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Lochlan shoots me a look so quick and shuttered, I almost miss it. “Always.”
He happily takes the offered dessert menu. “Want to share the chocolate lava cake?” he asks, knowing I never go to bed without dessert.
“No.” I turn to the waiter. “I would like my own.”
“Good choice.” He laughs. “So, two lava cakes. Anything else?”
“That’s it, thank you.” I hand back the menu, and he leaves with our order.
“No meal’s complete without something sweet.” Lochlan leans forward and traces his molars with his tongue, a hungry glint in his eyes that makes my stomach rock. “Don’t you think, réalta?”
“And two whiskies, neat,” I holler after the server, who acknowledges me with a curt nod.
“Those both for you?” Lochlan chuckles hoarsely and settles back into his chair, tilting his head to the side curiously. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re nervous.” And goddammit, he’s right.
Why isn’t he making a crass joke or hitting on one of the passing servers? Why is he looking at me like he’s waiting for something I don’t know about to happen? Like he’s in on a secret I’m not privy to.
I try to match his unaffected position, crossing my legs and arms. “Good thing you know better.”
________
We could take a shorter route back to our villa after dinner, but Lochlan suggests we detour to the beach, taking the boardwalk that weaves through the tropical foliage. I think some more fresh air before being in an enclosed space with him is a good idea. Give me time to sober up and come to my senses.
My head buzzes from the alcohol along with this foreign, suffocating energy cackling between us.
I kick off my heels as we reach the sand and Lochlan immediately picks them up, carrying them for me along with his own shoes. It’s a small gesture but still makes my blood warm . . . or maybe that’s the extra glass of whiskey.
The moon hangs heavy and brilliant in the sky, making the onyx ocean water look like chrome under its reflection. The cabanas that were filled during the day are lining the shore, their white and blue striped curtains now drawn closed.
“Can you believe that moon?” I ask in a flustered attempt to distract myself before we have a repeat of my birthday. I’m not the kind of person to get flustered. I’ve always been the person who puts out metaphoric fires and stays calm when chaos breaks out. It’s as if I got on the plane with my head on straight and got off with none of my wits. And I don’t understand why. This is far from the first time Lochlan and I have been alone in the past five months, and yet the potential of what could happen these next two weeks makes my head rush and my nerves light.
“I feel like I could reach out and touch it.” Maybe coming down to the beach at night wasn’t a great idea after this many drinks. I continue to ramble with no particular point. “I always find it hard to believe the moon affects the tide. I mean, a clump of rock thousands and thousands of miles away can control something as big and strong as the ocean? But when it looks like this, I’d believe it can control anything. You think I can get another order of that lava cake delivered to our villa? I could put down ten more of those—Loch?”
When I realize he’s not beside me, I spin around. He reaches behind his head and tugs his shirt off with one hand. “What are you doing?”
“Swimming.”
I watch him unbuckle his belt. The clink of metal blends with the sounds of gently crashing waves. He meets my gaze, and I can’t deny the devious intention staring back. I swallow the lump in my throat telling me to run. Or to stay. I can’t tell. “Care to join?”
“Why would I want to see your white, pasty ass?”
“You didn’t seem to mind the eyeful this morning,” he teases.
“Not like I had much choice. Plus, I took off my suit for dinner.” My dress whips around my calves as I spin in the sand, walking away fast.
“I dare you.” His voice, firm yet playful, carries in the wind.
I look over my shoulder with narrowed eyes. “You dare me? What are we, five?”
He smirks, his tongue wetting his bottom lip.
One hand wraps around the leather of his belt as I face him. He takes a step closer for every loop he pulls it through, until I can see the smolder in his eyes. He lets the belt fall to the sand with a soft clink of metal.
“Your turn,” he taunts.
“I’m not skinny dipping because you dared me.”
“A Capricorn turning down a challenge?” His lip quirks in a knowing half-smile. The bastard.
