touch base with the resort’s catering staff before we leave.
Xavier curves his arm around my shoulders, I wrap mine at his waist, and we meander back down the main road toward my boat.
“You’ve gone above and beyond,” I tell him.
“Always happy to mess with the mind of a jackass.”
“You sure had your share of female admirers tonight. All ages too. I love the way you can talk to anybody. You know you can bail on these events anytime you want, right?”
He doesn’t answer, and when I look up at him, his gaze is distant. “And what if I don’t want to bail?”
I get the idea we’re not talking about the same thing, but I can’t address his topic, so I shrug. “Then you stay. You’re always welcome. You know that.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Bingo.
We reach the dock, and his hand slides down my back, then he wraps his fingers around mine as we continue toward the boat. I’m still considering the “What if I don’t want to bail?” question when we arrive at my door.
“I wish I could explain how much your friendship means to me,” I tell him.
He steps close and frames my face with his hands. I realize this intimate proximity has become comfortable. After only a little over twenty-four hours, I’ve gone from having all my barriers up to not being able to find them at all.
“Am I ever going to make it out of the friend zone?” he asks.
My chest squeezes. “I hate the way friend zone sounds. Some friendships are so much more than others. There’s not always a way to describe the nuances in friendship. I care about you. I look forward to seeing you. I love our time together—”
He lowers his head and presses his mouth to mine. The action isn’t exactly shocking anymore, but there is still definite surprise, especially after the intensity of our kiss earlier in the evening. When I don’t pull away, the kiss turns sultry and seductive. Oh, so seductive. I love the feel of his mouth as much as the way he uses it.
“What about this?” he murmurs. “Do you love the way I kiss you?”
Without waiting for an answer, he teases me deeper, little by little, drawing me in, making me want more. The way his lips move against mine creates sensation after sensation that drift through my body and haze my brain. I can’t think. I can’t stop. His hands slide down my back. His arms wrap around my body and pull me against him. He’s a big guy, well over six feet, with a ton of muscle mass, and I feel so small in his arms.
My heart is pounding, and I can’t catch my breath. I swear every inch of my body is on fire.
He breaks the kiss and lifts me off my feet like I weigh nothing.
“Z?” I say, unsure what’s happening.
With one arm around my waist, the other hand slides down my thigh, under my skirt and hooks behind my knee. He pulls my leg to his hip, and to balance myself, I do the same with the other.
He presses me back against the wall of the houseboat, then leans into me. There’s no mistaking the hard length of him pressed against the softest part of me. Lust springs through me like a geyser.
“Do you love the way I feel against you?” he asks, even as his hips make an erotically charged gesture.
Then both his hands are under my skirt, sliding along the backs of my thighs, taking my ass in both hands. And, Jesus, the way he moves makes me see stars. “Do you love the way I touch you?”
We need to stop. I need to stop. If we don’t, I’m going to have a very unexpected response to all this. A response I haven’t had in well over a year. My body doesn’t even remember this kind of passion. But then maybe that’s because I never had it with Bodhi.
Xavier kisses a path across my jaw and down my neck. His soft growl vibrates against my skin.
“Z?” My hands are in his hair. How did that happen? “Xavier?”
He lifts his head and meets my gaze with something I could only describe as devilish lust. “Do you?”
I don’t understand. I can’t keep one thought straight. “What?”
His gaze lowers to my mouth again. “Love it.”
I squeeze my eyes shut and give my head a shake. “I can’t think.”
His grin is fast and hot. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“You also need to