Page 10 of One Forbidden Night In Paradise (Hot Winter Escapes)

He leaned forward. ‘So what do you think of the “still vex’d Bermoothes”?’ She felt another jolt of surprise. Not many people had readThe Tempest, let alone could quote from it.

‘I think it’s beautiful,’ she said simply.

‘So can I tempt you into trying your hand at fishing?’ Chase said. His gaze was lazy and yet intent at the same time, like a cat watching a mousehole.

She felt her face grow warm. She had no doubt that there were any number of things Chase could tempt a woman into doing.

‘Maybe another time. What I really want to do is go diving.’

He raised an eyebrow. ‘You dive?’

His obvious astonishment made her eyes narrow. ‘Yes, I dive. Not snorkel. Dive.’ She pulled out her phone. ‘Here. That’s my PADI certification.’

‘Okay, okay.’ He held up his hands, laughing. ‘My bad. It’s just you don’t seem like an outdoorsy kind of a girl.’

‘That’s because I’m not a girl. I’m a woman with a PADI certificate for open water and enriched air. I just haven’t done it in a while. I’ve been busy with work.’ Not true. ‘Busy with life.’ Also not true.

He stared at her for a long moment and she held his gaze, her pulse jackhammering in her throat. How could a look make her feel like this? He hadn’t even touched her and yet there was something in his eyes that made her feel naked and exposed. She could feel it moving through her, not playfully or gently, but fiercely like lava.

Without warning, he shifted back in his seat and got to his feet and she felt a sharp nip of disappointment, pain almost. So that was that, then.

‘Dance with me.’

His words, somewhere between an order and an invitation, were so direct, so at odds with what she was expecting him to say that she stared at him in shock, her breath fluttering in her throat as he held out his hand again.

Back in England Holly and Ed both danced with a complete lack of self-consciousness that she admired but had never managed to emulate. But this wasn’t really dancing, she realised as he led her onto the dance floor and the shifting crowd swallowed them up. There was not enough room to dance. Instead, people were clutching each other, grinding rhythmically, their closely packed bodies radiating sweat and heat.

As Chase turned to face her, he leaned closer and she felt his warm breath against her ear. ‘Is this too much for you?’

Her stomach knotted fiercely. He was too much for her. Intoxicating like moonshine, she thought as the lights caught the curve of his cheekbone.

Reaching up, she curled her arms around his neck. ‘It’s not enough,’ she said, and his pupils flared and he moved nearer, his hands gripping her waist, anchoring her to him so that she could feel every detail of his body, feel the heat of his skin, the flex of his fingers. Mouth dry, she stared up at him, feeling the air leave her body. She had danced with other men but she had never looked so closely into their eyes, so intently, so intimately. It was fascinating and terrifying in equal measure and she was suddenly desperate to feel his mouth on hers.

They stayed like that for a long time. Finally, the music started to slow and she felt him draw back. ‘Let’s get some air.’

Outside, the moon was high and silvery in the sky and the cool air made her head and senses swim. It was Chase who broke the silence. ‘I’ll get Aliana to call you a taxi to take you back to your hotel.’

That was a good idea. Very sensible, she thought. Except she didn’t want to be sensible.

You can be anyone you want.

That was what Holly had said, and for one night only she wanted to be wild and passionate and demanding. She wanted to throw caution to the wind. Only if she left now, if she walked away from this beautiful, sexy stranger, she would be just Jemima. Sensible, sedate, sober. Stuck in a rut of failed relationships.

But she didn’t want a relationship with this man, she thought dazedly. She wanted sex. Just sweet, mindless sex. Sex without any ties or burdens, without explanations or any kind of data sharing.

Sex. The word fizzed on her tongue. Sex with Chase. Her heart was hammering in her ears. And why not just sex? Nick might have trampled on her heart but she still had a heartbeat and she wanted it to pound tonight.

She cleared her throat. ‘Is that what you want?’

He flexed the fingers of his right hand. For a split second she saw his profile dark against the sky. ‘I want what you want.’

‘And what do I want?’ she said huskily.

His green eyes were almost black in the darkness, and he wasn’t smiling. A finger of anticipation and excitement tiptoed down her neck.

‘I don’t want to put words in your mouth. You have to say it,’ he said, the roughness in his voice scraping against her skin. ‘You have to make it clear what you want.’

For a moment, neither of them spoke. The music was reverberating through her body. She could feel it low in her belly, joining a different, heavier pulse that was impossible to ignore.

---