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Natalia’s blunt fingernails scraping up the back of her freshly shaved undercut were excruciating. It was an agonizing rush of heat and need hijacking her body and mind. Sam squeezed her harder and stretched further, desperate to feel her lips on hers. To taste her.

Leaning backward, Natalia made a fist in Sam’s hair and tugged. Making her wait was punishment — cruel and unusual. Natalia’s eyes took on the mesmerizing quality of a wildfire while they pinned Sam in place and made her want to struggle. “Do not think that because I’m sharing a room with you it means I like you or that we’re dating.”

“Of course. Absolutely not,” Sam agreed, sure that she would strike any bargain under coercion.

Natalia tightened her grip again, sending a current of desire pulsing through Sam. “I’m glad you understand,” she whispered, hovering above Sam’s lips for another harrowing beat before putting her out of her misery.

Natalia’s lips captured Sam’s in a searing kiss that wrecked her from within. Her kiss was fierce and deep, tongue plunging past Sam’s parted lips to claim her mouth. Sam could only cling to Natalia’s hips, dizzy with arousal as Natalia set her ablaze.

It was a devouring kiss, overwhelming her senses like the sweet rum lingering on her tastebuds. The silky caress of her tongue, the nip of teeth against Sam’s bottom lip, the pressure of her body grinding down — it was beautiful torture. Sam thought she might pass out from the roaring, pounding, aching need coursing through every cell.

No one had ever made Sam feel this way with just a kiss. Like she would shatter and be remade anew in Natalia’s arms. She drank Natalia in helplessly, intoxicated by the taste of her kiss, the vanilla and sandalwood scent of her skin. Her fingers mapped the curve of Natalia’s hips, memorizing the velvety skin and glorious shape.

Natalia kissed with single-minded focus and intensity. As if driven by some unquenchable hunger that only Sam could satisfy. As if she craved the connection as much as Sam did — a prospect as terrifying as it was thrilling.

Despite Natalia’s warning, Sam couldn’t help the flood of emotion swelling within. No matter how Natalia tried to maintain her boundaries, Sam sensed the wall between them eroding, bit by bit. She wouldn’t force her way in. But she glimpsed flickers of light through the cracks beginning to form in Natalia’s armor.

Sam kissed her back deeply, channeling her wordless feelings into the heated clash of lips and tongue. Hoping Natalia might glimpse even a fraction of her riptide feelings.

And when Natalia finally pulled back, eyes dark and lips kiss-swollen, Sam wished she could hear her thoughts. She was sure she felt it too — the undeniable spark slowly kindling into a flame.

The knock at the door was a sudden downpour — the cold rain sizzling where it met overheated skin. Sam was going to ignore it, to stay lost in Natalia for just a few moments longer, but then Blanca’s voice bellowed through the door. “I know you’re in there! The girl at the front desk said you checked in already!”

Sam groaned, wanting one more kiss before they broke apart, but Natalia was already pulling away. Her mask of composure slipping back into place. Gracefully, she slid off Sam’s lap and got to her feet, despite Sam’s silent protestations.

By the time the second knock came, Natalia was already back to unpacking. Her demeanor was so still and unassuming, Sam would never have guessed she’d just been grinding in her lap with her tongue halfway down her throat.

“Come on! We want to have a drink by the pool before dinner! You’re burning daylight!” Blanca shouted again.

“Don’t keep your friends waiting.” Natalia’s husky voice was the only clue she was still as flush with desire as Sam was.

“You don’t want to come with us?” Sam was dizzy when she stood.

“I have some work to do before dinner.” She glanced at the clock on the nightstand. “It’s at eight, correct?”

Sam nodded.

“I’ll meet you there.”

Concealing her disappointment, Sam took the keys out of her pocket and dropped one on the bed. Desire making her bold, Sam gripped her by the waist and kissed her again, infusing the exchange with the promise to pick up where they left off later.

“I’ll miss you,” Sam whispered before she could stop herself.

Instead of recoiling, Natalia flashed a momentary smirk on her smudged and swollen lips. “So clingy,” she replied in a tone Sam interpreted as I’ll miss you, too.

Still drunk from being tangled in Natalia, Sam floated toward the door with nothing but a key and her cellphone. She’d be back before dinner to shower and change.

Blanca was banging on the door again when Sam pulled it open and stepped out into the warm late afternoon. She didn’t get a chance to tell Blanca about her guest when her green eyes scanned her face.

“Oh my God! Did you bring Natalia?” Blanca shrieked.

Sam replied with a laugh that was too loud and too guilty. “How the hell did you guess that?”

“Fix your face.” Blanca pointed to Sam’s lips. “And then tell me everything.”

CHAPTER 29

Sam settled into a cushioned lounge chair next to the infinity pool, the endless expanse of blue ocean stretching out before her. Blanca claimed the chair on her right while Greta took the one on her left, fresh margaritas in hand from the poolside bar.