Except my brain doesn’t believe me.
Every step I take, I can feel him behind me. Heavy footfalls against the sand. The phantom sound of breath drawing closer.
My pulse spikes, my thighs burn, and I swear the air thickens with heat.
“Jesus, Sadie,” I mutter, forcing a laugh that sounds too breathless to be convincing. “You’re officially an idiot.”
Still, I don’t stop. I keep running until the sand dips beneath my feet, catching me off guard. I stumble, catch myself, but the sound that escapes me – a sharp gasp – carries through the air.
That’s when I hear it. The deeper rhythm of his shoes against the hard sand, closing in.
I glance over my shoulder, and there he is. Closer than Ithought. Bare chest slick with sweat, muscles flexing with each stride, his face level with mine like he’s already caught me.
And like the idiot I am, I freeze.
For a second, the world narrows to nothing more than the rush of the surf and the sound of our breathing.
“Morning,” he says, voice low, gravel-rough, as he comes to a stop next to me.
I open my mouth to say something smart, but nothing comes out. I’m stupidly slick between my thighs. There’s a pulse there, too. It’s teasing and insistent and I really hope I have a neutral expression right now.
“Did you hurt yourself?” he asks, frowning as he pulls his shades up onto his head. And then he reaches for my wrist. Actually closes his hand around it.
I think I let out a yelp.
What the hell is wrong with me? I swallow hard, trying really hard not to look at his sweat covered muscles. Not to imagine them flexing and tightening as he does exactly what he wants to me.
“Sadie?” His voice is low. “Are you okay?”
“I… yes. Yes, I’m fine. Stumbled on the sand. It’s kind of… sandy, you know? All grainy and yellow and…” I trail off. Oh God, I need to shut up now
There’s an amused look on his face. His gaze washes over me, like he’s appraising me. “You were running fast.”
“Was I?” Well that’s good at least. I haven’t lost it. I give myself an imaginary fist bump.
“It’s funny,” he says, a smile still playing on his lips. “One minute you were running with an easy pace toward me, the next you spun around and ran like we were competing for first place.” He blinks slowly, hiseyelashes sweeping down. “Was I supposed to be chasing you down or something?”
My face heats up even more. Of course he doesn’t know I was thinking aboutthatbook. How could he? And yes, I was imagining him being the chaser in this scenario, but he’d have to kill me before I’d admit that to him.
“Oh!” I say, needing to get out of this. “I just remembered I have a delivery coming. Gotta get back to the shop.”
“A delivery before the ferry makes its first round trip?” he murmurs. “That’s impressive.”
I let out a ragged breath, consoling myself that there’s no way he knows about my secret fantasies. He probably just thinks I’m an idiot.
Let’s face it, hedefinitelythinks that. Our previous encounters haven’t exactly been heartwarming.
“So.. yeah. Gotta go. Nice to see you. Maybe put a shirt on next time.” I force a wide smile onto my lips. “Bye Zach.”
But before I can leave, he reaches out and runs his thumb over the inside of my wrist. So soft it’s almost featherlike. And my stupid, stupid body reacts even harder than it did when he grabbed me.
Like I’m on fire. Like I can’t breathe. Like I need the weight of him on me more than I need oxygen.
“Thought so,” he murmurs, then he turns away.
For a moment I can’t move. Everything else fades away other than the thud of my heartbeat and the place where his thumb touched my skin.
By the time I remember how to inhale, he’s already jogging down the beach again, all muscle and control and maddening calm.
