Taking the Heat by Kate J. Squires

the canvas, finding the rocking motion soothing to my rattled nerves.
    A crackle from behind me caused my head to turn and examine the bushes behind me. A single cameraman crouched behind a tree.
    â€˜I’m not going to do anything interesting,’ I warned him.
    â€˜You never know,’ he whispered back. ‘Besides, these are great mood-building shots. You, silhouetted against the sea, alone with your thoughts …’
    â€˜I’m not exactly alone, you crazy stalker.’
    â€˜I’m not really here.’
    â€˜Yes, you are!’
    â€˜Just ignore me.’
    â€˜Then stop talking!’
    â€˜Okay, okay, take it from when you sat down. You’re all alone …’
    â€˜I’m all alone,’ I muttered.
    â€˜No, you’re not,’ said a shadow, moving across the sand towards me.

Chapter 9
    â€˜Chris …’ My throat swelled and the words caught inside me, sounding thick. He looked smoking hot as usual, in his midnight blue shirt. Unbuttoned, it framed his sculpted chest and stomach, which called to me like a siren song. His strong brow was lowered and intense and I waited for him to speak next.
    For a moment, the only sound between us was the shhh of the waves. Then he said, ‘Why are you out here?’
    â€˜Just building mood with the cameraman, you know how it is.’
    â€˜Are you okay?’
    His gentle question broke me. ‘I saw Babette between your thighs,’ I said, hotly.
    â€˜I saw Henry leaving your room. And you were wearing a towel.’
    â€˜Robe.’
    â€˜Still.’
    â€˜So, what? Are you playing up with Babette as revenge?’
    â€˜Of course not.’ He dropped to his knees in the soft grains, face stricken. ‘I just meant, I was talking to Babette, for the same reason you were speaking to Henry. We’re on an island full of interesting people from around the world—it would be weird if we all didn’t talk to each other.’
    â€˜Oh,’ I said, feeling petty and jealous.
    â€˜What did Henry want, anyway?’ Chris asked carefully, just a hint of envy in his voice.
    Smiling, I guessed that Chris wasn’t quite as relaxed about my socialising as he was trying to be. ‘He came to speak to me.’
    â€˜About?’
    â€˜You, actually.’
    He tilted his head in confusion. ‘Really?’
    â€˜He thinks you’re too intense when it comes to me.’
    â€˜What do you think?’
    His pale eyes, shining in the dim moonlight, were too much for me. I pushed out of the swing and turned away from him. ‘I don’t know.’
    â€˜That’s not an answer,’ he said, from close behind me.
    â€˜I don’t know! I literally don’t know , okay? You are too intense … but that’s how I feel about you, too. And I don’t know what that means!’
    I covered my face with my hands, unable to meet his gaze. Emotion raged, while I fought to stay rational.
    â€˜Tara … look at me.’
    â€˜No.’
    â€˜Tara … please.’
    I moved my hands and met his almost hypnotic gaze. As he spoke, he walked towards me and, trying to keep the distance, I stepped back.
    â€˜I don’t know what it means either, but I feel it too. I need you to give us a chance. Let yourself fall a little.’
    My back hit a palm tree. Unable to move, my voice trembled as he kept closing the distance between us. ‘How can I let myself fall in a place like this? This isn’t real life, nothing is what it seems to be, and at the end of it, I’ll have to sleep with someone else!’
    â€˜I know,’ he said, his body so close to mine that I could feel the heat from his skin and the magnetic pull between us tugged at me painfully. ‘I wanted you to know, I don’t care what you do with Henry, or with anyone else. Well, I don’t love it, but you don’t need my permission or judgement about anything that happens while we’re