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Once we’d said our good nights, Samira and Gisèle retired to the primary suite while Laurent and I descended the stairs to our sleeping quarters.

“Do you think Jennifer is the blackmailer?” Laurent asked, his voice low.

“It’s possible,” I said. “Cody could have shared information with her which she used to blackmail Tyson. But I’m missing a motive.”

“Maybe she wanted to leave Cody but doesn’t have any money of her own,” he suggested.

I paused, considering that. “But why would she kill him before she got the money? And why would she push me off the boat when I didn’t have anything on her?” My brain was fried, and we’d reached the cabin level. “I think I need to sleep on it. It’s been a long day.”

“Yes,” he agreed.

Anticipation rose in me as we paused in the corridor between our rooms. My head was tender, and I was beyond spent, but the idea of leaving him made me cold.

Was it crazy to think about spending the night together after all that had happened today?

I dared a glance at him to find him considering me, his gaze lingering.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Tyson being my boys’ father,” I said.

“It’s okay,” he said, and the gentleness in his voice told me he meant it. “I am sure you are a great mom.”

I smiled. “I try to be.”

“It was interesting, getting to know you better today,” he said.

I cocked my head. “Interesting?”

He reached out and tucked an errant strand of hair behind my ear, his fingers trailing along my jaw. “I like the way you think.”

I laughed.

He leaned a shoulder into the wall, his eyes fixed on me. “How you reacted under pressure was…impressive.”

“Thank you. But we still don’t know who did it, and tomorrow…” I could feel the anxiety building in my chest again. “What if the police don’t believe I was pushed either? What if they think I did it?”

“Audrey…” The sound of my name on his tongue was like a spell. He placed his hands on my shoulders, his gaze calm and grounded in the semidarkness. “It’s not you. It will be okay.”

He wrapped his arms around me, and I laid my head on his chest, allowing myself to feel safe in his embrace.

I noticed the warmth of his skin through his shirt, the fresh scent of his aftershave, the density of his muscles.

As I relaxed, my body awoke, my fatigue falling off me like a coat dropped to the floor, and I became very aware of every detail of his body pressed to mine.

My problems would still be there in the morning, but he was here tonight.

“You’re tired,” he said. I could feel his voice reverberating, his heartbeat quickening. “I should let you sleep.”

But neither of us moved.

I pulled back just enough to look up at him. His blue eyes were dark, locked on mine. “I don’t want to sleep just yet,” I murmured.

My breath grew shallow as he bent his face toward me, hovering just a moment before he brought his lips to mine, kissing me tenderly. My anxiety melted under the pressure of his tongue, the events of the day receding from view as my skin lit up in response to his touch.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he whispered.

“Just be gentle,” I said.

“I don’t know if that is possible.”

I tangled my fingers in his thick hair, shivering with desire as his lips slipped down my throat and his hands swept up my legs. I fumbled behind me for the doorknob, feeling it unlatch as I twisted and pulled him into the cabin with me.

Inside, I locked the door behind us, and he cupped my head protectively in his hands, the heat between us growing with every flick of his tongue.

It was more than want. The trauma of the day had unlocked something primal in me, a need to feel alive, and I could sense it in him too as he kissed me with raw abandon, like a man headed to war.

Yes, gentle was going to be difficult. I wrapped a leg around his waist, my skirt bunching as our hips connected and he let out a low groan.

His desire stoked the fire inside me and I tugged at his clothes, desperate to feel his skin against mine. His shirt came over his head and I ran my hands over his chest, tracing his tattoo with my fingers as he pushed the straps of my loose dress off my shoulders and let it fall to the ground.

The skin contact made me desperate for more, and I drew him to me, pressing my body into his as we stumbled toward the bed and he pulled me down on top of him.

There was nothing other than us in this moment, nothing but his mouth against my skin, nothing left to separate us as the rest of our clothes came off and our bodies fell into sync.