Page 46 of Unstable

Her eyes widened as she turned back to him. “What is that?”

He fought the urge to smile but lost the battle. “They’re tiny white crabs that primarily come out at night.”

“Those things are seriously creepy.” A delicate shudder moved through her, and her legs tightened around his waist.

She was too close, and he was too turned on. Trying to break the tension, he bent over, dipping her backwards toward the sand. She threw a panicked look downward, clutching at his shirt, her fingers curling into the fabric. “What are you doing?”

“You just took ten years off my life, woman. I should let the crabs have you.” He swung her low enough that the strands of her long hair brushed the ground.

She seemed to know that he wouldn’t drop her, and her fear bled away, turning to laughter. “Stop! Roman, please!” she called out between giggles.

Taking pity on her, he lifted her back into his arms where she met his eyes with a lethal glare. “That wasn’t very nice.”

“I couldn’t help teasing you just a little bit,” he replied, the corner of his mouth kicking up. “I mean, seriously. Who’s afraid of a little crab?”

She playfully slapped his chest, and silence fell as he stared into her eyes. Heat raced through his body, and with her pelvis flat against his, he was certain she could feel the evidence of his lust there. Her gaze dropped to his lips, and his pulse shifted into overdrive. He curled his fingers into her flesh and started to lean in before common sense took over.

No matter how badly he wanted to kiss her, he couldn’t let it go that far. Easing his hold, he slowly lowered her to her feet. She leaned heavily on him, her eyes darting around to make sure the crabs were gone.

“Come on,” he said softly. “Let’s head home.”

He placed a hand on her lower back to try to dispel the awkwardness of the moment. He knew it was his fault, but it was something he had to do. She was a client, and a fairly high profile one at that. They were technically married, but that piece of paper didn’t mean a thing to her other than her safety.

There was no way he could ever let it go far enough for anything to happen. As real as it all seemed, he had to remember one thing—this was just pretend.

CHAPTER

TWENTY

“So, are you scared of anything else, or just crabs?” She shot Roman a mock glare as they cut across the sand on the way back to the rental house. “I wasn’t scared of the crab, it just… startled me.”

He laughed, a low sound in the back of his throat. “You sure about that?”

“Yes.” She lifted her chin defiantly, fighting the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“Mhmm.” He gently bumped her with his shoulder. “Scaredy cat.”

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

“All right, all right,” he conceded. “So, you’re not afraid of the crab, even though you tried to climb me like a tree.”

She snorted but couldn’t help the smile that spread over her face. “You’re such a jerk.”

Beside her, Roman laughed. “Seriously, I’ve never seen anyone move so fast in my life.”

Now that her initial surprise had worn off, she could laugh at her reaction. “Fine, I may have overreacted”—she held up her thumb and forefinger an inch apart—“just a tiny bit. But, in my defense, I wasn’t expecting them.”

“I know, right? Who would suspect there would be crabs at the beach?” he asked drily, and she lightly backhanded his arm.

“It’s nighttime. I assumed they all… I don’t know.” Exasperation tinged her tone. “Don’t they dig themselves into the sand or something?”

Roman grinned. “Yeah, to hide from you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Ha, ha. You’re so funny.”

“Coulda been worse.” He shrugged. “Florida has some of the most deadly snakes in the world.”

She snapped her head around to look at him. “That’s a joke, right?”