Page 5 of Striking
I nearly swallow my tongue as I finally take a hot minute to notice all the beautiful muscles on display in front of me. This possibly crazy, possible stalker, hopefully not a murderer is dressed in hunter-green board shorts and absolutely nothing else. His dirty blond hair is mussed as if he ran his fingers through it too many times to count, or maybe got smacked in the face with a book once.Ooopsie. And my God... his chest and arms look like they’ve been chiseled from stone.
Who is he?
“You first,” I demand, then wonder if that was a dumb move.
My tall, blond, and delectably handsome, possibly serial-killing stranger shakes his head like it’s funny that I want his name, and his lips pull up into a crooked smile. “Rhys Windsor.” He offers his hand for a shake, and I just stare. “Lennon’s older brother.”
Well, hell.I just smacked the future king of Mornea in the head with a textbook. How’s that for first impressions?
Another crack of thunder booms outside, and I want to jump out of my skin. “Umm... I guess I should apologize for the book to the face?”
“You could start by telling me your name, since it looks like we’re going to be together for a little while.”
“Right...” I’m not sure why I’m suddenly more nervous now than I was moments ago. “Bellamy Wilder...” I look around the kitchen and realize I don’t see any guards or anyone else for that matter. “Where is everyone?”
Rhys shrugs like it’s the least of his concerns as he crosses the room and opens the fridge. “Are you hungry, Bellamy Wilder?”
He bends over and sticks his head in the massive refrigerator, and oh my... this man looks just as good from the back as he does from the front. And that grin is in full effect when he pops back out of the fridge with a charcuterie board covered in plastic wrap and two beers in his hands. “Come on, my little bee. Don’t make me eat alone.”
I stand there, silently staring.
His little bee?
What the hell?
“You don’t say much, do you, love?” He chuckles, and the sound is velvety smooth. Yup, definitely melted chocolate... and there’s something about that laugh. Something that finally knocks some sense back into me.
“Haven’t you ever heard of stranger danger?” I finally ask and internally groan.
Way to make yourself sound like a five-year-old.
“Can’t say that I have, but in all fairness, I’ve had my own protection detail since my mother’s first ultrasound.”
I’m not sure if he’s actually serious, but I think he might be.
“That sounds awful,” I admit as I put the rest of my study materials on the table and take the beers from his hands. “Where are they now?”
“They were on the boat leaving the dock before the lightning hit it. They already messaged. We’re fine, and there are men in the officer’s quarters on the property. So, no stranger danger to worry about.” My cheeks flame from the quick dig as I follow him into the living room.
Unfortunately, I guess there’s no chance of a do-over, and this will forever be how I met the prince of Mornea.Fabulous!
Rhys is oblivious to my inner humiliation as I follow him out onto the covered porch and watch as he places the food on the coffee table and takes the beers from my hands. With quick moves, he opens both bottles before handing one back and tapping the long neck of his against the top of mine. “To riding out the storm together.”
Well, hell. I guess dying from humiliation is slightly better than being butchered on vacation by a serial killer. “To riding out the storm.”
Rhys
Iwas looking for an escape.
I’d hoped to get two days of peace and quiet.
Solitude—something I rarely get these days.
Instead, I was greeted with chaos in the form of Bellamy Wilder.
An incredibly delicious form, might I add, book to the face notwithstanding. I could have headed to one of the many empty rooms in the villa, alone, to find the peace I’m looking for, butthis tiny woman has piqued my interest. She’s magnetic. Which leads me to now—quite a few beers and a good amount of tequila later, sitting on a covered porch, listening to the rain as it lulls us under her spell.
Not that I’m complaining.
