Glancing out the window, the resort lights faded behind us with the dark, winding road leading to whatever the hell awaited me. Soon, the SUV pulled up to a stunning beachfront villa, secluded, massive, and silent except for the sound of crashing waves. I stepped out, grabbing my suitcase and adjusting my dress as I walked toward the front door.

I hesitated for a fraction of a second, my hand hovering over the door before finally knocking. It opened almost instantly and there he was. Bare chest. Tattoos everywhere. Grey sweatshorts hanging low on his hips.

My mouth went dry. His tattoos looked even darker under the dim porch light, black ink sprawling over dark brown skin, and thick veins running down his forearms. His broad shoulders blocked everything behind him, and I had to tilt my head to meet his eyes. Eyes that didn’t hold a single ounce of surprise. Like he had expected me all along. Like he knew I’d come.

He leaned against the doorframe, voice low, rough, pulling something deep in my belly. “Right on time.”

I swallowed, ignoring the way my body was already betraying me. “I almost didn’t come.”

He smirked. “But you did.”

I didn’t answer. I watched his gaze drag over me slowly, appreciative, assessing, dark as sin. I took a slow breath, forcing myself to hold his gaze. “So what happens now?”

His smirk deepened. And then, in a voice that was pure heat and command, he said, “Now? You walk inside and you do exactly as I say.”

I swallowed hard, reminding myself that there was no turning back. Legend didn’t move back to let me in. Instead, he reached for my suitcase to roll inside and then his large hands gripped my waist, pulling me close until I was pressed against the heat of his bare chest.

I barely had time to react before he dipped his head, inhaling slowly against the crook of my neck. “You smell amazing,” he murmured, his voice a rough, velvet scrape against my skin.

I shivered, pulse kicking up, because how the hell was this man already disarming me with a single sentence? “Thank you,” I breathed, trying to sound composed, but my voice wavered just enough to make him smirk.

His grip tightened briefly—like he was testing how I felt against him—before he finally pulled back, those dark eyes still pinning me in place.

“Drink?” he asked.

“Definitely,” I exhaled, needing a distraction before my body betrayed me completely.

He nodded and turned, giving me a full, unrestricted view of his place as I slipped off my heels. It was dope.

Everything was modern and luxurious without trying too hard. A massive sectional in deep charcoal sat in the middle of the open living space, facing a wall-to-wall window that framed the ocean like a goddamn painting. The moonlight reflected off the glassy surface of an infinity pool just outside, the faint sound of waves mingling with the low bass of some R&B track playing in the background.