I wasn’t sure why I was telling him all these things. Probably because he was truly listening. With Carter, I could be myself, and I loved it. I’d felt this on that first morning, when I hadn’t even known his name. Also, he wasn’t judging me, which was a plus. Some of our friends at the time had insisted that I was selfish to even think about opening a business with everything going on.

“Your turn,” I said.

“What do you want to know?”

“Confidential information, of course.” I’d said it jokingly, but Carter shifted on one side too, training those blazing eyes on me.

“That wouldn’t be fair, would it? You haven’t shared any secrets.”

“Yes, I did,” I assured him. “I don’t talk this much usually—not with people I’m not related to, anyway. So you can consider everything confidential information.”

Still pinning me with his gaze, he inched closer to the edge of his lounge chair. I was at the edge of my own, so our chests were almost touching. Our hips too. I could feel the heat radiating off his body like a physical force.

“I want to know something you haven’t shared with anyone, ever,” he whispered.

I scooted away, because being that close to him was dangerous. He smelled delicious, and the Mai Tai had been strong. Dangerous combo. Who knew what I might end up telling him?

“You, sir, are very demanding. And you haven’t earned the right to know any real classified info yet.”

“Oh, but I’ll earn it. You know I will.” Amusement danced in his eyes. I hadn’t moved far enough to be out of his reach, and my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth as he drummed his fingers on top of my thigh as if it was the most natural thing in the world. It felt as if he was promising me that one day soon we’d finish what we started in the captain’s cabin. I didn’t need any words. The heat in his eyes and the barely-there restraint in his touch was more than enough.

“Somehow I doubt that,” I teased. His eyes flared, and he pushed himself up on one elbow. His nipple was almost level with my mouth. One lick wouldn’t hurt, right? Wow... my thoughts were out of control. I wasn’t touching my glass again.

I cleared my throat, attempting to sound serious. “Yep. So, tell me about yourself.”

“You’re demanding too.”

“It’s the cocktail’s fault, so basically, your fault, since you made it. But to prove I’m not entirely unfair, I’ve changed my demand from classified information to just... anything about you.”

He gave me a charming smile that did nothing to temper my imagination. I was beginning to think it wasn’t the cocktail’s fault. The man was just irresistible.