Sure he was quick to enlighten her to the fact that this was the opportunity she’d been waiting for, the opportunity to prove her abilities outside an academic setting, but they both knew it was a load of bull. She was merely a distraction he didn’t need when breaking in his new plaything.
Honestly, Chloe would give her eyeteeth to discover a dragon on Ryuu. Then after she unveiled her discovery, she’d make her mark in the scientific world, and show her ex what she was really made of. What all women were made of.
Her anger sparked and she grunted something very unladylike. The hell with Michael and his ridiculous notion that dragons existed. She had two weeks on this beautiful island. Even though it was the off-season for tropical vacations, and there were very few guests at the singles resort, she might as well take advantage of her paid vacation and try to mingle with the fellow vacationers. Sure it was out of character for her. But maybe a little—or a lot—of hedonistic sex was just what this scientist needed to take her mind off matters. Yeah, it was time to let her long auburn hair down and indulge in a little playtime before she went back to civilization and figured out her next career move, and how she was going to spend the rest of her life.
Deciding to do just that, she pulled her hair from its restrictive ponytail, shook out her locks and let them fall over her shoulders in a rebellious tumble. Then she removed the straw from her glass and downed what was left in one gulp.
“Can I get you another?”
Chloe tipped her chin and turned toward the deep, sexy voice. Gorgeous emerald green eyes edged in rich amber met her gaze. Taking her by surprise, her heart skipped a beat and her entire body moistened. Good God, she’d never seen eyes quite like those before. She looked past his shoulder but the bartender who’d served her earlier was nowhere to be found. Geez, she’d been so lost in her thoughts she hadn’t realized a shift change had taken place. Her gaze moved back to the new replacement, taking the utmost pleasure in his roguish good looks, short dark hair and killer athletic body. It was easy to tell he was a local by his rich coloring and sun-kissed skin. As she studied his appearance, her nipples tightened and brushed against her thin sundress. The feeling was downright sensual and had her mind spinning an erotic adventure. Mr. Hot Bartender was dressed in a white shirt with a nametag pinned over one sculpted pectoral, and a low-slung pair of jeans that showed off hewn muscles. With a casual, laid-back, easy way about him, this guy took bad-boy bartender to the extreme.
As she slid her glass across the teak bar top, all thoughts of her ex-boss, his new plaything and dragon hunting disappeared quicker than her last daiquiri.
Just then two men sidled up to the bar and summoned the barkeep. With Chloe’s lascivious mind still focused on Mr. Hot Bartender’s rock-hard body, she was only half-listening to the conversation, but her ears immediately perked up when one of the men brought up the Ryuu dragon, and the bartender quickly went to work on dispelling the ridiculous legend.
As she watched him move with a casual nonchalance, her tongue darted out and scraped across her strawberry-soaked lips. His movements were so confidant, smooth and easy, it was almost as if he were gliding, or better yet, slow dancing around the small hut.
With muscles that hadn’t come from any gym, he looked wild and unkempt, like he’d just crawled out of bed. Damned if she didn’t want to crawl right back into it with him. He was the antithesis of her ex-boss really. What the hell had she seen in Michael anyway? Intuition told her this guy had more integrity in his little pinkie finger than Michael had in his whole body. In fact, this guy seemed self-assured, secure in his identity and certainly didn’t appear to be the type who needed a menagerie of women to boost his ego. He looked sexy, untamed, and downright…“scrumptious.” Forget about taking advantage of the island. She’d rather take advantage of him.
As soon as the two men left with their drinks, the bartender turned back to her. “Scrumptious, huh?”
Dammit, she hadn’t said that out loud, had she?
She tried for causal but failed. “Yeah, my drink…it…it was good, real good.” Rattled by his close proximity and animalistic allure, her words came out broken, choppy, despite her efforts. Cripes, she’d been around hot guys before, so what was it about this one that had the ability to addle her logical brain?
“So you’d like another?”
Suddenly, a tingle on her arm drew her attention. Needing a moment of reprieve from his seductive pull, she examined the rare, long-horned beetle crawling over her flesh. She lightly squeezed its hard black shell between her thumb and forefinger, stood and carefully placed it on a nearby tree.
Satisfied that the beetle had been returned to nature unharmed, she twisted back around and reclaimed her seat in time to see the barkeep give her a look that she didn’t quite understand. Ignoring it for the time being, her glance brushed over his nametag a second time before settling on his mesmerizing eyes. Benjared, aka, Mr. Hot Bartender leaned across the countertop and blatantly gave her a slow, lingering once-over. His observation halted and played over her breasts, and she wondered if he saw the telltale hardening of her nipples. His gaze
