“Then why are you here? If you’re worried about my brothers coming after you—”

“Your brothers and their wolf pack don’t scare me.”

Why was that such a turn-on? “What, then? If you’re one of those guys who cares about a girl talking shit about him, you’re safe. I don’t kiss and tell.”

“No, you just write stories about it and sing them for all the world to hear.”

“Is that why you want to talk to me? Are you worried I’ll tell someone a particular song was written about you? Lucky for you, I don’t reveal such things.”

“Then how do I know about that Spanish asshole who broke your heart?”

She snapped her mouth closed. She still couldn’t believe she’d let that slip, but the way he’d listened had been as intense as the way he’d listened to her singing at the Salty Hog, and it had just come out. And God, she was in trouble, because the way he was looking at her now, as if her words were important, magnified their undeniable connection. But he’d shut her down, and that wasn’t easily forgotten.

“You know what they say. If you can’t take the heat…” She nodded toward the door, expecting him to leave, knowing that once he did, she’d long for the heat of his stare, the fire and ice of their banter.

But he didn’t retreat. He stepped closer, sucking up all the oxygen around them. “I crave the burn.”

His rugged scent enveloped her, and her traitorous nipples rose to aching peaks as he stared at her in silence, the air between them sparking like live wires. It became harder to breathe, to think past the lust simmering low in her belly. What was it about him that had this hold on her? Just when she was sure her legs would give out, the bartender brought her drink, breaking their connection.

Tobias took out his wallet and tossed a ten on the bar.

“Trying to buy my silence? I can pay for my own drink, thank you very much.”

“Not when I’m standing here, you won’t.” Tobias nodded at the bartender to take his money, and he did.

As independent as she was, she liked that chivalry. I’m such an idiot. “Why are you here, Tobias?”

He leaned in so close, their lips almost touched. “I don’t think you want me to tell you that around all these people.”

The low timbre of his voice and his proximity ratcheted up her lust to a full boil. “I’ve got nothing to hide.”

He arched a brow. “Sure about that?”

She thought about the way she’d lost control the other night. If he would’ve tried to fuck her on the dunes, she probably would’ve done it. Brothers be damned. “Fine. Five minutes.”