Page 127 of Summer with the Single Dad

She glared at him.

“What’s wrong?”

“Did you do this on purpose last night?” she yanked down the collar of her long-sleeve running shirt to show him his handy work.

He snorted. “What answer will get me the least in trouble?”

She squinted at him. “I don’t … know.”

Chuckling, he grabbed her by the hand and hauled her out onto the gravel. “Come on. Let’s burn off all that steam coming out of your ears. Would it help if I said you could do it to me?”

They walked toward the security gate. “No.”

He shrugged. “Well, I tried.”

“I am going to the spa with Brooke tomorrow. People are going to see the marks.”

“So?”

“So, people are going to know that—”

“You have sex? I think they all probably assume you do already. You are a thirty-five-year-old hottie.”

He held the man-door open for her and she stepped through, then he locked it again and they started to trot down the hill.

“Just because people assume I’m having sex doesn’t mean I want it verified.”

He rolled his eyes. “I think you’re making a bigger deal of this than it is.”

Then it hit her. Like a lightning strike. She stopped in her tracks. “You did do it on purpose.”

A guilty look creased his face, and he refused to look at her. He remained focused straight ahead and continued to walk, so she had to walk too, to keep up with him. She playfully smacked his bicep. It was like a rock beneath the back of her hand.

They reached the base of the hill and started to run. “You did, didn’t you?”

He huffed, but kept running. “Look,” he glanced at her, but then faced forward again, “there’s a chance you may run in to your ex. The property isn’t that big, and you absolutely shouldn’t have to hide away up here for five days.”

“So you marked me to show him that I’m yours?” A strange thrill whipped through her. She should be mad, but she wasn’t. And she even tried to be upset, but it was impossible. Instead, an astronomically big smile spread across her face.

Bennett belted out a laugh. “Ha! You big faker. You love my marks of possession. You’re just pretending to be outraged. I hope that’s all you fake.”

She shook her head, still smiling, and faced forward. “Well, no more. Okay? I look like a leper.”

“Oh, there will be more. I’ll just leave them in places only I can see.” Then he grabbed her hand and pulled her tight against his chest, forcing them to stop in the middle of the empty road, and he kissed her silly.

She was too happy, too caught up with this man, this island, and this new side of herself that all she could do was wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him back.

Eventually, they came up for air, both of them grinning like idiots.

“I actually do need this run,” she said.

“Then let’s run.” They set off once again at a steady lope, pushing each other to go just a little faster, and a little further, until they decided to sprint the last two hundred meters. When they reached the base of the hill back on the property, their chests heaved and sweat poured down the sides of their faces. Both had removed their long-sleeve shirts mid-way through the run when the sky grew lighter and the day warmer, tying them around their waists. But even then, with her bare arms exposed to the cooler morning air, Justine’s body was on fire.

“I wish you could come into the house and we could have a sexy shower,” he said as they climbed the hill back up to the security gate.

“You could come shower with me in the trailer.”

“That’s like an airplane bathroom. I’m not sure we’d both fit.”

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