Chapter Two

Jayde took his hand, trembling at the slight contact. He had a strong grip that made her feel safe, pro-tected. It was with incredible ease that he pulled her up to her feet, showing that his arms held immense strength in them. Her eyes met his and she smiled. “Thank you.” She looked at his other hand and after tugging free of his grip, opened her bag for him to deposit the remaining things inside it.

“You’re welcome. Again, I’m sorry about that,” he said as he set her things inside the mess of her beach bag.

“I should have been a bit more careful with where I was going,” she responded.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you,” his deep voice remarked.

“We haven’t officially met,” she observed and straightened her sunglasses, hiding her brown eyes from his view.

He sketched a bow. “Hello, my name is Tyson. Tyson Kincade.” His greeting came with a stunning smile against his tanned skin. His lean hand reached out to close the distance between them.

Jayde took the hand and shook it, admiring the feel of his callused hand on hers for the second time in the space of a few minutes. “Nice to meet you Tyson, Tyson Kincade.”

His top lip quirked along with his eyebrow as he tightened his hold on her hand when she tried to take it back. “That’s it? What about your name?”

A full smile crossed her face, showing him her pearly white, beautifully straight teeth that gleamed against her darker skin. “Well, I already know my name,” she answered in a sweet Southern drawl.

He laughed. The sound made her body clench with unreasonable desire. “But what about me?”

She never lost her grin and her eyes sparkled behind the shades as she responded, “I know who you are as well. You just told me, you are Tyson, Tyson Kincade. Sounds kinda like James, James Bond.” Jayde finally removed her hand from his grasp and clutched her bag tighter, more than a little unnerved by her body’s reaction to his simple touch.

“You’re clever. I still want to know your name.” He stepped in closer, bringing with him the scent of sandalwood and man, pure man.

“I don’t know you well enough; besides, I have to go. I have a few calls to make.” Her dark eyes moved over his body.

“Sure you aren’t just trying to get rid of me?”

Another brilliant flash of teeth. “I’m sure. I have to call home,” Jayde admitted.

“Husband?”

She shook her head. “No. No husband. I would hope that if I were married, he would want to be with me.” George was unquestionably not the one she wanted for holy matrimony. This man, however, she could easily picture waking up next to his body morning after morning.

“I know I would,” Tyson said immediately.

Jayde chose to ignore that statement. “Anyway, it was nice to meet you Tyson, Tyson Kincade. Excuse me.” As she walked around him, he spun as well and fell into step beside her. “What are you doing?” she asked.

“Walking you to your door,” he said and continued to walk resolutely.

She blushed. “Isn’t walking someone to their door done after a date? At night?” Her brown eyes glanced towards his without hesitation, for she was somewhat protected behind the glasses.

“Most of the time. However, my mama raised me to be a gentleman. So I am walking you to your door,” he claimed.

“Your mama, huh?” Jayde smiled at the thought of his mother teaching him manners. For some reason it tickled her.

“Yes, ma’am. Are you going to give me your name?” Hazel eyes implored.

“I don’t know. I don’t know you.” She was glad her glasses hid her eyes.

“You know my name. How about this…have dinner with me tonight,” he offered as a suggestion...or a solution.

Jayde stopped walking and faced him. “Dinner?” She even removed her sunglasses, allowing him to see the expressive eyes she had.

“Yes, you do eat don’t you?” His gaze held hers unflinchingly.

Like he didn’t see she wasn’t rail thin. “Of course. It’s just that…”

“Don’t tell me you have plans. With your boyfriend?” A slight frown filled his features.

“No plans, no boyfriend, and that was not what I was even going to say.” She put one hand on a shape-ly hip and stared at him. “I was going to say that it could be dangerous for me to do this.”

“I’d protect you.” The tone in his voice told her he meant it.

Who’d protect me from you? Jayde could feel her father’s disapproval even from the large distance that separated them. This solidified her decision. “Meet in a neutral place?”

“Of course. We could eat at the restaurant in your hotel if that would make you feel better.”

“You don’t know where my hotel is.”

“Not yet. I will since I am walking you to your door.” His confident voice thrummed every synapse in her body.

Why not? She was on this vacation to have fun. It was a time for her. “All right. I’ll agree to dinner.” This man called to her body in—dare she say it—a way that she’d never felt before, a spiritual way.

“Now, will you tell me your name?” he asked as they began to walk again.

“No.”

“That’s not fair,” he protested.

“Okay, let’s trade.” The words slipped out of her mouth.

Tyson grunted. “Trade what?”

“What will you give me if I give you my name?” Jayde asked. When did my voice become so throaty?

He touched her arm gently, and she stopped to turn those extraordinary dark brown eyes on him. “What do you want?” His tone had become even more seductive, and with those four words, had opened up a gate that Jayde wasn’t sure she would know how to get back through once she entered. Or if she would want to. Something about him made her want to act wantonly for once in her life.

Unable to turn away from his mesmerizing stare, she countered, “What’s up for grabs?” Hello, double meaning! Despite the numerous people who streamed past them, it was like they were in their own world and were the only two people.

“Name it,” the words he murmured were silky with challenge.

“I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about me,” Jayde said softly, suddenly embarrassed for her forward action.

“I won’t. Tell me, what do you want?” His voice was smooth and yet still insistent.

You to make love to me all night long. You to make me feel like a real woman. Your woman. “Dinner.” Had she really been about to say what she wanted?

He arched an eyebrow at that one. “Is it going to be a date?”

“Sure. Even with the whole walking me to my door afterward,” Jayde responded with a brilliant smile.

“Okay, then, since you aren’t going to tell me what you really want, how about I tell you what I sug-gest?” His voice was downright primal and sex-infused.

Embarrassment was all gone, leaving lust in its wake.

“Go ahead,” she said proud her words weren’t hesitant.

“A kiss,” Tyson said in his deep voice. His gaze remained steady and never wavered from hers.

“A kiss?” Jayde’s voice broke as she imagined his firm lips on hers.

“One name, one kiss,” he paused for a moment. “Deal?”

“Deal,” she agreed.

He broke into a leisurely smile that contained more than a bit of eroticism. Tyson stepped right up to her lush body; she was engulfed by the smell of sandalwood and masculinity, which sent a jolt straight to her groin.

Jayde narrowed her eyes in confusion. “What?”

“I gave you two names.” His wolfish smile grew. “You owe me two kisses.”

Her insides melted. The rational part of her brain knew she should protest, but the promiscuous side of her wanted the kiss. Before she could form a word one way or another, he took the decision away from her.

Tyson cupped the back of her head and held her still as his firm lips slowly lowered to hers. The touch was light but it sent a shockwave through both of their bodies. As his mouth pressed harder to hers, her knees weakened. Jayde was lost in a passionate haze. His tongue swept over her teeth before plunging into her warm mouth to stroke her own tongue. In and out, in and out it went, mimicking an action that both of them wanted to experience with one another. The heat that grew between them was the kind that made lava seem cool.

They both lost track of time before the other voices grew louder and they realized people around them were cheering and catcalling them. As Tyson gradually pulled away, Jayde found she was leaning on him; her hands had balled up his shirt in her fists. His eyes still burned with a fervor that made her tremble even more than his kiss already had. “One,” he said in a breathy voice, telling her he wasn’t as composed as he wanted her to believe.

“Jesus,” was all Jayde said as she put a bit of space between them. Her fingers touched her swollen lips as if reliving the feeling of his on hers. In all her twenty-nine years, she’d never experienced a kiss like that one.

“That’s one way of putting it.”

“I really have to go,” Jayde stuttered, determined to ignore the hard erection that had been pressed against her while she’d been in his arms.

“And like I said, I will walk you to your door.” He gestured for her to lead the way.

This time though when they walked she felt the light contact of his hand on the small of her back. Pro-tective and a bit possessive, his touch made her feel wonderful. The groups of tourists they strode through might have gotten close, but none ever touched her. He made sure of that.

She stopped at the entrance to her hotel. “I can make it from here.” Her words broke the silence that had fallen between them on the walk back.

“Dinner still?”

Jayde looked at him and nodded. “Sure. Here at…” She shrugged. “What? Six?”

“Six it is.” He picked up her hand and kissed the back of it, never releasing her gaze. “This doesn’t count as kiss number two.”

Jayde didn’t respond. She couldn’t. All she could do was stare until her watch beeped again. Panic crossed her face. “Shit. I really have to go.”

“Go then. I will see you at six in front of the restaurant.”

“Don’t be late Tyson Kincade,” Jayde drew out his name, winking at him as she turned and ran inside the hotel disappearing from his sight.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Tyson said to her retreating back. As he walked off towards his own hotel he knew he had found the other half to his lonely soul. He felt like he’d just gone through Hell Week at BUD/S training, where boys went to become men and only a select few of those determined men became SEALs. His heart was pounding hard, his palms were sweaty, and he was exhausted. At the same time, he was as hard as he’d ever been and ready to take Jayde to bed and please her or die trying. He was pretty sure he could; her explosive response to his kiss had been proof of that.