No sense getting tan lines when it’s only me out here…
I feelhim before I even see him, his body casting a shadow over me.
“You’re in my sun,” I tell him simply, unwilling to have anyone or anything derail my afternoon. My nap was heavenly and so was the dream I’d been having.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Sawyer’s voice is a bark, my hackles rising even as I try to keep my voice unaffected.
“Tanning. Sometimes I work so much I forget what the sun even feels like. Besides, I found this chair while I was in town and I couldn’t resist.”
I kick my legs a little for emphasis, and I can’t be positive but it sounds like he growls. But that can’t be right, can it?
“We have neighbors, Hallie, and you’re not wearin’ a top.”
Rolling my lips inward, I do my best to hide my smile because Sawyer Kade isdefinitelyriled up about that. He still has a Southern accent, but it’s far less pronounced than it was when I met him all those years ago.
It makes sense with how long he’s been here and the fact that Starlight Bay is nestled in the heart of New England.
But still, I like that he’s stillhimafter all this time.
“I have a top. I just untied it so I don’t get tan lines. Seriously, do you know what it’s like being trapped inside forhours?”
“Hallie.”
Annoyed, I make quick work of tying the strings at my back and then the ones behind my neck before rolling onto my side and sitting up.
“I’m allowed to lie out in the sun. It’s no different than if I went down to the beach. What are you so worried about? You think someone’s going to see my boobs? Why does it matter? They’re just boobs.”
I punctuate the statement by making a show of adjusting the tiny fabric triangles of my top, noting Sawyer has apparently gone mute in the last thirty seconds.
Holding up my hand to shield my eyes from the sun, I glare at him, opening my mouth to continue my tirade when I catch sight of his expression.
It’s a heady mix of fury and desire, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides as we face off, and now I’m pissed.
Because I won’t apologize for wearing a bathing suit.
And I sure as hell won’t be sorry he’s turned on by it—byme.
Snatching my book and phone off the ground, I push past him toward the house. I don’t look back, but Idoput a little extra swing in my hips as I go, because even if he doesn’t say it, Sawyer Kade wants me.
Now I just need him to man up and do something about it.
11
SAWYER
Ikept my distance from Hallie for the rest of the day because one single moment had derailed everything I’d hoped to say as I drove home from seeing Walker.
She’d been sunbathing and I’d let my gaze trail down her body, unabashedly appreciating how sexy she looked.
But I’d snapped when I’d seen her top undone. The thought of someone stumbling into the yard and finding her was ridiculous, but the flash fire of jealousy had been so potent I could almost taste it.
I had no claim to her, yet I wanted to strip her down and fuck her senseless right there in broad daylight for everyone to see.
So everyone would know she’s mine.
That primal urge had been a gut check, and I’d fisted my hands to keep from doing something we couldn’t take back. She deserved more than me flying off the handle, and I hadn’t been capable of rational thought.
Thunder sounds off in the distance as I push my bedroom door open and step into the hall, resolved to talk to her—to have the conversation we both deserve. But when I pass her room, it’s empty, and the cat is nowhere in sight.
