it was a test. “I am a glorified numbers monkey. I research various businesses that look like good investments and then line up investors that will fit well with them. The ultimate outcome varies. Sometimes they take it to the ground level and build it up again. Sometimes they expand. Sometimes they franchise. Usually it’s successful for both business and investor and I get a nice fat bonus.”
“Depends on your definition of successful, doesn’t it?”
He knew where she was going with this, and as much as he didn’t want to fight, maybe it was better to get it out there now and expose the elephant in the room. “I won’t pretend that every business owner is thrilled with the process, but most of the time the alternative is rock bottom and losing everything they worked their ass off to accomplish. Sometimes compromise is necessary.”
She looked directly at him with those big blue eyes. “And do you ever compromise, Roman?”
* * *
Allie should have...well, she should have done a lot of things. She regretted the question as soon as she put it to voice—like she regretted much of what she’d said around Roman since they’d met. She pushed to her feet. “Never mind. We just got through saying we shouldn’t talk about this—should keep it light—and we keep doing the exact opposite of that.”
There was one thing they were good at—better than good at.
She slid her thumbs into the band of her skirt and pushed it down in a smooth move. The top took a little more effort, but she managed to unhook it and drop it without looking like a total fool. Roman hadn’t moved once, but his knuckles were white where he held on to the table. He managed to tear his gaze from her breasts to her face. “What are you doing?”
“We’re going to ruin this by talking too much. I don’t want to ruin it.”
Still, he didn’t move. “It’s okay for us to disagree on things. It’s unrealistic to think that we’d match up on every subject the way we match up physically.”
She knew that. Of course she knew that. Only a child or an idiot thought there was such a thing as a perfect relationship. Everyone had problems, though most of the time they weren’t as catastrophic as her parents’ had been.
But this wasn’t a relationship. She had to keep reminding herself of that, and that was as much a problem as anything.
She shook her head. “That’s the thing—this is fantasy. There is no room for disagreements in fantasy. I want you. You want me. Let’s just leave it at that.”
“Allie—”
She turned and strode into the darkness. He’d follow. He’d be unable to help himself. And then they’d get their hands on each other and all her conflicting feelings would disappear for a while. That was what she wanted. She already had a complicated life. She didn’t have room for more complications—even if they arrived in a package that made her body ache and her heart beat too hard.
Sex was easier. Sex was safe.
Even if it didn’t feel particularly safe as she hit the sand and kept going. The wildness of the island was closer to the surface here, with the villa lights seeming at a distance and the stars a blanket overhead. The soft shushing sound of the water sliding over the sand let her draw her first full breath since she and Roman had started talking about things better left unsaid.
She tilted her head back and inhaled deeply, taking the salty air into her lungs and letting it chase away her worries. She was still on vacation, no matter how stubbornly real life kept trying to intrude. Relaxation was the name of the game and Allie would be damned if she was drawn back into all the crap before she was good and ready.
Footsteps padded behind her, and she didn’t turn to watch Roman approach. She wouldn’t be able to see more than the outline of him, and it was better to soak up what little peace she could as she waited to see if he’d let the conversation go.
He stopped next to her, close enough that his shoulder brushed against hers. “You can’t run from this forever.”
“I’m not running from anything.” Liar. “I’m holding to the arrangement we made. Everything can wait until we leave West Island.” What happened then... No, she wasn’t going to talk about it. She wasn’t even going to think about it.
“Allie...” His exhale was lost in the sound of the small waves hitting their feet. “This is what you really want? For me to fuck you until neither of us is capable of words and we just ignore everything unspoken between us?”
This was the moment of truth. If she said she’d changed her mind about their bargain, she had a feeling Roman wouldn’t judge her for it. He seemed to want to talk—actually talk. Maybe he was starting to feel the same thing she was—that this thing between them wasn’t just about mutual orgasms.
That maybe it could be more.
All she had to do was tell him that she was willing to talk.
But when she opened her mouth, it was cowardice that won. “We can talk when we’re in New York.”
He turned to face her, his expression lost in the darkness. “Promise me that we will.”
“What?”
“Promise me that you won’t run when we get back. You’ll have dinner with me and we’ll talk.”
It’ll never happen. It sounded good in theory right now, beneath the stars and with their bodies gravitating toward one another, but once they got back to the city and were grounded in their real lives, it wouldn’t hold up. He’d get busy. She’d have to cancel a few times. They’d both lose interest and move on with their lives.
The thought made her chest ache, but she set it aside just like everything else she’d set aside since she came here. “I promise.”
Roman shifted closer, sliding his hands over her hips and up her back, fitting her body against his. He’d stripped before following her out here, and all his skin against all of hers sent a delicious thrill through her. He kept calling her beautiful, but he was a work of art. “Adonis.”
“Aphrodite.” He lifted her easily so she could wrap her legs around his waist. “Let’s go swimming.”
She didn’t protest as he walked them into the ocean. Roman didn’t go far, stopping as the water lapped the bottom of her breasts. It felt absolutely wicked to be out here in the dark with him. Even if it’d been broad daylight, no one would have seen them, but the thrill of the risk still heightened every sensation.
The water teasing her breasts. The slick slide of his skin against hers. The feel of his breath ghosting across her lips.
She arched against him, trying to take his mouth, but Roman dodged her kiss. “Do you know the legend of Aphrodite?”
She blinked. “Yes, of course. She came from the sea.” The words were barely past her lips when Roman launched her away from him. She was airborne for a single breathless second and then she hit the water and went under.
Allie surfaced with a curse that turned into a laugh. “You’re crazy.”
“Come on. You can’t skinny-dip
