Sweet Southern Heat by Ashley Cade

Author:Ashley Cade [Cade, Ashley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-09-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 26

Olivia

Several sets of anxious eyes found us as we emerged from the tree line.

“Olivia,” Honey shrieked and ran toward us. Landon released me and placed me gently on my feet. I instantly missed the warmth of his skin and the safety I felt cradled in his arms. A second later, I was tackled by my best friend. Her embrace nearly knocked the wind out of me. “Are you alright? Are you hurt?” She pulled back and held me at arm's length, inspecting me for injuries.

“I’m fine. There was a snake, and I was stuck in a tree.” Honey’s head tilted, and her brows drew together as if trying to reconcile my story with why Landon had carried me back. “I lost a shoe,” I added quickly, nodding to my bare foot and wiggling my toes for emphasis.

“Oh,” she replied simply. “Guess you couldn’t go traipsing through the woods like that. Good thing Landon was there to save you.” A sly grin curved her lips as her eyes found Landon over my shoulder. I turned to face him and noticed for the first time that his torso was bare, a pair of navy and white striped board shorts resting low on his hips. My cheeks heated at the memory of him holding me close to his chest as I clung to him desperately.

“Yes, I’m glad he found me so quickly.” Landon shifted his weight from one foot to the other as though the recognition made him uncomfortable. “Thank you for coming to my rescue,” I said, hopeful he felt my genuine appreciation. If it wasn’t for him, it was hard to say how long I would have been stuck in that tree.

“Of course,” he replied with a single nod. Honey looped her arm through mine and led me away. I reluctantly turned my gaze from Landon to find our friends watching us all with curious stares. Some of them exchanged suspicious looks as they spoke in hushed tones. They all saw Landon carry me out of the woods and were clearly reading too much into it.

Or were they?

The rest of the women huddled around me as I assured them I was okay and relayed the details of my rescue to them. I made sure to leave out the part where my body slid achingly slow down Landon’s when he pulled me from that branch. My skin heated, and my stomach tightened with need at the memory. In the moment, I’d been too frightened to appreciate it, but now that I was safe, all I could think about was how his body would feel sliding against mine without our swimsuits in the way.

“Let’s head out,” one of the guys called, snapping me from my thoughts. We all got into our tubes and continued our float. The tension from recent events melted away and conversation resumed. The afternoon was filled with laughter and drinks as we soaked up the sun.

When we finally reached the lake, everyone climbed out and dragged their floats onto the shore.

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