Dirty Sexy Alphas (Twenty Book Box Set) - Hannah Ford Page 0,269

a beautiful damsel in distress.”

She smiled back. And she’d never complain about being saved by an Adonis water god. They stood for a few seconds in silence. Now that everything was taken care of, she expected he’d go, but he surprised her when he pushed away from the counter to move closer. There was something else under the surface of his stare and it made her knees go a little weak.

This visceral gut reaction to him was getting out of hand.

“I’ve never seen anyone else sitting on the deck with you.” He tilted his head and she realized it was a sort of half question that he was waiting for an answer to.

“No. Just me. I’ve only got a couple of days left then the coach turns back into a pumpkin.” She hoped he wouldn’t force her to explain what she meant or why she was alone in paradise.

But he didn’t seem all that interested in digging deeper. Instead, he accepted her explanation at face value. “Have you been to the street market yet? It’s on the other side of the island but it’s worth the drive.”

“Is that an invitation?” she teased. Apparently her filter was on vacation as well. Heat climbed up her neck and she looked anywhere but in his eyes. Which put her at chest level because he was tall, maybe six foot three. Without shoes on, she came about up to his chin.

“Yes,” his voice rumbled.

Harper took a few steps back and inhaled slowly, then let it out even slower. His complete confidence, his ability to just be up front and without pretensions was intimidating to say the least.

She met his gaze, in a little more control now. “I wasn’t inviting myself,” she clarified, “so you don’t need to feel obligated or anything.”

“I was going to ask you anyway. You just beat me to it.” That sexy grin. God, women everywhere must throw their panties at him all the time.

“In that case, I have not been and it sounds like fun.”

“How about tomorrow? I’ll pick you up around eight in the morning. There’s this amazing cafe I’d love to take you to first. Then we can hit the market?”

“That sounds good.” And it did. She spent five days virtually by herself, her snorkeling guide aside, and it would be nice to do something fun with someone else. Especially someone who looked and sounded and behaved like an action movie hero come to life.

“Make sure you wash that cut and rebandage your wound later today. And it’s probably best to stay out of the water, at least for the rest of the day. Give it time to heal for a bit.” He stepped outside and jumped down onto the sand.

Harper stood in the doorway, her hand on her hip. “Spoken like a true doctor,” she mused out loud.

He laughed. The sound was rich and warm and she wanted to roll around with it. “Nah. Just experience. Paddle boarding isn’t as easy as it looks.” Then he winked at her. “See you in the morning...ahhh…”

They made a date for tomorrow and neither knew the others name.

“Harper,” she said.

“Ethan.” He grinned again. “So, I’ll see you tomorrow, Harper.”

That insidious heat spiraled through her body when he said her name like that.

“Yes you will, Ethan.”

With one last heat filled glance at her, he turned and jogged back toward where he’d left his board.

Harper felt like she was going to collapse. Suddenly her heart was racing again, and she didn’t know if it was the reality of almost drowning finally hitting her full force, or all of the anxiety about the media circus in Boston, or just meeting the man of her dreams.

She suspected it was all of the above.

“You were right. This papaya sorbet is to die for.”

Harper pushed the spoon around the dish, scraping every last drop of the ice cream out and licking the spoon before she set it back on the table. After coffee and a delicious pastry, she couldn’t resist the cold treat, especially when the day had started out hot already.

She’d worn a light blue tank top with a deep V that hugged her chest without being too indecent and a pair of white shorts that cut off mid-thigh. Knowing it would be hotter than hell, she’d twisted her hair into a side braid to keep it off her neck. She tried to wear her favorite gladiator sandals because they made her legs look amazing, but the straps had rubbed against her cut and she