The Wrong Gentleman

A rumble of voices agreed, and we all drained our drinks and set off to find a place. He might be the junior deckhand on the Sapphire, but off the boat, Landon was completely in charge. It didn’t seem conscious. He was just confident, knew what he wanted, and went for it without worrying about anyone else. Not that he was rude about it, just single-minded.

It was sexy as hell.

While rich men enjoyed flexing their power because it made them feel good, Landon seemed to have power despite his lack of money. He commanded attention from the rest of the crew, including me.

We all piled out onto the street, and Landon and I ended up at the back of our party.

As he was almost a foot taller than me, he had to lean over to whisper in my ear. “Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?”

For some reason, Landon’s compliment didn’t make me wince the way some men’s comments did. Everything about him was different and it had thrown me off kilter. His warm breath on my neck shouldn’t have made me shiver. He shouldn’t ease the ever-present knot in my stomach or have me wanting to slide my hand into his as we walked. He shouldn’t make me feel safe. “You didn’t.”

“Well, you do. Not that it’s any surprise.”

“Because you’re a gentleman who prefers blondes,” I said, nudging him gently with my elbow, trying to lighten the mood.

He pulled in a breath and scraped his hand through his hair. “I’m beginning to think I’m a man who just prefers you.”

I focused on the cobbled street in front of us. “Me?” Had I been mistaken about the ex-girlfriend in town or the girl on Tinder? I tried to hold my breath to ensure I heard his reply.

“Yeah, you. I like you. More and more.”

My stomach swooped, and I tried to think of a response. My head was telling me to run. Far away. I didn’t want to fall for anyone. I’d worked hard to stay single all these years—to keep away from temptation. But now, temptation right in front of me, I found myself rooted to the spot, wanting to know what was next. “Okay.”

“Okay?” he asked.

I nodded, unsure of what to say. Unsure of how I felt.

I knew I found Landon attractive. I knew I liked him too. But I also knew that I’d been single all these years for a reason.

He wrapped his large hand around my upper arm to steady me when I stumbled over a loose cobblestone. We stopped, and I looked up at him as he swept his thumb across my cheekbone. “I’m only going to ask you this once, and you don’t have to decide now, but stay with me tonight?”

“Landon . . .” Somehow, I couldn’t say no to him, even though I knew I shouldn’t say yes.

“Think about it.”

He placed his hand in the small of my back, urging me forward to catch up with the rest of the party.

Twenty-Two

Landon

I could hardly tear my attention away from Skylar for more than a second, and if I wasn’t careful, I was going to make a fool of myself. Despite the fact that I knew if things developed between Skylar and me, I could make the job I was doing for Reynolds more difficult, I’d decided Skylar was worth the risk.

“I gotta go dancing, burn off some of this sexual frustration,” August said from the other end of the table. “Who’s in?” Everybody began to gather their things, down their drinks, and get ready to follow August. I’d never been into nightclubs, and I wasn’t about to change the habits of a lifetime.

I set some euros on the table, resisted the urge to pay for Skylar’s meal, stood and pulled on my jacket.

“I’m not going,” Skylar said, her voice hushed and her body turned to mine.

“You want me to walk you back to the yacht?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No. I want to stay with you.”

My pulse tripped in my wrist and my heart hammered against my ribcage. “Good decision,” I said.

She sighed through her smile. “Well, I’m not sure about that, but it’s where I want to be.”

Fuck, she was at her sexiest when she wore her feelings on the outside like this. I knew that a big part of her didn’t want to go with me, but I liked the fact that a bigger part did. Maybe it was just the thought of the sex that had changed her mind. It had been so good between us, but deep down I hoped that whatever kept drawing us to each other was more than that.