What the hell had he been thinking when he’d told Maurice and Louis months ago that he had a fiancée? Answer: he’d been trying to save his own ass.
But now? He wanted nothing more than to scoop her up in his arms. Repeat all the words she’d said to him that night back in Grand Rapids, the words that at the time he couldn’t say back. Protect her from this mess he’d gotten himself in. Promise her everything would be okay.
But he couldn’t do any of those things. Because the fact of the matter was, hedidn’tknow if everything would be okay.
And those words—It’s always been you—well, she clearly hadn’t meant them.
“Juicy, I—” he said, taking a step toward her with his arms open to pull her into a hug.
But she put up her hand to stop him.
“You need to tell me what’s going on,” she said.
“I will. It’s just—”
“The pool,” she said.
He cocked his head to the side. “What about the pool?”
“We can talk there, right by the edge. It’s huge. There probably aren’t any recording devices. No Maurice and Louis. It’s not like they’re going toswimnext to us.”
Hmm…it wasn’t abadidea, especially since Maurice couldn’t swim. Except…
“We don’t have swimsuits,” he said.
“Yes, we do. Right there,” she said, pointing to a stack of men’s and women’s clothes on the dresser. And sure enough, swimwear right on top.
“Don’t you think that’s awfully convenient?” he asked. “Swimsuits? They probablywantto get us in the water.”
Dani narrowed her eyes to him, marched over to the piles of clothes, and snatched the suits. “I don’t give a shit if it’s convenient,” she said, tossing a pair of trunks at Theo’s face.
He pulled the shorts from his face, finding Dani staring at him with her hands on her hips.
There’s the Dani I know.
“I want some answers. Meet me in the pool,” she said before retreating to the bathroom to change.
* * *
Theo waded into the poolalone, waiting for Dani. Something about swimming in the luxurious infinity pool of his captor felt a bit icky, but what other choice did he have? Dani was right. She needed answers. And since he couldn’t be sure their room wasn’t bugged—or that Maurice and Louis wouldn’t followthem around the island if they tried to talk elsewhere—this would have to do.
The water was warm, heated by more than the sun’s rays setting above them. He could get used to this—minus the whole kidnapping thing.
He stared out to the sea, watching other boats far off in the distance. Too far to be able to see him waving his arms for a rescue.
A flash of something shiny caught his attention behind him and he looked over his shoulder, spotting Dani approaching the edge of the pool and—
Holy fucking God, Pierre is taunting me.
The swimsuit she wore should have been fucking illegal. The shimmery teal fabric reminded him of the prom dress she wore back in high school the year she’d gotten stood up and he went in place of her date. But whereas that dress had merely accentuated her curves, this suit revealed them. It was technically a one-piece, but really that meant only that all the little pieces were connected, even if only by the thinnest of threads. The triangular bra area barely covered her full breasts, revealing a significant portion of her side-boob (the best part of the boob if you asked him). They plunged to her navel, creating the deepest V possible. He couldn’t see the back, but based on how it looked from the front, he was sure it didn’t cover her ass.
Juicy.
He couldn’t believe he’d used that nickname in front of Vautour. God, how stupid could he have been?
She’d pulled her hair up into a messy bun with a few tendrils of hair loosely falling onto her neck. What Theo wouldn’t do to sweep those loose pieces aside, grazing her neck with his fingers to make space for him to plant kisses along her honey-colored skin.
“Don’t look,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.Too late.“This suit is absolutely ridiculous.”
