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He holds his hand out, a twinkle in his eyes. “But I’m more curious about one thing… Doyouwant to test your bravery with me?”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Before I fully climbdown from the wall, he grabs my hand and takes off running.
“What the heck? Where are we going?”
Rex doesn’t answer and instead quickens his pace into a full-on sprint.
My lungs strain for oxygen. I’m winded and need to exercise more because making trips to the bathroom from my office clearly doesn’t count. “Slow down. You’re too fast. You’re a foot taller than me; your legs are longer.Eeek!”
Rex hauls me into his arms in a fireman’s carry, and I bat at any part of him I can reach, which is as effective as a fly flapping its wings to put out a fire.
Don’t think about his muscles—strong and sturdy. That sexy vein rippling in his neck. I want to lick it.
Don’t look, Olivia! Self-control.
He’s forbidden.Verboten. Prohibido.God, he’s drawing out random foreign words I’ve picked up over the years. He’s driving me nuts.
“Put me down, Rex!” I squeal, jostling in his hold, with no recourse but to cling onto him for dear life.
“Live a little, Olive.” He looks down and winks, a mad grin on his face. “Trust me! It’s good to be surprised sometimes.”
My center-of-gravity plummets and a screech tears out of my throat. Stairs, he’s flying down stairs. Where did the damn stairs come from?
I don’t care anymore. I’m shamelessly gluing myself to him.
Minutes later, he comes to a sudden stop, then he sets me down on a patch of rocks and shrubbery.
My mind still in a daze, my lungs heaving in desperate gulps of air, I glance around, finding the fort far above, and notice the chains and bright yellow signs next to us. I bet the words say, do not trespass in Croatian.
“W-Why are we here? I don’t think we’re supposed to—” I whip my head toward him, my words freezing in my throat when I take in the sight before me.
Rex Anderson, his dark hair tousled by the wind, a ray of sunlight shining on him like he’s some Greek god, is taking off his clothes in front of me, with the cerulean seas as the backdrop.
“Wh-What are you doing?”
His full lips hitch up as he pins me with those mesmerizing eyes. Still not answering me, he continues unbuttoning his black shirt, slowly revealing hard, cut muscles, a body that looks like it’s carved by Renaissance artists. Tanned skin glistens with a sheen of sweat, drawing attention to the smattering of hair on his chest, down the ridges of his abs to the happy trail disappearing in his pants.
An image of me trailing my tongue over that ridge flashes into my mind. My mouth waters.
I gulp, unable to look away as my pulse drums in my ears. Rex doesn’t speak, but chucks his shirt to the side, then moves on to his jeans.
My eyes bug out and my legs finally wake up because I’m moving toward him, even as my mind screams for me to turn around and run away. Stopping before him, I cover my eyes because seeing him almost naked is crossing my wires and tempting me to make very bad decisions.
“Rex? What on earth are you—”
“You’re a good girl, aren’t you? Have you seen a half-naked man before? Or am I your first?” He pries my hand from my eyes.
The jeans are off, then the shoes and socks, and seconds later, he’s standing before me, clad only in a tight pair of black boxer briefs, which donothingto conceal the deadly weapon nestled between those strong thighs.
“I-I’m a doctor. Of course, I’ve seen naked men. I’ve had a boyfriend before too. A-And you aren’t anything special.”
He arches a brow as if to say,“Really, that’s what you’re going with?”
I bite my lip, stopping myself from saying anything more ridiculous.
Eyes darkening, he leans down—a panther locking in on his prey.
