebooting, as I tried to chase away the dirty thoughts racing through my head. I was here on this island for work—and a little recon. I’d stopped in The Pink Pelican to find my friend Kalila, who had tended bar last time I was here. But Kalila’s sister Maris manned the taps now, and I hadn’t even had a chance to ask her any questions—perhaps because Jake had distracted me from the moment I’d spotted him. He was still damned distracting. And I liked the way his compliments made me feel. Warm and a little fizzy. “Well, thank you for saying that.”

“My pleasure. And it is also a pleasure to meet you, Ariel,” he said, extending a hand to shake. I took it, liking the way it felt.

Don’t think about pulling him against you. Stop imagining what his body would feel like above you. No more staring at those full lips and wondering how they taste, and feel, and…

Fuck it.

“Jake’s a good name…” I didn’t let go of his hand. “For a hot guy a woman meets in a bar.”

He smiled, a little crooked, a bit cocky. All sexy. “Thank you. Ariel suits you too. For…similar reasons.”

That fizzy feeling intensified. “Seems we have a mutual admiration society at work here,” I said.

“It’s very, very mutual.”

When I finally let go of his grip, my gaze drifted to a white, raised mark on his forearm. “Cool scar. Is it new?”

He tapped his forearm. “A very recent acquisition. Unfortunately.”

“But does it have a cool story to go with it?”

He shot me a sly grin. “What do you think, Ariel?”

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