Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 104729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
It would be so easy to walk up to him and put on the façade I gave him at the club only a few weeks ago.
Pretend I’m that girl. The one who takes what she wants.
And what I want right now is him.
So badly it aches.
I want him to touch me. Stroke me. Fill me.
My cheeks warm even more, and I’m sure my face is beet red. I’m probably the color of a cherry tomato by now.
The way his damn lip tips up lets me know that he knows. Yet even with him smirking at me, a tease heavy on his tongue, I don’t move. I still can’t.
I wait for him to make a witty comment.
For him to say anything, but he heads into the water and dives below.
Now is the moment that I need to leave, yet I can’t.
Instead, like the drunk-on-lust idiot I am, I wait with bated breath for him to pop back up so I can see him again.
I’m pathetic.
When he surfaces, I can see the look of surprise on his face. He expected me to be gone, yet here I still stand. Not knowing what to do or say.
Thankfully, he’s the one who breaks the silence.
“I thought you were going to take it easy?”
“I got bored,” I admit. I don’t tell him I missed his company—and that I chanced re-injuring myself to be with him.
I don’t need to say those words. They are heavy in the air, regardless.
“Do you want to come in?” His husky voice cuts through the air, making my nipples pebble with the weight of his words.
Do I?
I don’t even know anymore. Rather than speak, I stare at him like an idiot.
His words bounce around in my brain until I’m not sure what to do. His stupid chuckle is what finally snaps me out of my lust-filled thoughts.
“It’s a natural thing, dove.”
There must be marbles or glue in my mouth because even though I will myself to respond to his ridiculous comment, I can’t.
I can’t even find it in me to yell at him. I’m flushed. So damn hot, I’m on fire.
But hell no am I getting in that lake. Even if it’s what my body wants, there is no way he will get the satisfaction of me admitting it to him.
This isn’t me wanting him. I’m just the product of my environment. What woman could be stranded on an island with that man and not want to jump his bones?
It wouldn’t matter if I was a nun at this point. Looking at a naked Adonis wears on me.
Finding space, lots and lots of space, to calm my libido is imperative right now. Before I do something I will regret.
Without a second thought, I turn from him, his laughter fading into the distance the farther I walk.
“Where are you going?” he asks in a playful and not welcome tone.
Nope. Not answering.
“I don’t bite. Unless you ask, but you’d have to ask very nicely, and use the word Sir.”
Ignore.
Each step I take makes his voice fade more and more until I no longer hear him.
I need to cool down.
The blue water in front of me calls my name.
I know Alaric said not to go in, but he’s being ridiculous. It was a dolphin, not a shark. He’s not my boss. I’ll do what I want to do.
Streams of sunlight brush the surface of the water. It’s beautiful.
It’s the perfect weather for me to take a dip. Cool off from the erotic show he gave me.
I strip down completely.
With Alaric in the lake, he won’t bother me.
I’m all alone, so I might as well.
Also, this way, my clothes won’t get wet.
Stepping onto the sand, I curl my toes in bliss.
Yesterday, I hadn’t allowed myself the luxury of relaxing, but right now, that’s what I do. Right now, I’m on a tropical island, relaxing. That’s what I tell myself, at least.
If I let the rest settle in, my anxiety will flare, so I shake it off and give myself these brief moments. My feet are now bathed in the warm water. Not as warm as a bath, but not frigid enough to make it uncomfortable.
With each step I take, I submerge my body deeper and deeper.
My head tilts back as I’m fully engulfed, and I look up at the sky.
Here and now, it feels like a dream.
Blue as far as I can see.
It’s perfect.
If only the company was … Nope, not going there. Instead, I think of nothing. Inhaling deeply, I silence my brain.
My chest rises and falling as I relax.
I’m not sure how long I stay there, but soon, the water is pulling harder, and the once blue sky is turning a different shade.
In the distance, the sky is turning gray now, and the waves are growing larger and more vicious.
Is a storm coming?
I turn my attention back toward the beach.