Isabella woke to a godawful headache, a near-bursting bladder, and a vague horror that she'd said a lot of things she shouldn't have last night. The water and Advil on the nightstand started to take care of the former, a nice long trip to the bathroom took care of the second, and after a shower and a quick round with the trusty shower head, Isabella thought she might be ready to deal with the latter.

Heading downstairs, she mentally crossed her fingers that the bad guys had been caught and all of the mysterious men in black had gone home and left her and her embarrassment to themselves. But Edward was sitting at the breakfast bar, sipping coffee from a white mug that looked too small in his large hands, and a little self-loving in the shower hadn't done a thing to curtail her libido, given how her thoughts were wandering to how those hands would feel on her—

"Morning!" Edward exclaimed. "How're you doing?"

Isabella winced and put a hand to her head. "I need to apologize for some things I said, even though I don't exactly remember what they were."

Edward laughed, head thrown back and long neck looking extremely lickable, and she realized, with a sinking feeling, that it wasn't just wine that made her want to jump the guy who was guarding her. "It's all right, I know it was only the wine talking."

"Seriously, though." Isabella padded over to the coffee maker, where the carafe was blissfully full. "If I hit on you or did anything to make you uncomfortable, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. You probably need a rebound guy, is all." Edward took a sip of his coffee and looked away. His voice dropped as he said, "Under other circumstances, I wouldn't be opposed to helping you out."

She drew in a sharp breath. It was way too early in the morning to be saying things like that or to be hearing stuff like that.

"That's too bad," she said, trying to keep her voice level and pour a cup of coffee at the same time, either of which she felt should qualify as a heroic effort. "Because I don't think I'd be opposed to it, either."

By the time she got the guts to look up, she was astonished to catch Edward's eyes raking over her body, lips slightly parted and tongue poking out. When his eyes met hers, he flushed and turned away. "We should go back to the beach today," Edward said, his voice rougher than before. "Staying in public is still the best idea."

Isabella watched in fascination as Edward's hand strayed below the countertop as if he was adjusting himself. There was no way a guy that hot and built could be interested in the messed-up pile of confusion that she was right now. Maybe Edward hadn't been laid in a long time, either.

Maybe you should 'help each other out,' a little voice inside Isabella's head piped up, and she firmly ignored it. This whole mess would be over soon, and Edward would move on to his next assignment, and they'd never see each other again. Best not to get involved in something that wasn't meant to be.

They'd barely staked out a spot on the beach when one of the resort staff came up to them and asked if they'd be willing to join in on a beach volleyball game to even up the sides. Isabella agreed reluctantly; it wasn't how she'd been planning on spending her morning, and even after her trip here had been turned entirely upside down—twice—she still had a hard time adjusting to changes in her schedule. Yet, when Edward said it was okay, she agreed, thinking it would be nice to get in some exercise.

Of course, that meant she spent a couple of hours watching Edward leap and dive and roll and otherwise show off the most fantastic body she ever had the privilege of seeing in person. She missed more than one serve, distracted by the way Edward's back muscles flexed as he turned to face the net.

She found herself trying harder than she otherwise would have, to get words of praise or even a hug from Edward. And since the guy was pretending to be her husband, he wasn't stingy with the hugs. Isabella was hoping no one else was noticing the goofy love-sick grin and hard nipples she was regularly sporting throughout the match as a consequence of having Edward's firm, sweat-lined body occasionally pressed up against her.

She was worried about having to make small talk with the other players once the game was over, but it was all couples playing, and Isabella soon realized that she wasn't the only one who'd been… inspired by performances on the court. Two blond guys looked like they were about to go at it right there in the sand, and Edward chuckled as he put a hand on Isabella's back to lead her back to where their towels were laid out. "Who knew volleyball could make you so horny?" he muttered.

Isabella flushed. Damn, she'd been hoping he hadn't noticed. "Shut up."

That got her a quick look from Edward, followed by raised eyebrows. "You mean you—?"

It took a moment, but she realized that he had been speaking of the generic 'you' rather than her specifically. She gave a self-conscious laugh. "Hey, I'm surrounded by hot men, and I haven't gotten any in six months. Can you blame me?"

"Six months? I find that hard to believe." The glance that he swept over her body felt almost like a physical touch in its intensity.

Isabella drew in a shaky breath and looked away. Edward had already said these weren't the right circumstances in which to get involved, and she agreed. Well, she mostly agreed… okay, she agreed a little bit.

At least the parts of her that weren't currently bursting into flames at the sight of Edward's ass as he bent over to pick up his towel and shake off the sand agreed.

She tried flirting with Edward a little that afternoon, casual touches or looks over the top of her sunglasses. She got an approving nod a few times, which took her back until she realized that Edward thought she was playing along with the fake husband thing. That took a little of the fun out of it, but Isabella noticed enough envious looks from other resort guests—and even staff—that she started to feel pleased with herself at having the attention of the hottest guy at the resort.

There were one or two times, though, when there was something in his eyes that was hard to read but made her wish that they'd met each other under different circumstances. Like when he tugged her close with an arm around her waist, his hand sitting low on her hip, as they walked along the water's edge, his fingers rubbing gently over her skin even though no one else could see. Or when Isabella made a joke that was by no means one of her best, but it still cracked Edward up, mouth wide open as he laughed out loud, sending a warm thrill down her spine.


Finally made it home from work and swim practice... got the boy his dinner and settled for bed. Thank you for the reviews guys!

Jess