Chapter 51

After a while, everyone heads down to the beach. I run up to grab more sunscreen for surfing and tanning later on.

I step out onto the deck and start applying sunscreen to my arms when I hear the sound of a camera clicking beside me. I turn to see Knox sprawled out on one of the chairs, snapping pictures of me.

“What are you doing? I thought you were some random guy taking pictures of me!” I hiss, but he continues to take photos. “Stop!” I storm over to him, trying to snatch the camera away.

How does he know how to use a professional camera like this? It looks expensive, too. He holds it high out of my reach, but I climb on top of him, trying to get at it.

I want those hideous photos deleted. My leg swings over to the other side of him to steady myself, and I realize I’m basically straddling him. ~Get off him, Alex!~

Suddenly aware of our position, I start to stand up, but he grabs my waist and pulls me back down onto his thighs. I can feel my heart pounding as arousal floods through me.

His face inches closer to mine and he whispers, “I’m keeping the pictures. I like them.”

“Delete them, Knox. I look disgusting. Please,” I whisper back, acutely aware of his proximity. He’s sitting there shirtless, his black swimming shorts riding dangerously low on his hips.

He knows what he’s doing, priming all the single ladies in this country to drop their panties for him in a heartbeat.

“You could never look disgusting, baby doll,” he says, his eyes searching my face. He reaches up to gently tuck a strand of hair behind my ear.

I feel a jolt of electricity as his skin comes into contact with mine. He leans back, adjusting himself so he’s comfortable, and snaps another picture of me sitting there in shock on his lap.

“Knox,” I groan, covering my face to prevent him from taking another shot. His hand pulls on my thighs, sliding me closer to his body.

His hands reach up to remove mine from my face, his touch surprisingly soft. Seeing his eyes squint in concentration is sexy. He touches my waist again, his thumb gently rubbing across my hip bone on my bare skin.

He takes a picture of his hand gripping my waist, then goes back to capturing my face and body. I just stare at him, forgetting he’s even taking pictures. My heart is racing so fast I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.

I start to smile at him while he’s still leaning back. His eye snaps open, and he lowers the camera a bit so I can see both of his eyes focused on me.

A grin spreads across his tanned face, and he lifts the camera back up to his eye, snapping a few more pictures.

He sets the camera down on his bare stomach and takes my thighs in his hands, stroking them up and down. All the while, we’re just staring at each other in silence. ~This feels so good.~

~Snap out of it, Alex!~

I clear my throat and stand up, moving away from him. He lifts the lens back up to his face. He’s still taking pictures of me.

Then it stops after a few more shots. He lowers the camera from his face and looks up at me with a smile.

“Let’s go down to the beach,” he suggests, lightly slapping the outside of my thighs. When he stands up, his hand brushes my leg on purpose, making me shiver at his touch.

I start to walk ahead of him and see a crowd of paparazzi and fans waiting for him. Thank God they didn’t see us up there. That would require a lot of explaining.

~Oh, we were just messing around. Nothing to see here!~

Yeah, that would go over well with the media.

He places a hand on my upper back as we walk side by side. I ignore the questions from the paparazzi and head straight for my family, who are relaxing and ignoring the commotion behind them.

Knox stops in the sea of bodies to pose for pictures and sign autographs, but I don’t wait around for him. He can handle himself.

I reach my towel that’s laid out in the sand and apply more sunscreen before lying down on my back, facing up.

Minutes pass, punctuated by the occasional snap of a camera shutter above me. I open my eyes to find him, once again, the culprit. “Quit taking pictures of me!” I protest.

I feel like I’ve been through the wringer today. He settles back down next to me, scrolling through the photos he’s just taken.

“I’m keeping all of these,” he murmurs to himself.

“Why? I’m shocked I didn’t shatter your lens with the way I look right now.”

“Because I want to. I think you look really pretty.” His words jolt me upright.

“What? Are you blind? I look awful!” I shake my head, covering my face. I’m far from pretty at this moment. The sound of camera shutters clicking and people calling out for Lauren fills the air behind us.

“You never look awful, baby doll. You have natural beauty, unlike some girls.” He turns to watch Lauren navigate through the crowd. He sighs, resting his head in his hands before reclining back on the towel.

He laces his fingers behind his head, soaking up the sun. I slowly join him, resuming my previous position, still reeling from his...compliment.

I’m stunned that he said I have natural beauty. Seriously, where did this version of Knox come from? I turn my head to look at him, and he catches my gaze. “What?”

“You’re seriously freaking me out with these compliments. I feel like you’re a body double who killed the real Knox and took his place,” I tease, eliciting a sweet laugh from him.

God, his laugh is sexy. Wait, no! No! No! Not the time for that, Alex.

“I told you, this is the real me. You got the version of me that I changed. I hope you like the real me, because I know you didn’t like the other me.” He looks at me, waiting for a genuine response.

I lay my head back on the towel and reply, “I’ll let you know,” a smirk playing on my lips.

“Knox, baby, come take a picture with me? I need an update for Instagram.” Lauren’s voice dominates the beach, her high-pitched, fake giggles and her grating, nasal tone are starting to seriously piss me off.

Did I mention she’s annoying? He doesn’t even bother to respond. He remains motionless, not giving her the satisfaction. “Knox? Knoooooox? Is he ignoring me? Knox!”

“What! What do you want, Lauren?” His voice, laced with irritation, startles me.

“Come take a picture with me, babe?”

“No!” His curt response prompts a huff from Lauren. A shadow falls over me, and I look up to find her glaring at me, her eyes shooting icy daggers.

Her hands rest on her hips, her purple bikini contrasting with her sunglasses perched on her head. “You’re in my spot.”

“Uh, last time I checked, this was my towel. So no, get your own ‘spot.’ You’re blocking the sun.” I retort, not in the mood for her antics.

“Alex! Girls photo! Come on.” Sam saves me from the prima donna looming over me. I spring up and join the girls lounging in the sand.

“Alright, go in the water and get your butt wet. Knox, come here!” I do as instructed, wetting my butt with the cool water. I notice Knox is also wetting his hands.

We return to the sand, and Sam nudges him to put his hands in the sand. She signals for me to turn around. Suddenly, I feel two hands pressing against my ass, lingering there. I gasp and dart away from Knox.

“What are you doing!” I shriek, twisting to see my butt cheeks covered in sandy handprints.

“Sam told me to do it. All the girls have them on their butts.”

I glance around to see that, indeed, they all have sandy prints on their cheeks. I blush with embarrassment and look out to sea, running my hands through my messy hair. I turn back to look at him.

“I’m sorry, I won’t do it again. You can wash it off. I was just doing what I was told... Bride Sam scares the shit out of me.” I giggle at the thought of him being scared of my sister.

“It’s fine, I just wasn’t expecting it, that’s all. Yeah, I think everyone is afraid of her right now. She’s like a demon.” He laughs, clapping his hands together to shake off the sand.

“Alright, Alex, you stand here facing out there next to Andy and Hannah. Amy, you go here and Zara here! I’ll go here and Ty, baby, will you take some good ones? Instagram worthy.”

I can’t help but roll my eyes, so I snort instead. I see Sam giving me a deadpan look, which makes me smile.

I toss my phone to Tyson and ask him to take one on mine. All the boys are gathered around, watching and judging our asses on display for all to see. Even guys we don’t know.

“Girl with the blue bikini!” I turn around because I’m the only one in a blue bikini as far as I know. I look down the line of girls and see Zara on the end with a navy bikini.

“Yeah, you!” I look up to see a group of guys behind all the guys I know looking at me. “Your ass is the best! By far!” He winks, and the guys with him all agree, eliciting a chorus of ‘Yes’s’.

I turn back to face the ocean, hearing multiple grunts, so the pictures can be taken. Once they’re done, Sam wants us to lie down on the sand together, so we do.

A few more pictures are taken, and then she wants us to go on some of the guys’ shoulders.

I found myself perched on Tyler’s shoulders, but Sam quickly decided it wasn’t the right fit. She moved me to Tyson, then realized she was meant to be on his shoulders, so she finally settled me on Knox’s. We all ended up on the guys’ shoulders, laughing and jostling each other.

As I slid down from Knox’s shoulders, the heat of his body seared into me. My top started to ride up, and I quickly tugged it back down. After all, we were on a public beach, teeming with families.

Knox leaned in close, his breath warm against my ear. “Second time my head’s been between your legs,” he whispered, a cocky grin on his face. He winked at me before jogging back to our towels.

Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I found myself unable to suppress a smile. I bit the inside of my cheek, staring out at the water.