What the...?

“What did you just do?” she asked when he returned.

“What do you mean?”

“Just now. What did you say to Tyler to make him leave?”

“Nothing. He just remembered he has the night shift at the station.” He shrugged as he grabbed a dish towel from the bar.

Her eyes narrowed. “Are you cockblocking me?”

Dropping the towel, he leaned against the bar, his nose just inches from hers. His musky cologne filled her senses and she held her breath as she felt submerged in the deep blue sea of his eyes. The five o’clock stubble along his jawline was decidedly sexier than his clean-shaven look, and she resisted the urge to touch it to see if it felt soft or rough. “Was cock what you were hoping for on this vacation?” he asked.

Her mouth felt like sandpaper and her knees shook a little beneath the bar, but instead of retreating, she only closed the gap between them even more. “Not yours.”

“So you said last night.”

Had she? They’d actually talked about his penis? What else had they talked about? “Well...good. So we are clear on that.” His eyes penetrated her gaze and the words had come out sounding weaker than she’d intended, but she refused to give a fraction of an inch. Unfortunately, this close to him, her thoughts were fuzzy.

“Crystal clear,” he said, moving away as Cassie returned.

Thank God. Her mind and her body had been locked in a battle of wills. Why was Reed so hot when he was aggravating as fuck? She wasn’t attracted to those kinds of men—the ones that would just as easily drive her insane as they would drive her to lust. She dated safe, nice guys...when she did date. Ones she wouldn’t get attached to, lose her heart to. Guys like Tyler.

Never guys like Reed.

Never Reed.

“What was that about?” Cassie asked, looking back and forth between them.

“Nothing.” They spoke in unison.

“Okay...” Her cell chimed on the bar and, picking it up, she read quickly before saying, “I’m sorry, but I have to go.” She grabbed her coat from the stool.

“Where?” Panic filled Erika’s tone. After her stare-down with Reed, the last thing she wanted was to be left alone with him.

Right?

“It’s Tank’s night at the station, so I usually spend the night at his place with Kaia.” Cassie wrapped a hand-knitted multicolored scarf around her neck and grabbed her gloves from her coat pocket.

Erika raised an eyebrow at Reed. “Tank’s night at the station?”

He lifted a shoulder. “Guess I must have read the schedule wrong.”

Sure. She turned her attention back to Cassie. She’d deal with Reed later. “You stay at Tank’s? Overnight?” Was there more going on than her friend had let on? The night before, they’d caught up on most things, but Cassie’s relationship status hadn’t come up. She’d assumed her friend was enjoying being single the same way she enjoyed all other aspects of her life—with a carefree abandon.