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She tried to keep the bitterness from her tone but failed.
    “Claudia hasn’t been to Stanfield Cay. You’re the only woman I’ve brought here.” His eyes met hers for three solid heartbeats. Then he went back to his task.
    She smiled and relaxed her shoulders. She warned herself not to feel special because she was the only woman he’d brought to this wonderful hideaway. Joel was still a billionaire playboy. Of course he’d know just what she’d wanted to hear because he could read her. Because he knew women.
    Still, if Joel said she was the only woman he’d brought here, she was the only woman. He didn’t need to lie to get a woman into his bed. She remembered screening his calls.
    After their clothing was put away, Ava followed him onto the terrace to listen to the warm wind whisper through the palm trees. He stood behind her as she leaned against the iron railing.
    “You own an island, an entire island,” she whispered just above the breeze.
    Over her shoulder, he nodded still watching the view. Before now she hadn’t known Stanfield Cay existed. There were no pictures of it in his office, but it made sense why he’d bought it. The island fit him. It was as secluded as he was. If ever there was a metaphor for Joel, this getaway was it.
    If she was crazy enough to want to learn about Joel, to live in his world, Stanfield Cay was where to begin. But she didn’t want to, because that would be dangerous.
    Unfortunately, she was curious. Surely there was a way she could learn a little about him while keeping some distance.
    “You’ve been here only two times in the last twelve months? This is too beautiful a place to waste.”
    He nodded. “You’re right.”
    He took her hand in his. Hot sensation zapped through her, making her body thrum and her heart speed. Then he tugged her back into the bedroom, not bothering to close the glass door. His bed loomed in the center, daring her to quit being scared.
    He stood facing her with his back to the terrace, his gaze sinking into hers. He stepped closer until their bodies almost touched. His mouth hovered over her lips while she held her breath and waited for him to claim her. With unblinking eyes, she watched his slow descent, until he finally feathered a kiss over her lips. It felt so perfect she moaned and opened for him in invitation. He tasted strong and masculine and completely intoxicating. He kissed like a man who had owned her body for a lifetime.
    As his mouth plundered, one hand held the back of her neck, while the other burned into her lower back, pressing her against his hard length.
    He kissed her until her breasts ached and her nipples hardened into his solid chest, until heat pooled low and deep in her pelvis. Until she could feel his erection jutting into her belly.
    He ended the kiss only when air became vital. Then Joel moved her hair off her neck, and kissed and nibbled the sensitive pulse point until she arched into him. Waves of heat shot down her body, covering her skin. “ Oh... ” The dazzling spikes of pleasure were like nothing she’d ever felt.
    His arms encircled her waist as he lifted her off her feet and carried her to his bed, where he laid her onto the soft mattress. But he didn’t join her. Instead, he stood like a granite statue at the foot. Her heart tumbled. Her limbs were heavy, her skin hot and tingly. She ached for him like she’d ached for no other man.
    Was he going to join her?
    Should she ask?
    He whispered, “You want me, but you’re tired, at the same time.”
    It had been a long twenty-four hours, and she hadn’t slept for days, weighing the decision whether to come be with him or not. But after his commanding kiss, the sheer hot perfection of it, she wanted him more than she wanted sleep. More than she wanted anything.
    He must have seen the disappointment in her eyes because he said, “I want you, but I want you awake and alive the first time we make love.”
    Her cheeks heated. She was alive enough to want him