Page 86 of The King's Weapon

And Kallie couldn't help the grin that rose onto her face.

"You were saying?" She tilted her head down and batted her eyelashes at him. The amusement still alive, she leaned back onto her palms and lifted her head to the sun.

The glowing light behind her eyelids darkened. When she opened her eyes, Graeson was bent over her, bird shit still in his hair. Before she could scurry away, he lifted her into the air. His arms wrapped around her legs, restraining them. As she wiggled in his arms, Graeson threw her over his back and stomped off into the water. When he didn’t put her down, she pounded on his back with her fists.

The water rose to his calves, then his knees, then below his waist. Kallie bent her legs, keeping them out of the water.

Graeson's hands moved to her hips and he lifted her into the air. He held her there like a small child, her feet kicking. And by the look in his eyes, the anger, and the power he had over her, she knew he wasn't going to just put her down.

Not without a price.

"Graeson," she warned, her legs growing still.

A sly smile graced his face. "Only if you tell me the truth."

She looked back and forth between his eyes. Her undergarments had just begun to dry, but they would dry again. "I already did," she bit out.

Then as his grip tightened around her waist, his arms flexing, she took a deep breath, preparing herself for the plunge.

Water rushed around her, and she pushed against the wet sand, breaking the surface and pushing her hair back.

Kallie momentarily marveled at his strength, for Graeson had thrown her deep enough that she had to tread water, her feet unable to touch the sand. The fabric of her shirt was heavy and floated around her.

She lifted her head to try to see further into the water. She spun around and around but saw nothing. Besides the ripples she had created, the water was still. Graeson was nowhere to be found.

Where could he have gone?

Then the small waves pushed her back, and as she twisted around, she saw a black head of hair appear atop the water.

"You jerk!" she spat, glaring at him as he resurfaced. "You ruined my only shirt"

"And you're a liar," he said, teasing.

She snorted. "And you're not?"

He narrowed his eyes at her, questioning. The man was arrogantanda hypocrite. There was no worse combination.

"Youkidnappedme," Kallie said as she continued to keep herself afloat. "Or did you forget?"

Graeson, who could still stand, shrugged, pushing his hair back. "You saykidnapped, but I like to think of it asrescued."

"Did you ever stop to think that I didn't need saving? That I was perfectly content living my life as it was?"

None of them had thought about that, Dani had made that clear yesterday. And her words seemed to smack him across the face, his amused expression falling flat.

But then he cocked a brow. "Were you really though?"

Kallie grew silent, unable to answer.

She was happy before, wasn't she? Content, at the least. Her happiness would come once she gained control over Frenzia.

He looked her up and down, his gaze judgmental, harsh. "I at least don't try to run from my problems."

"No, you just throw them into springs," she snarled.

Straight-faced, Graeson said, "I never said you were a problem."

Kallie rolled her eyes. "Right, because I am just something for you to conquer." She floated backward, heading to deeper waters. She didn't care if she was proving him right by putting distance between them. She needed the space.

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