cars here.”
It was good to know she’d done some research. He happened to know what Kyle had left her was on the thin side, but then his brother hadn’t taken this all that seriously. He’d thought their mom was overreacting, too. “There aren’t, but there are a few buses and some all-terrain vehicles. There are several scientific teams studying the wildlife on the island, and they’re allowed to use Jeeps. We’ll hop on one of the buses and then we’ll have to walk about half a mile from the stop to the villa.”
It was a nice time of year to be out here. He’d intended to make that walk by himself, to take in everything Montez must have seen and heard on that first trip to the place that would eventually be his home.
Now he was pretty sure all he would be able to think about was Tessa. “Of course, I can also radio him from the boat and ask him to send a car out.”
She probably didn’t want to sit on a minibus and then walk through the jungle.
A single brow arched, and she stood up suddenly. Her shoulders squared as though she was about to perform a task she’d had to build herself up to. “I think I can handle it, Professor, but we should talk about something else. Something that might help us both, but you have to promise me if you choose to tell me no, you’ll still remember that I’m in charge when it comes to the business stuff.”
His gut tightened because she looked so serious. He thought they’d handled all of this. “What is it?”
“I’ve given this some thought and I’ve come to one conclusion,” she said evenly. “I think we should throw down.”
“Throw what down?” She couldn’t be talking about what he thought she was talking about. She wasn’t standing there looking totally professional and suggesting that they have sex.
“Throw down, as in get nasty, do the deed.” She nodded as though confirming to herself that this was the way to go. “I think we should fuck and probably soon because I need my mind on the job, and you need to concentrate on your work. I thought at first that you didn’t care about the whole I-never-called-you-back thing.”
“You weren’t the first woman to not call me back.” She wouldn’t be the last either. Probably.
Or he could be optimistic for once. He wasn’t some shrinking violet when it came to sex. It was often his stealth weapon. Women saw him as an intellectual, and he was. But there was another side to him, the side that had spent months studying in one of Dallas’s most exclusive BDSM clubs. Not the one his mom went to. Yep. Even thinking the words made the world a less sexy place.
“But I am the one who’s been on your mind all day.” Tessa brought sexy back real fast as she moved closer to him, and he wasn’t thinking about the fact that he’d trained at The Club instead of Sanctum. He would bet Tessa went to Sanctum. “I’m the one who’s got you closing those books you should have been studying. Tell me I’m wrong.”
He couldn’t. “I’ve been thinking about you for weeks.”
She let out a breath, and her shoulders relaxed. “And you’re the one I can’t get out of my head. I think we go all in sexually tonight and get it out of our systems. Then you’ll be able to write your book, and I’ll be able to take out the bad guys. If there are any bad guys.”
He did not hate this plan. When he looked at it intellectually it was a good plan. It was logical and practical since they were only spending a couple of nights at the mansion where there would be nice beds and they wouldn’t have to fuck in a tent. The only thing he hated about it was her utter conviction that one night would be enough.
So show her it’s not. Study her like you studied for your freaking GRE and give her something to be distracted by—your talented dick.
Sometimes his inner voice reminded him he’d been around Taggarts for a long time. “Let me see if I have this straight. You think we spend one night in bed and then we’ll be able to forget the chemistry between us?”
“I think we’ll be getting rid of the tension between us,” she corrected. “I think we made a weird connection that night we met. I don’t know what it