Victim of Love Read Online Free Page A

up at me with a confused scowl. “What did you say? Something about clothes? Sorry, I wasn’t listening.”
    “Yes, clothes . Yours are wet through.”
    He set the bottle down and climbed to his feet. “Fuck clothes!” He tugged his tie off over his head and cast it aside, then began unbuttoning his shirt. Growing impatient halfway through, he tore it open, buttons popping, and shrugged it off his shoulders. Tossing the shirt down, he kicked sand on it. “I’m on vacation. Fuck clothes.” Throwing his head back, he laughed again, the sound echoing off the water.
    Oh. Great . As I watched him stretch his arms and spin in a circle before dropping onto his ass again, I cursed under my breath. Convincing this moron to leave the beach wasn’t going to be so easy. As he stretched back and propped his arms behind him, staring up at the night sky, I tried not to look at the glistening bare skin now visible on his lean, fit upper body. His dark hair was short and damp, ruffling in the breeze. I studied the cords of his neck, the line of his jaw. His nose was thick and a bit short, but his cheekbones were high and he had a nice chin. Probably a few years older than me, he was undeniably cute, and probably closer to handsome when he was cleaned up and sober and not covered in wet sand.
    Reminding myself I was supposed to be concerned with his safety, not checking him out, I tried once more to reason with him. “Listen, dude. Are you gonna be all right here? Maybe you should head home. You’re pretty wasted. You don’t want to fall asleep on the beach, do you?”
    His head turned and he frowned up at me. “Did you call me dude ?”
    “Well, I don’t know your name.”
    He bound to his feet and took a step toward me. “Who are you again?”
    “I’m the guy who thought you were dead.”
    His huge, comical grin appeared again. “Oh, right.” He laughed, doubling over and holding his gut. “You thought I was dead.”
    “Do you want me to call someone? Someone waiting for you at home?”
    He straightened, and his eyes really focused on me for the first time, trailing over my body before meeting my gaze again. He smiled slyly and took a step toward me. “Well. Look at you.”
    I wasn’t sure how to respond to that statement. “Yeah. Look at me. So, do you want me to call someone for you or not?”
    “You have a phone?”
    “Yeah. Sure.” I pulled it out of my pocket.
    He held his hand out. “Give it here.”
    I hesitated for a second, then handed him the phone.
    He smiled. “Thank you.” Then he turned and sprinted down the beach, away from me. With my phone. His laughter echoed back on the wind.
    I stood dumbfounded, trying to process that this drunken stranger had just taken off with my phone. And was getting farther away by the second. “You have got to be kidding me,” I muttered. “Hey! Hey, you bastard!”
    His form grew smaller as he ran. For a drunk guy, he could really move. Letting out a low growl, I ran after him. “Stop running!” I shouted as my legs pumped, the sand making my stride unsteady. “Stop! Give me back my phone!”
    Fortune was in my favor, as the man stumbled and fell to his knees. As I came upon him, I spotted my phone on the sand, thrown free from his fall. I shook my head at the stranger, then knelt down and grabbed the phone, brushing sand off it. As I rose up, a slight, needle sharp pain pricked the back of my shoulder, making me jump.
    I whirled around as the stranger, who’d gotten to his feet again, pointed at me, laughing. “You should see your face!”
    Rubbing my shoulder, I stared at him. “Did you just... bite me?”
    “Yeah.” He snickered, then moved closer, resting a hand on my shoulder. “I did. I bit you.”
    I stared back at him. I’d never been bitten by a random stranger before, and a proper response evaded me.
    “Sorry. It didn’t hurt, did it?”
    “Not...really. Just unexpected.” I cleared my throat. “Look, I gotta go.”
    “Already? Are you