She couldn’t remember the last time a kiss made her toes curl. Had her toes ever curled from a kiss? Maybe it was the shots of vodka... or the sweet gesture of him having all of her favorite things for dinner.

“We don’t get along, Blake,” she reminded him.

“Perhaps we can try to get along while we’re here.” He drew closer, his mouth a breath away.

“What about the emails and your threat—”

“Gone.” His gaze turned rueful. “I scrubbed them from the server after you deleted them from your folder, two years ago.”

She blinked up at him. He’d lied to her, but then again, he’d never said he had them. Only taunted her with them, made her keep blaming him for her embarrassment over the choice she had made.

“You did that, even after I was ugly to you?” It made no sense for him to do that.

He smiled. “Yes.” Cupping her face, he said, “I knew why you hated me, or at least why you thought you did. I caught you at your most vulnerable, most embarrassing, and while it wasn’t well done of me, I kept playing the game with you. Otherwise, you would have never survived the last three years of Montgomery with other women. Or his impromptu wedding. And you sure as hell wouldn’t be able to function as a bloody bridesmaid for this proper wedding.”

Anger rose, but just as quickly, it vanished. When she thought about the last three years of her life, Blake was always there. Always. In those rare moments, she had allowed herself to do more than tolerate late nights at work with him—she had enjoyed herself. Odd that she couldn’t remember a single woman in his life.

“Blake, who... Did you have time for women?”

“No,” he said. “I’ve only wanted one woman. The rest paled in comparison.”

“You’ve been saving yourself?” she teased, but it was only halfhearted.

His fingers coasted down her cheek. “Would that be so hard to believe?”

“For a man to do that—yes.”

“Not all men are created equal,” he said, and she rolled her eyes. He was right though.

“Whoever she is, she’s lucky to have you.” It occurred to her that he was no longer saving himself if he was offering to give her what she wanted. “What happened to her?”

He didn’t reply to that. At least, not with words. Instead, he brushed his lips across hers, tentatively at first, as if seeking her permission.

She hesitated, even as desire and pleasure twined together.

“What do you want, Ella?”

“I want you,” she said. It was the truth. She’d been fighting against her attraction to him for years.

Slowly, he began to remove her clothes. “I am going to take very good care of you, love,” he whispered, kissing the upper swells of her breasts. “So very good.”

In one smooth movement, he unfastened the front of her bra, her breasts spilling into his large hands. Her nipples puckered against his palms as he pushed her breasts together and began to kiss them.

While he drove her crazy with his kisses and licks, she attempted to get him out of his clothes. Buttons flew, material ripped, and, at one point, she had to shove his trousers down with her feet.

They laughed, came together in hot kisses, and caressed one another until all that Ella could hear was the sound of her heart. He kissed her hard. It consumed her, made her want to devour him back.

Somehow, he produced a condom, rolling it down over his thick erection before pulling her into his arms again.

She wrapped her legs around his hips, moving slowly against him until she heard him groan. He grabbed her hips, forcing her to stop.

“Ride me,” he said into her mouth. “Own me.”

He rolled her on top of him, his hands going to her hips. She rose up on her knees, grasped his cock, and slowly began to sink down. As soon as the head breached her, they both let out hoarse groans.

His grip tightened, as if he were fighting for control. “It’s been four years for me, Ella, but I swear I’ll,” he slid in deeper, “holy fuck, baby.”

She bent down and his hips jerked up, sending him fully inside. Gasping at the sweet pain, she began to move.

Letting go of her hips, he ran his hands up and down her back as if he couldn’t get enough of touching her. His palms came around her rib cage, and then slid back up to cup her breasts. He rolled her nipples between his fingers and lifted his head, sucking them into his mouth.

She cried out.

He sat up and pushed her down on the bed, barely leaving her for a second before he thrust back inside.

“You feel so damned good. I knew you would,” he said, bracing his body on his elbows. He leaned down, fusing his mouth to hers as he moved in hard thrusts that made her hotter. Wetter.

With every movement, her swollen clit brushed against his groin, sending her higher and higher. He grabbed one of her thighs, hooking it over his arm and opening her wider.

“Deeper. More. Now.”

“Hell, yes,” he breathed.

Grabbing the headboard, he shoved his cock into her again and again, until she screamed his name and he roared hers. He didn’t stop moving and neither did she until every last bit of her orgasm left her.

Gulping for air, she pushed back her slightly damp hair from her face. He smiled down at her, his gaze tender.

“You are amazing,” he said, kissing her.

Suddenly shy, she looked away, but he gently grabbed her chin and turned her to him. “Don’t be that way. What happened between us will never leave this room, or this resort for that matter. You have my word.”

“Guess it took less than three dates?”

He shook his head. “Forget about that. It was a stupid challenge made by my pride.”

“Mine, too,” she admitted.

He grinned at her. “Spend the day in bed with me, Ella.”

She moved her hips experimentally, and he made a low noise in his throat. “Do you have more condoms?”

“I’ve an entire box at my disposal.”

Feeling sexier than she ever had in her life, she pulled his head down to hers.

Chapter Six

The next day, Blake had a private boat chartered for the two of them. He wanted to spend time with her, truly spend time with her without running into either Drew or Hannah... or succumbing to the temptation of sex. Hours of sex. Hours of laugher and playing... and shower sex with lots of oil, then soap to clean them up.

What she’d allowed him to do... his vision sparked and his body grew hard.

“I thought we were here for other reasons,” Ella said, her gaze going to his erection.

“My thoughts are rather undisciplined when it comes to you, and my body responds in kind,” he said. “But yes, we are here for other reasons.”

“And those are?”

“To eat.” He popped a grape into his mouth, and she laughed.

“How did you get involved in hacking computers?” she asked¸ and he blinked at her.

“Who said I hacked computers?”

She gave him a look. “I have access to every employee file.”

“Little snoop.” He tapped her slightly sunburned nose. “Actually, would you believe that I used to work for MI6?”

Her mouth dropped open, and then she closed it with a snap. “Like James Bond.”

“Exactly.”

“You can tell me that and I’ll live, right?” Her eyes were round and her expression serious.

He didn’t mean to grin, but he couldn’t help it. “I wasn’t that kind of agent. Trained like any other, but my skills were of the technological kind.”

Her face fell a little. “Oh. So no James Bond stuff?”

“Sorry to disappoint, but no.”

“I’m not disappointed,” she insisted.

“I’m trained to spot a liar, Ella.”

Wincing a little, she said, “Okay, okay. I’m a little disappointed. Spy stuff, in theory, sounds really cool.”

“I did hack into government databases.”

“You do that for MI, too.”

Water splashed on them from the side of the boat. “Ah, but it’s perfectly legal and sanctioned by your government.”