There's a low hum buzzing through my body. It might be the throaty roar of Griffin's car, but it's probably from his kiss.

His kiss took me by surprise, left me breathless, made me feel worshipped. How does he do that with just one kiss? I still feel the imprint of his mouth on my lips, as if I'd kissed still-burning embers for a fleeting second.

It's all a surprise, actually. His giant grin, the sunflower, the way he's threaded his hand through mine as he drives. And yet, I feel awkward and twisted up. I've never been on an actual date with a guy before. And this is an epic date, not just a dinner and a movie.

This is a weekend getaway with a man.

What do we talk about? And where are we going? What are we going to do when we get there?

I almost wish he'd turn up the stereo so I could steal glances at him and not feel like I have to say something. So I won't worry about what will happen later, when we're alone.

"This isn't the same car as before, is it?" I assume that because he's a guy, he'll want to talk about cars.

He nods. "It is. I have this car and the bike. Which do you like better?"

I stroke the black leather seats that are as soft as those squares of butter in the diner. "The car. It's a unique color. I've never seen one like this."

"It's a silver metallic color, special to the 911 Carrera 4S."

I blink. He's speaking another language. "Nice." Then I laugh out loud. "I don't know anything about cars."

He squeezes my hand. "It's okay. I'm a car geek."

"You know, I remember that."

"Remember what?"

"You loved cars when you were younger. You'd always bring over car magazines. And motorcycle magazines. You'd try to talk to my brother about cars and he was never interested. He still isn't."

"Ash had loftier goals than I did. He wanted to save the world. I wanted to make money and drive a fast car with a beautiful woman sitting next to me." He pauses and licks his bottom lip and I'm mesmerized. "I've finally gotten all three."

I can't hold back my smile as I wonder if he says that line to all the women who have sat next to him over the years. Glancing out the window, I see the signs headed south, away from Miami. I'm about to ask where we're going when he squeezes my hand again.

"Tell me about your birthday. And your graduation."

"For my birthday we went to Orlando. Four of us. Well, most of the senior class, really, but four of us stayed together. I've been saving up for a while, and took that whole week off from work." I didn't tell him that also taking this weekend off from work wasn't endearing me to my bosses or co-workers at the diner. "We were in a motel near one of the parks and I got in free to the animal park because it was my birthday. It was good. Probably the last time I'll be around all of my friends for a while. But I suspect you saw all my photos on Instagram already."

He grins but doesn't take his eyes off the road. I take his silence to mean I should keep talking.

"Graduation was okay. My mom and Ash came, then the three of us went out for lunch at Chili's afterward. It was kind of anticlimactic, you know? Like after four years, everything was over in a couple of hours. We got our pieces of paper and everything ended. Did you feel that way?"

Griffin's smile fades. "I didn't have anyone at graduation except my sister. It was kinda sad. Especially after everything happened with my parents. Honestly, I was already living like an adult by that time, so showing up at graduation was like one more appointment I had to do."

His words make my heart crack. "You grew up fast, didn't you?"

He gently tugs on my fingers, and kisses the back of my hand. Holy crap, is he romantic or what?

"Yeah. I did. Had to, for Zoe."

"You're such a good brother. You probably sacrificed a lot for her."

He tilts his head and the side of his mouth quirks up. "I'm not sure I'd call it sacrifice. I did some things that others probably wouldn't have done. But I put her through school, put me through school. Well, almost." He laughs. "I'm a few semesters away from graduating."

"Really? Why did you leave?"

He shrugs. "I was making money by then and it was more practical to focus on that. Maybe I'll go back someday. Get a business degree."

"I'm excited to start college. Even if it is just community college. Oh, I didn't tell you! I got a scholarship. It pays for about half my classes."

"Congratulations. I guess we have a lot to celebrate this weekend. I meant to ask, why do you want to be a pharmacist?"

"You remembered that?"

He smiles and nods.

I shrug. "I wanted to major in literature. Or English. But my mom said being a pharmacist is more practical. Better paying."

"I'm not sure money translates to happiness."

Easy for him to say. "Poverty definitely doesn't."

"You should follow your heart while you can."

I almost tell him that I'm not sure where my heart is taking me, at least at the moment. And that I don't trust my heart at all. I see a sign for the Florida Keys and take this as an opportunity to change the subject. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"That's a surprise. But you can probably tell we're headed for the Keys."

Now I'm perplexed. What's in the Keys? "Oh! I thought we'd go to your house. Is one of your friends having a party in the Keys or something?"

"Not exactly. It's a party for the two of us."

The way he said that sent a zing of need through me, similar to when he kissed me. "I've only been to the Keys twice. One for a field trip to a dolphin rescue hospital, and the other time when I was little. My mom took us snorkeling."

He nods. "I was there. You were eight." He laughs. "My God. I can't believe you're sitting here. Ashton's little sister."

"What? I don't remember that. And does it bother you that you knew me when I was a kid?"

He shakes his head. "That was a lifetime ago. You're not a child."

"What do you remember about the trip?"

"It was Ashton's fifteenth birthday and your mom took us all to a beach. We rented snorkel gear and waded out into the water and swam around. It was cool as hell. Ash and I saw a big-ass eel and when we told you that, you refused to go back in the water."

Fuzzy memories filter into my mind and I shiver. "Yes! The eel! I had nightmares about that because Ash showed me a photo of what you two saw. It was green and had teeth. Didn't I also throw up on the ride home?"

Griffin laughs. "You did. Probably because after you refused to go back into the water, you stuffed yourself full of saltwater taffy. The kind you get in the gift shops. I'd never seen anyone eat so much."

I let go of his hand and cover my face with my palms, letting out a little strangled cry. "Oh God, how embarrassing. To this day I hate that stuff."

"I promise not to feed you taffy on this trip, okay?"

"Thank you." I'm not sure if I should take his hand again, but it's still on the console. Gingerly, as if he's a wild animal, I touch my fingers atop his. He twines our fingers together again and I'm stunned at how natural it feels.

"You know what I remember about you?"

"What?" He grins and licks the side of his mouth.

"I was probably seven. Maybe six. I was at the soccer field with my mom, watching you and Ash play. After, we went to an ice cream truck in the parking lot. And I got separated from all of you."

"Yeah! I remember that. And I found you."

"You did. I was crying and you held my hand and walked me back to Mom. I think that's when I first developed a crush on you." It's so absurd, I have to laugh.

He grins and kisses my fingers. "In speaking of food, I should have asked. Are you hungry? We can stop on our way."

"No, I'm good. But if you want to stop, we can." I'm too nervous to eat, but I don't want to tell him that.

"I had a late lunch. There'll be food where we're going. Everything we need for the weekend is there."

I nod slowly, wondering if we're headed to a hotel or a resort or something. Maybe Key West?

By this time, we're in the Upper Keys, the first of the islands in the chain. After a few more minutes of passing scuba shops and bars, the road opens up and we're cruising over bridges that connect the islands. The sun has just set, and the sky is a glowing, fiery red. Like nothing I've ever seen.

"God, look at the water," I whisper. It's reflecting the sun, and our entire world seems bathed in crimson. "And the sky. Look at it. It's like fire."

"Want to hear a poem?"

Poetry? He's making me melt. "Yeah, I do."

"Even after all this time/the sun never says to the earth/you owe me/look what happens/with a love like that/it lights the whole sky."

I gasp. "That's beautiful. What's it from? Did you write it?"

"I could lie and say yes, but, no. I didn't. It's a Persian poet. Hafiz. I took a class in Persian poetry in college and memorized a few lines."

We spend the next half hour — maybe more, I'm losing track of time as night falls — talking about books. Which books have been turned into TV shows, and whether books are always better than the movie.

"The Shining. The movie was way better than the book," he says.

"I haven't seen it."

"You haven't? It's a classic."

"I'm not much into horror. I'm a wuss."

"I'll watch it with you. Okay, your turn. Movie was better than the book."

"Fifty Shades of Grey," I blurt, then let out a laugh. "Well, I guess you know that I read kinky books."

"Haven't read it, haven't seen the movie."

"I'll watch it with you." My cheeks feel hot just saying that. Because I suspect if we watched that movie together, we'd end up very naked. The thought makes my stomach tighten.

Probably the things in that movie wouldn't be a big deal to him. He's definitely had all kinds of sex, a thousand different times and a million different ways. It makes me think about whether we'll have sex tonight.

God, I'm stupid. Of course we're having sex — why else would he take me away for the weekend? Most of all, I don't want him to know how inexperienced I am. My stomach feels like it's turned into a brick. And my hands are sweating, something they do when I'm nervous, and I realize that his fingers and skin are much cooler than mine.

How embarrassing.

He kisses the back of my hand, then puts my hand on my thigh. Oh God, he doesn't want to touch me because I'm sweaty. I pretend to be extremely interested in staring out the window.

"We're here," he says, taking a left into a driveway. There's a massive, solid metal gate, and Griffin stops the car and rolls down his window. He slips a card from under the visor and taps it against an electronic pad attached to a post. The gate slowly swings open, and Griffin eases the car down the driveway.

The gate closes behind us with a whisper, and all I can see are tall, tropical plants and some palm trees. The landscaping is a bit wild and untamed, and I doubt this is a resort.

My heart speeds up as Griffin slows the car even more. A few seconds later, the foliage clears to reveal a small, pale pink house. It's a little bigger than a cottage, but not a mansion. He stops the car at the end of the driveway, which is surrounded on two sides of thick foliage.

"Wait until you see this place."

I put my hand on the door, and he's already out of the car and rounding to my side. I'm fumbling around for my purse when he opens the door.

"Come. Leave your purse, leave everything. I'll get it later."

We walk up two steps — there's a cute, white painted porch attached to the front of the house — and Griffin takes keys out of his pocket. He unlocks the door and steps inside, tapping on an alarm keypad on the wall near the door. I follow, and he locks the door behind us.

Strange. There are four locks on this door. I wonder why, with such a secluded home in a safe area.

He turns on a light and we're standing in a cozy, romantic beach cottage. The décor is all light blue and tan and white, like something you'd see in a magazine. It's not stuffy or minimalist — there are shells, shell paintings and nautical knick-knacks everywhere — but it's tasteful and beautiful.

Griffin stands at the counter, reading a piece of paper next to a bottle of wine. He laughs. "Craig hooked us up."

I'm still rooted to the floor, taking everything in. "Who's Craig?"

"A buddy. This is only one of his homes. He's in Colombia on business and said we could use it for the weekend. Come."

He grabs my hand and we walk through the living room.

"That was really nice of your friend," I murmur, a little dizzy at how luxurious the cabin is.

Griffin unlocks a sliding glass door and we step outside. I let go of his hand and take a few steps. That's when I gasp.The beach is literally twenty-five feet from the back door. Two perfectly curved palm trees are swaying in the breeze, almost like a picture frame. The moon's nearly full, and its reflection is like liquid silver on the water.

"Oh my God," I whisper.

I feel Griffin behind me, and he moves my hair aside. His lips are on my neck and I feel delicious tingles flow through my body.

"Do you like it?" He trails a line of kisses down my neck, then bites me gently.

I nod and murmur yes. Of course I like it. All of it. Goosebumps flare on my bare arms and I feel his body heat wash over my skin. I shiver and when I turn to look at him, all the breath leaves my body.

Even more so than the night we first kissed, Griffin is staring at me with stark, unabashed need. He works his fingers into my hair with those strong hands. My knees are rubbery and my whole body feels weak, almost as if I could evanesce into thin air.

He holds my gaze and my heart beats erratically because I know what's next. His face is angular and sensual and so brutally masculine in the moonlight. For the first time in my life, I wonder if I'm in way over my head.

____