Tormenting Lila Read Free

‘Lila,’ I
said, introducing myself.
    ‘You here on holiday?’ Tyler asked. ‘I’ve not seen you around before.’
    ‘Um, yeah,’ I said. ‘I’m just here for a few days.’
    ‘Cool. We’re having a party Sunday night at Tyler’s,’ the first one – Parker – said. ‘To celebrate fourth of July. You should come.’
    ‘Mmmm,’ I mumbled non-committally.
    Out of the corner of my eye I noticed the row of girls were all lying on their stomachs now, as though they’d been flipped over by a short-order cook with a giant spatula. They were all
staring in our direction. One of them, a girl with long brown hair and a perfect tan, stood up and strolled towards us, flicking her hair behind one shoulder and adjusting her bikini straps for
maximum boob exposure.
    ‘Hey, Tyler,’ she drawled when she got nearer.
    ‘Hey, Eliza,’ Tyler answered, taking her in with an appreciative glance that rested for an extra-long beat at boob height.
    ‘You want to come for a swim?’ she asked, placing a hand on his sweaty bicep before shooting me what I guessed was an acid look, though she was wearing sunglasses the size of dinner
plates so it was hard to be one hundred percent sure.
    Tyler looked down at her hand, then his gaze darted over my shoulder and he took a small step backwards. I glanced behind me and saw Alex walking towards us, water running in rivulets down his
body. Tommy Hilfiger could step aside. Alex looked like he’d stepped out of an Armani aftershave ad. He stooped for a towel and his hand come to rest lightly on my hip. I leaned into him
automatically.
    ‘Boys,’ Alex said, by way of a greeting.
    The girl’s lips parted as she gazed up at Alex and her hand slid off Tyler’s arm like a dollop of wet putty.
    Parker and Tyler shuffled in the sand, uncomfortable in Alex’s presence and looking suddenly really young by comparison. Alex had a few years on them I supposed, as well as a few inches in
height. He also had the hard-muscled body of a Marine and I saw them glance at the tattoo of two crossed swords on his arm and the Marine Corps motto –
Semper Fidelis
– and
swallow nervously.
    ‘Hi,’ Parker mumbled. He held up the frisbee as though it was a piece of evidence in a trial, or a shield. ‘Frisbee,’ he said. ‘We were just getting the
frisbee.’ He grabbed for Tyler’s arm and started dragging him away, all the while eyeing Alex’s tattoo.
    One of the many things about Alex that I loved was that, while he was protective of me, he didn’t act like a caveman about it. There was nothing threatening or possessive about his
demeanour. If Jack had been there he would have probably punched them just for looking in my direction. But Alex was cooler than that. We watched Tyler and Parker run off back to their frisbee
friends, Tyler shooting me a curious look over his shoulder as he went. Eliza stood there for a second longer admiring the view, before throwing Alex a mega-watt smile and strutting back to her
towel.
    When I looked over at Alex he was grinning at me. His eyes – a striking aquamarine colour – seemed even clearer than usual in the sunlight. ‘Can’t leave you alone for
five minutes,’ he laughed, whipping the towel at me.
    ‘I had it handled,’ I told him, dancing out of its way.
    Just then something blurred in front of my face. Alex’s reflexes were quicker than mine. His hand shot up and he snatched the frisbee just before it smacked me in the head. I saw Parker
standing in the distance looking horror-struck and then fearful for his life as Alex turned towards him.
    I prised the frisbee from Alex’s grip. ‘Allow me,’ I said, tossing it to the very far end of the beach, giving it a little extra throttle to help it on its way. When I turned
back to Alex he was giving me that look – the one that made me feel like we were the only ones on the beach and that skinny-dipping was totally allowable.
    ‘Did I ever tell you how sexy you are when you’re doing