“Anytime.” She dropped onto the pile of duffel bags next to him. “Ask away.”
“You ever heard of a cocktail menu? A special one?” He took a shot in the dark, because Laney’s tone had held a certain something. He needed to know what she’d really meant.
Ashley laughed. “So you’ve heard about the infamous drinks menu?”
“Give me details.” The way she was smiling, he was in trouble. He definitely didn’t know enough.
“Well, the next time you boys decide to go undercover at a resort, you might want to pick one that doesn’t specialize in kinky sex.”
“I’ll give my boss a heads-up,” he said dryly. “I hadn’t planned on having kinky sex on this mission.”
Absolutely not. Hell, even plain old vanilla sex was pretty much off-limits. While there weren’t hard-and-fast rules about personal activities while undercover, bedding a civilian who could blow his cover was definitely pushing the boundaries of what was acceptable. He couldn’t and wouldn’t jeopardize the mission.
Or Laney’s life.
“Maybe you should rethink your position.” She elbowed him, eyes twinkling at the pun. “Because apparently the resort staff can be more than a little adventurous, as can the guests. The names of the drinks are code for various fantasies you might want to act out. It’s all secret and hush-hush, a way for guests to discreetly communicate their desires to each other.”
Fantasies about sex. That sounded pretty damn erotic, but he’d seen how other people’s kinks played out when he’d worked undercover as a biker. M-Breed’s members had engaged in frequent sex, often public, and never nice. On the pool table, up against the wall, in a bathroom stall. Take your pick, do whatever the hell you wanted to do. Gray had managed to avoid the gang’s groupies, because no way he wanted a woman who was into him only for the drugs or position she thought accompanied sleeping with him. His fantasies were different.
He frowned. “How did she know about the menu?”
Ashley raised a brow. “Which she on this island propositioned you? And did you turn her down flat or take her up on it and she shocked your delicate sensibilities?”
“I gave one of the guests a massage,” he said gruffly. “She said something to me at the end.”
Ashley whistled. “You must give a really good massage. Give me a name.”
“Laney Parker.” Why was he so reluctant to give up her name?
“She was your client? In that case, I may have told her about it.”
“And how come I wasn’t informed?”
Ashley winked at him. “I didn’t think you’d be interested. Not your kind of scene.”
He wondered when he’d started coming across as uninterested in sex.
“I don’t like surprises,” he said. Although he’d definitely liked Laney. If he’d known what she was asking him, he would have followed up. He definitely wouldn’t have let her run off on him.
Ashley’s eyes flashed. “You’re not exactly vanilla.”
Neither were most fantasies.
She poked him in the chest. “Do you even know how to flirt?”
Shit. Did he? “I know how to play games,” he grumbled.
Levi smacked him on the shoulder. “Ashley’s the best. You can take notes.”
“This from you.” Disapproval radiated from Ashley’s voice. “You’re the team man whore.”
“And you’re not on the prowl? I’ve watched you hanging out by the pool.”
“I’m undercover.” She jabbed a finger into Levi’s chest. “I’m playing a part. Someone has to get in there and keep an ear to the ground.”
“Duly noted,” Gray growled. “Don’t make me put the two of you in time-out. Break it up, move it along.”
Ashley blew Levi a kiss and headed back to the beach and her kayak.
“That girl is trouble.” Levi shook his head. “Maybe that’s why we don’t let women join the SEALs.”
Gray grinned. “They’d kick our asses, and we like being in charge.”
“True.” Levi made a face at Ashley’s departing figure. “She’s damned good at it.”
* * *
SLIPPING INTO THE water was like coming home. Diving had been one of Gray’s favorite parts of BUD/S training. The world seemed different beneath the surface, everything more buoyant and streamlined. The bay was mostly sandy-bottomed and dotted with coral heads. Butterfly fish swarmed him as he dove toward the bottom, bright yellow and black sides flashing. Any closer and the fish needed to buy him dinner first, one particularly bold specimen bumping against first his mask and then his dive gloves.