Dear God!
"Oh look, we're stopping."
Christian glanced around to see that they had pulled up beside a line of outdoor stands offering island jewelry and the like. Everyone on the bus began to stand to disembark, but when Carolyn did, he frowned.
"You should wait here. Your blood sugar-"
"I'm good now, the juice and chocolate did wonders," she assured him scrambling past his legs to get out.
Christian reached to stop her, but paused as her behind was suddenly in his face.
"Damn," he breathed and nearly grabbed the two round cheeks in front of him, but then she was past and moving eagerly up the aisle behind the others.
Giving his head a shake, Christian stood to follow, knowing it was a mistake even as he did it. He'd been in such a rush to get down to the boat that morning that he hadn't thought to feed, let alone to down several extra bags to make up for the exposure to sunlight. The last thing he needed was to be out in the sun, but he couldn't leave Carolyn on her own. Her physical symptoms had been worrying enough, but when he'd sniffed her wrist the scent of her blood had been telling. Captain Jack had been right. She'd been bottoming out with low blood sugar.
Mouth tightening, Christian plunged out into the sunlight to follow Carolyn toward the first stall as everyone spread out to look at the offered wares. He followed her silently from stall to stall, his eyes moving warily from her happy face to the sun and back.
"Oh, look, Christian, this one's lovely."
Pausing behind Carolyn, Christian gazed over her shoulder to the necklace she'd picked up. It was made up of rows of small polished black stones separated by tiny silver beads.
"What do you think?" she asked.
"Nice," he murmured, imagining it against her na**d skin.
"I'll take it," Carolyn said to the woman and then picked up one that had a handful of pink stones among the black and said, "This as well."
Much to his relief their guide called a halt to the shopping trip then and everyone piled back on the bus.
Christian settled into his seat with a little sigh as the bus started to move again. The guide immediately began talking about the drive-in volcano where they would stop next, but his attention shifted to Carolyn as she suddenly pressed the black and silver necklace into his hand.
"Here, hold this."
Christian automatically closed his fingers around the necklace and watched her undo the clasp on the one with the pink stones and put it on. She tipped her head down, trying to see it, but then shrugged and reached for the necklace he held. He gave it up at once, eyebrows rising when she began to undo its clasp as well.
"Are you going to wear both of them?" he asked with amusement.
"Nope," Carolyn said cheerfully, then shifted to kneel on the bench seat beside him and reached up to place the black and silver necklace around his neck.
Christian froze as she leaned forward to see around his neck to do up the clasp, his entire body suddenly wide awake and alert as she inadvertently pressed against him.
She'd wondered what was wrong with her perfume earlier.
The answer was not a damned thing. It was spicy wildflowers and intoxicating as hell. He had to ball his fingers into fists and physically fight the urge to slip his arms around her, draw her even closer and bury his face in her neck just to inhale it more deeply.
"There," she said, pulling back to look at his throat.
Christian stared at her as she peered at his neck. At first he thought that she was completely unaffected by the closeness that had nearly laid waste to his own self-control, but then he noted that the color was high in her cheeks. She was also avoiding his eyes and her smile seemed a bit forced. And her heart was racing again. He could hear it, but it wasn't from a drop in blood sugar this time, he was sure of it.
"It's perfect," Carolyn pronounced.
"Thank you." The words were a bare growl as he watched her settle back on her side of the seat. "I'll give it back when we return to the resort."
"You will not," she said at once, scowling. "I bought it for you. It matches your eyes. Besides, as Brent always says, you need pretty baubles to attract the male of the species.
Maybe you'll catch Captain Jack's eye on the way back."
Christian grimaced.