In a Heartbeat (Heartbeat #1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

and trying to stay focused on her run, Stella took a deep breath and continued jogging along the shore, keeping a straight line and not getting distracted by the waves. Mostly.
    That was when she saw him. Her lifeguard. Jogging. Coming right towards her.
    Her first reaction was to panic. She had dreamed about him and prayed to see him again. But now that he was right in front of her, she wasn’t sure that was such a good idea.
    He had black shorts on and nothing else. The muscles on his chest, arms and shoulders flexed with every step he took. The tattoo on his hip moved in sync with his body and at that moment all Stella wanted to do was yank his shorts down and explore it. With her mouth.
    The closer he got, the more nervous she became, her stomach feeling as if she was growing the Alien inside and it was getting ready to burst out. Realising she was staring open-mouthed – again – Stella tried to purse her lips together, because he was a mere few metres away now.
    Sharp pain pierced her right foot and she fell down in agony. Not paying any attention to where she was running, she had stepped right on a huge, broken mussel shell. It was as sharp as a blade and it had sliced right into her foot. Blood started running down the sand as Stella tried to squeeze the wound and reduce the bleeding.
    “ Stai bene ?” Stella heard his voice right next to her ear and it warmed the blood in her veins like a sip of a twenty-five-year-old whiskey. He was kneeling in front of her with a worried expression on his perfect face. Like a complete idiot, she was lost for words. His hazel eyes stared right at her, a few inches away from her face, the gold specks in them shining in the sun. His dark eyebrows were creased in concern, because she just sat there, looking at him, clutching her bloody foot and not saying anything. All her words had left her brain. She couldn’t even remember how to say ‘hello’ in Italian, let alone anything else. Good thing was, she could always blame it on the pain later.
    “I think I cut my foot on that shell,” she pointed towards the offending shell.
    “Let me see,” the lifeguard said, in perfect English, just the slight lilt of his words giving away that he was Italian.
    Stella had never heard anything sexier.
    She removed her hand from the cut and the blood ran freely on the sand. His expression didn’t give anything away as he examined her foot. Stella couldn’t care less about her stupid foot. He smelled incredible and his proximity clouded all her other senses, including her perception of pain. Without warning, he touched her near the wound and her body’s response was to jerk back and gasp.
    “Sorry,” he said, fixing her apologetically with those incredible almond-shaped eyes. Stella couldn’t move, breathe or think.
    What’s wrong with me?
    “You’re in luck today,” he said, his lips spreading into a lazy smile. Stella’s heart stopped. It actually refused to beat for a few seconds. His smile was the epitome of charm – his upper incisors and canines were longer than his other teeth, but the unevenness of his smile only made it more alluring.
    “I’m a lifeguard on that beach and my station is right over there,” he said and pointed to his right, the muscles along his arm stealing Stella’s attention.
    So he doesn’t remember me from yesterday. Of course he doesn’t. He probably has girls staring at him all the time.
    It still hurt a little.
    “I have a first-aid kit over there, and I’m going to get it so that we can patch you up – OK?”
    Stella nodded and, extending his body to its full length, the lifeguard walked towards his station. All she could do was gape after him, fully enjoying the rear view of him. The muscles on his bare back flexed under his skin and the grace with which he moved surprised Stella again. He must have been at least six foot two, and a man of his size and stature wasn’t supposed to move so fluently. Effortlessly.
    At that moment, Stella