“Will I see you tomorrow?” Kit asked when they reached the door of her cottage.
She moistened her lips, wondering how she should answer. Maybe it wasn’t wise, but she wanted very badly to spend more time with Kit. The reckless part of her urged her to take advantage of every moment she could have with him. Who knew when—if ever—she would have an opportunity like this again?
“I’d like that,” she said, fighting uncharacteristic shyness when she met his eyes.
“Have breakfast with me.”
Again, it wasn’t a command, yet not quite a request.
“Please,” he added with one of those dangerous smiles.
She bit her lower lip. She wasn’t looking for a holiday romance. And anything more serious was out of the question. She would bet her modest little diamond-stud earrings that she and Kit had absolutely nothing in common beyond a fondness for old songs and dancing in the moonlight.
Still, what could another few hours together hurt, as long as she didn’t let things go too far? A few laughs, some light conversation, a little harmless flirting…could that really be so bad?
She could almost hear her mother responding to the mental question. Don’t be a fool, Savannah Jane. You, more than anyone, know what kind of trouble you can get in if you don’t behave yourself.
In response to that familiar, carping voice, Savannah lifted her chin and said almost defiantly, “All right. What time would you like to meet?”
Kit’s smile deepened. “Eight-thirty?” he suggested. “I’ll stop by for you.”
She nodded.’ “Fine. Eight-thirty.”
“Maybe we could go down to the beach after breakfast,” he added, pressing his advantage.
She murmured something noncommittal, deciding to take the next day as it came.
Moving slowly, as if to keep from startling her, Kit leaned closer. “Goodnight, Savannah,” he murmured, his warm breath brushing her lips. “Sleep well.”
“Good night,” she whispered, her breath caught in her throat.
He kissed her lightly at first, apparently intending to keep it brief and friendly. But something changed almost immediately after their lips met. What had begun as a tentative, rather innocuous caress was soon transformed into a’deep, thorough, intimate embrace.
It was the first time in her life that a kiss made Savannah feel as though she’d been struck by lightning. The powerful charge coursed through her from her lips to her toes, which curled automatically in her high heeled sandals. It sizzled beneath her skin, igniting the heat that had been building inside her since their first dance. Desire exploded inside her.
By the time Kit lifted his head and backed away, Savannah was incapable of speech. She could only stare at him, stunned by what had just happened between them. Kit’s dark eyes looked rather glazed, and his breathing wasn’t entirely steady. She wasn’t the only one who’d been affected by the kiss, she thought dazedly.
He hadn’t even touched her except with his lips, she realized, and yet her entire body tingled as though he’d run his hands over every inch of her. How had he done that?
She couldn’t handle this, she thought as panic coursed through her. She wasn’t experienced enough to keep her responses to this man under control. It would be too easy to get in over her head, and she refused to let another charming, seductive, overconfident male shake the hard-earned self-confidence she’d spent thirteen years building.
As if he’d read her mind—and seen her doubts—Kit spoke quickly. “Tomorrow morning. Eight-thirty. I’ll pick you up.”
He was gone before she could find her voice to argue with him. As he faded into the shadows of the long walkway that circled the resort compound, she thought she heard him humming “Star Dust.”
Savannah closed herself into her tidy little cottage and then leaned back weakly against the door.
“Oh, my,” she murmured, fanning her burning face with her hand. “What an evening.”
And she would be seeing him again tomorrow.
BY THE TIME Kit was to stop by for her the next morning, Savannah had convinced herself that she’d simply overreacted the evening before. She’d let the champagne, the stars, the music and the dancing go to her head, she decided.
No man could be as incredible as Kit had seemed to be last night. Dashing gentleman pirates were only fantasies, and she would do well to keep that in mind in the light of day.
She’d dressed casually today, wearing denim shorts and a red-and-white-striped T-shirt over her royal blue swimsuit. Barely-there sandals on her feet. Her hair pulled back into a flirty, twisted ponytail. Looking into the mirror, she saw echoes of the girl she’d been fifteen years ago, when she and her cousins had buried that silly time capsule. Back when she’d looked forward to each new day and the adventures it would bring.
She lifted her chin and nodded in approval as that old, slightly reckless feeling surged again inside her for the first time in so very long. She was on a tropical island, about to meet an attractive and entertaining man. She was going to enjoy every minute of her time with him, dam it She could do that without causing a disaster, right?