The Girl Nobody Wanted

“You barely weigh more than the pack does,” he said. “If it gets too much for me, I’ll put one of you down. Honest.”

He winked on that last, and began striding toward the trees again. Anna clung to him, ashamed, miserable, grateful and oddly excited. She had to wrap her arms around his neck, had to press her face in close to his. His fingers splayed over her rib cage, dangerously close to her breast, and she held her breath for a long moment.

Would he touch her there? Did she want him to? What would she say if he did?

But they reached a sandy area and he set her down again. She tried not to be disappointed as he strode away. The sand felt good on her feet, warm on top and cool if she dug her toes down. She scrambled after Leo, catching him right as he reached the trees.

It was cooler here, and the ground was flat and somewhat sandy. Leo kept walking until he found a spot he liked, and then he set the pack down and opened it. Anna watched in amazement as he pulled out a variety of items—heavy-duty plastic sheeting with grommets, a knife and rope—before he stood and began to peel the wet shirt from his body.

If she’d thought the navy shirt molded his chest, she’d had no idea what molding meant until he stood there in a wet T-shirt and jeans. But then he yanked the T-shirt off and his chest was bare and tanned. Her gaze dropped, halted in surprise. He had a dragon tattoo low on his abdomen—

Anna gulped. And turned away. Automatically she reached for her pearls, relieved they were still there as her fingers toyed with them.

“Do I make you nervous?” Leo asked from behind her. She could hear the laughter in his voice. Deliberately she turned, dropping her hand away from her neck. Calm, cool.

“Of course not,” she said.

He winked. “Good. Because I’m afraid the jeans are next, darling. Can’t abide wet clothing.”

Anna held her breath as his long fingers flicked open the button of his jeans. She couldn’t have looked away if her life depended on it. Tanned fingers slipped between the waistband and his skin, and then he was pushing the jeans down. Her heart kicked up as his hip bones appeared, and then the elastic waist of his underwear. Armani, she thought crazily. It said so on the band.

But she forgot all about it as the jeans slid down his long, strong legs, revealing tanned skin and acres of muscle. Anna couldn’t breathe. Her lungs simply wouldn’t fill. Had she ever seen a man as beautiful, as strong and lean and muscled, as this one?

Could this day be any more surreal? Just a few minutes ago, they’d been fully clothed strangers. And now they were marooned together and Leo was stripping out of his clothing.

“Keep staring, darling, and the show is bound to get more interesting,” Leo said, his voice a growling purr that slid over her nerve endings and made her shudder.

“I’ve seen naked men before,” she said with a sniff. “You can’t shock me.”

It was only a small lie: the naked man she’d seen had been on a video, not standing before her looking so vibrant and sexy that she physically hurt from looking at him. Leo wasn’t wearing any less than a man might wear while swimming, and yet her insides were twisting and squeezing in a way they never had at the sight of a random man in a Speedo at the pool.

“Is that so?” he asked.

“Definitely.” But her limbs felt weak.

Leo shook his head, laughing softly. “Come along then, Anna. Get out of your wet things and help me set up this shelter.”

Astonishment riveted her to the spot. He wanted her to remove her clothes? She’d not thought of it before, but now it seemed as if her soaked suit clung to her uncomfortably. Her skin felt cool and clammy under the fabric, though Leo’s had looked hot and silky when he’d removed his clothing.

Leo strode over to her and began to gently push her jacket from her shoulders. “Come on, Anna, it’s all right. You’ve had a shock. Let’s get you out of these wet things. I’ll put everything in the sun and it’ll be dry again in no time. You can armor yourself behind your buttoned-up clothing quite soon, I promise.”