“Your face is red. You should get back in the water and cool down,” I instructed.
“Oh,” she replied, tucking a damp strand of hair behind her ear. “Yeah, I probably should.” She wedged her bookmark between the pages she’d been pretending to read and left the paperback in her seat. I stayed until she’d had enough of the water and returned, her face back to its normal shade.
“It’s starting to get really hot. I’m going to head back in for now.”
“Okay.”
I went inside, changed out of my wet clothes, and hung them in the bathroom to dry. Settling in with my laptop, I was determined to get a little work done while I was cooped up inside.
Fifteen minutes later, I was knee-deep in my response to a colleague’s email when movement from outside the window caught my eye. I lifted my gaze. Taylor stood and adjusted her beach chair so it was nearly flat. Hesitantly, she glanced from side to side and I sat up a little straighter. What was she looking for? There was no one around. She was alone on our little private section of beach. When she reached behind her back and started to pull the strings to her bikini top, I realized what she was about to do. She was going to sunbathe topless.
Holy shit.
The strings gave way easily and she moved to the ties behind her neck. I cursed, sat my laptop aside, and walked to the door, prepared to stop her. But what would I say? She’d be bare by the time I got to her. I wouldn’t be able to focus on anything but those luscious breasts, the rosy tips pulling into tight peaks from the breeze off the ocean.
I couldn’t just walk out there and demand she cover up, could I? It wasn’t my place, but I knew Aiden would want me to do something. He’d want me to protect her and keep her in line. Then again, she was a grown woman who could make her own decisions. No one had the right to tell her what to do. So I waited, wavering between inaction and instinct.
Her top dropped to the seat I’d recently vacated and she settled back into hers. Her head was raised just enough that I couldn’t see anything, and I felt like a fucking creep for trying to. I turned away, unwilling to be the type of guy who peeped at a half-naked girl without her knowledge. Returning to my abandoned computer, I attempted to focus on my work, my eyes frequently searching her out, ensuring she was still there. God help me if she ventured off somewhere. I would have to go after her then.
Several minutes later, I looked up to find a small group of guys, three college aged punks, walking toward her on the beach. They were looking at her, elbowing each other and smiling, their greedy eyes roaming lustily over her form, and I sprang into action. Before I could make it to the door, she must’ve noticed them too, because she sat up and grabbed her beach towel, haphazardly spreading it across her chest in her haste.
No one heard me open the door over the sound of the waves, and they didn’t notice me as I approached. I came within earshot just in time to hear one of them taunt, “Come on, girl, show us what you got. You can’t pretend to be shy now that you’ve gone topless.”
“I didn’t think anybody else was out here.”
Her voice shook with timidity and I felt my blood begin to boil. They were scaring her. Enraged, I picked up my pace, reaching her chair in seconds. All three of the guys froze when they saw me.
“Is there a problem here?” I gritted out through clenched teeth, purposefully lowering my voice an octave.
“No sir,” one of them replied.
“We were just admiring your girl’s,” another one chimed in, pausing to think of the right word, “assets,” he continued with a smirk, clearly not recognizing the danger he and his friends were about to encounter if they didn’t back off. His buddy elbowed him and rubbed his thumb over his nose nervously. When I took a step toward them, my fists balled and ready to strike, they took a step back.
“I suggest you continue your walk and keep your hands and eyes off her assets,” I warned. They scampered off without another word and I turned my glare at Taylor. It wasn’t her fault those kids were horny, disrespectful little punks, but shit. If she didn’t want anyone to see her tits, she should’ve kept her top on.
“Thank you,” she said quietly and stood, grabbing her things before bolting inside. I turned to watch her leave and noticed her reflection in the window. You couldn’t really see inside, and I realized she never would have noticed me watching her. God, I am a creep.
Taylor
My face heated, cheeks burning with embarrassment as I scurried past Dalton to escape back inside. Those guys saw me. They saw my naked breasts and leered at me. Who knew what they would have done if Dalton hadn’t come to my rescue?
Dalton.
He was the only person I thought might see me topless. I’d actually hoped he would, and subsequently liked what he saw. Maybe then he would touch me on purpose next time. Maybe then he would caress my body without dreaming I was someone else. It was a pathetic, last-ditch effort to garner his attention and hopefully win him over.
Boy, did that plan backfire.
Escaping into the en-suite, I let my head fall against the back of the door. I needed to get it together and chase any thoughts of Dalton and I hooking up while we were here out of my head. It wasn’t going to happen. He would never see me as anything more than his best friend’s little sister.
I splashed cold water on my face and finger-combed my hair. It actually looked pretty good, the saltwater giving the soft waves a little texture. It looked beachy and effortless and I loved it.
When I exited the bathroom, Dalton was perched on the corner of our bed waiting for me. Our bed. A shiver ran down my spine at that thought. We were sharing a bed for the next five nights. Too bad nothing fun would be happening there.
His eyes found mine when he heard the door click shut and I stopped dead in my tracks. He was brooding, his eyes flaring with anger.
“What the fuck, Taylor?” He rose and faced me, his jaw tight with annoyance.
“What?” I asked, stunned by his tone and language. He’d never spoken to me like that before.
“What were you thinking, going around topless like that?”
My mouth curved into a frown. The hope that he’d finally notice me dissipated, replaced with defiance and retaliation.
“I wasn’t ‘going around topless’,” I snapped back. “I was sunbathing and decided I didn’t want any tan lines.” That was only partially true, but he didn’t need to know the rest. He didn’t need to know I was banking on him seeing me and liking what he saw. “Besides, there was no one around. I didn’t think anybody would see me,” I added, hating that I felt the need to explain myself to him.
What about me? Didn’t you consider that I would see you?” he challenged.
Consider it? Hell, I’d prayed for it.
“What would it matter?” I challenged right back. “It’s not like you would’ve looked.” I was baiting him, waiting for him to break. Waiting for him to admit something, anything. That he wanted to see me, that he secretly snuck a peek at me through the glass, hoping to see what my bikini kept hidden.
His chest rose and fell with his deep inhale and his jaw ticked again, his eyes dropping briefly to my chest.
“Your brother would kill us both if he found out I let you go out there exposed like that.” He motioned toward the beach, completely avoiding my question.