As I was drying off I could feel someone’s eyes boring through me.  I glanced toward the food hut and literally froze in place as I watched Declan watch me.  I was instantly annoyed that I was so mesmerized by him.  He was a womanizing asshole, so why was I so drawn to him?  Why does he do this to me?  Before I could get even more pissed about the situation, Eric surprised me by giving me a big hug.  He seemed to be a nice enough guy, but all I could do was think about Declan. 

 

I turned away from Declan’s eyes and focused on Eric hoping I could get Declan out of my mind, but it didn’t work.  I saw Eric’s lips moving but I couldn’t hear a word he said.  All I could think about was Declan’s gorgeous body glistening in the sun.  I was snapped out of my reverie when I realized that Sophie, Eric and his friend Paul were staring at me waiting for something.

 

I looked at Sophie.  “What did I miss?”

 

She gave me a curious look.  “Are you okay?  Eric and Paul want us to go parasailing with them.  The booth is right over there.”

 

She pointed to a spot a few hundred feet away from us and I actually thought it might be fun.  It was something I had never done and it would help me get my mind off of Declan.  I turned and smiled at them.

 

“Sure, that sounds like fun!”

 

Eric was grinning ear to ear.  “Cool, I’ll go get the tickets.”

 

He was a nice enough guy, or at least he seemed to be so far, and Sophie would be with me so I figured it should be fun.  We told the guys we were going to put our bags in our room and we would meet them in a few minutes.  The hotel was right on the beach so we were going to do a quick in and out.  As we walked toward the hotel, I could feel those eyes on me again and I slid my eyes toward the food hut and Declan’s piercing blue eyes were following me.  I tripped as I was walking and Sophie caught me.

 

“What is going on with you today?  Are you okay?”  She kind of giggled and I was in such a daze I didn’t even respond to her.  My eyes were locked in Declan’s and Sophie followed my gaze.

 

Two seconds later I felt a sharp squeeze on my upper arm.

 

“Oh my gosh, Brielle, is that Declan?”  She narrowed her eyes and then pulled on me like a little kid.  “That is Declan!  I still can’t believe he’s here!”

 

I could see the look of amusement on his face as he watched my friend freak out over him.

 

“Sophie, can you please relax?  His head is already the size of this hotel.  I don’t want him to think we’re talking about him.”

 

“Too late.  He’s walking over to us.”

 

To say that my heart was trying to blast it’s way out of my chest is an understatement.  With every step he took toward us, I found it harder to breathe.  I literally had to tell myself to take a breath.  Tiny beads of sweat glistened on his perfectly sculpted chest and his biceps flexed as he ran his fingers through his hair, giving us a perfect smile as he approached us.

 

He gently put his hand on my waist leaving a ring of fire as he leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek.  His natural scent and coconut sunscreen flooded my nostrils as his scruff grazed my cheek.  I had never smelled anything more delicious in my life.

 

I was surprised he had greeted me that way.  He had never done anything like that before.  He is probably just trying to look good in front of Sophie.

 

“Brielle, it’s good to see you again.”

 

Somehow I managed to get my words out.  “You too.”  My brain wasn’t working well enough for me to say much more than that.

 

He looked thoroughly amused at my state of shock, and then he turned his charm on Sophie.

 

“Sophie, it’s good to see you again, too.”

 

She giggled like a teenager.  “It’s good to see you again, too, Declan.  We were surprised to see you earlier.  What are you doing in Mexico?  I’m assuming you’re enjoying a vacation.”  She put her hand on her hip and gave him her best flirtatious smile.

 

A wave of jealousy washed over me as I watched her bat her lashes at him.  There was no way I would be able to handle the two of them together so I had to put a stop to it.

 

“Yeah, Declan, what are you doing here?”  I asked, sounding less than kind.

 

He looked at me, holding my gaze for what felt like forever and then he pointed at a poster a few feet away.  The sun was in my eyes so I couldn’t see what it said.  I raised my eyebrows at him and put my hand on my hip, trying my best to look annoyed.

 

“I can’t see what you’re pointing at.”

 

He gave me a little smirk that accentuated his succulent lips.  My eyes were glued there and I wanted so badly to lick those lips and feel them all over my body.  He must have said something because he looked like he was waiting for me to respond.

 

I casually shook my head, trying to clear the fog of lust, and glanced at Sophie.  I gave her a silent pleading look and she jumped in and saved me from looking like an idiot.  She casually touched my arm.

 

“I think we saw that poster earlier but didn’t notice because I just wanted to get to the beach.  There’s a big fight at our hotel this weekend and Declan said it’s his biggest fight of his career so far.”

 

I looked at him trying to hide the worry in my eyes.  I was so annoyed with myself.  Why did I even care?

 

“Good luck.”  I didn’t want to give him any more than that because I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that I cared.

 

“Thanks.”  His gaze was intense as his eyes held mine and I could feel myself sweating.  I had to get away from him. 

 

“Well, we’re going parasailing with our friends, Eric and Paul, so we’d better go.  They are probably waiting for us.”

 

Was that a flicker of jealousy I saw in his eyes? 

 

“Okay, you girls have fun.  Maybe I’ll see you guys at the fight Thursday night?”

 

Before I could stop her, Sophie jumped in with her teenage-like enthusiasm.

 

“Definitely!”

 

“Cool.  Later.”

 

He sauntered off, looking sexy as hell, and as much as I hated to admit it all I wanted to do was hang out with him.