Page 36 of Lust & Lollipops

I gasped when he burst into flames before swinging his fist at Oren’s face.

Hard.

Blood, curses, and magic spewed.

A solid thirty seconds of shock passed before the other guys ripped them away from each other.

I was far enough away that I couldn’t hear what Cameron spat at a few of the guys—but I did hear the resulting snarls.

All hell broke loose for two minutes before Rhett looked at me. His expression was dark.

I resisted the urge to duck behind my rock again.

Shook my head instead.

Rhett grabbed Oren from the pile of attackers, ignoring the blood dripping from multiple wounds, and shoved him up against a tree.

I stayed where I was as a few of the men crossed the beach, heading toward me. Cameron wasn’t one of them.

“Rhett sent for a telepath to validate the claim,” Kyle growled, remaining beside the other men. “He’ll be here within ten minutes, and he’ll need to talk to you.”

I stood.

None of them tried to touch me or move closer to me.

“We’ll kill him ourselves when we get permission,” Chris said.

All of them looked pissed.

And while that probably should’ve scared me, it actually made me feel a little bit better.

The conversation with the telepath was short. He pulled the truth from my mind quickly, confirming that Oren had, in fact, invaded my dreams.

He was supposed to force Oren off the island with him, but Oren was dead so fast he didn’t get the chance.

I wasn’t positive which of the men killed him, but the burns on his skin told me I knew.

All of the guys were angry that the rules had been broken, but none of them were anywhere near as protective of me as Cam.

Everyone gave me space for the rest of the day.

When night came around, Travis kindly offered to give me his shelter away from the rest of the men. I thanked him and accepted, since I had a blanket to stay warm after the last challenge.

Hidden just out of their sight, I stayed awake until the last of them was asleep.

Cameron did too.

When it had been silent for long enough, Cam finally left his own shelter, stepping into my view and tilting his head toward our beach.

He disappeared, but I knew he’d be walking there alone just to buy us a little more security.

When I reached the sand, his arms went around me so fast, I sucked in a breath as he crushed me to his chest. After a moment’s surprise, mine went around him too, and I hugged him back almost as tightly as he held me.

“I’m so fucking sorry, Loll.” His words were muffled against my ear. Muffled, and angry. “I should never have let that happen.”

“There was nothing you could do.”

“I could’ve been out of that maze in ten minutes flat,” he growled back. “I should’ve been on that island with you. I should’ve been watching that bastard and keeping you safe. I should’ve?—”

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