Mental note: Massage Bane’s feet more often. She obviously loved this. Her expression veered closer to last night’s territory the way she looked at me, like heated desire itself. Like she wanted me to move up her legs and in between them and didn’t care if we were in public.
But we were in public.
I settled her feet onto the floor, tucking her shoes underneath the table between us, hidden beneath the shadow of billowing white cloth. “Better?”
She nodded. I was beginning to love the way she looked at me, mesmerized. Hell, I even loved when she looked at me with annoyance. I liked making her react, making her feel something, anything. Best of all, making her look like she wanted me, because I was definitely—despite reason and against logic—wanting something with her. Even if it was just for this ridiculous fantasy vacation. It would end tomorrow, but for now, we still had tonight.
Dancing was good. An excuse to touch her, remembering how she felt, my forehead tipped against hers. Our breaths deepening. The way she gripped the back of my neck, her fingers in my hair. The urge to nudge her head back and kiss her.
But there was weariness in her features. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. Why?”
“You can tell me if this is getting to be too much. The crowds and music.”
“I want you to enjoy your friends’ wedding.”
“At the cost of your comfort? Nah.”
Her mouth tipped up into a smile as the music segued into an upbeat song. A very familiar one. Cake was playing.
We burst into laughter.
“This is a sign for more cake!” she said, pointing to the desserts table.
I knew what to do. I took her hand and led her to the cake.
“What are you doing?” she asked when I requested two disposable drinking cups and two disposable forks from the staff member managing the table.
The perplexed server gave them to me.
Without waiting to be served, I handed Bane the forks wrapped in napkins, held one cup in each hand, and wagged my brows to her questioning face. Then slammed the cups over the partially cut cake—the bottom, largest tier—and scooped up a big serving in each cup.
Both Bane’s and the server’s jaws dropped. He probably didn’t know what to do.
“Thanks!” I told him.
I turned toward a surprised Bane and urged her back to our table. I handed her the cups, grabbed my jacket, her purse, and her shoes. Facing her, I asked, “Want to get out of here?”
She grinned up at me and nodded.
And off we went into the evening, escaping the party, avoiding sunset pictures, and making the night ours.
Bane was giggling behind me, and I loved hearing it. I wanted to hear more for the hours we had left.
“Do you want your shoes?” I asked from over my shoulder.
“No.”
She followed me barefoot across granite halls and smoothed concrete steps leading from the building down to the gardens. Torchlights and large-bulb string lights lit the evening. Cooler air met us as we left the noise and warm bodies behind us.
We slowed down as we passed the pool and found an empty set of beach chairs on a small cliff overlooking the ocean, the lagoon to the left, and the way through the golf course back to the villa to the right.
We plopped down, and Bane twisted toward me. She said with absolute delight, “Cake by the ocean! Huh? Another song, you know?”
“I’m not living under a rock.” My knee touched hers.
“Are you sure?” She took a bite of cake.
I poked her side and she flinched, but she didn’t move away. I took a bite myself, watching her watching the sunset and moving her hair over a shivering shoulder.
“Are you cold?” I asked, draping my jacket around her.
She sank into the garment so that it looked twice as big. It didn’t cover her legs. “Thanks.” Bane returned to the sunset. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
“Yeah.”
It truly was. A golden, almost orangish sun floated down past the faraway clouds, transforming the sky with creamsicle and pink and blue. The colors darkened and fading light glistened on the water like a million tiny stars. The ocean looked serene and inviting for once, and not like a beautiful deathtrap.
Bane was still shivering, goose bumps on her legs.
“You’re still cold?”
“Eh, it’s fine,” she said.
“Do you want to go back inside?”
She scoffed and drew the opened jacket tighter around her.
