Instant Temptation (Wilder #3)(68)

Harley had to bite her lip to keep from letting the gust of nervous laughter escape. She hadn’t thought of that. But maybe if they thought he was gay, they’d leave him alone. “Can’t say,” she repeated firmly.

Lani sighed in disappointment.

Good Lord, they would actually believe that the big, edgy, obviously testosterone-ridden TJ was gay rather than believe that he’d be in a relationship with her.

Finally Kitty shook her head. “No. There’s no way he’s gay.” She narrowed her eyes at Harley. “If you wanted him for yourself, all you had to do was say so. But honestly, I don’t see him reciprocating. You’re not his type.”

The other three looked at Harley in grave disappointment, as if she’d broken some sacred sorority trust. She didn’t care, as long as she did her job, which, as TJ had pointed out with utter seriousness, was to protect him.

What can she say? She’d tried.

They all got back on the river, and an hour later came to a sharp turn where suddenly the water moved faster than half a mile an hour. Like one mile an hour.

Still, the coeds shrieked and screamed as if they’d come to the edge of the world. TJ called out directions, his voice filled with quiet but unequivocal command, which in turn forced the girls to shut up if they wanted to hear how to save themselves. He was calm and utterly authoritative, and they leapt to do his bidding, as if pleasing him was all that mattered.

When Harley found herself doing the same, she had to laugh at herself, then let out a surprised squeak when TJ let the girls pass them and snagged her by the back of her life vest, holding her and her kayak next to his. “You’re grinning like a Cheshire cat,” he murmured, pushing his sunglasses to the top of his head to study her. “Explain.”

She looked into his face, then snapped a picture of him, glancing down at her LED screen as the picture flashed there. His eyes readily revealed his intelligence, a sharp wit, and also an inner strength that never failed to give her a flutter. He had a strong face, a beautiful face, though he’d hate that assessment. Did she care to share that he turned her on like no other man ever had? Hell, no. “Inside joke,” she murmured.

He eyed the girls’ retreating backs, then Harley again. “You know sound carries over water, right?”

Oh, God. What part had he heard, that he was gay, or that she wanted him for herself? She looked into his eyes, but couldn’t see anything but the gleam of promised retribution.

Definitely the gay part. “One of us has to catch up with them.”

“Yes.” He let go of her. “I’ll do it. And I’ll catch up with you later.”

Oh boy.





CHAPTER 23


When they stopped for lunch, TJ handled the kayaks and Harley dealt out lunch, serving the girls Annie’s pre-made sandwiches beneath the shade of a grove of two-hundred-year-old, towering pines.

Harley took herself off to the side, giving the coeds their privacy. Or, more accurately, giving Harley her privacy. TJ ambled over when he was done. “Well, that went well,” she said, handing him a big, thick turkey and cheese sandwich.

With an answer that was more of a grunt than affirmation, he plopped down next to her and dug in.

“Hungry?” she asked, amused at his single-minded purpose of devouring the sandwich.

“Even gay men get hungry.”

Oh, yeah. She’d almost forgotten. “If it helps, they didn’t believe me.”

“I wish they had. I’d rather be gay than the boy toy of the month. You should have just told them that we were together. That would have worked.”

She opened her mouth and then closed it. And then went on the defensive rather than figure out why his easy solution irritated her. “Must be exhausting to fend off four beautiful young women’s advances.”

Fend them off he had, with more calm, impassive pleasantry than she could have managed. “I mean sure, they want to eat you up,” she said. “You might have gotten groped a few times getting in and out of the water, but overall, it’s been easy enough to handle, right?”

He just looked at her as he swallowed the last of his sandwich.

She grinned. “How many times did you get groped, anyway?”

“I don’t know, but I’m bruised. You’re supposed to be watching my back.”

Yes, but she’d been very busy watching his ass. “You really don’t feel anything when they come on to you like that?”

He eyed the uneaten portion of her sandwich. “I feel the urge to wrap my fingers around Cam’s and Stone’s neck.”

She laughed again and handed him the rest of her sandwich.

His eyes warmed. His lips curved as he took her in. “I love it when you laugh,” he said simply.

Damn if that didn’t make her go all soft and mushy. “You do know they think you’re God’s gift, that they each hope you’ll go alpha and domineering on them in their sleeping bags tonight?”

“How about you? Do you want me to go alpha and domineering in your sleeping bag tonight?” he asked, his voice low and husky.

Heat slashed through her, and her gaze ran over his body, all sprawled out and gorgeous. He hadn’t put on another shirt. All he wore were those board shorts and a smile. The smile revealed a wicked intent. The board shorts, low and loose on his lean hips, revealed the fact that he could absolutely follow through with that wicked intent.