“You’re not going anywhere.”
I’ll give him credit for persistence. I laugh, but it’s because he thinks he could stop me. “If she wants to come with me, she will. Her decision, not yours.”
His eyes flair. I smile and move closer so only he can hear my next statement. “She’ll be screaming my name before midnight. In fact, I give her”—I pull back to look at my watch—“an hour before her first cry for more.”
Rage enters his eyes, like Daffy Duck, and he starts sputtering like him too.
Pinching my side, Faith whispers in my ear, “Don’t antagonize him.” In a louder voice she says, “We’re leaving Derrick.”
Taking my hand she moves, tugging for me to follow.
“Harper, you don’t want to do this,” he says, grabbing for her. My fist itches to make contact with his face.
“You don’t know what I want. Just leave me alone.”
I like that even better. “Sounds like a great plan.” Using my shoulder, I push around him.
A solid grip on my arm has me rounding on him quickly. I won’t instigate, but I won’t back down either.
Nose to nose, I back him up a good foot. I’m not immune to half the bar watching this go down, so I make it short and sweet. “Listen, this is easy. She’s not into you, and from the looks of it I can see why.” This guy is a douche. “Keep your hands off, and your eyes too.”
“Or, what? You’re just passing through. When you’re gone I'll be here to pick up the pieces. Odds are in my favor.”
A low growl spreads clear and loud from my chest, I bend down, ready to bite and chew his ass out. Faith doesn’t give me time to answer.
Faith
“That’s enough, Cowboy. Let’s call it a night,” I say into Kyle’s ear, my hands wrapped in his T-shirt to hold him back. Glaring at Derrick, I pull Kyle from the bar, walking backward until we hit the door. He may or may not have growled at Derrick, which makes me laugh. When he finally turns, his devilish smirk softens his features but not his eyes. They’re still dark and dangerous.
“You didn’t tell me I’d have to fight off your ex-boyfriends.”
I shake my head. “Not an ex; I have better sense than that. Derrick’s a dick. He’s been trying to get in my pants for two years. The moment I showed up on the island he tried to stake a claim, and I’ve fought him ever since.” Kyle lunges toward him again, and I realize my explanation is the opposite of calming. I yank him back. My hands tense in his shirt until we’re well outside of the door, not allowing him to return and kick Derrick’s ass. No matter how fun it would be to watch.
When I landed my job at the Tiki Hut, Derrick was my first customer and my first proposition. He was beyond creepy. After every no he'd send me flowers or pop in for his version of sweet-talk. Just the thought of it has my stomach lurch. He's revolting, and he won't take no for an answer.
“What do you mean, stake a claim? Has he tried anything, Faith? So help me I will . . .”
“Calm down,” I say, running my hands over his chest. It’s hard. Tight muscles ripple under my fingers. Through the T-shirt his nipples harden, and my pulse quickens from his reaction to my touch. His willingness to defend my honor just lays on the sexy. He knows his way to a girl’s heart, or, into her pants. I have to suppress my groan turned giggle at the thought.
It’s so true. Kyle’s fun, easy to be with, and beyond gorgeous. Sex with him is sure to be insanely good.
“Don’t worry about Derrick, he’s annoying but harmless. No need for you to use your toy guns to punish him.”
“Toy guns. Give me some credit. One minute with him and my fist and he'll never try anything again. Just give me the word.”
He means it, too—his hard tone a confirmation of that. I won’t ruin what’s left of our time reminiscing over someone so creepy, so I try for distraction. “Want to swim with me?”
His eyes change from hot anger to warm wanting in a heartbeat, and it makes me laugh. “You’re so easily distracted.”
“You in a bikini—what else could a man want?” He smirks until his eyes deepen even more. “Well, that’s unless we’re talking skinny-dipping. Faith naked is my best wet dream.”
I swat his arm. “There’s a private beach not too far from my apartment. We can swim there. Come on, Cowboy.”
Chuckling, his fingers grasp mine tighter as he follows. The moon is out, shining bright in a cloudless sky, yet when we arrive the wind rolling in from the water has picked up. The air cools, and my nipples point north like a damn barometer. Kyle’s arm is around my shoulder a second later, pulling me into his side to cover as much of my bare skin as possible. It’s . . . nice. I close my eyes on a deep inhale. I’m not used to nice or warm or male. I know a lot about alone and contemplative, thinking about the past and what should have been. A shiver runs down my spine, but it’s not from the chilled air. Forget about it, Faith. This is not the time.
I turn, melting into his perfect fit. “Lay with me?” I ask, nodding toward the white sand.
“That’s what I’m talking about.” He smirks and stretches out first, reaching to settle me into the crook of his shoulder. Protected. It’s something I haven’t felt in a long time, and I’m thankful for it. Thankful he came into my life, if only for tonight. I like the constant flush vibrating under my skin, the humming energy that amplifies my pulse. It’s the feeling right before your favorite band hops on stage when you’re in the front row—excited to be so close and on the verge of something special. It’s one night no one can take away from you, and the memories live on for a lifetime.
The sky is a deep navy blue, with hints of purple gracing the horizon line where the sun fell. Stars are plentiful and bright, layering the atmosphere with a sense of timelessness. For a while we look for and find the constellations, with him telling tales of Cassiopeia and her King, Cepheus.
“How do you know so much about the stars?”
He shrugs. “My granddad. We’d spend hours looking at the night sky and he’d tell me all about them. He said everyone’s life was written in the stars—you just had to find your path and take it. Your dreams, whatever they are, whatever you’ve searched for, would meet you at the end.”
After a minute I ask, “Kyle?” His crooked smile fades when we connect. “Have you found what you’re looking for?”
He brushes his lips against mine, a light touch resonating throughout my entire body. “I’ve spent the first thirty-two years of my life focused on my career. Nothing mattered other than getting where I wanted to go. Now, I’m there. I didn’t realize how lonely it was until I saw you standing behind the bar, shaking your ass to the music and the blender. It hit me out of nowhere. I don’t want to walk through this life alone.”
Swallowing, I wait, unsure what to say. More than a little bit of fear creeps in. Fear of more than surface contact. Don’t change the stakes, Kyle.
“Was that too cheesy?”
“Nacho cheese,” I say as I pop up to straddle his waist. This is headed in the wrong direction, and I’m about to steer it back to basics. “Let me put it this way. I spent a long time running around what I thought would be the rest of my life. That didn’t work out as planned.” I drag my hands along the coiled muscles beneath me. “Love is fickle. You can have it one minute, and it’s gone forever in the next.”
He sits up. Grabbing my hands, they’re pinned behind my back and we’re left mouth to mouth. “You can only run for so long. Are you tired of running, Faith?”
We just stare and breathe and drink in the moment, until I have to ask again, “How do you know my name?”
His breath washes over me like a drug. I want him in me and I’m not sure what I’ll do when he’s gone.