“Damn it, Remy!” she screeched, staring wildly at him as her heart pounded against her ribs. “You scared the shit out of me!”
“Sorry.” One corner of his mouth quirked upward. “I was trying not to scare you, which is why I called your name first.”
“Well, it didn’t work,” Zandra snapped.
“Apparently not.”
As Remy stepped closer to her, the heat of his body invaded hers, sending electric currents through her blood and raising the fine hairs on her skin. Her body had been calling out for him ever since she’d abruptly ended their dance, which had been nothing more than a prelude to seduction. She’d known it, and so had he.
She pulled in a shaky breath and tucked her windblown hair behind one ear as Remy watched her quietly. “How long have you been following me?”
“Long enough to wonder how much farther you plan to walk. Or haven’t you noticed that you’ve gone pretty far from the hotel?”
Zandra glanced down the beach, surprised to see that he was right. She shrugged nonchalantly. “What’s your point?”
“My point,” he drawled wryly, “is that it’s not safe for you to go wandering off alone at night on a strange island. You should stay closer to the hotel where it’s well lit.”
Zandra heaved an exasperated sigh. “Yes, Daddy.”
Remy chuckled, the sound drifting through the moonlit darkness like tendrils of smoke. “Mock all you want, but you know I’m right.”
She rolled her eyes. “What I know, Remy, is that you see danger lurking in every shadow.”
“Not every shadow.” He sounded faintly amused. “More than enough, though.”
Zandra shook her head, turning to watch as white-capped waves danced close to the shore, as if beckoning them to wade in and frolic.
“I thought you were going to the club with the others,” she said.
“I was,” Remy murmured.
“So what happened?”
“I changed my mind.”
Zandra looked at him. “Why?”
“I wanted to be here.” He moved closer. “With you.”
Zandra’s heart beat triple time as she gazed up at him. “Remy...” she said softly. Just his name. Nothing more.
He reached out and gently cupped the side of her face, his thumb stroking her lower lip.
She shivered, swallowing hard. “You...you should have gone to the club.”
“Why?”
“You could have had fun. Met someone.”
His dark eyes glittered with challenge. “Is that what you really want? For me to meet someone?”
Zandra opened her mouth to respond, but no sound emerged.
“I didn’t think so,” he growled.
She shook her head at him, feeling more confused and frustrated than ever. “What are we doing, Rem? We came here to relax and have a good time, not destroy our friendship.”
He frowned. “How are we destroying our friendship? By admitting that we’re attracted to each other? By accepting the fact that we want to sleep together?”
Heat flooded Zandra’s cheeks. “That’s not going to happen.”
Remy laughed softly. “I don’t think you believe that any more than I do, sweetheart.”
She held his gaze another moment, then abruptly sidestepped him and started back toward the hotel.
Remy followed her, his long-legged stride making it impossible for her to outpace him.
They walked without speaking for several minutes, the only sound between them coming from the ocean.
As they neared the hotel, Remy broke the silence. “What are you so afraid of, Zandra?”
“I’m not afraid of anything.” But that was a lie, and they both knew it.
“Zandra—”
She sighed, staring up at the moon. “Look, you’re right, okay? I’m attracted to you. And yes, damn it, I want to sleep with you. More than you can imagine.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere,” Remy murmured.
Zandra shook her head at him. “But just because we’re attracted to each other doesn’t mean we should act on those feelings. There’s a lot at stake here.”