Girl Gear 3: Bound to Happen by Alison Kent Read Free Book Online Page A

much to say while in the hot tub, or if his thoughts had been as consumed as hers by their parting conversation. He'd dared her to find time for them to be together. She couldn't think of anything she wanted to do more. This vacation was taking a promising turn.
    As if on cosmic cue, footsteps to her left brought Sydney 's head around to that side. The sight that greeted her brought her train of thought to a skidding halt, brought her body heat to the point of fever. She'd thought her breathing labored earlier this evening, but that struggle for calm was nothing compared to the way that now as she looked at Ray as he approached, desire stole the air from her lungs.
    He was barefoot and bare-chested, wearing only a pair of long denim shorts that hit the bend of his knees. His hands were shoved in the front pockets and dragged his waistband down his abdomen. The light the moon threw across the veranda cast his body in uneven shadows. The scar on his chest stood out like a long, white scimitar, curving over his breastbone, cutting a slice through the dark whorls of hair.
    Even from this distance, thirty feet, twenty, fifteen, ten, Sydney could smell his clean skin and just-washed hair. And now that he'd drawn closer, drawn close enough to touch, she could see the still-damp ends brushed back from his face. But his eyes told the tale of his wakeful state of mind. His thoughts were as unsettled as hers.
    "Trouble sleeping?" he asked, reaching the beam closest to the one she held on to and, facing her, leaning his shoulder against the support.
    "I always have trouble the first night away from home." Hands curled around either side of the beam, she gave a small shrug. "Strange noises. Though, in this case, the lack of noise may be the culprit."
    "Yeah," Ray said, working to keep a straight face. "Hard to relax with all those waves breaking onshore. Not to mention the breeze blowing through the palm fronds. Pretty damn noisy, if you ask me."
    The moon's gentle glow softened Sydney 's view of Ray's left side, keeping his right half in shadow. His entire body, in fact, was a contrast of moonlit skin and blue denim and shiny clean hair, and a rich silhouette.
    Which meant he was seeing her the same way. Sydney took a step back into the full shade of the covered veranda. She wore nothing but her lemon-colored silk chemise, with nothing but thin spaghetti straps holding the low-cut, slip-style garment in place.
    She was clothed, covered, but still she felt vulnerable, with her face scrubbed clean and her feet bare. She'd wanted to be at her seductive best when dealing privately with Ray. Not looking as if she was ready to crawl into bed…
    Facing the villa's second story, the view of the tropical night at her back, she leaned her head against the support beam and smiled, tucking her laced hands behind her. "It's hard because I'm enjoying the peace and quiet. I feel like if I relax, I'll miss something grand. I'm always that way my first night here. I'll be better tomorrow."
    "You'll be exhausted tomorrow."
    "Me? Are you kidding?" She glanced at Ray, glanced back, then let her gaze roam. He was too gorgeous not to give in to the visual pleasure. "I run on adrenaline half the time, anyway. Relaxing is harder to get used to."
    Ray pulled his hands from his pockets, crossed his arms over his chest, tacking his fingers into his armpits. His pectoral muscles bunched and flexed. Mouth awry, he gave an amused shake of his head. "You haven't changed much, have you. You never were the stop-and-smell-the-roses type, even in high school. Always so serious. All the time."
    Sydney crinkled her nose, afraid he was right and that her personality had retained too much of the restrictive qualities she'd worked so hard to loosen, certain she'd never be the free spirit her mother had chided her to be. "I suppose I should do more to relax."
    "You're right. You should." His smile was broad and compelling. "What good is a vacation if you're too wound up to have