Page 11 of Six Nights in Paradise

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 herassets,” 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, butshit. 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, Iama 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, didthatplan 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 thatIwould 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.

“What do you mean, if youletme? You have no say in what I do. I’m an adult and you’re not my dad, so it’s not really up to you what I do or how I choose to dress.” I glared at him, the passion of my lust quickly morphing into anger.

His shoulders slumped in defeat and he scrubbed a hand over his face. “I didn’t mean it like that,” he offered apologetically, his tone softer. “It’s just,” he paused, searching for the right words, “I promised your brother I would keep you safe. He’s trusting me to make sure nothing happens to you. I take that trust very seriously.” His tone was so sincere, his eyes pleading, that it cooled my rising temper. “I’m sorry,” he added.

Suddenly, I was overcome with remorse. I overreacted, allowing the feelings I’d harbored for him to cause me to behave irrationally.

“It’s fine,” I muttered, brushing past him. “I should’ve known our little stretch of beach wouldn’t remain empty all week.” And that thought made me a little sad. I wanted him all to myself. I would’ve been just fine seeing nobody but him on this island for our entire stay. But I knew he didn’t return those sentiments.

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