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“I—what?” I must have heard him wrong.
He gestured to a picnic basket I hadn’t noticed before. “I have some snacks, a couple beers. I don’t mind sharing.”
Could he see the surprise on my face?
“Um—”No. No, I’m not staying.But I didn’t say that.
“You’re cute when you’re flustered and blushing.” He grinned. “You’re kinda fun to throw off-balance.”
I literally froze. I had no idea what to say or do. He was definitely flirting.
“One beer,” he said. “We don’t even have to talk. We’ll just sit here and enjoy the peace.” The way he looked at me, as if he could see inside me, had me wanting to do anything he asked. “Then I’ll walk you back to your cabin. The island is safe, but you never know.”
“The missing woman.” I cleared my throat, my mouth suddenly dry. “Diana Harden.”
“I figured everyone heard about what happened. She disappeared on St. John, not here.”
“Did you meet her?” I needed to get Jason to stop looking at me as if he wanted to know more about me. As if... as if he was attracted and wanted to kiss me. Because if he asked me aquestion, I’d tell him anything he wanted to know. Right then and there, I was an open book.
“I meet everyone.” He shrugged. “I’m the bartender. Everyone comes to the bar.”
I knew I shouldn’t stay. But... what could go wrong? Jason was friendly, and I no longer felt nervous around him. In fact, he was a bit hard to resist. I might as well embrace the wild side I didn’t know I had until tonight.
“Okay,” I said. “One beer.”
Jason looked pleasantly surprised that I had agreed, and pulled two beers from the basket, popped off the tops, and handed me one.
“To new friends and new adventures,” he said, and clinked the neck of his bottle against mine.
I had nothing better to add, so I nodded and drained half the beer in one long gulp.
Jason’s gaze turned intense, all his focus and attention aimed at me. It was heady and disconcerting, almost overwhelming.
I wanted to kiss him.
My lips parted, and I tried to say something, anything, to break the surprisingly easy silence. Did he know what I was thinking? I think he did... and he was thinking the same thoughts.
He touched the sensitive skin behind my ear, and a shiver ran through me. The good kind, the shiver of anticipation, the heat of expectation that when our lips touched, it would be perfect.
He smiled, just a tiny curve of his lips. I could swear I was releasing pheromones right and left, and they were calling this man to me. He leaned forward. I could almost taste him.
It was going to happen, and I knew it would be everything I expected from a man like Jason Mallory. Everything and more.
A scream pierced the night.
The scream sounded straight out of a horror movie.
Chapter Eight
“You only live twice:
Once when you are born
And once when you look death in the face.”
—Ian Fleming,You Only Live Twice
Jason took my beer, put it down next to his, and clasped my hand, motioning for me to come with him. He didn’t have to ask twice; I wasn’t staying here alone after that scream.