Page 7 of Beautiful Defiance

It’s unnerving having a guy this close to me. It’s also unnerving how hyperaware my body is to his. I swear his heart beats in time to mine, and our breathing is in sync too.

And the way he’s stroking my flesh above my knee . . . Jesus, I’m heating up from the inside out. Thank goodness we’re at the guesthouse. I’m ready to pass out from the sheer torture of his fingertips on my sensitive skin.

He sets me on my feet. I let myself inside the guesthouse. To my annoyance, Seven follows me inside and plops down onto my couch. I look away from how well his shirt, wet from my swimsuit, clings to his skin.

“Who says anything about swimming?”

It hits me what they could be doing in their swimsuits. “Are you saying the girls wanted to parade in front of you guys in their bikinis?”

“Yeah. We boys would bid on the girls. Winner gets the girl. The girls get the money. A win-win.”

“That’s pathetic.”

“To you.”

“Demeaning too.”

“And beauty pageants aren’t? Or how about strip clubs? Or something like Thunder Down Under?”

“Thunder down what?”

He smirks. “It’s like Magic Mike but Australian dudes in Vegas.”

“No matter how magical or Outbackishly sexy they are, I wouldn’t partake.”

“Partake? Not interested in hot dudes? You’re a prude. Or are you into girls?”

“Believe me, I’m into guys. And if I’m a prude because I don’t believe sexuality should be flaunted, then okay, I’m a damn prude.”

“If it’s not looks and sexuality, then what is there to look forward to in a girl?”

Is this guy for real?

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe someone to laugh and cry with. To share secrets and heartache with. To dream with. To argue with just to have some kissing and making up to do later. There are many reasons to want to spend time with someone.”

“And obedience?”

I growl under my breath. This guy is off his rocker, having been hit in the head one too many times.

“Obedience is boring,” I snap.

Obedience is silence, and my silence made it okay for a horrible guy to continue hurting my mother, holding power, influence, and his arrogance over her head.

“But if it’s obedience you’re wanting, you should practice what you preach. Word is you’ve been very disobedient. Partying. Not keeping up with your studies. Talking back to the coach. Picking fights on the field.”

“Keeping tabs on me, huh, Leigh?”

He gets up off the couch and stalks toward me. I back up until I’m against the edge of the breakfast bar.

I cross my arms and tip my chin at him. “I don’t keep tabs on anyone, so don’t flatter yourself. Everyone knows you’ve been short-tempered and distracted.”

“Short-tempered and distracted?” He reaches out and snaps the strap on my swimsuit. “Should I be short-tempered and distracted by you, Leigh?”

Why does he have to say my name like that, with heat and something wicked? Like he wants a taste of me, licking me from head to toe before he takes a chunk out of me with his perfect, pearly white teeth?

“That’s Safari to you.” I push him out of the way and barge past him, ready to show him out.

He grabs me by the arm and swings me around. I collide into his chest. He grasps my chin and tilts my face up, forcing me to look him in the eye.

“Not so fast. You owe me for saving your life.”

His gaze drops to my mouth. I twist out of his hold.

“Sorry, but I’m not in the business of owing anyone anything.”

Bypassing the hard glint in his eyes and his clenched jaw, I grab my backpack off the floor, heave its weight to my chest, and shove it into his.

“The battery I took from your truck. Now, we’re even.”

---