We swayed with the waves and my gaze trailed up his chest to his shoulder where my hand grasped. Of course the thing I grabbed on to had to be a part of his body. His lips were curved in a smile, his hair wet and dripping. I watched as droplets of water rolled down his temple. His gray eyes stared down at me playfully. I’m glad one of us was having fun right now. I released him, but didn’t sink into the water.
He held my arm tightly and when I looked at where he held me he did the opposite of what I would expect. He yanked me close, so close. I could feel every inch of his body against mine and my brain couldn’t focus on anything else. My breasts were pressed against his, but he paid it no mind. His eyes darkened and his smile dropped as he lowered his head. In the shadow of the boat, I shivered, but it wasn’t from the cold.
What the hell was happening?
My arm ached at his grip and I arched into him as he inhaled deeply. My body shouldn’t be having this reaction to him. Up until I arrived here I was thinking about a man that wasn’t my boyfriend and now I was thinking about another. It made my stomach churn at the thought that I might be like my mom. Was I that easily moved by men?
“Meeting you here… is like fate,” he murmurs. His lips move against my skin and it tickles.
“If that’s how you see things, everyone here could be your fate,” I muttered.
“Not everyone here has been on my mind since I saw them at dinner,” he said.
He lifted his head from my neck and looked down at me. I swallowed at the intensity in his gaze and the truth I heard in his words. I lifted my hands to his chest and pushed. It did nothing but pull a smile from his lips. This was all just a game to him. Well, I would burst his bubble because I would not be another man’s play toy.
Bastard.
“Do you make a habit out of forcing women?” I snapped.
His eyes widened at my words before they dipped to where he held me. I waited for him to release me, but he didn’t. I glared up at him, not sure where this anger was coming from, or why I was taking it out on him. He was a stranger, he wasn’t anyone to me, and he didn’t know a thing about my life.
“I apologize Alpha. I have had a stressful week. It is not you that I need to direct my anger at,” I said. Motioning towards my arm. “Please release me.”
“This isn’t how this was supposed to go,” he said.
“What?” I asked. Not because I wanted to know what he meant, but because I was surprised that there was a way he thought that this would go. He mentioned he’d been thinking about me. He released my arm and I bowed my head.
“Can we start again?” He asked. I looked up at him.
Did I even have a choice?
“I’m Andrius,” he said.
He leaned forward, offering himself to me, as if I was someone special. As if I was someone worth getting to know. He offered himself to me so that I could lean in and sniff him, but I didn’t have my wolf yet. Why was he doing this?
“I’m Amia,” I said. I offered him my hand and he stared at it for a moment before taking it. His hand was warm and firm. “What brings you here?” I asked.
“Would you believe me if I said that I was hoping to see you?” Alpha Andrius asked.
“No, I wouldn’t,” I laughed. Andrius reached out and caressed my cheek.
“You’re beautiful when you smile,” he murmured. I blushed. “As fun as swimming is, I think it would be easier to have a conversation on the boat.”
He turns from me and in three powerful strokes he’s behind the boat. Cautiously, I swim after him. He pulls himself up on the afterdeck and I watch him from the water. He turns to face me and I fail to keep my eyes from wandering down his body. You aren’t supposed to follow strangers, yet here I am. He leans over and offers me his hand. I don’t know what to do.
“Don’t leave me hanging now. I promise I won’t bite,” he says with a wide smile.
I grab his hand and he pulls me up out of the water in one tug. I practically fly up like I’m as light as a feather. I stumble and he grabs my waist to keep me still. My hip tingles where he touches and I gasp. He doesn’t look me up and down now that I’m out of the water. I can feel his gaze on my face. I sigh and look up at him. There’s worry on his face. I don’t know why there would be, I’m no one to him. I don’t know him and he doesn’t know me. What’s there for him to worry about?
“Are you okay?” He asked.
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” I whispered.
“Other than the fact that you smell of two different beasts? Your scent… is different,” he murmurs. I hide my face in embarrassment as realization takes root. I smell different because I’ve been with a man. I close my eyes and breathe slowly through my nose.
Dylan.
“I’m sorry. That was rude,” he said. He releases me a takes a step back.
“It was,” I mumble. My face warms and I know my face is red. The sound of a laugh has me lifting my head and staring at him with my mouth open.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
“I don’t think I know anyone as bold as you, Amia,” Andrius said.
“I think you’re the only one who thinks I’m bold,” I said.