Page 24 of Booked for Summer

‘Do you like reading?’

Christ, she was talking about books and he was torn between wanting to fuck her again, and jumping out of bed to put as much distance between them as possible so he couldthink. ‘Not unless it’s a contract.’

The warmth of her laughter caressed his skin, and he hardened further as her fingers circled his nipples. ‘Oh, my God, that’s so sad. Reading is the best. Why don’t you let me find you a book? What are you into? Thrillers, action, autobiographies, travel…’

Dimly he was aware of her talking, but his mind was at war. Her breasts were cushioned against his side, her leg thrown over his, her fingers teasing the hairs on his abdomen, dipping lower…

I trust you. Enough to know you won’t take advantage of me.

Fuck, this was wrong, wasn’t it?

He groaned as her fingers curled around his girth, lust beginning to drown out all reason. The purchase hadn’t legally been completed yet. It could still fall through. And besides, he’d be compensating her. She wouldn’t lose out on her three months on the island. She could spend the time ticking off her tourist to-do list and reading all those damn books she loved so much. Hell, he’d let her raid the shop before he knocked it down. Take any of the books she wanted.

Automatically his hips shifted, pushing into her hand.

More laughter. ‘Why do I get the feeling you’re not listening to me?’

‘If you want a conversation you need to take your hand off my dick.’

She smiled up at him, giving him a sultry look. ‘Do you want me to?’

Mussed blonde hair, big blue eyes, large, naked breasts with rose-pink nipples puckered and begging for his tongue. She was the ultimate male fantasy.

You should use the balls she’s stroking and tell her who you are, what you have planned. Give her the opportunity to decide if she still wants you.

But lust fired through his body, frying his brain. All he could think was how hard he was, how much he ached to bury himself inside her again. He was strong when it came to negotiating business deals, but pitifully weak when it came to resisting women he was fiercely attracted to. He’d paid the price for that weakness, had it shoved in his face, been ridiculed for it, yet Jade made him want to throw aside his common sense.

It’s just sex, just a hook-up.They both knew that, so it didn’t matter what happened tomorrow, did it?

‘What I want,’ he said gruffly. ‘Is for you to sit on me and ride me until we both come.’

* * *

It was one in the morning and he was sitting on the aft deck, trawling through his emails. Sex had wiped him out for a good few hours but now his mind was alert, something he was well used to. The only time he’d slept through the night since boarding school was the night before, with Jade. He put it down to extreme exhaustion.

His eyes homed in on an email from his lawyer.

The funds had transferred. The wharf was now his.

He waited for the pulse of satisfaction, but all he felt was a wave of guilt. He should have told Jade who he was. Next time they met was going to be awkward as fuck. Casting an eye over another email, this one from Flo, he read that she was going to see the bookstore manager tomorrow morning to tell her in person and wanted him to come along to hand over.

What Flo didn’t say, but heavily implied, was she was going to make it clear to Jade that he was expected to honour their contract.

The guilt settled like a lead weight in his stomach.You’re going to pay her. She’ll be able to stay on the resort.Yeah, he was worrying over nothing. Chances are she’d actually be pleased to hear she had three months to enjoy the island without the hassle of running a damn bookstore.

Ten-year-old me dreamt of living in a castle made of books.

Shit.

At the sound of footsteps, he jerked his head up. Jade walked towards him, her clothes back on, her blonde hair flowing wildly around her shoulders. ‘I, um, thought I should head off.’

His body reacted to the sight of her, but now his mind was in control.Too fucking late. ‘I’ll walk you back.’

‘Er, if you’re worried I’ll get lost, I can see the shop from here.’

‘It’s not a matter of getting lost.’ He rose to his feet, closing the laptop, his grandma’s voice echoing in his ear.You treat women with respect,even if they sometimes haven’t given you the same courtesy. ‘It’s manners.’

The walk back along the wharf was quiet. He was all too aware of the unevenness of the current situation, yet now wasn’t the time to confess who he was. Not in the moonlight, when his body still hummed from the sex they’d just enjoyed and their clothes were wrinkled from being discarded on the cabin floor.

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