Page 35 of Bound to You

A towel that’s sittingverylow.

A towel that could drop with just one yank of my hand.

My eyes track the rigid v lines that lead underneath it. I can almost make out?—

Someone clears their throat interrupting my imagination and my eyes snap up. When I meet Caio’s gaze, he’s openly smirking at me. He raises a brow as if in challenge.

Confidence is radiating off of him as he takes a step towards me, his blue eyes drinking me in from head to toe. Goosebumps follow in their wake. I can hear my heart beating double time in the silence. My body is on fire. I can imagine my cheeks are reflecting that pretty well.

My brain is signaling for me to take a step back, but my body won’t cooperate. I’m glued in place. He could do almost anything right now and I don’t know if I’d move an inch. I’ve always thought Caio was attractive, of course he is. But I’ve seen many attractive men, and my body has never reacted quite like this before.

Friend, friend, friend. I repeat it in my head like a prayer.

“So my shirt?” His eyes drop to where I’m gripping his shirt like my life depends on it.

“Oh, yeah. That.” I reach out to give it to him. “Enjoy.”

Enjoy?

He lets out a low chuckle. “Thanks, I’m sure I will.”

“Okay, well, I better leave so you can you know…” I wave my finger in the direction of his lower region.

The corner of his mouth quirks up as his eyes glitter with amusement. I look away. I can’t ignore the attraction between us anymore, so I need to keep my distance. After tonight, I need to stay as far away from Caio Marchetti as physically possible.

I spin on my heels before I do something I’ll regret and press the button on the elevator. Thankfully it didn’t leave this level, so the doors open immediately. I quickly get in and turn around to see Caio leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his broad, naked chest. We’re having another one of those intensestaring competitions, but the moment dissipates as he reaches into the elevator and presses my floor number without taking his eyes off of mine.

“Sweet dreams, Isla.”

The elevator doors shut as he retreats back into his apartment.

Fuck.

chapter thirteen

CAIO

“Yeah, that’s great.”I mindlessly sign off on details that Stefan is prattling on about in our meeting. We are finalizing the details for the fundraiser we are hosting here next week but I can’t keep my mind focused on the task at hand.

Rafael and I started the Ruby Cove Entrepreneurial Program a few years ago. With me starting from nothing, and Rafael inheriting his business from his grandparents, we have a decent amount of experience in how difficult the business sector can be.

We set up the program to give kids with bright ideas the chance to work with industry professionals. They do internships, and we offer one on one training sessions with their mentors, whatever they’re willing to do and/or have time for. We use our connections to get the kids in contact with people who can help them in any way possible.

We take a different group of kids each year, and the number of kids we can help depends on how much we can fundraise during the year. Not that me and Rafael haven’t pitched in ourselves every year so we can take more people, although we usually get a pretty good turnout at these events. People travel from all over the area to attend, we send invitations out to asmany deep-pocketed people that we know, and I often travel to make connections that could be beneficial to us. That’s what I was on my way home from doing when I stumbled across the prettiest girl my eyes have ever been lucky enough to gaze upon.

The foundation is something Rafael and I have put our all into, it’s important to both of us, and this is our biggest money grab of the year, so it’s an important event. But I can’t keep my focus today.

My brain is replaying my last encounter with Isla on repeat, reimagining the way her cheeks flushed at our proximity. I’m usually able to switch off any personal shit to focus on my work, but not today. Actually most of the time it’s the other way around, and I struggle to switch off my work mind in my personal life, but as established since the first day I met her, Isla is the exception to that.

When I’m in her presence she’s all I can focus on, and when I’m away, I’m thinking about the last time I saw her, or wondering when the next time will be. It’s pathetic really. I barely know the girl, but I find myself itching to remedy that. But every time I think I’m getting somewhere I run into a brick wall, reminded that she has her guard up, but it does anything but deter me. If anything It just makes me want to smash right through it to see what’s on the other side.

I know she’s a fierce friend, that much is clear. She is obviously loyal to those she cares about and sticks up for what she believes is right. It would be a mistake for someone to let her affection slip through their fingers. Like this Brandon. He must have fucked up big time to lose that kind of loyalty. The possibilities of what he did are endless, but any option where Isla had to come to the realization that she deserved better is enough for me to despise the guy.

“Earth to Caio.” Stefan is clicking his fingers in front of me, trying to catch my attention. He’s had to do that a bit lately.

“Sorry, what?”

“The garlands? Yes or no?” When Stefan gets frustrated, his French accent really comes out. It’s something I chuckled at when I first met him.

---