Read Online Vital Sign by J.L. Mac - Free Book Online

has me feeling like a colossal idiot. I’m sure I look like a colossal idiot too.
    Mr. Life guard seems unimpressed with my answer. His face is vacant and expressionless despite the body language that quite clearly spells out irritation.
    “Okay, then, um, see ya.” I turn away with full intentions to walk slowly back to my things, then walk even slower back to the Beachcomber in hopes that my dress will have dried a little by the time anyone else sees me.
    I grab my hair in my hands and wring out the excess saltwater, then toss the tangled mass over my shoulder so that it hangs down my back.
    “Wait a second,” the man says.
    I stop in my tracks, only a few feet from him, and turn around. His face is curious and still insanely… flawless. Even with that tiny scar on his cheek. He’s flawless.
    “What’s your name ?” he asks in a way that comes out more of a demand than a request.
    My insid es tremble with delight and the self-abhorrence that it spawns doesn’t go unnoticed. “Um, Sadie. Yours?”
    “Zander.” He extends his hand to me and we shake. His eyes freely skate down my left side and seem to come to a stop at the wedding ring on my hand. Something flickers there in his sapphire eyes for a moment, but whatever it is, it’s gone after only a few seconds.
    We shake politely and I allow it. It’s a lot nicer than ignoring him and walking off like I had considered. Truthfully, at the moment, I don’t think I can walk off from this enigma of a man even if I wanted to. Embarrassment unmatched be damned. I’m glued in place, cemented before him in dripping clothes that do nothing to shield my secret places from his gaze. Anyone else would have the common sense to retreat. Yet here I am. I’m a living breathing contradiction. I’m a willing captive, open to his scrutiny, held only by the bonds that those deep blue eyes seem to wrap me up in. They’re invisible to the naked eye but they feel ironclad, tangling around every cell of my body and mind. In spite of myself, there’s something about him that makes me want to be in his presence. His appearance is likely to thank for that. Male perfection. I hate myself for even noticing it. I hate me even more for wanting some part of that perfection. The sensation deep within my stomach is so long forgotten that it nearly feels like the first time I’ve ever experienced butterflies in the presence of a man. Scary. Foreign. Disarming. Deliciously addictive.
    “Sadie,” he says my name like it’s a statement and one of his eyes squints a little , then corrects itself. “It’s a little early in the season for me to shoo people away from this beach. Visiting?” His hand squeezes once again around my freezing fingers then releases me. Almost immediately, a little zing of disappointment dominates my pheromone-drenched brain.
    “Not exactly. I’m here to meet someone.” My arms wrap around me instinctively, shielding myself from the sea breeze that only makes me shiver more than I already am.
    “Who?” Zander’s pebbled nipples press against his wet shirt and prove to be an intense distraction.
    My eyes involuntarily admire his broad chest, pebbled nipples, and tightly muscled torso. I ’m embarrassed to find it so hard to concentrate with him like this in front of me. His muscles flex a little as his body twists at the waist, looking around us in every direction. What he’s looking for is a mystery to me.
    “Alexander McBride is his name, ” I offer absentmindedly, still taking him in.
    He hesitates for a moment. The loudest moment of silence settles between us , causing my nerves to build. I drag my eyes to meet his.
    “Nice to meet you ,” he says.
    Just like t hat, realization crashes into me like a goddamned brick wall.
    “What? Wait. You’re Alexander?” My voice sounds foreign and screechy even to my own ears. If hiding my disbelief was what I wanted, I failed miserably at that task.
    “I go by Zander , but yes.” His lips tilt up in a