last name and our room number.”
“Why? What if he were some ax murderer?”
Chelsea pursed her lips. “Apparently, I made the right choice.”
“Yes,” I whispered. “Thank you.”
“So will you see him again?”
“I want to,” I confessed. “I’m more attracted to him than I’ve been to anyone…” I hesitated. “…ever.”
“Haven’t you noticed that this place is crawling with good-looking, rich men? I met this guy last night. Dan. Don. Ron.” She closed her eyes. Just before I thought she’d fallen asleep, her eyes popped open. “Jon. That was his name. Don’t worry about me. I think we’ll both be fine.”
“Jon? Jon who?” I asked, concerned.
“Nox who?” she replied.
“Touché.”
Yes. Who the hell was I to judge her and Jon, Ron, or Don? I wasn’t any better.
THE SUN CONTINUED to rise in the east and set each night beautifully in the west. With each passing day, Alex’s career goals and Alexandria’s ghosts slipped further and further away, evaporating into Charli. Between days with Chelsea and days and nights with Nox, there was nothing I’d ever enjoyed more.
While Chelsea and I spent time together at the pool or in our suite, I admitted my growing feelings for Nox, the ones I didn’t want to face. I didn’t want to admit the way my heart beat faster when I was around him or the way things that he did or said made me feel special, because with each tick of the clock, our time together waned. If our vacation were an hourglass, the bottom had more sand than the top, and I knew I couldn’t turn it over.
“Girl,” Chelsea said one morning as we were putting on our normal breakfast-by-the-pool attire—bathing suits, cover-ups, and flip-flops. “Don’t overthink it. That’s the beauty of it. No commitment. Besides…” She wiggled her eyebrows. “…don’t you think the non-committed sex is steamier?”
I shrugged as I threw the sunscreen in my beach bag and looked for my Kindle.
She reached for my shoulder and spun me toward her. “What?! You haven’t done the dirty deed with Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome?”
“It’s only been three days.”
“Which means there are only two more nights left. Jeez, I’ve seen the way he looks at you. That poor man must be suffering a serious case of blue balls.” Her voice lowered. “Are they blue?”
I hadn’t seen them, so I couldn’t answer indisputably, but I’d been close to them and their impressive third wheel, with only the material of his slacks, jeans, or bathing trunks in between. I’d even rubbed my hand over him and felt his size and power trapped behind the clothes. I’d also had that same restrained power against my body, pushing against the small of my back, my tummy, and thigh. I’d been with him in the private pool on the balcony of the presidential suite with warm, glowing water surrounding us as my legs wrapped around his torso and arms around his neck. It wasn’t that I was being a tease. We’d been almost there.
He’d caressed my breasts and even sucked my nipples. The mere thought of his lips against my skin caused them to harden. I’d unashamedly arched my back and allowed him access. More than that, I’d wanted more.
I wasn’t sure how to explain it, to Chelsea or to me. I was different here in Del Mar than I’d ever been. The way Nox’s body reacted to mine didn’t scare me. For the first time I could remember, despite our obvious difference in size and strength, his hunger empowered me. He made me see that it was me who affected him. I had the ability to arouse this powerful man with the deep velvet voice. When my small hand rubbed against him, I was the cause of the guttural growl. The way it rumbled from the back of his throat sent shivers down my spine. With his chin in the nape of my neck, it sounded like a predatory lion.
When I wasn’t with him, I wondered what it would be like to have someone like Nox in my life—my real life.
Could Alex do it? I didn’t know the answer.
Nox and I had both made a conscious effort to limit the information we shared. We worked to stay away from our backstories and agreed to live in the here and now. I’m not sure which one of us laid down that rule, but we were both following it.
That didn’t mean I hadn’t gleaned a little personal information here and there. From what I’d picked up, Nox hadn’t been with one singular person for a