He blinked, his arms tensed. “No.”

“Because that’s your problem, you know. You’re bored. You’re empty. All you do is work. You surround yourself with every costly toy imaginable and keep people at a distance. Does anyone love you? Do you love anyone?”

I don’t know if it was my imagination, but he seemed to grow a shade paler. He shifted his weight and ran a hand through his dark hair. But I turned and ran back to my room. I didn’t want to do this anymore.

He caught me just outside the door to my room, wrapped his hand around my upper arm and pulled me around to face him.

His mouth found mine and though I was still angry, I let him kiss me. His arms came around me and pulled me tight against him. When we came apart, his breath was harsh and his voice was dark, husky. “One more night, Emilia.”

I said nothing, looking into his eyes. I put my hands up to push away from him and he tightened his grip on my waist. “Please.”

I took a deep breath. “I need something—some kind of—We can’t just keep doing this.”

He tipped his head down to rest his forehead against mine. His eyes squeezed tight and then opened again. My throat tightened at the determination in his eyes. “One more night. I’ll transfer half the money to you on Monday.”

I shivered. When I spoke, it was with a shaky voice. “Okay…” I hesitated. “If you still want me.”

He slowly released me, stepping back. He took a deep breath, his right hand closing into a fist. “Were you in any doubt until I stopped it?”

I shook my head.

“Then don’t allow yourself to think otherwise. I want you. Very much.”

My heart thudded in my throat. He wanted me—for one night. And then what? For the first time since entering into this entire sordid scheme, I was beginning to think I’d made a very, very bad decision. With my strict rules, my frenzied grasps at control, I’d boxed myself into an impossible situation, because my feelings for him were starting to grow too big for just one night. Just one more night.

He stepped forward to land a chaste kiss on my cheek. “Good night.” Then he turned down the hallway and disappeared into his quarters.

It hurt to breathe. And exhausted, I dropped onto my bed, curled into a ball and slept.

***

The next morning, when I woke, we were safely docked at the slip on Bay Island, nestled against Adam’s house. We had a brief, understated breakfast sitting in his kitchen, snacking on fresh fruit and warm crepes prepared by Chef.

He glanced at me several times but I remained mostly quiet, still feeling awkward and completely in the dark about what had happened between us the night before.

“Do you have plans for later?” he finally said.

I shrugged. “Apparently I’m at your disposal.”

“No, I mean for dinner. Just dinner.”

“Tonight?”

I thought for a moment. I didn’t have to be back at work until tomorrow’s late shift. I hadn’t had a chance to call Heath back, but I could take care of that this afternoon.

“I have to work on my blog posts for the week.”

“It’s just for a few hours.”

I sighed. “Not if I have to spend an hour or two getting ready.”

“Oh, no, it’s not that kind of dinner. It’s a family thing at my uncle’s house. Barbecue.” I shot a glance at him out of the corners of my eyes. A family thing? Had I heard that right? Suddenly that old beast, curiosity, seized me by the throat and wouldn’t let go.

“Okay.”

He drove me home and, as always, walked me to the door, carrying my bag. I entered and noticed a sudden movement near my couch. Startled, I screamed.

Adam darted inside past me, pushing me behind him.

“What the—” Heath jerked up from the couch to a standing position. “Fuck. Way to scare the shit out of me.”

I breathed a huge sigh of relief and then started laughing. “Heath, what are you doing here?”

“You vanished. I came over here to try to track you down.”

Heath and Adam exchanged manly nods of greeting. “Drake.”

“Bowman.”

Heath turned back to me with the strangest look on his face. “You been gone all weekend?”

I glanced at Adam, “More or less.”

“Ah. Okay.”

Adam shifted, obviously sensing the awkward moment. “I’ll get going, then.” He turned and landed a kiss on my cheek, handing me my bag. “See you at six.”

Heath stared at the door with narrowed eyes and an open mouth for almost a minute after Adam shut the door.