And at that moment, he intended to give her a reason to do that very thing.

* * *

DEEP IN THE recesses of her brain a warning light was going off. Bryce knew she should heed it. But she couldn’t. She was too far gone and had been the moment Kaegan’s mouth had closed over hers, almost eating her alive. Shivers of passion were flowing through her and she groaned when he deepened the kiss.

At sixteen she’d thought nobody could kiss like Kaegan and felt the same way when he’d celebrated her twenty-first birthday with her in a hotel room in Atlanta. He’d made all the arrangements and all she’d had to do was show up. She thought the same thing now that she had then. A twenty-three-year-old Kaegan definitely knew how to use his mouth and tongue. Now, fast-forward and her mouth was being taken by a thirty-five-year-old Kaegan.

The way he was kissing her was sending blood rushing through her veins and unleashing a degree of passion within her that had her wondering where it had come from. Her senses were on full alert. She was totally and completely reeling from the skilled and adept use of his mouth.

And then she felt his hands. They were roaming over her backside, molding to her like he used to do, and on instinct her body curved into his. And just like the night they’d danced together, she felt his aroused state. Knowing he still desired her did something to her and she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, cradling his erection at the juncture of her thighs.

Her mind was suddenly flooded with memories of how good things used to be between them, when he had been her world and she had been his. When they’d shared love, secrets and then more love. At this very place. He deepened the kiss even more and she could feel heat flowing from his body to hers. The strength of his thighs pressed even harder against her, and she could feel his thick, hard shaft getting bigger, more aroused.

She wasn’t sure how long the kiss would have lasted because at that moment his watch beeped. He disengaged their mouths but kept his arms wrapped around her waist. Her hands fell from around his neck and she tried taking a step back but his hold around her waist tightened.

Clearing her throat, she asked, “Was that an alert letting you know someone is on the island?”

He shook his head. “No. That was a text from Willa. I need to get back to deliver lunch to my men.”

His words made her realize he’d gotten behind on his schedule today to bring her here. “Sorry that I asked you to—”

“Don’t apologize for asking me to bring you here, Bryce,” he interrupted.

Yes, for all the good it had done. She’d come here for closure but instead what she’d gotten was awakening passion. “Why, Kaegan?” she asked him.