Page 131 of Wild Thing

“Well, if you lose me, who will keep you on your toes?”

“True.”

“Arch.” Her whisper suddenly drops the cheerfulness.

“Yes, kitten.” I close my eyes. I wish we were back on the yacht, fucking, dancing, cuddling, watching the sunset—any scenario where I usually call her that.

“You know how you told me I’m important to you? Back on the yacht?”

“That’s a serious conversation for someone who doesn’t like talking about feelings. And we are in deep shit right now.”

Yet her voice grounds me. It used to get under my skin. Now, it’s the one thing that makes me feel alive, as long as it’s next to me.

“I love you,” she says.

I turn to look at her, but she’s staring ahead into darkness.

This is the most awkward moment to confess. But then, it’s my wild thing, always taking me by surprise.

I take in her messy hair that looks like a giant nest that I love to pieces, her serious face, her beautiful profile, the slope of her shoulders, that bronze skin that I love feeling against mine, her bare feet that probably hurt as much as mine after running on pebbles, trash, and whatnot. She holds a gun between her raised knees, and the sight of her is so brutal and beautiful that it takes my breath away.

She finally turns to me. “What?” Her smile is too shy.

I shake my head. I’m so in love. And anger spikes in me at the thought that I couldn’t keep her safe.

“I wish we were back on the yacht,” I say.

“Well… If there’s one person I’d ever be willing to go through this shit with, it’s you, Archer.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

She’s perfect.

She’s the one.

I’ll build a fucking chapel at Ayana to lay my claim on her.

“Ma-yá ka-ra-lé-va,” I say, smiling.

She bites her lip.

“Arch, about those words… They don’t mean what I told you they did.”

She thinks she’s tricked me. Little does she know that I’ve relied more on the internet and dictionaries than on people my whole life.

“Kat, youaremy queen.”

She’s startled. “Wh— How long have you known?”

God, I love catching her by surprise. “Back then I didn’t trust a word you said.”

“And now?” She’s looking at me like she’s pleading for the right answer.

There’s a commotion behind the shack, an angry fight, then radios beeping, making us shut up, then it quiets down again.

I stretch my hand and push a wet curl out of Kat’s face. “I hope we can trust each other with everything,” I finally answer.

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