I closed my eyes and waited to feel the firmness of his lips against mine as he kissed me, yet nothing happened. I slowly opened my eyes again, but I was disappointed. My breath caught as I realized that he was gazing intently into my eyes.
“I think . . .” he began with a small smile. “I think we have a connection.”
“Oh?” My heart started beating fast at his words. I didn’t know how much I liked him, but I was definitely attracted to him. “I agree.” I nodded, my face flushing. I didn’t know what was going to happen next, but I was excited to find out.
“I think I know Bridgette as well.”
“What?” I blinked at him, not comprehending what was going on. I had been expecting him to take me in his arms, not to keep talking.
“I said, I think I know Bridgette as well.” He smiled at me slightly, and his eyes appeared to mock me. “I think that’s a second connection that we have. There was a Bridgette Moore who used to work for me.”
“There was?” I mumbled as my brain started racing. He knew Bridgette? Bridgette Moore had hated me with a passion. The last time I saw her she was screaming at me and threatening to ruin my life. I hadn’t taken her seriously. I’d figured her words were those of a heartbroken ex. David had told me that he was about to dump her before he met me. I hadn’t thought she was seriously going to come after me, but now I wasn’t so sure. Could this have been set up by Bridgette and not by Mattias?
“Yes, but I fired her.” His fingers trailed up my neck and circled it. For a moment, I thought he was going to strangle me as his fingers pressed in deeper and his expression changed. “I’m not the sort of man anyone should mess with.” His voice was hoarse, and I swallowed hard. “Do you understand that, Bianca?”
“Yes,” I whispered, my heart thudding with fear.
“Good.” He smiled and he leaned down to kiss me. “Bridgette didn’t seem to get that memo,” he whispered against my lips before he kissed me.
I held on to his shoulders and softly kissed him back. There was a buzzing in my ears as we kissed, and my brain was screaming at me. The kiss lit something up in me, and I ran my hands through his hair, but all the while, I was thinking to myself, Did I made a mistake in trusting Jakob? Is this man going to kill me?
I pulled away from him and breathed a deep sigh of relief as his fingers left my throat. I took a step back and my fingers found the spots where he had been gripping me and rubbed gently. It struck me that maybe Jakob was hiding more than I’d even suspected. If Bridgette had been his assistant and Bridgette had dated David, wouldn’t he have known David, or at least heard of David? And if he knew who David was, why hadn’t he said anything?
Seven
There’s something about sexual attraction that makes your brain turn to jelly. Factually, I knew that it’s the process of what happens when chemicals are released in your brain that affects your mood. The chemicals are the reason why, when you see someone you’re attracted to you, you lose all sense. However, I still didn’t understand why I always seemed to lose my mind around Jakob. I knew he was the sort of man most women would fall for. I’d just never expected to find myself lusting after a man who was handsome but also potentially dangerous. I wanted to ask him more about Bridgette, but I knew that I had to time it well. I didn’t want him to think that I was making too many connections. Not yet. There had to be a reason why he wasn’t being straightforward with everything. I just didn’t know why.
I stared at his bulging biceps as he gathered coconut palms and tried not to lust after him too obviously. I watched the muscles in his back flexing and swallowed hard. The hot sun was already deepening his tan, and I could see sweat glistening on his skin. Hard work had never made a man look so sexy before. After Jakob had kissed me, we’d noticed piles of fallen coconut branches and stopped to pick them up to take back with us to the sand. I had no idea how we were going to put them together to make a shelter, but I’d leave that up to him to figure out.
“You okay?” He looked back and caught me staring at him.
“Uh, yeah. I was just looking for the ass,” I mumbled as I stared at his butt.
“You’re what?” He grinned and turned toward me.
“I was just . . .” I stopped talking as I realized what I’d said. “I’m gathering stuff for the house.” I looked down at the ground with a red face. Damn you, jelly brain.
“What house?” He walked toward me.
“You know what I mean. The shelter.”
“I see. I thought you were gathering keepsakes for when you get back home.”
“Not quite.” I rolled my eyes and then swallowed as I looked up and saw his crotch right in front of my face. “What are you doing?” I sputtered, and jumped up.
“I came to make sure you were okay.”
“I already told you, I’m fine.”
“I wanted to make sure.” He gave me a small smile. “You’ve been gathering branches for a while now, but you have only one in your stack.” He looked pointedly at the pathetic coconut limb beside me, and I frowned.
“Why don’t you pay attention to your own pile before worrying about mine?”
“I’m concerned about both of our needs, Bianca.” His tone dropped, and his eyes moved to my heaving chest. “You should put your shirt back on when we return to the beach.”
“It’s too hot.” I shook my head and straightened my shoulders. I was no longer self-conscious that I was only in my bra and panties.
“Or you can take them off.” He grinned and licked his lips. “I wouldn’t tell you that’s a bad idea.”
“It’s not your place to tell me anything,” I snapped back, annoyed.
“I’m just concerned about you.” He took a step toward me and ran a finger along my shoulder. “I don’t want you to get sunburned.”
“And being naked will help prevent that how?”
“My body will shield you from the sun. I can make sure that all you have is a healthy glow.”
“That sounds really comfortable.”
“I don’t think you’ll be complaining.” He took another step toward me, and I could feel his chest brushing against my breasts. “In fact, you might even find that you like it.”
“I don’t think so.” My words were barely a whisper as I stared up at him. My fingers were aching to reach out to touch his taut stomach. His abs were mocking me with their perfection.