Illusion (Swept Away 1)

“I see.” I spoke, wanting to fill the air with something other than anticipation.

“What do you see?” He leaned back, and I watched as he stretched his arms out. The muscles in his chest rippled, and I swallowed hard, praising myself for not reaching over and running my fingers down his chest.

“Um, what?” I mumbled as he adjusted himself.

“Bianca, I think we should sleep side by side so that we can keep each other warm, and we need Steve to believe that we are together. Our clothes are still damp, so we can’t really put them back on tonight.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

I shivered at the thought of him pressed against me. It would feel different from when we had been in the back of the trunk and lying next to each other last night. In the trunk, I’d been scared and worried. I also hadn’t known yet how hot he was. And we’d been dressed. Last night, I’d been fearful for my life. I hadn’t trusted him, and we hadn’t been touching as we slept. Now, well . . . now it was a different story. I already felt slightly turned on.

I wanted to groan. How could I be in this situation? If David knew how turned on I was right now, he’d be furious. He’d always called me frigid and a prude, but that hadn’t been it. I’d just never really been that sexually attracted to him, even though he’d been very handsome. I shook my head slightly as I thought about David. It was over, and I was glad it was over. I didn’t want to waste any more time thinking about him.

“I can tell you’re cold.” He grinned, and I cocked my head to the side.

“How?”

“Your nipples look as hard as pebbles.”

“Oh!” I gasped, in shock at his words.

“Or are you just happy to see me?” His eyes fell to my heaving breasts again, and he licked his lips slowly. “I won’t be upset if you say that’s why.”

“You’re disgusting.” I glared at him.

“And you’re wet.” He spoke softly and took a step toward me.

“I’m not wet.” I shook my hair and felt drops of water cascade down my back.

“Liar,” he whispered.

“What?” I gasped as he placed a hand on my stomach and allowed his fingers to slide down. “What are you doing?”

“I just wanted to show you how wet you were.” His fingers left my stomach and he wiggled them in my face. I could see drops of moisture on the tips. “See?” He grinned, and I watched as he licked the drops off his fingers.

We picked up our clothes and laid them out on the sand a bit farther away from the water, moving in silence. I was still slightly turned on from our interaction, yet I was also annoyed with myself and with him. I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t slapped him for being so fresh. I so wanted to put him in his place, but a part of me really enjoyed the innuendos. When he flirted with me, it was easier for me to forget where we were and the circumstances we were in. I was still completely puzzled as to why we were here. It made absolutely no sense to me. And while it made no sense, I was going to go along with his facade that we were together.

“We should talk before Steve gets back.” Jakob’s voice was low. “I think we need to make sure that we only talk about personal stuff when he’s not around.”

“Makes sense. At least the police must be looking for us,” I muttered as we sat down on the sand.

“You think so?” He gave me a deep look.

“Of course.” I nodded. “Rosie’s probably freaking out right now. She knows I’m not the sort to just disappear. Plus, I left her some stuff in her bag. When she sees it, I hope she figures out that I was onto something.”

“Onto what?” He asked curiously. “Or are you not going to tell me?”

“I want to tell you.” I could feel my head pounding as I stared at him. “It’s just hard. You’d be the first person I tell. I haven’t even told Rosie yet, though, I wanted to tell her that night.” I froze as I remembered something. “Oh my God, I might have taken a photo of the guy that was following me as well.”

“Huh?” His eyes narrowed.

“I sent Rosie a photo of the bartender that night to get her to hurry up, as she was running late. I thought a handsome man might make her move faster.” I thought back to the night I was in the bar and tried to remember if anyone else had been in the frame of the picture.

“I see.” He frowned. “You seem a bit man-crazy.”

“What?” My voice rose, and I glared at him. “What does that mean?”

“Just that you seem to date around a lot.” He shrugged.

“You get that because I took a photo of a guy in a bar?” I cocked my head to the side as my annoyance showed through my rigid voice. “That’s how you respond to the fact that I might have sent a photo of someone who was involved in our kidnapping to my best friend.”

“I was just stating a fact, based on my observation of you. You dated that rich guy, and then you were online looking for someone, and now you’re picking up guys in bars.”

My jaw dropped as he spoke. He had a better memory than I did, but he was really twisting things. “I never said I was picking up any guys in the bar.” I shook my head. “You really like to jump to conclusions, don’t you.”

“I know I don’t let my women get around.” His eyes bored into mine. “When a woman is with me, she’s with me alone.”