she was! What woman in her right mind would be able to look away from such perfection? When he assured himself that she was watching, he started to lift himself up again, out of the water onto a rock along the edge.
He wasn’t going to do it, she thought frantically. She would look away. She absolutely would not ogle the amazingly well-put-together stranger. But those eyes! They were daring her! Sure enough, he was getting out! He was slowly pulling himself out of the water.
Inch by inch, she watched as those shockingly huge arms lifted him out with agility. Just as he’d done this morning, those muscles bunched up and he easily stepped onto the rock at the water’s edge.
Standing up, he proudly revealed himself to her. All naked male. Protruding parts looking more than impressive! Wasn’t there some sort of joke about what cold water did to the male…physique? That must be untrue, because she knew that the stream water was cold and she now knew that this man’s…physique…was definitely not affected by that cold water.
When he simply stood there, daring her to look at his body, she felt heat swamp over her. Her breasts felt heavy and every muscle in her body tightened. Low in her belly, she felt the impact of his nakedness and she had the crazy urge to move forward, to meet him so that she could touch as well as see.
“Ciara?” one of the campers called out.
Ciara jerked backwards, her eyes moving to her students who were all diligently drawing the trees and rocks. “Yes!” she gasped, shocked that she’d completely forgotten about all of her kids. She glanced back, just one more look. He was standing there, his hands on his hips, relaxed almost except for that…part…of him.
She shook her head, trying to regain her focus, and moved back around the rock where she couldn’t succumb to temptation again. She was working! And with kids! Goodness, if any of those kids had seen that man, gloriously naked, it would be the talk of the camp for the next week!
“Okay, let’s see what you’ve done!” she called out. The kids all looked up, probably because she sounded overly enthusiastic. Was her face red? Probably.
The next group of kids was walking up the pathway and she was relieved. Glancing behind her, she almost sobbed when she realized that the man was no longer there. Where had he gone? Was she upset that he was gone? Or relieved? She should be relieved, but the honest side of her accepted that she would definitely like another peek at that man. She’d never seen anyone as well put together as he was.
Zoran couldn’t believe that a slip of a woman could have this much of an impact on him and she wasn’t even touching him. He stood at the edge of the water, demanding that she look at him, not allowing her to even glance away.
He wanted her!
And he could tell by her body movements that she wanted him. From this distance, he could make out more details of her face. Those cat-like eyes fascinated him and he wanted to know what color they were. Her legs were long and muscular while her waist was tiny. He couldn’t see enough of her breasts because of the loose shirt, and that irritated him. He’d seen those beauties while running earlier today and he felt cheated now because they weren’t on display.
She moved away suddenly and he wanted the heat from her glance back on him. He felt angered by the fact that she’d disappeared.
He was going to find her. This was imperative, he realized.
Moving easily over the rocks, he grabbed his clothes and hiking boots. Dressing quickly, he stepped through the forest, his sense of direction leading him directly to her.
Ciara felt the hairs on the back of her neck lift, sensing danger. Looking around, her eyes scanned the trees for wild animals. When she didn’t see anything initially, she glanced at the sky. The threat wasn’t coming
James S.A. Corey
Aer-ki Jyr
Chloe T Barlow
David Fuller
Alexander Kent
Salvatore Scibona
Janet Tronstad
Mindy L Klasky
Stefanie Graham
Will Peterson