Page 18 of Ace

“Whoa, wait. Are you dizzy?”

“A little.” He closed his eyes. “There. It passed.”

She turned so that she faced him, closing the distance, and his arms went around her back immediately, as they had so many times.

She trailed her fingers around his abs and up his back, pulling him closer. With her cheek pressed against his chest, she sighed. “Thank you for coming.”

He rested his chin on top of her head and then kissed her forehead.

A tingling rush of pleasure showered through her at the touch of his soft lips.

“I am so glad I did. Let’s get out of here, shall we?”

She nodded but didn’t move.

His hands stilled.

She lifted her chin. And suddenly she couldn’t look away from his eyes. Their brilliant green captured her as they always had. And now she wanted in. She wanted Dex. They stood in a shelter he built for her, for her villagers, in the middle of a Maylasian island, and he was the hottest guy she’d ever seen. And it had been too long since she’d seen him. His gaze dropped to her lips, and he quirked a brow.

She smiled then stood taller on her toes and reached for his mouth.

Before she could take another breath, his lips were exploring hers with the hunger of their years apart. Her fingers shot up into his hair. His grip on her waist tightened, and she couldn’t get close enough. He kissed her again and again, dipping her as if he wanted to consume her whole.

“Gi!” Rosamie’s shrill shout broke them apart with a gasp. She placed a hand on her pounding heart and called, “What!” Her voice was shaky, quiet.

Dex moved to the door. “What is it?”

“They’ve come. We have to hide you, now.”

Gianna tried to swallow a panicked lump in her throat. “What do they want?”

He shrugged. “I guess a couple American prisoners. Or to make some kind of political statement, to use us to accuse the Alliance of foul play. There are about a dozen more where those ideas came from.”

She nodded.

“Where can we go?”

Rosamie met her gaze and then took off to the kitchen.

Gi stumbled down the ladder with Dex right behind, steadying her. Rosamie tore out of the kitchen with a couple packs. “I got some supplies.”

Gi choked on her thank you. “Keep it. You need this for the children.”

“We will be fine. You are going to be out on the water.”

After a pause, Gi nodded. “Okay.”

Then Rosamie led them out the back door of the home along the water, hugging the edge of the great forest that filled the northern tip of the island. “We have a boat in here.”

Gianna raced after, her rucksack and the supplies from Rosamie weighing her down enough that she felt her feet slow.

“We can do this.” Dex pushed on.

The darkness of the jungle stared at her. She felt every living animal who must inhabit that thick place, and the hum of mosquitos called to her. She’d spent her entire time living in Panau staying as far away from that forest cover as she could. She had been warned of malaria-causing mosquitos, poisonous snakes and frogs, and large alligators. The villagers mostly avoided the jungle as well. But now she was running along the edge.

Rosamie paused up ahead and then stepped through the wall of trees.

“Oh, help.”

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