Any Way You Want It (Brand Clan #2)(11)

She shivered, swallowing hard. “You...you should have gone to the club.”

“Why?”

“You could have had fun. Met someone.”

His dark eyes glittered with challenge. “Is that what you really want? For me to meet someone?”

Zandra opened her mouth to respond, but no sound emerged.

“I didn’t think so,” he growled.

She shook her head at him, feeling more confused and frustrated than ever. “What are we doing, Rem? We came here to relax and have a good time, not destroy our friendship.”

He frowned. “How are we destroying our friendship? By admitting that we’re attracted to each other? By accepting the fact that we want to sleep together?”

Heat flooded Zandra’s cheeks. “That’s not going to happen.”

Remy laughed softly. “I don’t think you believe that any more than I do, sweetheart.”

She held his gaze another moment, then abruptly sidestepped him and started back toward the hotel.

Remy followed her, his long-legged stride making it impossible for her to outpace him.

They walked without speaking for several minutes, the only sound between them coming from the ocean.

As they neared the hotel, Remy broke the silence. “What are you so afraid of, Zandra?”

“I’m not afraid of anything.” But that was a lie, and they both knew it.

“Zandra—”

She sighed, staring up at the moon. “Look, you’re right, okay? I’m attracted to you. And yes, damn it, I want to sleep with you. More than you can imagine.”

“Now we’re getting somewhere,” Remy murmured.

Zandra shook her head at him. “But just because we’re attracted to each other doesn’t mean we should act on those feelings. There’s a lot at stake here.”

“I know,” Remy agreed.

“Do you?” Zandra stopped, prompting him to do the same. As they turned and faced each other, she said earnestly, “I cherish your friendship, Remy. I don’t want to do anything that would jeopardize the good thing we’ve had all these years.”

“Neither do I,” he said quietly. “But believe me when I tell you that there’s absolutely nothing you could ever do to jeopardize our friendship. I’m not going anywhere. Ever. So you’re stuck with me whether you like it or not.”

For the first time in hours, Zandra smiled. “You promise?”

His lips curved. “I promise.”

“Good.” Zandra sighed, closing her eyes as he stroked her windswept hair off her face. “In the meantime, if it’s an island fling you’re looking for, you should have no problem—”

“Don’t.”

She opened her eyes, bewildered by the sudden change in Remy’s demeanor. She stared at him. “I was just going to suggest—”

“I know what you were going to suggest,” he growled, “and I already told you I’m not interested in meeting someone else. But if I were, I sure as hell wouldn’t need your assistance.”

Zandra scowled. “I never implied—”

“If it makes you feel better to pretend that you’re unfazed by me going out with other women—”

Zandra bristled. “I’m not pretending anything. What you do in your personal life is none of my business.”

Remy shook his head at her, his lips twisted sardonically.

Averting her gaze, Zandra glanced around the beach and belatedly noticed that they’d come upon the cabana, where several people sat at the bar nursing drinks and enjoying the warm tropical night. Zandra’s eyes narrowed at the sight of Remy’s flirtatious admirer seated at the counter, her head thrown back in laughter as an attractive man whispered in her ear.

Zandra frowned. Seriously? This chick again?

No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than the woman suddenly glanced around. When her gaze landed on Remy, the look of unadulterated pleasure that swept over her face set Zandra’s back teeth on edge.

She turned to look at Remy, but he’d already made eye contact with his leggy admirer. As they smiled at each other, Zandra’s fingers curled into her palms until her nails dug into the flesh.

She watched as the woman murmured something to her companion, who frowned deeply, then picked up his drink and shuffled away with the slumped shoulders of a rejected suitor. Raising her glass to her lips, the woman winked invitingly at Remy, completely ignoring Zandra.

“Come on,” Remy murmured, turning back to Zandra. “I’ll walk you to your room.”

“No need,” she said coolly. “I can find my way back on my own.”

He frowned. “That’s not the p—”

“Besides,” she continued, “I wouldn’t want to keep you from your date, especially after she took the liberty of clearing the path for you to join her.”

Remy regarded Zandra for a long moment, a knowing gleam entering his eyes. “You’re not sounding very unfazed right now.”

Heat stung her face. “Like I was trying to explain before,” she said, striving for a neutral tone, “you should have no problem finding a plethora of partners for an island fling.” She paused, then couldn’t resist adding, “Maybe that’s what we both need. A hot island fling—with other people, of course.”