“You’re incorrigible,” she scolded. He chuckled. Shifting, she reached out and popped the glove box open. Mostly because she needed to focus on something, anything, other than the extremely good-looking man beside her who’d kissed her senseless earlier. Her eyes widened when she saw the gun. “Ohhh.”
He glanced over and saw the weapon. “Nice. I’ll take that.”
She carefully plucked it out like it was some kind of explosive device on the verge of detonating and handed it to him. Guns made her nervous, and, of course, he picked up on that right away.
“You don’t like guns.”
“Not really.”
“Why not?”
“Because they kill people,” she snapped back, voice full of indignation.
“Guns don’t kill people, Peaches. The people who pull the trigger do.” His indifferent tone irked her.
“My brother was shot down by a cartel member and tossed in a ditch,” she murmured, the memory of the horrific details ofMiguel’s demise making her both sad and frustratingly angry. “Please, don’t tell me how guns don’t contribute to thousands of deaths every year.”
For a moment, he didn’t say anything. Just seemed to mull over her words. “I’m sorry, Essie.” So low and sincere. His fingers tightened around the steering wheel. “No one should lose a family member to violence like that.”
“It’s devastating,” she whispered, turning her attention out the window beside her. The lush jungle had given way to a new landscape, and now they passed farms that produced tropical crops such as sugarcane, cacao and bananas.
Enough.Essie gave herself a shake, not wanting to slip into the gloom threatening to dampen her mood. She was nearly free. And that was something to cling to. Her curiosity about Xander made her bold. She also wanted a distraction from thoughts of guns, death and the cartels. “Tell me more about yourself.”
“Tell me more about you,” he tossed back.
“Okay, after you.”
He chuckled. “Sly.” His lips twitched. “Why don’t we play a game?”
“What kind of game?”
“One where we take turns getting to know each other better. We’ve got time to kill.”
That seemed safe. “Okay, go ahead.”
He burst out laughing. “You seem reluctant to share.”
“No, I just don’t know how to play your game.”
“Fair enough.” He glanced over at her. “Ever play Confess and Guess?”
“No.”
“It’s easy. You confess one thing then guess the other person’s answer to the same.” She nodded, and he cleared his throat, pursing his lips like he was thinking. “Okay, I confess… my favorite fruit is a peach.”
Essie snort-laughed. “You’re ridiculous!” But secretly, she liked hearing how much he liked her ass. How he felt comfortable enough to tease her. Knowing such a gorgeous man found her attractive boosted her confidence and made her inexperienced heart skip a beat. “Now you’re supposed to guess my favorite fruit?”
He nodded. “I’ll say you prefer a fruit that is sweet and juicy. You look like a strawberry girl.”
“While I do enjoy a juicy strawberry every now and then, my favorite fruit is mango.”
“Ah, damn. So close.” He sent her a glorious smile, and she bit her bottom lip and melted. “Your turn.”
“I confess…” Essie thought for a moment, hesitating a bit too long. Now that she could find out more about him, she was nervous to get too personal. “Um, my biggest fear is…” José finding her and forcing her to marry a stranger? Never reuniting with Tomás? No, she better keep things light. “Well, I have two—cursed objects and quicksand.”
He chuckled, then immediately apologized when her brow furrowed. “Sorry, that just sounded so random. Please, tell me more.”
“You’re making fun of me,” she pouted.
