No Strings__ - By Janelle Denison Page 0,38
giving himself whiplash. Sure enough, a young guy—shirtless, buff and cocky-looking—was walking up to where Chloe was laid out like a gorgeous, glistening goddess. It was then that he noticed that she wasn’t wearing her red wristband, making her free game for the single men at the resort.
Nope. Not gonna happen. She was his...at least for a few more days and nights. That was his excuse, and he was sticking to it.
“Thanks for today, Ricardo,” he said, and shook the other man’s hand, eager to be on his way. “I’m looking forward to seeing the proofs.”
“We got some great shots,” the other man said, clearly enjoying Aiden’s sudden interest in getting to Chloe. “I’ll get them edited and to you on a flash drive by tomorrow afternoon so you can use them for your campaign.”
“That’s perfect.”
Finished with his own work for the afternoon, Aiden followed the pathway to Chloe’s lounge chair, his irritation growing as he watched her smile at the other man as he talked to her. She said something to make him laugh, and Aiden thought he’d pop a blood vessel. Shit.
Trying not to grind his molars, he stepped up to Chloe’s cabana, determined to send her admirer on his way as quickly as possible. The guy frowned at him, as if Aiden were the interloper, and not him.
Aiden assumed an assertive stance next to Chloe’s chair. “She’s already taken.” The tone of his voice was equally brusque.
The other guy dropped his gaze to Chloe, waiting for her to confirm or deny Aiden’s statement. After a moment she sighed and offered her Romeo an apologetic smile. “Yes, I’m with him.”
Immediately, the man held up his hands and backed away, looking contrite. “I didn’t know. She wasn’t wearing a red band.”
She glanced up at Aiden from her reclining chair, her expression reflecting a hint of humor. “I didn’t want a tan line.”
As soon as the other man was gone, a smile twitched at the corner of her lovely, sensual mouth. “What was that all about?” she asked.
Hands on his hips, he shrugged, trying to keep his gaze on her face, instead of leering at her gorgeous breasts, barely concealed by a scrap of bright blue fabric. “Just trying to save you from the buzzards.”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t need saving. I’m not some damsel in distress who needs a white knight to rescue her.”
Of course she didn’t. “When I’m with someone, I don’t share.”
She laughed at him, the sound light and teasing. “That’s a bit of a caveman mentality, don’t you think?”
“Caveman?” He smirked, recalling just how she’d liked being manhandled last night. “I’ll show you caveman.”
He pulled off his shirt, then scooped her off the lounge chair and up into his arms. She squealed in surprise, and he grinned as he bounced her and shifted her quickly so that she was slung over his shoulder—caveman style.
A shocked gasp escaped her. “Are you kidding me?”
She squirmed against his shoulder, her slippery, oil-slicked body making it more difficult for him to keep her in place. He locked his arm tight across the back of her knees so she couldn’t slide off him, and started down the beach to the ocean. “Does it look like I’m kidding you?”
She tried to kick her feet, all to no avail. Then she smacked his ass. Hard. “Put me down, Landry!”
“Oh, I will,” he drawled as he wrapped a hand around her smooth, supple thigh and gave it an affectionate squeeze. He’d release her just as soon as she had a soft surface in which to land.
“Oooh, you are so going to pay for this!”
Considering she was laughing, her threat lacked any true animosity. “I’m sure I will, and I’m looking forward to it,” he said, just as he reached the water—and continued wading in until the gentle waves lapped around the hem of his shorts.
“I’m warning you, Landry,” she said, exasperation and defiance mingling in her stern tone. “Do not do this!”
“Sorry, babe,” he said as he maneuvered her body so she was once again in his arms and he was grinning down at her. “But I really can’t resist.”
Effortlessly, he tossed her into the clear blue ocean—her arms flailing, eyes wide, and a garbled “arrghhh!” rending the air before she dropped into the water with a satisfying splash, then sank below the surface.
She came up sputtering, wet strands of hair in her face, and he couldn’t restrain his deep, throaty chuckle as he started back out of the water. Damn, but that