The grounds of the beachfront estate was ablaze with lights. Hayley could hear the music pulsing even from a distance; it grew louder as they approached. The party had started.

The crushed seashells crunched under the wheels of the car as Hayley pulled up the driveway. The sound of a helicopter landing nearby was loud enough to be audible over the music, and it startled her as she was parking the Porsche. At her raised eyebrows, Gabriel simply said, "Some of the guests are traveling from out of town."

"Right," she said as she turned off the engine.

Four young men in impeccable white evening jackets, grey dress pants, and neat snow-colored gloves were standing in attendance just outside the doors. Two of the men had walked down the front steps as they pulled up.

Gabriel tossed his car key to one of them.

"Aren't we getting our things?" Hayley said, glancing at the boot of the car where their overnight bags were stored.

"They'll take it up to our room," he said.

They walked up the steps to the open, wide entrance to the Spanish-Mediterranean-style house.

"This way, Mr. Sin. Ms. Denton," said the tallest of the doormen, leading the way inside. "Mr. Lam is with the guests outside. Dinner will be served in a few minutes."

"Thank you," Gabriel said. "We'll find our way."

The doorman stopped. "Yes, sir." With a short bow, he left them.

"How do they know which room is ours?" she said. He hadn't said a word to any of the staff.

"They know who we are. They know who all the guests are."

"Oh."

"I'm going to kiss you."

She froze in her steps.

They were walking through a wide hallway. When he noticed she had fallen behind, he paused and turned, Seeing her expression of alarm, he added, "Not now, obviously." He held out his hand to urge her forward.

"Obviously," she echoed, still not moving. There was an odd tingling in her arms and it took her a moment to remember to breathe.

When it was clear Hayley wasn't moving, Gabriel dropped his outstretched arm. In a few long, lazy strides, he closed the distance between them.

Her gaze was drawn to his lips. Damn it. Why did he mention kissing? Heat bloomed in her cheeks.

In a panic, she lifted her eyes to his. Big mistake. His gaze was cool, as though he'd just commented on the weather. But for some reason, her body prickled with heat.

"We've been dating for only a few days," he said.

"A week," she said, remembering their cover story.

This close, she could smell the spice of his aftershave, the musk of his cologne, and that hot, heady male scent. Being this close to him was dangerous. He was too beautiful, the low rumble of his voice too full of the promise of intimacy. But she couldn't make herself take one step backward. Not even when he wrapped his large — oh so large — hands over her hips. When his thumbs began to stroke her sides, her back arched and her heels lifted off the floor.

"Yes?" she said in an attempt to quell the moan that was threatening to escape her. "I mean... yes."

"That means we can't keep our hands off each other."

"We can't?" Her words came out in a whisper, barely audible over the furious beating of her heart.

"No."

Intellectually, he knew he was right. A week together as a couple meant everything was new — kisses, making love, the feel of each other's bodies. New couples didn't sit politely beside each other, hands on their laps. They didn't enter a room without seeking the other out with a hungry gaze. Didn't miss every chance to brush their lips together even in a room full of people. "So... kissing."

"Kissing." He nodded. "And touching." As though to emphasize his point, he moved his hands down her backside. Just a little.

But it was enough to make her gasp. "Gabriel." Her shallow, uneven breaths were so loud to her ears. She could do it, of course. The kissing. It was all part of the job, wasn't it?

"Can you handle it?"

The coldness of his voice was like a bucket of ice over her simmering desire. "What?"

"It's all going to be for show, Hayley. I need you to remember that."

She swallowed her frustration and dismay. "Sure."

"Good." He released her in a movement so abrupt that if he had shoved her away, she wouldn't have felt more rejected.

After a moment's hesitation, he took her hand in his. They walked that way — hands linked — following the music until they reached an exit that opened to a swimming pool overlooking a lawn that stretched several meters toward the beach. Below, an enormous fountain water colored with a multitude of lights. Half a dozen grills were set up around it, each one presided over by a chef. Servers carried food to white cloth-covered dining tables.

They walked down the winding stone steps on the side of the pool. Before they had even reached the bottom, a tall, well-built young man in a white shirt and beige slacks broke away from the crowd to greet them, his arms outstretched.

"You made it!" he said and chuckled when Gabriel gave him a hearty hug.

"Happy birthday, Edward," Gabriel said. When he pulled away, he added, "This is my friend, Hayley."

"Hi," she managed to squeak out before Edward enveloped her in his arms. When he released her, she had to crane her neck to look up at him — he was even taller than Gabriel.

"So you're the Hayley I've heard so much about," he said, smiling.

He had the friendliest eyes she'd ever seen, and she felt herself relax for the first time since she arrived. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard.

"Nothing bad, I hope?"

He shook his head, then slung an arm around Gabriel's shoulder. "I've heard only good things." Edward tapped a hand on his cousin's chest. "Thanks for taking care of Gabe here. I hope you're not too tired from the drive?" He glanced at Gabriel. "Is your building's helipad out of service or something? Oh right." He chuckled, and at Hayley's inquiring look, he added, "Gabe hates riding in helicopters."

"Too loud," Gabriel said. He gestured to the side of his head. "I hate wearing headsets."

"Well I'm just glad you could make it, Hayley," Edward said.

She shrugged. "Someone had to drive," she said.

He raised an eyebrow. "You drove his car?" When she nodded, he turned to give Gabriel a look she couldn't decipher. Was he surprised? Puzzled?

"Well, let's get you a drink then." He clapped Gabriel's shoulder one more time before releasing him. "We're just about to serve dinner."

.

She wasn't ready.

Gabriel knew this, of course. Hayley clearly agreed to this... arrangement without a lot of thought about what it required of her. And when he put her to the test when he touched her, he'd caught her unaware. Because that was what it was— a test. Perhaps a small part of him also wanted to rile her up. Just a bit. The same way she'd riled him up tonight with the way she looked, the way she smiled at him, the way she handled the ...controls of his car.

Had she done that on purpose? Was she more calculating than initially thought she was? More experienced and worldly?

"Holy shit is that Nick Yun?"

He turned to Hayley who was staring, mouth agape, at the chef behind one of the grills. One of Edward's college friends, Paul Grether, who sat across Gabriel raised an eyebrow briefly, his mouth twisting in an expression of disdain.

"Yes," Gabriel said, keeping his voice low. "Sit down, please." He had pulled out a chair for her and it took her a while to realize what he was doing.

"Sorry." She ducked her head and sat down.

After he'd taken his seat beside her, she whispered, "What's Nick Yun doing here?"

"Friend of yours?" Paul said, lifting a champagne flute to his lips.

It took her a while to realize he was speaking to her. "Uh, no. I'm just a fan. I've seen all five seasons of Burnout." She smiled with her lips pressed together, looking embarrassed.

"Well, you're in luck." He lifted his drink. "He's making us dinner tonight." After setting his glass on the table, he held out a hand. "Paul Grether."

She shook his hand. "Hayley Denton."

"Paul and Edward went to university together," Gabriel said.

"Oh!" She hesitated. "In... China?"

"Singapore," Paul said. "The NUS."

"You're from Singapore?"

"My boyfriend is Swiss," said another man who plopped down on the seat beside Paul. The corner of his lips lifted in a wry smile. "Paul only went to NUS because apparently Harvard was too easy to get into."

She nodded. "Hi. I'm Hayley."

"I'm Bernard." He cast Gabriel a sly look. "And how long have you and Gabriel been seeing each other?"

"A week — " She stopped when Gabriel covered her hand with his. She looked at him with panic in her eyes.

Keeping a light hold on her hand, he bent down to speak close to her ear. "I ordered the Kobe steak and some salmon. Is that okay?"

She nodded.

He smiled and moved his mouth closer. She smelled good. He recognized the perfume she wore — she'd bought it just that afternoon. Rose and jasmine. A hint of citrus. And a note of something he was less familiar with — her own body's scent. "Are you all right?" he whispered, trying to ignore the odd flutter in his belly.

"Yes," she whispered back.

"Can you do this?"

"Yeah. Sure." She swallowed, but after a beat, she added, "I can do this."

"Good girl." He squeezed her hand.

The gesture must have reassured her because she gave him a smile. A genuine one, with none of the nervousness that clouded her expression earlier.

It was then that he kissed her.

He hadn't meant to. But something in her smile urged him closer, touch her lips to his. Something in her smile urged him to taste it. To taste her.

God, her mouth was soft. He could hear his blood pounding in his ears and a voice in his head that told him this was a mistake. This wasn't part of the plan. Not the way her lips froze in surprise, then melted to the slight pressure of his mouth. Not the way an oh-so-faint moan escaped her throat when the tip of his tongue touched the seam of her upper lip.

It was Hayley who broke off the kiss.

He nearly groaned at the loss of connection, but he managed to stifle it. He leaned against the back of his chair trying to breathe evenly.

What the hell was that?

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