The woman’s arm shifted, falling away from her abdomen to reveal a creamy white patch of skin that was otherwise surrounded by a sea of red. He had no idea if she was drunk, hungover, or if it was something else entirely, but someone needed to let her know that she was burning to a crisp. He didn’t see anyone with her, so he assumed she was by herself.
“Excuse me, miss,” he said.
The woman made no motion or acknowledged him in any way.
“Miss,” he said with a bit more force.
Still, there was no response from her. Leaning down, he inhaled her scent. Shock tore through him as that mouthwatering aroma of strawberries and cream hit him like a ton of fucking bricks, nearly knocking him on his ass.
Mine!A growl echoed in his head. It was a voice he knew well. One he shared a body and soul with. One that had been eerily quiet as of late, choosing not to make an appearance for what seemed to be months. Not since his brother had found his mate.
Kingston had summed it up as his beast’s sorrow at having not found his own mate, but he figured he’d bounce back within a few weeks. Sadly, that bounce back never happened, and his beast edged farther and farther into a state of depression … if there was such a thing for his animal.
Now, his beast had been fully awakened with a single scent of a woman whose face he had yet to see. The animal clamored in his mind, wanting what was his. Wanting the female who smelled so damn good, she made his freaking mouth water and his cock grow painfully hard, trapped beneath his pants and the hard metal zipper pressing against it.
“Miss!” he growled this time, bumping her chair with his foot.
“Huh? What!” She shot up out of the lounge chair and stumbled into his arms. Her cowboy hat fell to the ground.
Kingston felt as if he had been electrocuted when her hand made contact with his. Suddenly, he regretted not taking Jace up on his offer to swap clothes instead of staying in his suit. What he wouldn’t have given at that second for more skin-on-skin contact with his mate.
Without thinking twice about his actions, he lifted her chin slowly with his forefinger, needing to see what she looked like. He sucked in a sharp breath the second his gaze met her emerald eyes.
“Oh!” she gasped and quickly pulled away from him. “I am so sorry. I … I don’t know what’s happening.”
Her voice was music to his ears … soothing, calming. Like nothing he had ever heard.
“Sorry. My fault. I saw that you were starting to turn into a lobster and wanted to warn you.”
“Oh! Shit! Are you serious? I am such an idiot,” Emmy winced when she poked the angry red lines on her stomach. “I swear, I haven’t been drinking. It was a long flight, and I thought the sun would feel good. I never expected to fall asleep like I apparently did.”
She bent over and picked up her cowboy hat, her breasts nearly falling out of the tiny bikini top she wore. Her long dark hair cascaded around her, shielding his view and pissing him off. He didn’t want anything to block his sightlines.
“I should probably head back to my room. Thanks,” she said, grabbing her stuff from the small table beside the lounge chair.
“Wait,” he said, not wanting to say goodbye just yet. He needed to come up with a reason for her to stay.
She turned to face him and looked at him expectantly. “Do you need something?” she asked curiously.
Kingston wanted to say that he needed her completely naked and under him this damn second, but he bit the inside of his cheek and tried to come up with a semi-coherent sentence, considering he felt like his tongue had been tied in a big ass knot.
The truth was he’d never felt like more of an idiot in his entire life.
CHAPTERFOUR
Emmy stared at the mountain of a man in front of her. She had never seen such a beautiful man in her entire life. His long dark hair fell perfectly around his handsome face. His high cheekbones tapered down to his full lips made for kissing. His striking golden eyes were a color she had never seen on another human. Good lord, she could get lost in those damn beautiful eyes of his.
Then … there was the rest of him. Covered in what appeared to be an expensive-as-hell three-piece suit, he towered above her. Literally! Considering she was a whopping five foot even. She had to crane her neck up to see his face when she had jumped from the chair and slammed into him. Holding back a giggle, she wondered if the oxygen was thinner up there.
“Was there something you needed?” she repeated the question, wondering why he had asked her to wait.
“I wanted to give you this,” he said, reaching into his inner jacket pocket and pulling out a card.
She padded back over to him, trying to keep her curves and ridiculous white streak across her sunburned stomach covered as much as possible. Reaching out to accept the card, she gasped as his fingers brushed lightly against hers. The tiny hairs on her arms stood on end, and her nipples pebbled to hard peaks just beneath her swimsuit. A wicked heat fueled by lust shot straight to her core and left her shaking all over.
What the hell?she thought.
Never in her life had she had that reaction to the faintest of touches from a man. But the man in front of her wasn’t like any other man she had ever seen … and that was a good thing. A damn good thing in her mind.