Friendly Fire (The Echo Platoon Series, Book 3) by Marliss Melton

hundred, four hundred, five hundred. Here's your half." He held it out to her. "Don't spend it all at once, unless you want to buy me a new motorcycle."
    "Right," she said, grabbing hold of the money.
    But he did not let go. "Can I get a thank-you kiss for sharing my money with you?" he asked innocently.
    She repressed the thrill that raced through her. "Technically, I won it all because I pulled the handle," she said.
    "If you say so." He grinned at her but he still didn't let her have her half.
    Heaving a sigh of mock disgust, Juliet slid the fingers of her free hand into his wavy hair and pulled his head down, glimpsing surprise in his eyes. She tried not to smile as she molded her lips against his sensually shaped mouth.
    Mmm. Nice . Lingering just long enough to hint at what he would miss, she pulled away, tugging the money out of his slack fingers as she stepped back.
    "I'll see you in the Fiesta Galley at 8:30 a.m.," she said. "Bring Bullfrog's excursion ticket, and I'll bring mine."
    With a smile that felt far more flirtatious than she intended, she brushed past him, pocketing her money in the black shorts she wore and walking away fast.
    "Don't follow me, don't follow me," she chanted as she hurried to the elevator.
    God, she loved raising the ante on Tristan by keeping him on his toes, but she'd come off looking like a femme fatale just now, and the truth was she'd had very little practice at that.
    Tristan's appeal gave her cause to fear that she might actually fall for him. And then where would she be? She'd be just another one of his conquests, memorable only for the fact that she'd helped him to get over Mariah, whom she'd heard enough about in the last seventy-two hours to decide she was the most adolescent, manipulative woman on planet Earth. Juliet did not want to follow in that woman's footsteps.
    "Juliet."
    Oh, crap, he was coming after her! Resisting a backward glance, she increased her speed. He could move a lot faster in his loafers than she could in her three-inch heels.
    "Wait."
    She rounded the corner pretending not to hear him.
    Waiting for the elevator was out of the question. If he caught up to her, she was fairly certain what would happen next. He would back her into a corner and finish the kiss she'd just laid on him. Only he would give it to her long and deep. Her legs went weak at the thought.
    If she took the stairs, she might get away yet.
    Too bad that option didn't sound as exciting as the first one. And she was supposed to be living it up on this cruise. But Emma would be looking for her when she got back with Sammy. She would need someone to talk to, and that someone had always been Juliet, the down-to-earth sister. She couldn't afford to get sidetracked.
    Plus, the alternative of yielding to Tristan's incredible appeal while in the elevator would most certainly lead to something more. And having sex with him would be S-T-U-P-I-D.
    Turning the corner, she ripped off her heels and bounded down the stairs, taking them three at a time. By the time Tristan neared the elevator, she would have vanished from his sight.
    * * *
    "Where are you going?" Emma called as Juliet crossed the boardwalk. "We're over here," she added, pointing out the excursion sign marked "Bottoms Up Cave Tubing."
    Juliet came back, tugging the brim of her pink golf cap lower to shade her eyes. "Oh, I forgot to tell you." She gestured toward the other group where Tristan stood, conspicuously fit and tan amidst paunch-bellied men and skinny youths. "I'm switching excursions with Bullfrog, so I can hang out with Tristan. I hope that's okay with you," she added.
    Emma snapped her open mouth shut and glared at Tristan, who stood there scratching his neck and trying to act like he hadn't planned the whole thing.
    "You're setting me up," she accused her sister—although looking around, she couldn't see Jeremiah anywhere.
    Juliet hitched her backpack higher. "Look, caves really don't do anything for me. Claustrophobic, remember?