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She turned onto her
side and stretched out.
    He shrugged. “I guess my restaurant experience counts as
cheating, or at least as a handicap. Don’t worry. I won’t make you give me the
prize we agreed upon. I don’t want you under duress.”
    “Right. Under duress.” She tried to feign an expression of
relief but faced with his nearly naked body right next to her—the body she’d
watched climb and work, glistening in the hot sun all day—she didn’t think she
did a very good job of hiding her lust.
    The fire grew higher, painting the brand new night in every
shade of gold. She slid closer to him but the moment she did, he shot off the
ground and started pushing around the leaves and sticks in the fire. She’d
obviously done something to turn him off.
    She glanced down at her clothes, wrinkled, matted with dirt
and sand. She was a mess. Although his change of heart might not have a thing
to do with her clothes. She’d been pretty hard on him. If only she’d have
watched that sharp tongue of hers.
    Her mother and sisters were constantly reprimanding her for
saying whatever came to mind. Her bluntness had always kept men at bay, but
that was probably why she did it. Every time she told a guy off she’d secretly
fantasized that it was her father she was dressing down. Now she’d said enough
to turn Chase off and ruined her chances for what could easily have been her
last opportunity to have sex. To add insult to injury, he happened to be one of
the hottest, most attractive men she’d ever met.
     
    Chase poked absently at the fire. They’d outlined the
letters in rock then filled the area inside with flammable materials. In the
morning, after the flames died out, they’d be left with huge black letters
against the pristine white sand. Day or night, their message would remain.
    He glanced over his shoulder at Diana. She was so beautiful
lit by the amber glow of the fire. Her dark eyes sparkled and her wild curls
flew in every direction. He’d never yearned so much to kiss a woman.
    He tossed the stick aside then dropped to the sand next to
her. “You did a great job today, worked your adorable butt off. We couldn’t
have made it this far without the coconut water.” In truth, he really was
impressed with her hard work and her total lack of complaining. She’d hauled
rocks onto the beach for the SOS sign and had even helped him build the palm
frond canopy that they’d take turns sleeping in later.
    She rolled her eyes. “I almost fed us berries that might
have been poisonous, remember?”
    He smiled, recalling her defeated expression when he’d nixed
the wild fruit she’d brought back from the forest. “They might have been fine,
but why take the chance? The heart of palm was extremely…original. Shouldn’t
surprise me though. I hear you’re quite the creative type.”
    Her grin was so sexy he nearly came apart at the seams.
“What exactly are you referring to, sir?”
    He turned onto his side and skimmed a finger along her
shoulder. “Use that award-winning imagination of yours.” When she shifted toward
him, he cupped her cheek. Her skin was like satin and she smelled like the
salty air and the clean breeze.
    “I’m trying to figure out how a guy who spends most of his
time in a suit and tie in a concrete jungle became so adept at wrangling this
untamed wilderness.” Her voice had grown quieter, throaty and sexy as hell.
    “You’re pretty good at this nature thing yourself. And
thanks for sharing your new lip balm.” She’d discovered that coconut meat was
oily enough to give her an organic sort of lip balm, which had saved his lips
after they’d grown dry and chapped from all the time in the saltwater. He
winked at her and licked his lips. “Tastes great too.”
    She gave him that gorgeous smile. “I didn’t think I could
survive without my lip-gloss.”
    “We’re learning all kinds of things about ourselves. And
each other. For example, I’ve learned that your hair turns the