Page 19 of Lust & Lollipops

I couldn’t.

“Better the devil you know than the one you don’t?” I asked. “Seems like a risky thing to make a bet on.”

“Lolli,” he said, humor in his voice. “I’m making a bet on you. And you can be damn sure it’s not one I’m going to lose.”

As much as I was uncertain, I did believe him.

I just didn’t know how to feel about it.

“And what if I tell someone else about your plan?” I finally asked.

“You could,” he agreed. “But you have no guarantee they’ll be any better than me. All of the bastards on this island are old, and mean. If I thought any of them could treat you better than I can, I’d let them have you. But they don’t know you like I do—and they don’t have your best interests in mind like me.”

“I want to believe you,” I said, fully aware of the fact that my body was still pressed against his.

And that my bikini bottoms were getting slightly wet over the certainty in his voice as he talked about treating me well.

If I’d had any reason to think he’d be a doting mate, maybe I would’ve kissed him too. But I didn’t know him well enough for that.

I did know that he would protect me, though.

And I told myself that was why I wasn’t pulling away.

“You’ll get there.” He dragged his hand over my lower back, and my hips arched just a little. “If you do decide to work with me, you can make the plan even better.”

“How would I do that?”

“Be vocal about disliking me, but not too vocal. Spend extra time with the guys who may be on to me, to make them bigger targets.”

“Who are the first targets, then?” I asked.

“Julian and Kaden.”

Julian was the smart, blond one I’d spoken to while weaving the fronds. He had mental magic, if Cam was telling the truth.

Kaden was the one with the furry wings who’d been back first during the challenge. Which meant his magic was elemental.

“They’d be the first to realize what you’re planning?”

“Yes. Julian is smart. He knows I wouldn’t be here unless I was planning on winning. Might not realize the extent of my plan, but he realizes something’s up. We need to get him off the island first.”

I bit my lip. “He was asking me questions about us earlier.”

Cameron nodded, his head moving lightly against mine. “I assumed he would. You need to keep up the façade of being pissed at me.”

“I am still pissed at you.”

He chuckled. “Keep telling yourself that.” He brushed a few strands of hair from my eyes. “I wanted to hold you like this every night in our apartment.”

My face flushed. “You did not.”

“I did. You don’t have to believe me; I’ll prove it to you.”

“Sure you will.”

“I will.”

A thought occurred to me. “What if someone reads our minds and realizes the plan?”

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