Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 98226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
He wore nothing but a pair of navy blue swim trunks, and just as I expected the day before when I’d first met him in that suit, his chest and arms and abdomen were lined with exquisite muscles, tanned and highlighted by a sheen of sweat or lotion, I couldn’t be sure. The Spanish shoreline stretched out in a picturesque way behind him, and I found my finger itching where it hovered over the shutter button of my camera. Luckily, this time, I had the good sense not to give in to the urge.
I stood rooted in place, watching him type and the way the muscles on his arms flexed and tightened with the movement. His dark blond hair was disheveled, and something about his bad posture as he sat there rounded over his laptop made me smile.
He’s human, after all.
I’d come up top to get a different view of the shore, but taking the cue from the rest of the crew, I knew I should try to be invisible when it came to Theo. So, slowly, I took a step backward, trying to be quiet as I made my way back downstairs.
I hadn’t set foot on the second stair down before Theo said, “I’m not going to push you into the pool, if that’s what you’re afraid of.”
I turned to find him smirking and still tapping away on his laptop.
After a moment, he closed the screen and set the computer aside, chuckling when he looked up to find me still gripping the stair railing. “Please,” he said, gesturing to the pool. “Join me.”
My eyes shifted to the pool, back to Theo, and back to the pool.
“I’m not accustomed to having to make requests twice, Miss Dawn.”
His voice was deep and smooth, and he relaxed back onto his palms, stretching out and letting the sun cast its rays over his tanned, cut abdomen.
I swallowed, tucking my hair behind my ear as I shuffled across the deck. My hands left my camera only long enough to lower me down on the opposite side of the pool, then I dropped my feet into the cool water and held my camera like a lifeline once more.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Theo said, and I glanced up at him just long enough to see his gaze tracing the shoreline.
I looked at where my hands folded over my camera again and nodded.
“Have you ever been to Europe before?”
I shook my head.
Theo was quiet for a long pause, so much so that I looked up again and found him leaning forward, elbows balanced on knees, sunglasses pulled down to the tip of his nose as his eyes assessed me. “I make you uncomfortable.”
It was a statement, not a question, and it made my cheeks heat so furiously I let my hair fall in front of my face again to hide the crimson.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“Don’t be,” Theo replied with a chuckle. “Do I scare you?”
“No,” I said with a laugh of my own. “I just… I feel a little out of place.”
“Because you’re on a multi-million-dollar yacht?” He frowned. “I don’t understand, isn’t that commonplace for everyone?”
He smirked at his joke, and I relaxed a little, loosening the grip on my camera. “That’s part of it, yes.”
Not to mention the way you stare at me like you want to eat me alive…
“But it’s more so that I feel weird not working, especially when everyone else is.” I nodded to his laptop. “You included.”
“Ah, you caught me,” he said, sighing as he shoved his sunglasses back up his nose and looked at the laptop. He pushed it even farther away, like that would stop him from reaching for it. “I’m trying to take an actual vacation, but I’m afraid I’m a bit of a control freak.”
“Worried the building will burn down in your absence?”
He chuckled. “Something like that.”
“What is it you do, anyway?”
At that, his head snapped back a little, like the question was a smack across the cheek.
Oh, God.
“I’m sorry,” I rushed out, shaking my head. “I should probably know that already, shouldn’t I? Oh, God. I’m sorry.” I shook my head more furiously, gripping my camera tight again. “I shouldn’t have asked.”
“No, no,” Theo said, holding his hands out toward me. “It’s alright. It’s refreshing, actually.” He leaned back on his palms again, pausing. “What do you think I do?”
I shrugged. “Hedge funds?”
He barked out a laugh at that. “That’s a fair guess, given the size of this yacht. Sadly, I’m terrible with investments, which is why I pay someone to handle mine for me.” Theo reached for a grape on the platter next to him, popping it in his mouth. “Ever heard of Envizion?”
I balked. “You work for the biggest database management system in America?”
“Worse. I created the beast.”
My jaw dropped open. I couldn’t help it, and Theo laughed at me before I could clamp my teeth together again. “Wow. I feel like an idiot.”