Page 14 of Bearly Breathing

“Ooh, hey, I don’t want to dance with you!”

“Sure, you do, come on,” he rubbed against her suggestively to the hoots and cheers of his pals.

“I said let go!” She yanked herself back with more strength than she realized. Oh crap, and that was when she lost her footing.

“Damn it!” She yelled as she tipped backwards, wind-milling her arms. The force of her pull with the strength of gravity all worked against her as she felt herself fall backwards, down the three stairs that led to the beach.

She closed her eyes and braced herself, but instead of the jarring impact she expected, Leya landed on something hard. Hard, but warm.

Day-um. Leya gasped and looked up into familiar brown eyes.

“Didn’t I tell you to watch where you were going?” His teasing voice reached her ears, a low grumble over the sounds of the tiki bar.

The things that voice was doing to her! Oh my! Her rescuer looked down at her with an amused expression on his face. If it wasn’t for the way his dark eyes raked over her body, she’d think he was laughing at her.

“Oh, um, I-”

“Hey, lady, damn, I just wanted to dance!” The blonde looked down the stairs in horror at her near miss and Leya scowled.

She lifted herself into a sitting position, but firm hands held her waist where she would have stood up. She ignored that. For now.

“Steady now,” he murmured, his lips tickling her ear. She ignored the thrill that went through her and focused instead on the young clout who made her fall.

“I don’t want to dance with you, you-” she was visibly shaken. Her rescuer spoke to her, close enough she felt his warm breath on her neck send shivers down her spine.

“Mind if I handle this?” he asked, and at her nod he turned.

She watched as his expression changed from teasing sweetness to pure threat. He addressed the cocky fool who’d grabbed her without moving her from her place on his lap.

“Son, you best turn around back to your friends if you know what’s good for you,” he said in a deep voice that practically growled in his throat and made her knees turn to jelly.

“No problem, man!” The younger man backed away hands raised.

“Well, this is cozy and all, but suppose we see if you can stand up alright?”

Leya felt her face heat up furiously. She was still sitting on the guy’s lap, for Pete’s sake! She was probably crushing him.

“I am so sorry! I must be hurting you!”

“Hurting me? A little thing like you? Darlin’, I could sit like this all night. I just want to make sure you didn’t get hurt when you fell,” his gaze dropped, and she heard him suck in a breath.

“Oh, uh, no, I’m fine, but I am not little-” she looked down and saw why he was having difficulty breathing. Her elastic top was pulled down, and her breasts were almost completely bared to his and everyone else’s’ eyes. Yikes!

“No, baby, you are not,” he growled.

She yelped and stood up quickly. Scrambling off his lap and tugging the fabric back in place. She didn’t even realize the hand he kept solidly on her waist.

She tried taking a step back, but he stood up too. His hand firm and solidly on her body. The feel of him singed her through the layer of material. She didn’t feel intimidated by him. No. She felt warm all over. She wanted to lean into his touch.

Oh Lord, Leya shook her head and looked up at him from her high-heeled sandals. The man was huge! He had to be well over six-feet tall, and twice her width! There wasn’t an ounce of fat on the guy.

He looked like a bodybuilder or football player or something. He was so big, she actually did feel small standing next to him. That was a novelty in itself! One she would love to get used to.

“Um, thank you so much,” she whispered, unable to break the spell of his intoxicating stare.

“I’m Marcus,” he said. His eyes sparkled in the moonlight like onyx as he looked down at her.

“My name is Leya.”

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