“You kissed me. I wasn’t your boss in that moment. And I’m not your boss now.” Caressing the faint bruise on her cheek, he said, “Does it hurt?”

She shook her head. “Not so much.”

He captured her mouth in a sweet, sexy kiss that had her clinging to him, trying to get as close as she could to the amazing way he made her feel. As he kissed her, he walked them backward toward the stairs where they’d left their shoes, only breaking the kiss when they ran out of sand.

Keeping a firm grip on her hand, he scooped up their shoes with his free hand and headed for their hotel.

This is going to happen, Hope thought. It’s going to happen right now, and I want it. I want him. If only I weren’t so nervous. I hope he can’t tell I’m having a meltdown on the inside.

They rinsed the sand off their feet at an outdoor shower and were back in their room a few minutes later. He immediately reached for her to continue what they’d started on the beach.

“Paul,” she said as he kissed her neck. His erection was hard and thick between them, and it was all she could do not to rub shamelessly against him.

“Hmm?”

“I-I haven’t done this in a long time. And I’ve only ever done it with him. I have no idea if I’m any good at it.”

“Sweetheart, you’re beautiful and sweet and kind and so sexy. And the best part is you have no idea how sexy you are. Whatever we do is going to be amazing. I know it.”

No one had ever said such things to her, and for the first time in her life, she felt sexy because of him. She caressed the handsome face that had overtaken her thoughts and many of her dreams, too.

“We don’t have to do anything that you’re not ready to do,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Once again he’d said exactly what she needed to hear. “Maybe we could just see what happens?”

“We can do whatever you want.”

She went up on tiptoes to kiss him, running her tongue over his full bottom lip.

His arm encircled her waist, bringing her in close to the evidence of how badly he wanted her.

Hope tugged on his T-shirt and helped him out of it, her eyes boggling once again at how ripped he was. He had muscles on top of muscles from years of hard physical work, and just the right amount of dark chest hair. She ran her hands over each hill and valley, dragging her fingertips over the bumps of his six-pack. Or was that a twelve-pack?

Releasing a low growl, he swept his hands under the hem of her shirt, laying them flat against her back. “Could we take yours off, too?”