Page 41 of Save Me
“Yeah, I know. I’m just …” She shrugs. “I don’t know. Gigi was always happiest around here, and I guess I’m like her. I can’t imagine a place I’d rather be in than the one I have.”
Her words are a gut punch. Guilt about what I know—about what’s about to happen to her paradise—coils around my neck like a noose.
Do I ruin the night and tell her?
“I’m supposed to go to Hawaii one of these years. Frank goes back to Oahu every now and then to visit his mother, Anela. That’s how we know him. Anela used to babysit my mother when they lived there. She and Gigi kept in touch. A few years after my mom died, Frank showed up. He said he was tired of island life, but Gigi knew it was because Anela sent him here to help us. And he hasn’t left since.” She smiles wistfully.
“He sounds like someone you can count on.” Who’s probably in love with her.
“He is.” She bites her bottom lip as her forehead wrinkles.
“You’re doing it again.”
“Hmm?”
“When you get that worried look and your forehead scrunches up.” It’s cute and sexy, but it’s obvious she’s not telling me something important, and I don’t like that. Then again, who am I to complain, given I’m keeping life-altering details from her. “What’s going on, Sloane?”
“Nothing.” She smooths her expression. “You don’t even know me well enough to know when I’m worried.”
She’s not wrong. Except … “I know certain things about you very well.” Like the feel of her soft lips against mine and the way her entire body quivers when she orgasms.
Her cheeks flush. She peers over her shoulder at the hotel in the distance now. “We’re almost at the harbor. Should we turn back?”
I check my watch and then the sun. It’s descending, but we still have about forty minutes before we’re expected in Opal Reef for dinner, if the schedule Eleanor sent out is accurate. “No, not yet.” I’m beginning to worry that I didn’t think this through. What if Henry drops the bomb on her tonight as a fuck-you to me for bringing her? He’s a vindictive bastard, and I’m not ready for this thing between us to end.
She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “Okay. Well … what do you want to do?”
That’s a loaded question.You, Sloane. I want to do you, in every way imaginable.
“I want you to myself for a little while longer,” I say instead.
Her throat bobs with a hard swallow. “We have water in the hut. You thirsty? Because I could really use something cold.”
I admire the sheen that coats her skin. It’s still hot out. “Yes.” Perfect. Let’s go to the hut.
10.Sloane
“This might not have been the smartest plan.” Ronan winces as he steps on the loose gravel. The parking lot is empty, blocked by the thick rope across the entrance to keep people from using us as a free lot after hours.
“Ow!” I hiss in pain as an especially sharp stone digs into my heel. Ronan said he wanted to be alone with me, and this place was the first thought I had, but I realized my error after we climbed the steps and remembered our shoeless feet. “Why don’t we turn back? I can live without water for—ah!” I squeal as Ronan scoops me up into his arms and carries me toward the little teal-and-yellow Sea Witch hut.
“No, we both could use a cool-off.” His assessing gaze drags over my exposed leg where my dress has fallen back at the slit, and that muscle in his jaw flexes. “Your Gigi built this herself?”
“Yeah. She did everything on her own that she could. Loves working with her hands.” She was never afraid tobust out a saw or a hammer. Now, she occupies those same hands with knitting needles and paintbrushes. “She’s pretty incredible.”
“Sounds like it.” He sets me down gently.
I punch in the code and push through, leading Ronan inside.
“Holy hell.” He tugs at his collar as if to emphasize the heat. “You said we couldcool downin here?”
“I probably should have warned you.” I set the empty glass from the hotel on the counter and reach into the mini fridge to grab two waters.
“How do you not die in here?” He cracks his and chugs.
I roll the bottle across my neck as I admire the way his throat pulses with each swallow. “It’s not so bad when the ticket window is open. Plus, these help.” I turn on the oscillating fan, and it kicks on at the highest speed, fluttering loose pages lying on the desk where Skye left them. Next, I slap the switch on the wall, and the white AC box above comes to life with a death rattle and hum. In moments, a blast of cold air shoots out, hitting my shoulders. “Shut the door?”
Ronan does as instructed, sealing us into this cramped space under the dim single naked bulb above. “Some days, it works better than others, but if you sit up here—” I demonstrate by shimmying my butt onto the bar fridge. “—you get the air blowing right down on you.” I lean back against the wall with a sigh.
