Summer Sin (The Anthology Novella Series Book 2) (4 page)

Victoria held firm, squaring her shoulders as she glared right back at him. “Excuse me?” she replied, her own eyes snapping fire now as the two of them seemed to square off. Just where in the
hell
did he get off speaking to her like that? She would drop the arrogant ass where he stood!

“What are you doing out here
alone
?” he barked and Victoria had the insane urge to gouge his eyes out as she watched them blatantly travel over her body
very
thoroughly as he spoke, each syllable grating on her nerves like nails on a chalkboard. What an ass!

“I was going for a swim,” she snapped back at him, not about to let this lout talk to her like that. Oh,
Hell
no! “Not that it’s any damned business of yours!”

He studied her in silence for a very long moment and Victoria found herself suddenly growing extremely uncomfortable. She knew that the bikini she wore didn’t leave much to the imagination, but she hadn’t exactly been thinking that she would be accosted in the middle of night either. Thank the Gods that she hadn’t gone with her first instinct to go skinny dipping!

She watched him watching her and fought off the urge to cover herself with her arms, but only a moment later once again straightened her spine defiantly. Screw
that
noise. She wouldn’t let this jackass intimidate her. She was a hunter for God’s sake! And a damned fine one at that.

“Do you have any idea
at all
how dangerous this is?” he ground out finally, his voice lower now, more husky, and Victoria felt a shiver run across her spine with a will of its own. As much as it was like pulling teeth to admit it – the man was earth shatteringly gorgeous. Those full, perfect lips, square jaw and intense golden eyes that seemed to hold you in their spell were almost surreal.

She knew in an instant that he was a full-blooded Were; there was just no mistaking it. He had that intense animalistic darkness about him that there was just no denying.  That look of a dangerous hunter, always on the prowl.

She took a deep breath and tried to step around him, ignoring the heat of his flesh as her arm brushed up against him when a small wave caused her to stumble slightly. Shit!

“Thank you for your concern,” she sputtered indignantly, trying hard to control her temper. “But I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself just fine.”

He turned and gently grabbed her arm, stilling her in an instant. She felt a squeak of surprise pass her lips and inwardly cringed at her response to the man. She didn’t this reaction to him
at all
. She was stronger than this!

Cam thought that he had actually died and gone to heaven the moment that his fingers touched her silken flesh. Jesus H, it was as if he had been shot in the chest with a frigging bazooka. The impact of it was astounding. It was raw and deep…and
primal
.

It vibrated through his body and went straight through to his bones with the force of a class five hurricane and there was just no stopping it.

He had watched from his bedroom window as she left her house and just about had a coronary when he saw what she had been wearing. Or…what she
hadn’t
been wearing. Her glorious body practically glowed in the moonlight and he had been so spellbound by the sight of her that it took him a moment or two to realize that she was actually planning on taking a swim. Alone! At
night! 

“There are rip-tides,” he stated as calmly as possible, but the thought of her doing something so insanely reckless had his body coiled tight and on full alert. “Not to mention…sharks.”
And…crazy ass assassins bound and determined to end your life,
he silently finished, trying hard to control the hundred and one different emotions all bouncing around inside of him.

“Thank you for your concern,” she said softly, and Cam felt that pesky little shiver run across him once again. Her voice was so damned sexy. It was husky, yet almost musical. It curled around you and held fast, rocking you to your core. “But, believe me when I say that I can more than handle myself…
Mister
?”

“Camden Stark,” he responded quietly, his eyes not leaving hers for a moment. “And, you are?”

Victoria’s brows furrowed slightly the moment his name passed his incredibly distracting lips. Why did it sound vaguely familiar to her? And… why had she even bothered to ask it in the first place? What in the bloody hell was wrong with her? She just needed to get through the next twenty-seven days. She didn’t need to start chumming up to the neighbor. Especially not
this
neighbor. He had danger written all over him in big neon colors.

“Victoria Remington,” she pushed out slowly, trying hard not to grind her teeth. Being this close to the man was doing things to her body that she just didn’t like…
at all
. Not to mention what his hand on her arm was doing to her. Good God! His touch was firm, yet gentle, and had her heart rate picking up, causing it to slam against her ribs almost painfully.

Get the hell away from him, Victoria,
her mind screamed at her; but for some unknown reason, she just couldn’t move. It was as if her feet were firmly planted in the sand beneath her.

He just stood there quietly, staring down at her, his incredible chest bare and glistening in the moonlight, and she tried to force her eyes back up to his face when they drifted down with a will of their own. Geez, she thought with a soft grunt, the man was
ripped!

Gathering up every last bit of her reserve, she met his eyes. “Well, it was nice meeting you, Mr. Stark. And, thank you again for your concern, but really, I can assure you that I’m fine.”

Victoria started to take another step away but Cam didn’t let go…he couldn’t. The sight of this unbelievable creature standing there in the water, the moonlight bouncing off of her body, which was just barely concealed by the thin fabric that she wore had him unable or
unwilling
to let her just walk away.
Jesus, what in the Holy Hell is she doing to me?

“Wait,” he burst out, his eyes locking with hers. “Have dinner with me tomorrow.” The words flew past his lips before he could stop them. But, damn it! For three full,
excruciating
days he had just sat there like an ass, watching that blasted house as she had locked herself away, and he just hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind. Visions of her had kept him up at night and he just couldn’t let her go. Not yet.

“Why?” she questioned softly, her incredible eyes holding his.

Cam was slightly taken back by her response. He had
never
had a woman question a dinner invitation from him before.
Ever.
It just wasn’t something that was done.

“Excuse me?” he asked, completely and utterly perplexed.

Victoria studied him a moment in silence. Finally, she quirked an eyebrow at him, her perfect mouth turning down in a small, thoughtful frown, and he had to say… it was sexy as hell.

“Why on earth should I have dinner with you, Mr. Stark?” she asked evenly. The confidence emanating from her body was like a living force. It swirled and danced around her and Cam felt a shiver run down his spine and hit him straight to the groin. Thank the Gods he was still standing waist deep in water, he thought with a soft, almost uncomfortable grunt.

“Well, first off,” he began, his lips twitching slightly as he tried to hide his amusement, “it’s the neighborly thing to do considering we’re the only two people out here for miles.” He tried not to burst into laughter a moment later when she crinkled her nose up at him in what had to be disgust. She looked so damned adorable that it took him a moment to concentrate on what he had been saying. “And second,” he finally continued, still trying valiantly to hide the grin threatening to break free. “Well, because I asked you to and it’s only polite.”

She seemed to consider all of this a moment. Finally, she pulled her arm out of his grip and again started heading toward shore without another word.

“Hey!” he called, momentarily stunned once again by her actions. This flippant rejection was something completely new to him and it was throwing everything off.

Victoria stopped and turned back to face him, her expression unreadable. “Yes?”

“What time should I pick you up?” he asked, the grin that he had been fighting finally skittering across his lips. He bit back a chuckle when her mouth dropped open slightly, but she quickly recovered.
Well played,
he thought as his grin widened slightly.

“I really don’t think that’s a very good idea, Mr. Stark.”

Camden closed the distance between them and stepped in front of her, their bodies not more than two inches apart, and damned if he didn’t feel a current of electricity hit him like a goddamn thunderbolt. Jesus! What in the hell was happening here? He had never experienced anything like this before.

“Camden,” he corrected gently, his eyes locking on her mouth. He wanted her to say his name. In fact, he
needed
it, he realized with a start. He didn’t know why, but the formality of Mr. Stark coming from those lips was just damned wrong on so many levels.

“Very well…
Camden,”
she replied, her voice taking on a note of annoyance, and yet it was still as sexy as hell Cam thought.

“How about I pick you up at six?” he whispered and saw her body tighten.

Victoria stared at the man standing in front of her a moment in stunned disbelief. He was so arrogant; s
o
damn cock-sure of himself, and she couldn’t help but bristle slightly. No matter how attracted she was to him, the man was an ass who didn’t seem to understand what the word
no
meant.