Her lips purse at my command, and I mentally kick myself.
"Please?" I add, asking her this time.
She crosses her little arms over her chest. "And what if I say no?"
I lean down and say where only she can hear, "Then I'll make even more of a scene than I already have and throw you over my shoulder and carry you. I'm not letting you burn or bounce that pretty body around in front of these men. Not unless you want their murders on your conscience."
She studies me for a moment again before she turns and tells her friend she's going with me. I see her friend flick wide eyes over at me before she nods, telling her she'll catch up with her later.
I stand by impatiently.
This is it. I'm finally getting another chance to have Sophie all to myself.
This time I'm not going to fuck it up.
four
Sophie
I peek over at Axe again and feel my cheeks burning with more than just the sun's rays. Sweet baby Jesus, but the man is hot. I knew he had to be buff underneath all those clothes, but his chest and arms put all the other men on the beach here to shame.
He's so big and perfectly formed. He looks like he should be an MMA fighter or something.
That still doesn't change the fact that the man is bossy as hell, though, and for some reason, he's decided to aim all that bossiness straight at me.
I still can't get over the fact that he's here of all places. Yeah, he knew Vera and I were talking about going to the beach, But I don't believe we ever mentioned which beach or what hotel we'd be staying in.
I cast a suspicious look up at him and narrow my eyes. "Are you stalking me?"
He puts an arm around my shoulder and pulls me against his side. To everyone else on the beach, it probably looks like a typical loving gesture from a couple just walking side by side, but I'm no dummy. I see it for what it is. He's making sure I can't sprint away from him.
"Would it matter if I said no?" He throws my words back at me.
I purse my lips and stare at him, taking that for the answer it is.
The arrogant bastard has been watching me.
But I'm honestly not as surprised as I should be. The man has been a thorn in my ass from the moment he pulled me up to his office in his club. He's taken up a home in my mind, and he keeps showing up everywhere I'm at. It honestly makes sense that he's been stalking me.
And I should be way more upset about it than I am. I mean I am upset, right? It's wrong to stalk someone.
But I'm a little bit more pissed off than I am scared. Does that mean there something's wrong with me? Shouldn't I be scared of my stalker?
I pull away from him. While he lets his arm drop from my shoulders, he reaches out to grasp my hand in compromise.
His hand is more like a paw. It's so big wrapped around mine.
I bite my lip, hating to admit that I like the way my hand feels engulfed in his. I try to shrug it off by reminding myself he's bad news. I mentally recite all the reasons why I can't let myself feel anything for Axe.
One, he's insanely hot. I mean too hot—so hot that every time we've been together, some woman has come in and basically thrown herself at him.
Either that or marched off looking like someone just pissed in her Cheerios.
Two, he owns a club, so he's around too many beautiful women all the time. There's no chance in hell he's not a player.
Three, he can't really be serious about someone like me. I'm just a challenge for him. Men like him probably aren't used to being told no. I truly can't fathom why else he could want me. I'm nothing special.
"What do you want from me?" I finally ask him.