Page 115 of Marks of Rebellion
"What did he do?" I quietly ask and try to calm my boiling blood.
She shakes her head. "Nothing I want to talk about." She turns back to me with a smile. "I think the pool is calling our name." She tries to get off my lap, but I hold her down.
"Hey."
"Hmmm?"
"Do you like red hibiscuses?"
She smiles and nods. "Yeah. They are my favorite flower."
"Not roses?"
"Nope."
"Okay, Flower. Someday, when we're in safety, I'm going to shower you with hundreds of red hibiscuses."
Her grin widens.
"And I have those all over my garden in Australia. But I'm not sure if they are the same as in Belize or not."
"You do?"
"Yep."
She pecks me on the lips. "Your stock just went up."
I chuckle. "What if I told you I have a frozen drink maker that will put the one you just drank to shame."
Her face brightens. "Now we're talking. Red hibiscuses and frozen drinks. I think I'm going to have to keep you."
I rise with her in my arms. "I should throw you in the pool for even thinking about getting rid of me."
She grasps my neck tighter. "Don't you dare."
I step down into the pool, and she repositions her body so her limbs are pretzeled around me. She asks, "So, we're just going to have a mini-vacation for a few days?"
"Looks that way."
"Are we staying between our bedroom and the pool?"
"Yep."
She sticks her hands down my pants and leans into my ear. "I think that cabana over there looks pretty nice."
We make out in the pool and then move to the cabana, doing naughty things, with a towel wrapped over her behind.
Everything is perfect. All the issues of the night before are gone. It's only my Flower and me, with no one else to distract us.
But my job is to protect her, no matter how much I want her. And I shouldn't have let my guard down and lost myself in her before double-checking our surroundings. I know better. Even unsuspecting, normal-looking bartenders can be on the wrong side. And I should have stuck that napkin in my pocket, then lit it on fire when I got back to our room.
But I didn't even think about it.
21
Vanessa
Everything isred then turns to white light. Dizziness spins faster, and I'm suddenly floating. And my chest is so tight I'm gasping for air.
